OpinionFebruary 21, 2005
Speak Out 2/21/05
Take a closer look; Holding down prices; Facing responsibility; The dog issue; Seeking interns; Caffeine conflict; Guns and bombs; No beauty in sawhorse; Still a free country; Floodwall enhancement; Situational ethics; Loud in the library; It takes more; Not listening; Parent meeting; Need a stoplight; How teachers dress; Advice to fathers; Monuments and tuition; Make yourself valuable; Quick lesson; Paying the university; Support for farmers; Do what's best
Take a closer look
I FIND the research on the Black Panther Party interesting. Everyone who was against the Black Panthers found something negative on the Black Panthers' Web site but no one saw the "What we want, what we believe" section. Here are a few points. "We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people. We want an immediate end to all wars of aggression. We want completely free health care for all black and oppressed people." Where is the racism? Where is the hate? It sounds like defending, not hating.
Holding down prices
TO PUT it briefly: Farm subsidies are paid to farmers to limit the crops they produce and to help keep prices up. Consider the aspect of supply and demand: If we had more food, prices would go down. When milk supplies were limited last year, milk prices went up. When orange groves froze in Florida, the prices of oranges and juice went up.
Facing responsibility
PARENTS OF teenage boys who tell girls they love them, get them pregnant and then say they are too young to be a father need to teach their boys to keep their zippers up, because it takes two to make a baby. Parents can't always keep our eyes on our kids. We do the best we can. But when things happen, then you face the consequences.
The dog issue
THE WHOLE dog issue in Cape Girardeau is a joke. The American sense of entitlement is alive and well. If you don't know it, your neighbors hate your one or five barking mutts. They're probably having a hard time selling their house because of them. Ditto for the meter reader and the mail carrier. There's nothing in the Constitution that says you deserve to be able to keep eight dogs on a small lot in town.
Seeking interns
I'VE READ several times over the years that Southeast Missouri State University wants to find internships for students. I've tried to contact the university about interns on multiple occasions for two different companies, yet no one ever returns my phone call. This is a great disservice to the students. They need the experience. I wonder how many other companies have had the same experience.
Caffeine conflict
WHILE TELLING us how good coffee has been found to be for our liver, scientists and reporters must have forgotten to remind us of the acids in coffee that eat holes in your stomach and the caffeine that increases your heart rate and, over time, destroys your body.
Guns and bombs
I'D GLADLY pay more taxes if I knew it would go to good programs to help people, but I hate paying taxes to support the profits of defense contractors. There is way too much money going for guns and bombs and not nearly enough for education and health care.
No beauty in sawhorse
WILL THE proposed fountains gracing the new university entrance at Broadway and Henderson Avenue be adorned with an unsightly yellow sawhorse like the fountain in front of Kent Library? Surely it would not be that difficult to adjust the existing fountain so it would not splash on the sidewalk, creating an ice hazard in winter.
Still a free country
FEEL FREE to bring a Bible to work. But don't expect me to stop talking about what I did over the weekend. Bible or not, it's a free country.
Floodwall enhancement
TO COVER up the floodwall permanently would be returning it to its former nonbeauty. How can anyone who appreciates both art and history look at the floodwall and deny that it has enhanced the area?
Situational ethics
LIBERALS HAVE moral values. Their ethical behavior is based on their moral values and is generally relative and situational in nature. Conservatives claim to have absolute moral values but, in contradictory fashion, practice situational ethics. For example, they oppose affirmative action but use connections by pulling strings to help their kids.
Loud in the library
THE UNIVERSITY needs to ban the junior high school-age kids with their loud Walkmans from coming into Kent Library when we are trying to study. Or their parents need to learn to watch their own children.
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It takes more
HAVING A Bible on my desk does not make me a Christian any more than wearing a suit makes me a gentleman.
Not listening
DAVID LIMBAUGH and many other conservatives are too certain about their opinions and too arrogant. This doesn't leave any room for discussions among people. They are tearing this country apart because they won't listen.
Parent meeting
THANK YOU to the Cape Girardeau Middle School for having a parent meeting where we could come and voice our concerns. I wish more people would show up.
Need a stoplight
PLEASE PUT a stoplight at East Rodney Drive and Independence Street. Go by there between 4 and 5 p.m. It's crazy.
How teachers dress
TEACHERS FOLLOW the dress code. Lately, many schools are having special days to raise funds for tsunami victims by paying a few dollars to wear jeans, hats and sweats. It is a sign of school spirit and school unity and a good way to teach how important it is to help others. Many teachers change after school before heading out to the parking lot. We have lives outside of school. I have exactly 40 minutes to work out before I pick up my children, and every minute counts. Why not focus on complaining about the lack of textbooks or the fact that good programs are going to be cut yet again?
Advice to fathers
DIVORCED FATHERS who claim to care about their children need to do so all the time, not just in public when others are watching. Your children are supposed to be the most important thing. Don't use them to make yourself look good. You also should not use your influence over them to make decisions for them. Children are impressionable and need to be loved and shown the right way.
Monuments and tuition
I FIND it interesting that on the front page of your newspaper there is an article on the college wanting to build two waterfalls and monument signs for a new front door to the college. The next page includes information about a bill to limit tuition increases to the rate of inflation. When I graduated from high school in 1953, the university's tuition was less than $100. Using the "Inflation Calculator" Internet site, $100 in 1953 would be about $500 now. But the tuition at Southeast Missouri State University is three times that.
Make yourself valuable
CAN'T FIND a job in Cape Girardeau? Learn to do something that is valuable to a prospective employer.
Quick lesson
I CAN tell you how to solve the economic woes of the government in 10 seconds flat. Stop offshore tax havens for the rich. Stop all loopholes for hiding income for the rich. Cut the limit on Social Security taxes and make it progressive. Stop lining the pockets of defense contractors with sweetheart deals. Cut out $100 billion-plus in annual corporate welfare. Stop believing in trickle-down economics, because it's a crock. Reverse President Bush's tax cuts for everyone making over $100,000 a year.
Paying the university
REGARDING THE $2.4 million project for Southeast Missouri State University's front door: I think Cape Girardeau needs an open front door more than the university does. Once again we're buying something for the university.
Support for farmers
I'M TIRED of seeing the sign "No farmers, no food." If it wasn't for the people in factories working all day and all night paying taxes for the farmers, the farmers wouldn't be there. The working people help earn the food in this country too. It's not just the farmers. Without the taxpayers, there would be no farmers.
Do what's best
WE DON'T mind paying into Social Security and having means testing. If it's for the good of the country, we're more than happy to do this.
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