Speak Out 3/23/10

Wider trails

WHILE visiting elsewhere we decided to do some walking in the city park. The trail was wide enough to have a dividing line so walkers were to the right and bikers and skaters were to the left. It was great not to have wheelers speeding up on our backs. Let's improve our walking and riding trails.

Excluding the GOP

I live in Illinois and have been following Chicago politics for most of my life. President Obama and his henchman, Rahm Emmanuel, have had plenty of practice and definitely know how to play the game on a national level. I realize, as do most Americans, that health care needs an overhaul. However, to exclude all Republicans from the health care change process is wrong. They were elected and deserve to voice their opinions. Not all voters are Democrats. Is this the America that I have been proud to call the greatest country in the world? Where has integrity gone? What happened to transparency in government?

Casino caution

THE casino issue has again surfaced and with it a lot of misinformation. The first is that it will bring in visitors. From where? There are casinos to the north, south and east. The only location left is to the west, and the population draw from there is limited. The second is that it will help local businesses. Every dollar lost at a casino is one less dollar that will be spent at a local business.

Great season

REALLY, Southeast Missourian? You can't be happy that the Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs got second at state? No, the main article has to say "Notre Dame didn't have enough to overcome." Hello. They had enough to have a great season and get to the final four. Why can't we be happy they did such an excellent job and came in second? Why do we have to slam them by saying "they didn't have enough?"

Bribed votes

IF one congressman is paid off for his vote for health care with a judgeship for his brother and other congressmen are paid off for his vote for health care with more water for farmers in California, that is called bribery. Bribery is illegal in the United States and should be treated as such. They should be prosecuted. We should not allow people to be bribed for their votes in Congress.

Covering abortion

WOULD someone who has read up on the health care plan tell me whether abortion is going to be covered if you're low-income and your premiums are subsidized by the government? I am not for that. Abortion is only allowable in rape or incest cases, in my opinion.

Casino opportunity

REGARDING the casino debate: Cape Girardeau needs more jobs and wants to revitalize downtown. This is our opportunity. So why argue about it?

Honoring seniors

JACKSON High School put on a senior appreciation dinner, and I want to thank the staff, teachers, students and cooks who were involved. It was a wonderful dinner and a fun time. The choir ensemble sang, and that was good. It's a nice thing that Jackson High School does for senior citizens.

Hope and change

EVERY person who voted for President Obama should be hanging his head in shame. Hope and change? The only hope we have is that we can change things in the next election. He doesn't reach across the aisle as he said he would. He ignored the unemployed while tilting at his personal windmill of universal health care. He has forgotten the American people.

Uniting Democrats

THE election of Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts may have had an unintended consequence. Instead of killing health care reform, it seems to have motivated the Democrats and have brought enough of them together to get the bill through by majority vote.

Earmarks and debt

I read where U.S. Sen Kit Bond got a $1.6 million earmark so Cape Girardeau could build a bridge on the walking trail by the river. This is the kind of federal spending that we have had for years across the country and that has the U.S. $12 trillion in debt. In the budget that President Obama just proposed, at least one-third is unfunded, meaning the federal government will have to borrow it. I realize that these earmarks are only a small part of the budget, but the borrowing-and-spending mentality is wrong. If Cape Girardeau wants a bridge on the trail, we should pay for it ourselves. Please, Senator Bond, don't bring any more earmarks to Missouri if they add one cent to the federal debt.