OpinionMay 30, 2001
SPEAK OUT
I'M UPSET with Sen. James Jeffords who switched parties. What good does it do to elect a senator if he is able to switch parties anytime he wants? I think a law needs to be made regarding this. SHOULD A politician be allowed to change parties during a term? My answer is no. They were elected to a party, so they should have to serve that party until their term is up...
Make it illegal
I'M UPSET with Sen. James Jeffords who switched parties. What good does it do to elect a senator if he is able to switch parties anytime he wants? I think a law needs to be made regarding this.
Stick with the party
SHOULD A politician be allowed to change parties during a term? My answer is no. They were elected to a party, so they should have to serve that party until their term is up.
Unreasonable fee
THIS IS in regard to the agency seeking a fee for child-support checks. We have no choice but to have our checks go through the agency if the parent falls behind on payments. The working people who are out there trying to support our children are going to be losing $15 a month so our state can have $558,000 a month.
Circle is too small
WHAT IS wrong with the roundabout is that it is too small a circle. The circle needs to be widened.
Boost to tourism
RENAMING CAPE Girardeau Dog Town, as a Speak Out caller suggested, didn't sit well with me at first, but the more I think about it, the more I support it. Dogs are in these days. Fancy and glitzy publications like Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and the now-defunct George magazine regularly grace their covers with dogs, dressed to the nines, in human clothing. Therefore, if we renamed Cape Dog Town, I think it would draw a lot of attention to our community, make us more acceptable to the eastern liberal establishment and lead to a tourist boom.
Mixed-up words
BOB MILLER: Taylor-made is the golf club. Tailor-made is the double play. Go, Meadow Heights!
Beach ball at graduation
I THINK it was a real shame the janitor wrenched the beach ball away from the Jackson graduates. The beach ball was doing no harm. When I graduated from Jackson in 1996 we had two beach balls that were tossed around. These students have worked very hard for 13 years to achieve what they have today. I think that they deserve to have a little fun now that their work is done.
Uninformed fringes
THERE ARE two reasons for all the uneducated misconceptions about the Confederate flag. One is hate groups like skinheads and white supremacists who know nothing about respect and honor. The other is hate groups led by people like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakahn who know nothing about respect and honor.
Directional issues
CONSIDER THIS: There is a definite upward slope on Mount Auburn Road at the Hopper Road intersection for northbound cars, enough that if northbound and southbound cars were waiting to make left turns at the same time, the northbound vehicle would have to wait until the southbound car turned onto eastbound Hopper because the southbound car blocks the view of the northbound car. An honestly designed traffic circle would be better, but that might be pushing it too much.
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Defective Democrats
I'M BEGINNING to deduce that to David Limbaugh the only principled Democrat would be an ex-Democrat who defected to the GOP.
Rites of passage
I TEND to support efforts to make graduation parties safer, crack down on disciplinary infractions in school and so on. But there's an element of this that disturbs me. For example, by adopting zero-tolerance policies for bullying and some other offenses by students we are, in some respects, attempting to deprive youth of the experiences necessary for maturing and growing up. Some adults have become such control freaks when it comes to their own and even other children, many young people may be missing out on some significant rites of passage, learning experiences and real-life lessons.
A socialist turn
WITH SPEAK Out callers and Southeast Missourian editorials endorsing national government energy plans, I'm beginning to think the Southeast Missourian has morphed into a publication of the Socialist Workers Party.
Kudos for criticism
HEIDI HALL'S justifiable criticism of the U.S. Postal Service for its often arrogant treatment of customers is worthy of countless kudos.
Who abandoned whom?
I TEND to agree with David Limbaugh that George Bush is a moderate and not an extremist conservative. However, he occasionally throws a bone to the hard right. Witness his selection of John Ashcroft for U.S. attorney general, efforts to derail the environmental movement, ongoing attempts to unify church and state and nominations for federal judgeships that make Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas seem liberal. Looked at in that context, James Jeffords' decision to defect from the Republican Party was probably most motivated by a belief on his part that the party of Lincoln has abandoned him.
It takes too long
CITY COUNCIL: Get rid of this monstrosity you call a four-way stop at Mount Auburn Road and Hopper Road. This is a joke. It takes me 30 minutes to get from one end of St. Louis to the other. It takes the same amount of time to get across Cape. There is something wrong with that picture. The reason is all these traffic-impeding stop signs and outdated timing on the stop lights. Here's another suggestion: Left-turn-yield lights would be much appreciated at all intersections. In the evening why don't we shut most of the lights down and let the intersections run similar to the one at I-55 and U.S. 61?
Wards in spotlight
HISTORY MAY be kind to Cape councilmen Richard Eggimann and Jay Purcell, at least in one sense. Their indignant posturing may well propel Cape Girardeans to abandon the divisive ward system of local government and return to at-large election of all council members. That would more likely ensure that members would act in the best interest of the entire community and make it much less likely that a distinguished and thoughtful mayor like Al Spradling would have Eggimann on, or rather in, his face.
Church in forefront
WHAT DO you mean by editorializing that the reality of American lifestyles has gained "even" the attention of the Roman Catholic Church? The Roman Catholic Church has been in the forefront of watching and addressing religious, moral and ethical quandaries and questions faced by people who populate all countries. Your use of the qualifying "even" implies that you evidently think the Roman Catholic Church is lax or among the last to recognize and act on these issues. In reality they are, along with other Christian denominations and major faiths, very abreast of what is happening and unhesitant to take a stand.
Can't get a break
EVERYTHING IS rising except my wages. I believe the minimum wage needs to be eliminated and replaced with a livable wage. Having a livable wage would ensure that a single working parent could adequately provide for his or her children. It will never happen because the Republicans do not want anyone but themselves to get a decent break. I was told getting a college degree would help, but it does not in this town.
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