Speak Out 2/15/12

Polar Plunge

THE Cape Girardeau's Parks and Recreation Polar Plunge was a super success in raising money for Special Olympics. All who were involved in coordinating the effort did an excellent job in making it a fun-filled fundraiser, but I would like to pay a special tribute to parks and recreation coordinator Chris Eastridge as well as roller girl and Polar Plunge participant Smash Mouth.

Bullying club

IT is so refreshing that students at Alma Schrader School started a campaign against bullying. It is sad though that the teachers, principal and the counselor didn't take the matter into their own hands in the first place.

Scott City uniforms

MY friends' children go to Scott City schools, and she said that the uniforms cost her about $400 to $500 initially. So the cost is definitely there. It hasn't helped. The bullying is still there. It doesn't matter if all dress the same. Her children are still getting bullied. So from someone in Scott City who has uniforms, bullying is still there. Using that as an excuse isn't going to help. Wearing uniforms is not going to stop the bullying.

Halftime show

WHAT a disappointment the halftime show was at the Super Bowl. Madonna should have retired 10 years ago.

Right to work

REPUBLICAN Gov. Mitch Daniels has led the way to Indiana becoming the first of the Rust Belt states to make it possible for people to have the right to work for lower wages.

Cape's deer

THERE should not be deer hunting in Cape Girardeau. You can be killed by a deer anywhere, not just in Cape Girardeau. Maybe someone should figure out why deer are coming into the city proper and figure out how to stop that from happening. If you are driving in a known deer area (deer crossing signs), slow down. People here drive too fast anyway. I've seen the speeders on Lexington Avenue. If you kill all the deer in the city, more will come. How do you stop that? Try working with nature instead of against it.

Unelectable candidates

ANY person running for a political office who articulates the real problems facing our country and who offers a realistic agenda for solving those problems has about as much of a chance of being elected as a snowball has of surviving inside a fiery furnace.

Tax holiday

THE state can give a sales tax holiday. It has others sources of revenue, including the income tax. But the major source of city revenue is the sales tax. So are you willing to give away a few days of city revenue? Are you willing to not have the potholes on your street fixed? What about no police protection for half an hour today? At some point, no revenue means no service. And you still get the state holiday, regardless of what the city does.