Speak Out 2/23/05

Stick to education

IT WAS good to read that someone is speaking out about the university's continued waste of our taxpayer dollars. I thought with some new member, the new board of regents would have enough brass to just say no to the many spending requests. Let's get back to the real reason the university is here: education, not water fountains.

Learn from articles

KUDOS TO the Missourian for allowing Erick Harris to write about his experiences in England. I learn so much every time I read one of his articles.

It's a kids' movie

WHOSE IDEA was it to review the Winnie the Pooh movie? Children's movies are meant to make money off of little kids, not to have any artistic value. How could anyone give "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" four stars?

Enjoyed the column

IN RESPONSE to the column "The power of prayer": Thank you. I really enjoyed Joe Sullivan's column. It's really nice to hear this, and I hope he will feel encouraged to write another column on the subject again sometime.

Curb the contractors

THE CITY needs to regulate contractors. What is the city inspection office doing to regulate contractors? We hired a fence company. One of his employees got hurt. Now they want our insurance to pay the bill, Plus they damaged the neighbors phone line and want us to pay for that too. Our insurance company said it would cancel our policy if we made a claim. The city ought to make contractors have a license and buy insurance. Now the insurance guy says the fence won't meet the building code either. What are we paying taxes for?

See how it works?

I AGREE that Democrats don't flip-flop. Former president Clinton must have been misunderstood when he said the Social Security system was broke during his term of office. It must have been a misunderstanding when immigrants were allowed to draw Social Security when they had not worked one day in the United States. How could the Democrats be wrong about anything? Look at how well they have fixed our lives so that those who receive government checks have found the loopholes to maintain their lives without ever working a day.

Rich took risks

NOT ALL rich folks are bad people. Someone has to provide jobs. The so-called evil rich people in this country pay over 50 percent in taxes every year. Most business owners at some point started their companies with loans and mortgages, and it took many years to make a profit. They had a dream and worked hard. Fast-forward 20 or 50 years, and it is a huge company that provides many jobs. The rich are trashed because of success and bashed if they fail. Each business you drive by has an owner trying to keep it going so employees can keep their jobs, But they don't let you know about the sleepless nights and stress, because they have to appear confident for the customers and the employees so people don't jump ship. Be glad someone risked everything to open a company. The employed should be glad to have a job. And employers, remember you wouldn't have a successful company without workers, so treat them well.

Health care, tax increase

UNIVERSAL HEALTH care and a sizable tax increase would go a long way toward remedying our domestic woes.

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Cat does the talking

I DISCOVERED a highly effective way to deal with telemarketers who ignore the no-call list. I let my cat talk to them. My cat is very vocal when petted, so this morning she chattered noisily away to a telemarketer while I held the phone receiver near her mouth. She loved the attention, and the telemarketer was foiled, although good-humored enough to wish my cat a good day before ending the call.

Too much information

WHO NEEDS terrorism when we have the media? "CBS Evening News" tried to make the point of how easy it is too create identity theft. The report made a believer out of me. It showed in detail a Web site where you can get everyone's personal information and what you can do with it after you've obtained it. So for all you identity theft wannabes, the media has taught you that there is still hope for you. Tune in next time for how too obtain chemicals for your meth lab. I'm all for freedom of speech, but being a victim of identity theft myself, the media are so busy pushing the line of free speech they don't ever stop to think if they should.

Medicaid's benefits

THERE ARE so many people who depend on Medicaid. Some politicians want to take it away from people who absolutely need it. My grandmother would have to pay hundreds of dollars for her medications. Some people can't get insurance for their family where they work, so what are they going to do if their child gets sick? Some families can't afford to pay $2,400 for a child to be born, or $50 to take their child to get a well-child checkup.

Paying for services

THANKS TO the Southeast Missourian for some balance. It was good to read the economist's comments that the best cure for Social Security might be to do nothing. Stories on the plight of Medicaid recipients faced with the Republican cuts were also informative. There are public services for which I do not mind paying taxes . Social Security and Medicaid are two of these.

Lack of sophistication

DR. DALE Haskell's comment on opportunities for independent and art-house films is one I agree with. In other cities I have seen smaller theaters, like our Esquire on Broadway, rehabbed for this purpose. I approached the owner of the Esquire about this. He stated Cape Girardeau was not ready for this type of theater. In other words, Cape is not sophisticated enough.

Union benefits

HERE'S A thought about labor unions. Years ago, without unions, workers were underpaid. Workers formed unions to talk to employers about wages and benefits. Without unions we would never have had better wages and benefits.

Lagging interest

I AM a member of the Science Olympiad team at Central High School. I'm concerned about one thing. When our teachers asked us to sign up to say that we were interested, many signed up, but only five people came. Luckily, we can still take some more members to state, but that will be in the hands of the students and their parents.

Time to raise taxes

IF PRESIDENT Bush proposes a raise in the threshold for the FICA tax, I'll get on board for Social Security reform.

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