Speak Out 3/4/09

Double blow

THE conservative movement recently suffered a double-whammy body blow with the death of Paul Harvey and the retirement of the Rev. James Dobson. Can it recover? No.

School days

AS I am a mother of a houseful of school-age rugrats, you're nuts if you think I'm for a four-day school week.

Quantum leap

DAVID Limbaugh has always been careful not to advocate law-breaking or write that legally passed laws were illegal. Limbaugh has turned to characterizing legally passed income taxes on the rich as stealing. This is a quantum leap into the patently false and puts him no longer on the responsible right, but the extreme fringe right of the Republican Party.

Hidden taxes

IT is interesting that President Obama says there will be no new taxes for anyone who makes less than $250,000 a year. The new taxes he has proposed in his budget on oil, gas and electricity will be added to every average Joe who uses such products. Not only directly but indirectly the cost is going to be passed on to every consumer. It will be reflected in the cost of everything we buy. It has been said that this new tax will be between 5 and 10 percent at source. If the cost goes up, the markup on those products will go up just to maintain the profit margins. An increase at cost of 10 percent at the manufactured level by the time it reaches the retail level is around 18 percent. The $500 payroll tax reduction will not be near the cost of the new tax for the average family of four. What's really sad, though, is it's really nothing more than a tax on the poor, and the president knows this.

Leading the GOP

WOW! Whether you agree with Rush Limbaugh's political views is irrelevant. I think all residents of the area served by the Southeast Missourian should rise in unanimity and express our pride in his accomplishment. No lesser light that White House chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel acknowledged the other day that the current leader of the Republican Party is none other than Cape Girardeau native Rush Limbaugh.

District facilities

I saw in the paper today that the Cape Girardeau School District is again seeking community comments concerning long-range facility needs. Unless the district student population is growing by hundreds of students, I see no need for new buildings. I also have heard from Central High School staff members that they want and need new classrooms. Our tax dollars are supporting that huge complex now. The high school's dropout rate is climbing, and it needs more space. If our district leaders did not plan accordingly for the student population that was projected, this is an indication that we taxpayers do not need to trust them. Even if a new building would not raise our taxes, it would keep the current tax rate going much longer that was originally anticipated. Money desperately needs to go to maintaining the buildings we have now. No one likes to pass a school building in our district and see chipped sidewalks and tattered American flags. Why do we need a committee for this? Don't we pay someone on the district level to identify needs and fix our buildings? I always think this is just the first step in justifying adding on unneeded classrooms and/or a sports stadium.

Work incentive

I think the story on the front page of Southeast Missourian was wonderful about the Civilian Conservation Corps programs. The young men who participated were real heroes to strive to be better and make a living. How in the world are you going to get the new generation of young people to work? If you can sleep until the afternoon and party all night with government support, who would want to work?

Placing blame

I'M calling in response to many comments blaming the Republican Party for all the problems. It was FDR and his New Deal that helped to extend the Great Depression. It was World War II that ended the Great Depression. We're still paying for the failed policies of Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society. President Clinton and President Carter did not help things either. Under Carter we had double-digit inflation. Before we blame the Republican Party for everything that's wrong in America, Democrats need to look in the mirror and realize that most of the problems have not come from the Republican Party but from the Democratic Party. Quit blaming Republicans for everything. The Democrats are having their time now, but it will not last long. This administration will not be able to get us out of this economic recession. The American people, through their own initiative and hard work, will eventually prevail and get us out of this economic slide we're in.

Afghan troops

PRESIDENT Obama's increased commitment of troops to Afghanistan does not mean Afghanistan will become President Obama's Vietnam. The key to winning in Afghanistan, as was belatedly recognized in Iraq, is to make a concerted effort to train the Afghan security forces to defend their own government.

Economics lessons

YOU want your children to learn how to handle money. You've decided that $10 a week allowance is acceptable and affordable. In return, they will have some chores. You then give each child $20 a week and explain the rules: They must pay $7 up front for rent plus $3 for utilities, leaving them with the $10 you'd decided upon. The rest of the allowance is theirs to spend or to save for something they really want. If they go broke before the end of the week, they might earn a little extra by taking on more chores. Someday, after years of these economic studies, they might grow up to be responsible, successful adults.

Expressing concern

REGARDING the story "Police seeking motive for shooting of AmerenUE linemen": My best friend who is the mother of one of the men in the cherry pickers lives in Spokane, Wash. We would all like to send our prayers to the families of the wounded men. God bless and be strong.

FairTax means jobs

THE Democrats in Congress, along with President Obama, are spending a ridiculous amount of money hoping to stimulate the economy. It won't work. What will work is the FairTax, which would create jobs, bring companies and investment back into the U.S. and stimulate the economy.

Theatrical notice

A theatrical production is so much more than the acting. Theatre is a collaborative art form composed of many different elements. It is disheartening to read a review that completely ignores the other elements that make up a production. What about the set, lighting, costumes and sound? Imagine a play that had none of these elements. The actors work hard and certainly deserve praise, but let us not forget the other people who work hard to create the world in which the characters live.

Changing the tune

SOME hard-nosed comments continue to claim that a person should lose his house if he, through no fault of his own, lost his job and can't make the mortgage payments. Those making such comments would, if engulfed in a similar situation, be the first to change their tune.

Campaign pledge

IT'S refreshing that people are acting surprised that President Obama is doing exactly what he said he would do if elected president. Many think politicians will say one thing and do another. But not President Obama. He promised massive and much-needed change in America, and that is what he is proposing. God bless him.