SPEAK OUT

Unsuccessful transplant

JACKSONIAN JAMES Hochberger wrote a letter to the editor stating he was a "transplant from up North" and that all of our carping and complaining was "amusing" to him. This seems to be a very inappropriate reaction to our problems Sadly, not all transplants are successful.

Not in my Bible

SEEMS A reader has found something in the Bible about drinking and driving and referenced that to the Bush girls and how they have brought shame of impeachable proportion to the White House. First, I've been asking around, and nobody else has found passages of that ilk. Second, they are teen-agers, and it's not a hanging offense. Third, what do their actions have to do with the father?

Poor reflection

I BELIEVE children are a reflection of their parents. Jenna and Barb Bush make a prime example. As I recall, people unfairly judged Bill Clinton by his family (Roger and others). And infidelity, while not the greatest thing in the world, is not illegal and was no one's business in the first place.

Different tactics

YES, BOB Holden made comments about energy costs rising last summer. He was not blaming anyone. He was stating that Bill Clinton tried to alleviate some of that 350 percent, whereas George Bush is now helping promote it.

Gritting his teeth

SEN. JOHN McCain said on TV that he has a "very cordial" relationship with President Bush. When he said that, it looked to me like he broke at least three teeth while gritting them.

Not just coincidence

WELL, WELL, well. It would appear that gas prices are going down. Another excuse for Democrats to complain about President Bush is blown out of the water. Now here is something for the Bush bashers to think about. When Jimmy Carter (a Democrat) was in office, gas prices went up. When Ronald Reagan (a Republican) came into office, gas prices went down. While the first President Bush (a Republican) was in office, gas prices stayed down. Along came Bill Clinton (a Democrat), and gas prices went through the roof. Now we have another Republican president in office, and gas prices are going back down. Does anybody else see a trend here? When we have a Democratic president, we pay more for gas. When we have a Republican president, we pay less for gas. Coincidence? I don't think so.

TM cornerstone

APPARENTLY, LEARNING transcendental meditation reduces stress and recidivism among prisoners. U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond has nominated for a federal judgeship one who is a practitioner of TM. The technique, founded by 1960s guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and popularized by the Beatles, may become the cornerstone of President Bush's faith-based education program, perhaps to the chagrin of conservative columnist David Limbaugh.

Just like the midway

NOW I know why it makes me feel like I've recaptured my lost youth. All of the twisting and turning of the steering wheel I must do when maneuvering the roundabout reminds me of those scintillating late-summer days spent at the SEMO District Fair driving the dodge 'em cars.

Take the advice

THE PRESIDENT might be able to eliminate his daughters' high visibility drinking binges if he took ordinarily conservative columnist Kathleen Parker's advice and hurriedly got the 50 states to lower the drinking age.

Setting bad example

A MESSAGE for all you drivers on Mount Auburn. You're driving 55 mph in a 35-mph zone. You're setting a bad example for my 16-year-old son. He wants to go 55 in a 35-mph zone all the time now. I wish the police would go out there and catch him and slow him down. He needs to go 35 like the speed limit sign says.

WITH ALMOST self-effacing modesty, David Limbaugh recently wrote that he could not possibly convince us of the absolute truths to which he is apparently privy in just one column. No, but I'll bet he could do it in two.

A waste of fuel

APPARENTLY THE city council did not take into account the energy crisis that is upon us. With the increase in fuel prices, I would have thought the council would want to help us save money. Instead, it is helping us spend it. By adding more four-way stops, more fuel will be consumed. It takes more fuel to start a car from a dead stop than it does to just slow down and navigate through a roundabout.

Tasteless target

ON THE cartoon that you ran on handicapped people: Way to go. This is what we need to teach our children. Next we can teach them to make fun of mentally ill people. You should be ashamed.

Use those computers

WHEN WILL we get the political appointees and back-scratchers out of state government, such as the license bureau? A privately owned bid system would have less red-tape screwups and more economy. And it would have some common sense too. The current system requires tax receipts, proof of inspection, proof of insurance, speedometer readings, titles, pink slips and standing in line for an hour like a duck. I thought this was the computer age. We need the state out of the licensing business.

From officer's wife

AS THE wife of a Cape Girardeau police officer, I'd like to ask the farmer's wife how many times her husband has had a gun pointed at him while driving his tractor? How many times has he walked out to his field only to encounter a mob of angry, drunk people ready to fight him at any moment? And how many times has her husband picked up a small, helpless child to take him away from abusive parents? I agree that we all choose our own profession, but it takes a special person to be a police officer. While the farmer's wife is at home tonight with her husband, my husband is out serving and protecting the community.