OpinionApril 19, 2007
Speak Out 4/19/07
Wonderful job; City recycling; Sad choice of words; Focus on exercise; New direction; Miserable failures; Homecomers congestion; War on civility; Real news; Another quagmire; Positive influence; Trying to help; Laptop security; Take a stand; Time for action; To the woodshed; Interchange benefits; King and queen; Paying his share; Stretched thin?; Hazing questions; Phone freedoms
Wonderful job
WHOEVER PICKED up the trash in the Scott City area long Main Street did a wonderful job. I would like to express my appreciation, and I know the rest of us appreciate it too. Thank you so much.
City recycling
WHY CAN'T Cape Girardeau have containers to recycle plastic at the Arena Building, Osage Community Centre, courthouse and other public buildings? The trash cans are full of recyclable materials. What a waste of our resources.
Sad choice of words
ON APRIL 2, my child and I were having a rare evening out at a local steakhouse. Near the end of our meal, a group of youths sat next to our table. They were loud but tolerable at first. When they had their food and settled down, I was upset to hear them call each other the racially controversial N-word. They were all of African-American descent. My child said they do this all the time at the Central Junior High School. How sad for them.
Focus on exercise
I HEARD that diets don't work and scientists think obesity is a genetic problem. Why not work on the other side of the equation: exercise? If you would like your body to look different, start with weight training. The best information on the market is contained in a book entitled "Body Building, a Scientific Approach." With this authoritative and comprehensive book, one could learn to design a weightlifting regime to increase muscle mass. Every aspect of bodybuilding is covered in this book. Muscles can be trained to be strong or more swift acting. If you're concerned about weight, you can eat anything from pizza to apple pie and still be physically fit by exercising.
New direction
I WAS disappointed with the Cape Girardeau School Board's decision to get rid of Frank Ellis and Debbie Fallowell at Central Middle School. I thought Ellis and Fallowell were doing the best they could. How many other great teachers will our school system lose due to this "new direction" that we're taking?
Miserable failures
THE FIRING of Frank Ellis has me as angry and upset as the years-ago termination of Central High School's Randall Fidler. It's like firing astronauts for a faulty space shuttle. Middle schools are miserable failures. K-8 and 9-12 is the way to go.
Homecomers congestion
I WAS wondering why Jackson doesn't celebrate Homecomers in the park like the SEMO District Fair is held in a park? It gets so crowded around town during Homecomers that I avoid that entire area. Getting to the post office is next to impossible. Does anyone agree with me on this? I always dread Homecomers because of all the blocked streets. It will be here before we know it. How does the rest of Jackson feel?
War on civility
WHATEVER HAPPENED to civility? The Imus situation is not an issue of free speech or political correctness. It is an issue of allowing ourselves to be drawn to personalities that say and do outrageous things to garner attention for themselves. Limbaugh, Coulter, Franken, shock jocks, sports talk-show hosts and other cable news personalities could make the same points in an intelligent, respectful manner, but no one would know who they were. All of us, myself included, who get drawn in to this morass contribute to the war on civility. The next time you listen to one of these individuals, ask yourself, "What does this actually contribute to the good of our society?"
Real news
YES, JOE Sullivan, I care about the news. But then, you and I are of an older generation, remembering real news. Some time ago I came across, in family trunks, stacks of newspapers and magazines from 1917 through the late 1940s. What a difference between then and now. There were lots of articles about taxation, welfare, Social Security, government and even plans to "colonize U.S. Negroes in Africa." What became obvious, especially in reading the editorials of Sen. Arthur Capper of Kansas, is that the concerns and complaints about our government, particularly in regard to rising taxes and what tax dollars were spent for, were pretty much the same then as they are today. We cannot fault the news media for the trend toward fluff stories, since that appears to be what the majority of lackadaisical Americans want.
