Speak Out 2/25/06

Big school, big money

I AM tired of hearing people talk about Mizzou only as a school that takes from the state. These complainers always forget about the 30,000-plus tuition -paying students there. When you have that many more students than Southeast Missouri State University, you deserve to get more money from the state. If you are tired of seeing SEMO left behind, dig into the pockets of your own alumni.

Reality check

IT IS great that our schools receive a lot of state and federal grant money. When do we start looking at school data to see if the programs are beneficial to student achievement?

Where's the compassion?

IT'S INTERESTING how many people post comments in Speak Out expressing their outrage over America's supposedly declining morality. Then there are the comments about how fat people and homeless people are lazy and mustn't be coddled. I thought Christians had compassion. It seems I'm wrong.

It doesn't matter

THE GOVERNMENT should let kids drop out of school if they want to. I dropped out and have been working all these years. Now I'm supporting two children with high school diplomas. In some cases, it doesn't matter how much education you have.

Thanks, MoDOT

I WANT to thank all the men and women of the Missouri Department of Transportation for doing a great job with snow removal and salting over the weekend. I just want to thank MoDOT workers for all the hard work they do to keep our roads clear and safe during bad weather.

Take home the terrier

IN REGARD to the two dogs in the Westminster Kennel Club show, I would take home the bull terrier. I happen to know the disposition of the Welsh corgi.

Dead or alive

THE LATEST tape of Osama bin Laden saying he will not be taken alive must mean we're getting close to finding him. It doesn't matter to me whether he's taken alive or dead. A good many people want to see him off the face of the earth. If the government doesn't take him alive, I don't think there will be any tears shed.

Adorable Grady

I'M A dog lover, but if I met Rufus on the street, I would run away. Grady looks like such an adorable dog.

Honoring presidents

I COULD not believe Southeast Missouri State University had class on Presidents Day but didn't have classes on Dr. Martin Luther King Day.

Most want to work

THE CALLER who said being poor is a choice reveals one truth: Ignorance is a choice. A small percentage of poor people are lazy or drug addicts who choose not to work, but a great number have suffered injury or become disabled. Many more are denied jobs with higher pay due to prejudices against race and appearance. Facts continue to support the disparity between the income of men and women performing the same jobs. Sending our jobs overseas hasn't helped either.

Step up to the plate

Our university is as deserving of the state's resources as the other universities in our state. Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents members and administrators acted prudently and have no reason to apologize. State Sen. Jason Crowell and House Speaker Rod Jetton should step up to the plate and support this important project and leave their saber rattling and contentiousness behind.

Keeping informed

THANKS, SOUTHEAST Missourian and Matt Sanders, for keeping the people of Chaffee informed about the theft case. Without you, we would know absolutely nothing. I hope the good old boy network won't be able to sweep this under the rug.