OpinionFebruary 20, 2007
Speak Out 2/20/07
Troops at home; Board sense; Music memories; Illinois comparison; Interesting coverage; Snug seat belts; Thanks for dinner; Extremist argument; Great concert; Doing something right; Poor taste; Paying for jail; Dizzy development; Bad information
Troops at home
WE NEED to bring our troops home. Then we can support them.
Board sense
THANK YOU, Tom Reinagel, for taking a stand on the Cape Girardeau School Board. Are you the only one with common sense on the board? Let's get board members who have our children and our community's best interests at heart.
Music memories
I WAS disappointed with the Grammys program. Whatever happened to the days when we had premiere acts like Wilson Phillips, Michael Bolton and Color Me Bad?
Illinois comparison
AS A socially liberal fiscal conservative, I am in dismay at the attitude of people in Southeast Missouri. They don't understand the world. They don't want taxes. They don't want liberals making them drink that liberal Kool-Aid stuff. You voted for a Republican president who's running the country deeper in debt. You've got area politicians who make Huey Long look like a choir boy. People in Illinois make about $4,000 a year more than you do, and there's a reason for it. They have good roads and good traffic enforcement. With 7 million fewer people in Missouri, you have almost the same amount of traffic deaths as in Illinois.
Interesting coverage
I FIND the Southeast Missourian more interesting to read than it ever has been. Your stories don't shy away from tough issues while still covering positive events in the community. And your editorials have been right on. I still don't like some of your regular columnists, but at least the range of opinion is more provocative. Keep up the good work.
Snug seat belts
EVERYONE SHOULD wear seat belts. Race car drivers like to be strapped in snug. The least we could do is buckle up. In fact, most seat belts don't hold their drivers in snugly enough.
Thanks for dinner
THANKS TO the nice man who paid for my husband and my dinner at Logan's Roadhouse. It was such a nice gesture from someone we didn't even know.
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
Extremist argument
HERE'S A question for the religious warmongers. We keep hearing about the debacle in Iraq as a fight against fanatical or extremist Islam. I want to know exactly what part of the 600,000 Iraqi deaths and more than 3,000 American deaths are endorsed by fanatical or extremist Christianity. Those in glass houses should not throw stones.
Great concert
APPLAUSE GOES to Chris Crawford, Paul Fliege and Tyson Zahner for another entertaining evening of true Ozark culture with their third annual concert in Blodgett. The trio amazed us with clog dancing, spoon playing and an hour of fancy fiddlin'. We cannot wait for next year's extravaganza. Thanks also go to their wives and especially Kris Gurkah for cooking those tasty vittles. The entire evening was educational and entertaining.
Doing something right
IT SEEMS like area fire departments and law-enforcement agencies in the Cape Girardeau region are constantly being honored for something. These folks are doing something right. Well done.
Poor taste
THE ARTICLE on workplace romances was in poor taste if you consider that many of them are between people supposedly committed to spouses and significant others. I found no entertainment in how convenient the romance was. I know several people whose lives were shattered by easy cheating.
Paying for jail
BE GLAD you're not in a federal prison, where the never-ending financial burden that is left up to the inmate's family is phenomenal. Just because someone is in prison doesn't mean that day-to-day expenses stop for the prisoner and his family. Go to prison for a few years and see what happens to your bank account.
Dizzy development
I READ where a senator wants a bill requiring all troops going to Iraq to be fully trained and equipped and have a year off between deployments to Iraq, but the bill was being met with strong opposition. As I read the article, I assumed that the bill was being proposed by a Republican and strongly opposed by a Democrat, as the Republicans have always been the ones to preach they support the troops where the Democrats didn't. Come to find out, the bill is being put forth by Sen. John Murtha, a Democrat, and opposed by Republicans. Someone stop the merry-go-round. I am dizzy.
Bad information
TOM REINAGEL and Charles Bertrand should be kicked off the Cape Girardeau School Board. They are not serving the best interests of our children, but only feeding their egos. They received information the Wednesday before the special board meeting Monday. Instead of calling the superintendent, Dr. David Scala, Reinagel did his research, in his own words, and found a law that would stop negotiations with NARS regarding a preschool. Apparently Reinagel's passion is not fueled by knowledge of the law. After Scala had the district attorney research the law, Reinagel was, in fact, wrong, but not before Reinagel and Bertrand made fools of themselves and the board in front of the NARS representatives. The only goal they had was to attempt to show that Scala had not done his research. The sad part is that the ones who were hurt the most were the small children who don't have a voice. The district should apologize for the ambush and ask NARS for another chance. NARS has now put out for bid a day-care contractor. Thank you, Chris Buerhle. At least you tried to do something nice for the community.
Story Tags
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.
Related
Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