Another quagmire
DOES ANYONE else see the hypocrisy in Democrats' calls to send troops to Darfur? What does Darfur have to do with our national interests? While the suffering may be terrible, the African Union can handle its own mess. U.S. troops need to stay focused on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and the Sinai Peninsula. We don't need to be led into a another Bosnia, a place where 10,000 U.S. troops toil away in the quagmire created by Democrats.
Positive influence
I WOULD like to voice my appreciation to Frank Ellis for his work in the Cape Girardeau School District. My daughter attended both Alma Schrader Elementary School and Central Middle School under Ellis. My impression is that he never failed to treat all students with dignity and respect. He was and remains a positive influence on my child.
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Trying to help
I AM a registered nurse. I went into this profession to help people, but most people don't want help. They want to treat us badly and be mean to us because they are unhappy with something the physician has done. We are not doctors. Please respect that we are doing our jobs and trying to take care of the patients. We do what the doctor tells us. If you don't like it, yell at them, not us, because it does no good except make it harder for us to do our job.
Laptop security
IF OFFICIALS who expose confidential records when their laptops are lost or stolen had any techno-smarts, they would install software that connects their laptop to data on the office computer and requires a password to access.
Take a stand
THE DRUG problem in Cape Girardeau is not the fault of the police chief. The people at fault are those who do not take a stand against it and help the police fight the drug trafficking that occurs in our neighborhoods. If the law-abiding people of Cape Girardeau would put aside their "I don't want to get involved" attitudes and start working with the police, many of the traffickers would move to other towns. I'm not delusional enough to believe we will ever solve the drug problems in the United States, but taking a stand is a start.
Time for action
LET ME clear something up. It's not just the Republicans, the Democrats nor any other political party that deserves blame for our recent problems, including gasoline prices. Most of the blame needs to go to the American people, who whine when our elected officials don't perform their jobs but do nothing about it. Most don't vote, and the ones who do seem to keep voting for the same officials. If you don't like the way things are going, do something about it, because obviously whining isn't doing anything to fix any problems.
To the woodshed
THE SPEAKER of the U.S. House thinks she's the secretary of state and is overstepping her authority. The House can't write a single bill without bribing the squabbling factions with tons of pork. These legislators need to be taken to the woodshed.
Interchange benefits
A RECENT caller complained about the new East Main Street interchange in Jackson stating that it provided no benefit to Jackson's residents. Really? I guess the huge property-tax burden placed on this part of Jackson shouldn't be considered? I guess connecting a main street to the interstate shouldn't be considered? I guess rezoning a portion of Jackson with little commercial zoning shouldn't be considered?
King and queen
KING GEORGE and Queen Nancy: Nancy Pelosi gave this reasoning when confronted about going to Syria when the State Department asked her not to go. She said this is a democracy, and George Bush should realize that he is not the king. When Pelosi takes off her legislative robe and dons the executive robe of conducting foreign policy, she should realize that this is a democracy, and she is not the queen.
Paying his share
THE PRESIDENT paid one-seventh of his total earnings in taxes. I guess the liberal argument that his tax breaks only benefited the rich are pretty much shot out of the water now.
Stretched thin?
IF SEN. Joe Biden wants U.S. troops to go to Darfur, he needs to stop saying that our military is stretched thin because of Iraq. The Democrats' hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me.
Hazing questions
REGARDING THE article about the alleged hazing incident, I'm not sure if I understand Southeast Missouri State University's position. The way I read the article, Southeast has been notified that the national organization is investigating the incident. But a further article quote says, "If the action by the national organization is confirmed in writing, the university will inform local members the Southeast chapter has lost recognition and is closed," Irby said. Does this mean that Southeast is waiting for written confirmation of the alleged hazing incident? If so, will Southeast promptly notify the newspaper when it receives the written confirmation?
Phone freedoms
THE EDITORIAL about cell phones and 911 asked: "Would cell phone users be charged a tax to pay for it?" Was that a rhetorical question? Do we want government to be able to track us through our cell phones? It probably doesn't matter to the majority of us, but it is just one more step toward losing our personal freedoms.
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