Speak Out 3/2/12

Lexington Avenue

WITH the Big Bend Road completed, Lexington Avenue no longer has the crown for worst road in Cape Girardeau. I still think it reigns for the road with biggest bump, though.

Religion and politics

IT is dangerous and usually a mistake for politicians to talk about religion. Many of us have such strong beliefs about religion, and they are not always alike. So it is really a bad idea for politicians to talk about religion. But Rick Santorum has stepped into it. He has brought up the idea that there really and truly is a God and there really and truly is a devil and that they are fighting over the souls of Americans. So yes, Rick stepped into it, but he is telling us the truth.

Roadkill problem

AS I drive around Cape Girardeau I am seeing many dead squirrels, possums, various types of animals in the middle of the road and off to the side of the road. This town is full of people who either have bad hand-eye coordination, are bad drivers or are simply vicious. Then, to make things worse, whoever is supposed to be removing these poor dead animals in the city doesn't seem to be doing it, so the animals lie there two, three, four days, getting hit several times. It's depressing and unsanitary. Can we not do something about this? Quit worrying about the trash and all that stuff. Worry about the dead carcasses in the roadway.

Thanks to coaches

I could have chosen anyone in the area who is an assistant coach in a sport at the high school varsity level, but I finally settled on Seth McDowell. To me, Cape Central High School assistant basketball coach Seth McDowell serves as a symbol for all assistant coaches in all sports who, like McDowell, serve selflessly and unselfishly in helping young athletes reach their maximum potential. Of course, head coaches all deserve the acclaim and attention they receive, but I've often thought that assistant coaches labor in relative obscurity without getting the credit they deserve. So let this Speak Out comment serve as a shoutout not only to coach Seth McDowell but to all assistant coaches in all sports, without whom striving athletes would have a much lesser chance of achieving the absolute best that they can.

Gun registry

THE issue of gun registration was brought up in Speak Out. A comment stated that the policy would help, and that if one has nothing to hide, then one need not worry. Well, let's take a look at that. You buy a handgun, register the weapon with a firearms registry and think you're protected. On the surface it looks good, even sounds helpful. It makes you feel safe. The U.K., Canada and Australia believed that line of thought, too. The governments of those countries convinced the citizens that a gun registry would protect them. They would be safer by knowing who's armed and who's not. Then came another move: confiscation. That's right, the governments in the U.K., Canada and Australia used their gun registry lists to order owners to turn over their guns, and thus outlawed gun ownership. How do you like those apples? Pretty rotten, huh?

U.S. Postal Service

IN regard to the post office, it just needs to be privatized like UPS. It sure would do a better job.