Speak Out 3/19/09

Driving and talking

IN response to the blog "Have you had problems with cell phones on the road?": Make all the laws you want. If they are not vigorously enforced, they are a waste of time. The military calls it "technical saturation," or trying to accomplish too many tasks at the same time. Few people can safely use a cell phone and drive. I'm appalled to see drivers reading paperback books early in the dark morning with their interior light on. Insane.

Cell phone laws

IN response to the editorial "Do we need laws to replace common sense?": Sadly, we do need this. People babbling on cell phones and driving in the passing lane 10 mph under the speed limit are bad enough. Looking at their phones to text would be even worse. And I regularly see women going 60 mph in bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic doing their makeup.

Monopoly money

THINGS are going to become 10 times worse than the Great Depression. China and Islamist countries are talking about putting their currency on the gold standard while we have Monopoly money. Do the research.

Throwing a fit

TO the mother who can't control her child in a store: It may be time to leave the child with a baby sitter or a relative. It isn't everyone else's responsibility to smile at you if your child is having a fit. It is rude of you to think other people want to hear your child have a fit when they are enjoying shopping. I have four children. If my child acts like that I choose to leave because I am embarrassed that my child is acting like a brat.

Appealing to the base

SOUTH Carolina has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation. The governor of the state, Mark Sanford, wants to refuse federal stimulus money designed to put people back to work as a matter of principle. The principle is that this ideologue wants to be president by appealing to the economic ignoramuses who constitute much of the base of the rapidly disappearing Republican Party.

Good guesses

SOME of the views of economists on the effect of government spending on the recession seem to be contradictory, but let's give them a break. As Will Rogers once observed, their guesses are as good as anybody's.

Gigantic banks

TAXPAYERS are now major stakeholders in banks like Citigroup and Bank of America. And guess what they're using some of the stimulus money for? They're using it to lobby Congress. This is unconscionable, unethical and, I hope, illegal. Our country took a wrong turn when we allowed for the creation of these gigantic banking concerns and gave them the power to do things other than the traditional banking business.

Cigarette taxes

I cannot believe the the price of cigarettes has doubled. When the states received the money from the tobacco lawsuits, they never used it for what it was intended. They put it into general revenue. Cigarettes aren't the only health problem we have. I guess we will have to go back to smoking grapevines.

Great museum

I had the pleasure of visiting the City Museum in St. Louis for the first time this weekend. I don't know how I never heard of this place until recently. It's an amazing place and fun for people of all ages. Children love it. Take your children, and wear tennis shoes.

Retirement gloom

TO all those people who think the Dow is moving back up: It will soon do a major drop all the way down to zero. Save what you can and save as much money you can buy selling your stocks and buying gold and silver. Do not give into the illusion that you will someday retire. Retirement is now a thing of the past. Welcome to the days of the worst-case scenario.

Realistic criteria

I feel sorry for some syndicated columnists like Jonah Goldberg. The appearance of Goldberg's most recent grim tirade accused the president of fear-mongering on the economy the day after the president began to express a more rosy scenario about our economic future. He's always said that we will get through this. It's comforting to know that we finally have a president whose ongoing assessments are based on realistic criteria rather than ideological considerations, unlike Goldberg.

Green asphalt

HAS Cape Girardeau ever thought about using recycled-tire asphalt rather than traditional methods? All one needs to appreciate the alternative is to drive around in Cape Girardeau. Many of the roads, including the main roads, are in dire disrepair. Using recycled-tire asphalt has proved to be a green alternative while yielding a much longer life span.