Speak Out 4/2/08

Manipulating voters

PREVIOUSLY, IN a lot of states, bars are closed on election day and opened after polling hours in order to keep the voters from being unduly influenced. Now there are regulations pertaining to campaign workers regarding how far they must stay away from the polling place to keep from unduly influencing voters. What gives radio talk-show hosts the right to manipulate voting Americans?

Parent cited

WHEN DID it become against the law for children to play outside? I have three boys ages 8, 7 and 5. I was given a summons for letting my children play outside. My 5-year-old was crossing the street coming from a friend's house and was almost hit by a car that was traveling too fast down a street where children play. I was the one who received the summons, not the driver. What is the appropriate age for children to play almost unattended?

Teaching attention

AS A Cape Girardeau teacher, I would welcome the attention the politicians are giving salaries. Of course, it is an election year. Interesting also is the evaluation plan the board of education would need to do for us. We have no evaluations now as educators, and I would welcome the idea of someone checking to see if we are indeed teaching what we are supposed to be teaching. Perhaps the board could evaluate our administrators as well to see why they cannot fit evaluations into their workdays.

No guarantee

JUST BECAUSE you've had experience in the real world, there is no guarantee you'll make a good teacher. I saw firsthand a retired military person with years of business experience take on a high school classroom and get run out of Dodge.

Earn and learn

I BELIEVE the economy stimulus package will serve no purpose because of the way it is being handled. A stimulus package is not a bad idea, but it should have been better thought out by our leaders. Instead of sending checks out to more than 130 million people, why didn't we direct this money toward each state and earmark it for infrastructure repair, which would have created good-paying jobs and created a good job training program for the age group between 18 and 30? Some in this age group have limited job skills. This type of program would have been "earn and learn while you work" while also making a contribution to the community. We have a lot of unemployed young people without any job skills.

Filing information

A RECENT comment said you have to file your taxes by April 15 in order to receive the economic stimulus payment. This is not true. The Web site www.irs.gov states, "File your return, if possible, by the regular April 15 deadline. If you file after April 15, with or without a tax-filing extension, your payment will be delayed. If you qualify for a payment, you can insure that you get it by filing your return by Oct. 15, 2008."

Shuttle schedules

THE RECENT article about Southeast Missouri State University's energy footprint implied it would be so much better if only more students would make use of the shuttle. Perhaps, but that remains a moot point so long as the shuttle system is so useless. As it is now, two and three shuttles arrive within one or two minutes of each other or even simultaneously. There does not seem to be any organized dispatching whatsoever, and the shuttles do not run on the posted schedule. When students must wait 30 or more minutes after this convoy departs in order to get a ride to classes, there is no choice but to drive and park themselves. At present, all the shuttle system does efficiently is waste diesel and taxpayer dollars.

Police work

I KNOW that most of the police in the area do their best, considering the dangers they have to deal with. But after four thefts in six months in an area of a couple of blocks, why wouldn't the police take fingerprints off my vehicle? I'm frustrated that I help to pay city officials with my tax dollars, but they don't attempt to solve a crime. I am glad to see that one of the officers took his job seriously when he pulled me over for driving 37 mph in a 35 mph zone. Good job.

Welcome home

I WOULD like to welcome home the 735th National Guard Unit out of Cape Girardeau. It is sad to say many people don't know that they have returned to the Heartland because there has been no mention in the papers or on TV. So to all you soldiers, welcome home and thank God for a safe return.

Marginalized stance

DAVID LIMBAUGH wrote that if John McCain gets elected, he will be the first Democrat to be elected as a Republican president. I would argue that the honor belongs to Theodore Roosevelt. Anyway, it's sad that Limbaugh and company have been marginalized and that the country has shifted to the extent that the Limbaughcons have become irrelevant, but at least there are enough of them left so that they can talk to and agree with one another.

Higher sales tax

REGARDING HIGH sales taxes: I live in St. Louis and just pulled out the receipts from my last shopping trip. All boast a tax percentage of 8.741 percent, not the 6.075 percent which a recent comment claimed.

Nice new exit

I WANT to comment on how nice the Main Street exit is in Jackson. It is so convenient and saves me a lot of time every day.

Median barriers

THANK YOU, Missouri Department of Transportation, for planning to install the median barrier on I-55 between Oak Ridge and Sikeston. I have no problem paying taxes for projects that so clearly protect the lives of our families by preventing crossover accidents on the interstate. Way to go.

Making ends meet

I KNOW everyone hates whiners, but I can't help but complain (along with everyone else) about the cost of gasoline. I'm a college student working a part-time job that barely gets paid above minimum wage. I live close to campus and my job, yet I still have to spend almost one-third of my paycheck on gas. Either minimum wage needs to go up or gas prices need to go down.

Economic regulation

BASIC ECONOMIC principles are hard to understand because no government in the world allows them to run their natural course without government interference. Thus, they are irrelevant.

Laws not enforced

I'VE HAD several people tell me that they think the state should pass laws against people driving and talking on their cell phones at the same time. I disagree. What's the point of passing another law that the police and highway patrol aren't going to enforce? When it's raining, I see cars that are running their windshield wipers but don't have their lights on. Police cars see them at an intersection and do nothing. I've had a highway patrol supervisor tell me he thinks some of those laws are Mickey Mouse, and he doesn't care if his officers don't enforce them. On the other hand, when people talk on the phone and get in a car accident, charge them with negligence.