Speak Out 3/1/09

Residents on boards

LEAVE it to Mayor Jay Knudtson to support letting non-Cape Girardeau citizens serve on citizen advisory boards. Councilman John Voss has it right. There is no reason why specialists can't be brought in to present, speak, even sit on boards with no voting power. But ultimately the citizen advisory boards should be made up of residents of Cape Girardeau.

Republican response

GOV. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana sounded foolish as he tried to talk about the faults of the stimulus package. The Republicans are going to have to do better than that. Everyone in America knows who helped put us in this mess. President Obama didn't mince any words as he lay the blame at their feet. He reminds them daily that this mess was waiting for him as he moved into the oval office. In his speech to Congress he told America that the costs of the Iraq War were real and needed to be a part of the budget and not put into a separate wrapper. The Republicans have a long way to go in convincing the American public that they have better plans for our future.

Fiscal responsibility

FOR 12 years until the 2006 election, the GOP controlled Congress. Last December the GOP called Nancy Pelosi an obstructionist because she wanted to review President Bush's bailout plan before voting on it. The GOP pushed and called the Democrats names. The Democrats caved, and the banks and Wall Street laughed, partied and danced on the taxpayer's nickel. Are the Republicans in any position to lecture President Obama on fiscal responsibility? They all should all be ashamed to show their faces in public.

Decision makers

WHEN we say the government is going to pay for something, it means taxpayers have made a collective decision via our democratically elected representatives and senators that we want tax money to be spent on something. We are the government. It's a basic principle of our Constitution, and is called popular sovereignty.

Human rights

AT a time when China owns much of our national debt, conservatives are trying to get the Obama administration to adopt a Carteresque emphasis on human rights and read the riot act to China and others. Through no fault of the president, we have been maneuvered into a situation whereby our foreign policy must be rational, reasonable and realistic. An exclusive, high-minded emphasis on human rights at the expense of our own economic and financial best interests could spell no less than a U.S. collapse.

Trusting Obama

MICHAEL Jensen suggested the appointment of a trust czar because he thinks the American people have lost trust in all of their institutions. After eight years of George Bush, this is understandable. However, I must implore Jensen to cheer up. It is now more than apparent that we will be led out of the wilderness of mistrust and that we can, without equivocation, trust President Obama.

Blizzard memories

I enjoyed reading the online stories about the blizzard of 1979. Don't forget the Southeast Missouri State University students stranded in Houck Field House. They were there for a dance marathon. When they went in early Saturday morning, it was springlike, and many wore shorts. They were stranded there a few days. SEMO was closed for three days. Many St. Louis students trying to come back to Cape Girardeau on Sunday were stranded on the interstate. Oh, such memories.

Blue-collar jobs

THE new "change you can believe in" administration is seeking our input on how to promote and protect a strong middle class. You can submit your comments about protecting America's blue-collar jobs from illegal immigrants to www.whitehouse.gov/strongmiddleclass.

Playing in the street

I am shocked that anyone would say there is any type of street that is "conducive" to children playing in it. I live on a cul-de-sac where children play in the middle of the road. Nobody should be speeding on any street, but having to go 5 mph and wait for children to move out of the way is abhorrent.