Speak Out 2/25/05

Personal worth

A FARMER could eat without the factory worker, but the factory worker would not eat without the farmer. We need each other, but never place your own value so high that you can be toppled from your perch.

Looking for answers

I HAVE read your stories on autism. All of these characteristics describe my 9-year-old son. Numerous times I feel so frustrated and don't know what to do with him. It is hard taking care of an autistic child. I can't find the right answer to the questions I have.

Spend on academics

RATHER THAN spend $2.5 million on an entryway, most universities would use the money to endow a chair that would enhance academic programs for the benefit of students. Of course, Southeast Missouri State University is not most universities.

Academic focus

DESPITE GRADUATING with honors from Southeast Missouri State University, my child was unable to pass a certification exam in the field in which he received his degree. Rather than spending money on monuments, perhaps SEMO should focus more on academics.

Vouchers stop waste

WE NEED a school voucher system in Cape Girardeau. That would force the school board and administration to address the problems in the school district or face losing about half the students to other schools. The public needs to demand change. It is your tax money being wasted.

More SEMO parking

IS THERE no limit to what Southeast Missouri State University will demand the taxpayers in this town pay for? First it was the River Campus, now they want us to pay for widening Broadway, making an elaborate entrance at Broadway and Henderson and a parking lot for Houck Stadium. I would much rather they used my tax money for parking lots and garages for their students and get them off our city streets and out of Capaha Park. It is a shame students are allowed to use our crowded streets for their parking lots.

Bad examples

FROM A female perspective, divorced mothers also need to take a long, hard look at their actions and examples they are setting for their children. Many mothers are guilty of manipulating behaviors, being underemployed and inappropriately spending child support. Just because you are a mother doesn't automatically make you the better parent.

Boys in control

I AM tired of hearing people lecture boys to keep their zippers up. We live in a new age where girls need to be taught to keep their skirts down. I am an abstinent single male who is constantly being propositioned by women everywhere I go. Times have changed, and I think boys have a little more self-control than girls these days.

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Critical of results

YES, WE should learn from history. History taught us that the government was alerted about an impending attack on Pearl Harbor before it happened. If the government had taken the alert seriously, many lives could have been saved. It seems the same thing happened with 9-11. People who are bashing the president are not supporting terrorists. We are simply unhappy with the way he is doing his job.

Driving rules

CAPE GIRARDEAU has different driving rules: 1. Yellow lights mean go faster. 2. Red lights mean one more car can go. 3. For every 5 mph above 30, add another car to rule No. 2. 4. If you go too soon on a green light, you'll be hit by the vehicle following rule No. 2. 5. The wiggly stick on the left of the steering wheel is cosmetic and only makes the lights blink. Down and up apparently have no relationship to left or right, especially if you happen to change lanes. 6. The left lane is the lawbreaker lane, so either do so or move to the right. Drive safely. The life you save may be mine.

Delayed by funeral

IT IS a sad state of affairs when our government grants right of way to funeral processions. I've seen these processions travel on Kingshighway toward Jackson. They use the left lane and travel 35 mph. Now the living have to wait for the dead. I think you should be able to pass in the right lane. The whole world should not stop just because someone died. Death is part of living. Don't delay the rest of us.

Welfare abuse

I'VE WORKED in social services for 20 years. There is hardly any welfare left. There's a five-year cap, and all long-term users are off welfare. The grants are tiny, and it would be very difficult to cheat. The truth is that there are a lot of desperately poor people, and there will be lots more. If you want to point your finger at people who waste tax dollars, look at corporate welfare giveaways and defense contractors. Talk about out of touch with reality.

Hand over licenses

UNFORTUNATELY, DOCTORS have been put in a situation where if they don't run all kinds of test on you to get a proper diagnosis or they happen to give you a misdiagnosis, some lawyers are more than happy to sue for big bucks. Good doctors have to suffer because of the bad. There are many doctors who should

Setting an example

NOT ALL of us teach our children to live on welfare. I receive less than $100 in food stamps, which helps buy hamburger, chicken and pork steaks for the month. My children don't know I get food stamps or help from HUD. They know I can't afford to buy them name-brand clothes, and I can't give them money every time they ask for it. They know I'm getting no help from their father. They know I work 40 hours a week plus overtime. They know I try my best to make sure they have what they need. They are on Medicaid. I take them to the doctor or emergency room only when they absolutely need it and when over-the-counter medicines won't work. I wasn't so lucky as many of you. My children know from my example you have to work to get what you need. Those who work or are disabled are the ones who deserve the help when they have hard times.

Listen to voters

IF I lived in wasteful Cape Girardeau, there's no way I would vote yes for a Total Transportation Fund increase after reading the story in the paper. The United Way is one of several organizations, along with thousands of people, who agree that we need a citywide bus system. Listen to the voters' needs on all the issues, and maybe then things will get done right.

It's my money

ON SOCIAL Security: It's my money. Why would anyone want to pay into an account that will produce only around $1,100 a month at retirement when, for the same amount of investment, that could be doubled or even tripled and the balance left to my heirs rather than being wasted by the government?

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