Speak Out 4/11/07

Park rights

CAPAHA PARK is a public park. As long as no laws are being broken, there is not a whole lot anyone can do about the High Hill Hecklers. It is all too easy to forget our First Amendment rights of free speech and free assembly.

Sikeston voting

The fine people of Sikeston, Mo., have spoken. They have all the resources needed to take care of their city. Let the city police take care of their town. We don't need the expense of driving down there. Sikeston is telling the rest of us it really doesn't want to be a part of the county. Maybe next time there is a vote the people of the county will get out and vote.

No tax benefits

We passed the tax issue getting the police new cars and more money for salaries. I haven't seen any results in my neighborhood. We can't even put up Christmas lights anymore. Our cars, mail boxes and our yards get vandalized, and I still never see any cops patrolling the neighborhoods. I see them parked in driveways all the time. Motorists run the stop sign on Lisa Drive like it wasn't there. It will take a child getting killed or a bad accident to get patrols here. I guess we were conned again -- higher taxes with no benefits.

Cold reception

It used to be when President Bush wanted a warm welcome he would speak before a group of military men and women. I watch his speech before the Fort Irwin soldiers, and he was given a cold welcome. No one believes him anymore. Whatever capital he had he has gambled away. The lies, the swagger, the smirks, the distortions and his lack of reality have taken their toll.

Investigator's pay

I think it is ridiculous that the county commission doesn't want to pay the prosecutor's detective more. This man investigates serious crimes like murders and rapes, and they don't want to pay him as much as a regular deputy!

Take your trash

Someone said the city needs more trash receptacles all over town. Then we'd have to buy the trash barrels and pay people to empty them, and we'd have unsightly trash cans all over town. I've got a better idea. Put a plastic bag in your car and put your trash in it. When you get out of the car, put the trash in your trash can. Stop expecting the government to take care of the basic things you should be able to do for yourself.

Ignoring warnings

If you smoke six packs a day and have the early signs of emphysema, you could argue that people get sick and then get better again, ignore medical advice and die. Or you could cut down on your smoking. Climate change is the same, but you won't suffer alone if you ignore the warnings, you'll take the rest of us and future generations with you.

Political advantage

What a betrayal of principle. David Limbaugh seems to be hoping for an early withdrawal from Iraq (regardless of the consequences) because he thinks it will benefit the GOP in the 2008 elections. I never thought I'd see the day when Limbaugh seems poised to blow off Iraq for partisan political advantage.

Use current data

When U.S. Sen. Kit Bond claims there is evidence that solar activity may be responsible for climate change, he displays his ignorance. The data on which he relies is 30 years out of date. For 30 years the connection has not held. Like Michael Crichton and the other skeptics who also rely on outdated data, Senator Bond needs to keep more current on the literature.

Go Boom

The biggest threat to the U.S.

Is certainly Iran.

If we do not soon take them out,

then Israel sure can.

Not too bright

UTILITY COMPANIES found that the early switch to daylight-saving time had no effect on power consumption. Daylight-saving time is like the man whose blanket was short, causing his feet to stick out. He cut six inches off the top and sewed it on the bottom.

Prisoner attention

IT LOOKS like our prisoners in the county jail got one more benefit, judging from the front page of the newspaper. I wonder when the sheriff is going to realize he needs to start paying attention to these prisoners.

Utility profit

I JUST read Phil Penzel's facts that he listed in the Southeast Missourian. I am appalled that Jackson is trying to make a profit on utility bills. And if the city is using the money it makes off the utility bills to pay for police and fire, then, yes, it is a tax.

Source of dollars

YOU DON'T have to look far to find out who is in the pocket of special interests in the presidential fund-raising. The ones with the big dollars are getting donations, no doubt, from people who are giving big dollars and that's special-interest people.