Speak Out 2/7/13

Constitutional right

Guns don't kill people, people kill people. It is our constitutional right to own a gun. Everyone should vote no for gun control.

Ozone levels

It was somewhat disheartening, but not surprising, to read a story that the ozone levels are out of control in Southeast Missouri, and that the establishment is fighting hard to, in my view, keep the EPA pacified so we won't be sanctioned by the EPA while doing nothing to lessen the polluting ozone levels.

Assault weapons

I hope somehow sniper rifles and assault rifles get outlawed. A normal person doesn't need those. They should be for law-abiding persons only, like law enforcement or the FBI.

Ozone story

That article about ozone pollution in Southeast Missouri was insightful. The explanation given by area members of the establishment was spun to mean it's coming from outside the area, it's not our fault and there's nothing we can do about it. This from the very same people who no doubt have opposed any and all efforts at pollution control, deny global warming and favor the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Rivalry venue

Once again, I implore the respective school boards to act. It's been more than 10 years and yet I still cannot get over the fact that the decades long home and home rivalry between Cape Central and Notre Dame's high school basketball teams were ripped asunder, root and branch, for no rational reason, and transferred to the cavernous Show Me Center where the school spirit that once characterized the contests has been swallowed under the faint echoes of cheers desperately attempting to restore real spirit to the good sport intensity level of what was once a "must see" Cape Girardeau tradition.

State taxes

It's almost a crime against humanity that state pols of both parties in many states are jumping on the bandwagon of abolishing state income taxes and increasing state sales taxes, thus redistributing the wealth even more in an upward direction.

SS, assault rifles

I will take Obama's gun control directive serious when the Secret Service gives up their assault rifles used to protect him. We have the right to the same protection.

Dems' chance

There would have been a time when I would have laughed at the chance for the Democrats to retake Missouri's 8th Congressional District, now open because of the resignation of Jo Ann Emerson. But the more I think about it, the more I believe the Dems really have a shot.

Editorial cartoon

A recent editorial cartoon excoriating the president for government spending implicitly reveals a basic misunderstanding of economics and assumes that a rapid decline in government spending would benefit the U.S. economy. In reality it would, of course, precipitate a double-dip recession, something cynics say numerous Republicans actually desire.