Speak Out 4/17/06

Carrying garbage

I FEEL sorry for the sanitation engineer who referred to himself as a garbage man. He felt no one appreciated the work he does. Believe me, I do. The one thing that would boost the sanitation engineer's status and prestige further would be if he came to my garage and carried my garbage out to the curb. If he did that, my wife would be happy. She's tired of doing it.

It's my business

"WHAT YOU eat is your own business," someone said. I generally agree, but if you're poor and eat a poor diet, you could end up being a big burden on the taxpayers. In some instances, what you eat is indeed my business.

I don't buy it

A RECENT comment said liberal left-wingers lost when President Bush was elected. The truth is America lost the day he was elected. We've lost morally, financially and socially. And let's not forget our credibility with the rest of the world and the tens of thousands of people killed by his war. Keep telling yourselves that you won. I'm middle-of-the-road America, and I don't buy it.

Make a trade

THE OVERWHELMING majority of Americans want to kick out Hispanic workers who go to great length to come to this country and work. Yet the majority of Americans are willing to put up with a segment of the population who sit in project houses and refuse to work. Public housing has literally become a breeding ground for drug dealers, prostitutes, thieves, murderers and other criminal activity. Why don't we trade those Americans, who do not want to work, for the Hispanics, who want to work. I could live with that.

Scott City run down

I LIVE in Scott City and recently drove around town. Our town looks bad. It doesn't take a lot to keep your place looking nice. It's perfect weather outside. Take 15 minutes and clean around your houses. The town's appearance has fallen. It's almost disgusting. It looks run down. It's not a wonderful little town. If we kept it a little nicer, maybe we could help it grow.

Setting the price

REGARDING THE high gasoline prices: I work at a convenience store. I get yelled at every day because people think I raise the price so I can benefit from it. I have nothing to do with the price. That's left up to our corporate people. Trust me, if I had anything to do with the price it would be what it was when I started to drive, which was 78 to 89 cents a gallon.

Outrageous hoopla

THE WHOLE ordeal with the gentlemen's club in East Cape Girardeau is outrageous. I don't remember people complaining when the Hush Puppy Saloon opened down the road. This topic needs to be dropped. Let the men or women enjoy themselves.

Need left-turn lane

WHY DO so many parents drive their kids to school in Jackson when we should be conserving gas? Not only does it waste gas, it also causes traffic congestion, especially at South Elementary School. I have been in traffic backed up over the hill. I think there should be a left-turn lane at South. It would help traffic congestion tremendously.

Ballpark repairs

WHO IS taking care of the Scott City ballpark? My grandson had practice the other day on the T-ball field. I can't believe these kids have to practice without a backstop. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize springtime is not the right time to be making changes. Why was this not done during the fall or winter when no one was using the field?

Police deserve respect

I AM so sorry to see that the garbageman is still using the "my job is more dangerous than a cop's" argument to express his job dissatisfaction. No one is belittling a garbage man's contribution to our community, but every job has its dangers. How many times has the garbage man been called into court because of his job? How many times has he comforted the hysterical child hiding from his fighting parents? How many times has he told a family member a loved one has died? How many times has he risked his life to break up a drunken brawl? Comparing garbage collecting to a police officer's responsibilities isn't exactly fair when you consider the amount of training and continuous education required to work in law enforcement, not to mention the amazing amount of liability an officer deals with each day. Police officers deserve our respect for the sacrifices they make for us and for the higher standard they are held to. Not many can do that job, and even fewer want to.

Confused priorities

I AGREE that Americans are placing more importance on cable-TV prices than the cost of necessities like heat, shelter and water. Even more ludicrous is a man who says he cannot pay his child support. The same man never misses his car, insurance or cable payments and regularly goes out to movies and restaurants. He says he loves his child, but the poor fellow just can't afford to pay the support. How's that for priority confusion?

Cradle to grave

PUPPIES BEING called Democrats is a perfect example. We pay to bring them into this world, pay the vet bill, pay for free immunizations, pay for free food. Most dogs don't work, so they live free. Looks like a real Democrat to me: everything from cradle to grave provided by someone else taken out of working people's hard-earned paychecks.