OpinionApril 13, 2010
Speak Out 4/13/10
JOHN Cook suggested that the person who didn't know that the Congress members had to contribute to their retirement lived in la-la land. There are lots of people out here living in la-la land, or they would have elected a much better Congress. SOMEONE said we shouldn't be hard on President Obama and suggested we might not have been so good at our first jobs. Maybe I wasn't good at my first job, but my first job was not president of the United States. His shouldn't have been either...
Living in la-la
JOHN Cook suggested that the person who didn't know that the Congress members had to contribute to their retirement lived in la-la land. There are lots of people out here living in la-la land, or they would have elected a much better Congress.
First job
SOMEONE said we shouldn't be hard on President Obama and suggested we might not have been so good at our first jobs. Maybe I wasn't good at my first job, but my first job was not president of the United States. His shouldn't have been either.
Overlapping patrols
AS I watched a highway patrolman pull over a vehicle in Jackson, it caused me to think of the tax dollars wasted by having three law enforcement agencies patrolling the same jurisdiction. We need to watch closely the cost-saving measure taken recently by Illinois where state police have been cut by one-third. If public safety is not harmed by this measure, Missouri should consider it also.
Penny-ante gambling
A sad story from a close relative: My mother, a widow, sold her property in order to supplement Social Security. She lives in a modest apartment. She would tell us from time to time about how she won a couple of hundred dollars on her "just for fun, nothing serious" trips to the casino. But significant funds from the sale of the property evaporated over a period of time. Now, mother must depend on us, her children, for support. Those who gamble love to tell you about their winnings and the fun they have, but the economic toll from losing is hushed up. The economic hardship from gambling on a community far outweighs the economic benefit of service jobs in a gambling casino. Short-term gain is long-term pain. Gambling interests are pressing Cape Girardeau to express an interest in a casino within a few weeks. It has the feel of the hurry-up pitch of a used-car salesman.
Which religion?
WHICH religion says it is OK for you to vote for a politician who belongs to a political party that supports partial-birth abortion?
Now they know
WHY do the Republicans have all the answers now to the health plan? When George Bush was president and the Republicans controlled Congress, they didn't do anything about our health care.
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Seeking acceptance
THERE are mentally ill people in Cape Girardeau. We live among you all. Most of our neighbors don't know of our illnesses. I know mine don't. I get along with all my neighbors. They like me. What would happen if I shared information about my illness? I have schizophrenia. It has been my experience that I would be thought of and treated differently. This is 2010 with modern-day pharmaceuticals. If we pass as essentially normal, we should be accepted as such.
Highway repairs
INSTEAD of patching all the potholes on Highway 177, the highway department needs to fix the road right. Repave it. It keeps washing out every time we have a rain. Please do something to make it last longer.
Economic oversight
THE United States needs a federal economic agency. This agency could oversee employment of displaced workers. It could receive all pork money and distribute it more effectively. It could be a watchdog over all governmental spending. It could have a department focused on foreign trade. We need a more efficient, effective government. The size of government doesn't matter. Just rechanneling pork and eliminating waste is reason enough to justify this agency. These duties would pay for its existence. Let's eliminate backslapping deals and replace them with fairness in business.
Proud of GED
CONGRATULATIONS to all the co-workers from Thorngate that received their GED. I am proud of you just as much as your families. The same goes to the rest of the class. Be proud.
Managing revenue
PRESIDENT Reagan cut taxes and increased revenue. He had a Democratic Congress that he had to fight. President Clinton was forced to sign a balanced-budget amendment. He had a Republican Congress. You can thank Newt Gingrich and the Republicans for that. But now look what we've got: a deficit of $1.5 trillion a year. I read that 14 percent of the people do not believe that running $20 trillion deficit will hurt the country. These are the kind of people who say Clinton had a surplus.
Tea-party motives
THE original tea party was a protest against excessive taxation without representation. Citizens revolted against the government by dumping tea shipments into Boston harbor to avoid the tax. The basis of the modern-day tea party is the same. History is repeating itself. If you disagree with the tea-party movement, you support excessive taxation and legislation by a government with no regard for what the people want from their elected representatives.
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