OpinionMarch 26, 2007
Speak Out 3/26/07
The other movie; Tuition increases; Interstate driving; Be vigilant; Leopold's magnet; Community based; Real facts; Nitzschke's job; Over a cliff; No faith in voters; Warming findings; Firing attorneys; Illegal dumping; Questionable contact; Lake takes homes; Change in strategy; Smooth road; Practical stuff; Won't solve anything; Rivers for families; No more parking; Great school; Lying to Congress; Damaged businesses; Political power; Need sidewalks
The other movie
SINCE THE local Climate Protection Initiative will be airing Al Gore's controversial propaganda film, "An Inconvenient Truth," maybe it would also air "The Great Global Warming Swindle" when it becomes available.
Tuition increases
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI State University has been raising tuition every year or two since 1986 when it was $125 for a whole semester. To blame the River Campus for the next in a long list of increases is ridiculous. It's another excuse from the regents for what they want to do anyway.
Interstate driving
AFTER RECENTLY moving to this area from the East Coast, I realize truckers are the worst drivers in the world. I lived eight miles from where I worked. It would take 45 minutes to an hour to get to work in rush-hour traffic on the interstate. I-55 here is a breeze. The only problem I see every day is truckers do not pay attention to cars merging from the on-ramp. They will move to the left lane at the last second. I don't know how many times I've seen them almost run people off the road for their not paying attention. Where are the state troopers? Do they patrol the interstate at all? In the 10 months I've been here, I've seen them three times.
Be vigilant
SCOTT CITY'S crime rate seems to have risen since last summer. There are a bunch of hoodlums with nothing better to do than breaking into vehicles and homes. We all need to protect our property by locking things up, having more lighting around the area and keeping an eye to see if we see something out of the ordinary. Watch out for each other. Let's catch these losers.
Leopold's magnet
IF LEOPOLD wasn't such a great school district and if the district wasn't so small, it probably wouldn't have a problem with people trying to get in who do not live in the district. None of the children who play sports is a recent transfer. They have all been going there since kindergarten or at least grade school. Most of the students are encouraged to play sports by their parents because they know that those who are actively involved in school activities are less likely to get into trouble with illegal activities.
Community based
I THINK it is great that the top school in Southeast Missouri is in our very own Leopold School District. However, the Leopold model only exists in small pockets around the region. This community-based approach to education nearly never happens anymore, not since President Jimmy Carter removed local control and transferred all power to the federal government. In 1979, Congress helped fulfill Carter's promise to the National Education Association by voting for a U.S. Department of Education. Applaud Leopold for standing on its own for what is right: a solid education for all their children.
Real facts
AFTER THE library shows Al Gore's fictional movie, maybe it can show a film with the real facts about global warming.
Nitzschke's job
SOME PEOPLE want to know about Southeast Missouri State University chancellor/president emeritus Dale Nitzschke. His salary has been cut to about $57,000 so that president Ken Dobbins can do half of Nitzschke's job. How can Dobbins be a full-time president and a half-time lobbyist? Does that mean Nitzschke wasn't doing that much to begin with? How much time did he spend in Washington? Is he accountable to anyone? How much money has he brought to Southeast compared to how much money he has been paid? How long will he keep that job?
Over a cliff
TO THE callers still in denial about the seriousness of global warming, I can only say that if you are inclined to ignore the warnings of most reputable researchers in the world and blindly follow Rush Limbaugh and David Limbaugh over a cliff, have a nice trip. These are the same great thinkers who predicted cheering crowds when we invaded Iraq and a short war followed by a budding democracy.
No faith in voters
BY CONSIDERING a proposal that would make it more difficult to amend the Missouri Constitution, legislators are making public the fact that they have no faith in the wisdom of the voters.
Warming findings
AFTER MUCH research, not only have scientists not found any evidence supporting this fictional global-warming theory, they have found much evidence disproving the human effect on the earth's temperature. Why is this information not spread through the media?
Firing attorneys
THE TROUBLE with distortions is they escape across the planet before they can be corrected. Gary Rust wants you to believe, consistent with the Republican spin of the last two years, that Republican corruption is matched by Democratic malfeasance. It's a genuine sign of desperation that the only defense he can mount to these U.S. attorney firing accusations is to claim Bill Clinton did it too. Displaying his usual lack of intellectual honesty, Rust fails to note that whenever a new federal administration comes into office, U.S. attorneys across the nation resign. It is custom that incoming presidents accept those resignations they wish to accept and replace those they wish to replace. President Bush did this when he assumed office in 2001. What is so different now is the clearly political midterm firing of highly competent attorneys across the nation. And now Bush wants to cover it up by preventing White House aides testifying under oath. The only way we'll find out what is happening is to have them testify under oath, since it has become clear to us all that lying is the basic mode of operation at this White House.
