OpinionMarch 22, 2007
Speak Out 3/22/07
Jail shopping; The real Hillary; Scott County tax; On the dole; Bush loyalists; Selective information; Water magnet; It's no hotel; Other patrols; Teaching spelling; Previous dodgers; Steady partisanship; Walking in street; Investigate this mess; Showcase road; Politicized justice
Jail shopping
THE CAPE Girardeau County Jail supplies toilet paper, soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush. Prisoners are allowed someone to bring three pair of white socks, three pair of white underwear and a Bible. Prisoners can purchase items from the jail store. The only item that was not inflated was the price of a postage stamp.
The real Hillary
I SEE where U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, speaking of her work with the Human Rights Commission (a major gay-rights group) to defeat a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, commented, "This is exactly the kind of partnership we will have when I am president." Clinton also received a standing ovation when she addressed the HRC. You may want Clinton to be president because she is a Democrat, or you'd vote for her just because she is a woman. Before it comes to that, perhaps you should read all you can about her, how she treats people she feels are beneath her (such as her Secret Service people), what some of her oft-used off-color words are and where she stands on gay issues and see what sort of person she really is.
Scott County tax
REGARDING THE proposed extension of the Scott County sales tax: Voters are being misled. Not only is there not an expiration on the tax, but county officials have no plan for what they are going to do with the money. The money was supposed to be used to build and finish the new jail. There is no plan that I have seen to finish the jail. The only plan is that Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger wants his archive center.
On the dole
TELLING US that tax dollars should have been used to establish a business in the new federal courthouse makes it apparent that the biggest users of the dole are not the poor but aspiring businessmen and consumers of corporate welfare.
Bush loyalists
I CANNOT believe somebody would say that it is unpatriotic to criticize the president on his Iraq war policy. I am a member of the armed forces and have been to Iraq three times. It is healthy for this country to debate issues like this. Criticism is healthy. I don't agree with the war, but I have spent my time fighting for it. Comments like that make me feel like there are people who don't support the troops. I knew there were still a couple of quiet supporters of the president. I didn't realize there were still Bush loyalists.
Selective information
PRESIDENT KEN Dobbins' plan to finance Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus is failing? It reminds me of another president who used selective information to push through a bad idea while our leaders and media quietly rolled over.
Water magnet
WE NEED a lake. A lake would create opportunities. It would draw retirees to the Cape Girardeau area, provide for more water recreation and more job opportunities and eliminate the need to drive over an hour to the closest big lake. Let's rally for a lake.
It's no hotel
PLEASE ACCEPT my apology for city or county jails' not being the Hilton. How dare we taxpayers not afford lawbreakers everything they want? After all, we do live in America, the land of free giveaways, right?
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Other patrols
YES, DANIEL Ayers patrolled the elementary school in the morning, but so did the other officers at Chaffee. Why are they not recognized for doing their job?
Teaching spelling
THE BEST way to teach spelling, according to an overwhelming number of studies, is to teach it at the elementary level and reinforce it at the junior and senior high. Students should be taught the basic rules that apply to tens of thousands of words.
Previous dodgers
FOR THOSE who keep thinking reinstating the draft would cause the children of politicians, the wealthy and the powerful to have to serve in the military: Remember all the people who managed to avoid the draft in the past, among them former president Bill Clinton.
Steady partisanship
A MOVEMENT aimed at promoting the political center rather than the left or right is a great idea. Most Americans are politically centrist. Unfortunately, most Americans cannot bring themselves to vote outside party lines. The support and money for political campaigns comes mainly from these parties. If we used our brains we would all vote for the middle, but it will not happen. Therefore, we will always have partisanship in our government, which does little good for the people as a whole.
Walking in street
THOSE WHO want to know why homes on William Street aren't selling should look not only at the traffic, but also at the people strolling up and down it. I don't know how many times I have seen fights break out and police stopped at homes on that road. At least once a week we almost hit someone jaywalking across William Street without looking for oncoming traffic. Last week a man was walking down the middle of the road instead of using the sidewalk, causing cars to veer to avoid hitting him. When people along William Street learn to act civilized is when the homes will sell.
Investigate this mess
THERE'S EVIDENTLY so much funny business going on with children going to public schools outside their districts, it needs to be investigated. I think Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (a strong advocate of school choice) should use his influence to get a special state prosecutor to look into this mess.
Showcase road
GOOD START on Broadway. Now the city needs to finish what it has started. Put the utilities underground. Put in paved-stone sidewalks, antique street lights and landscaping. Broadway is the showcase road to downtown.
Politicized justice
SINCE 2001, 37 Republican officeholders across the nation have been investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. The number of Democrats investigated is 262. Don't tell me that the Justice Department isn't politicized.
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