Illegal dumping
SCOTT COUNTY would not have a problem with illegal dumping if it would make it more cost-effective to throw the trash away in the proper place. Scott City charges $10 per item or box that is to be thrown away. I bet the city would save money and manpower if it allowed bulk trash to be thrown away for free. City residents only have two times a year they can throw things away for free. In between those dates they have to choose whether to pay or dump illegally. I bet nine time out of 10 times they choose illegal dumping.
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Questionable contact
I KNOW of two adult mothers who were calling and e-mailing 16-year-old boys using vulgar language and inviting them to their homes. After reporting this to the police, the mothers of the boys were told by the prosecuting attorney's office that this was against the law only if the boys were 15 years old. They were told it was against the law when they are 16 years old only if they had physical contact. The police told these mothers they were lucky the boys were 16 or they would be arresting them. The police also made comments to the boys insinuating they should be flattered.
Lake takes homes
I WONDER if the person in favor of a lake is willing to give up his home for a lake? Many times when people want a lake put in people have to give up their home for a few people's enjoyment. My brother and many of his neighbors almost lost their homes because of a lake. I thank the Lord they didn't. Some of those homes were newly constructed or under 20 years old. If you and your neighbors are willing to give up your homes for a lake, then I'm all for it.
Change in strategy
OVER THE last six years, the Republican strategy was to protect the homeland through aggressive defense, provide tax cuts to stimulate the economy and act like the superpower that we are. The first five months of the Democrats' reign of power has centered on retreating from Iraq, increasing the welfare rolls, nonbinding resolutions and tucking our tail between our legs as an apology for being the strongest country in the world.
Smooth road
I WANT to tell all the workers who have worked on Broadway that they have all done one heck of a job. That is one of the smoothest roads I have driven on in Cape Girardeau County in a while. Keep it up.
Practical stuff
AS A responsible taxpaying citizen, I will be none too happy to see paved-stone sidewalks, antique street lights and landscaping along Broadway. Cape Girardeau needs serious street and drainage upgrades before frivolous accessories.
Won't solve anything
THE DRAFT won't solve a thing. During World War II there was a draft. All the poor kids went, and the rich men's sons didn't have to go.
Rivers for families
I'M GLAD our leaders finally decided to do something about the drunks on Jacks Fork and Current rivers. Over the past six to eight years, adults have cursed in front of women and children, littered the rivers with glass bottles and slowly destroyed some of our greatest resources. Anyone can still get on the river and drink beer, but now law enforcement officials can crack down on the hard-core drunks who wreak havoc on those of us who want to take our families on the rivers.
No more parking
WHY WOULD the Cape County Transit Authority take up all the parking spaces at Broadway Plaza? My doctor has had an office in that building many years, but it is getting hard to find a place to park. I am elderly and can't walk far. Since the transit authority moved in, it is difficult for me to get to his office.
Great school
I WOULD just like to tell the Leopold School District to keep its chin up. If I lived near that school district, I would want my children to attend that school also. Hang in there. You have a great school.
Lying to Congress
REGARDING THE Bush administration's firing of the U.S. attorneys: The problem is not that they were fired. If they had just said "We are firing them," there would be no wrongdoing. But they said that they were being let go because of because of job-performance issues. Later information has proven that the firings were politically motivated. That was lying to Congress, and it is against the law.
Damaged businesses
POOR PLANNING of the Broadway widening has permanently damaged businesses in the area. The city should have only allowed a partial blockage of the streets, not a complete shutdown of the neighborhood.
Political power
THE EARTH is warming. Solar activity causes heating and cooling followed by corresponding rising and falling rates of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This has happened for thousands of years. Please don't give in to the global-warming shakedown. Supporters of that theory want money and the political power it brings. The poor polar bears often used to promote their cause have survived all the warming cycles of the past, and they'll survive this one. Make decisions based on reason. not emotion. Also, our children have plenty of real problems to worry about. Please assure them that people have nothing to do with whether it's warm or not.
Need sidewalks
AS I'M driving north on Main Street this beautiful afternoon, I come across mothers with their babies in strollers walking in the street because there are no sidewalks. Then Main Street turns into Country Club Drive, and the street further narrows and still no sidewalks. We can put new sidewalks in areas where there is no housing, but we can't take care of areas where young families live with small children to take a walk? Where's the city council?
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