Speak Out 4/28/10

Aiding and abetting

IN light of today's economic recession and downward spiraling of the job market, it would be interesting to discover how many jobs would be available for our legal residents if they were not filled by those who are located here illegally. The unlawful labor practices of both the unscrupulous employers and the illegal aliens continue to undermine the welfare and livelihood of all who reside here legally. The governing bodies that fail to enforce the laws regarding illegal labor practices merely aid and abet the scofflaws who continue to beat the system.

Casino vision

THE three men that want Cape Girardeau to vote again on the casino issue are all retired. They long to see Cape Girardeau stay just as they remember it. I wonder, if they were 30 years old and unemployed, would they feel the same way about such a great opportunity for our town? Casinos provide good jobs and can bring tourism. It could make our downtown a destination. St. Charles has seen tremendous benefit from the casino there. We could make Cape Girardeau the crown jewel of all of Missouri. Let's not let a few people with little vision keep Cape Girardeau from being the city it can be.

Honoring veterans

THANK you, Southeast Missourian, for the picture honoring the World War II veterans. I know one of those fine veterans. Because I didn't get to go to the ceremony to send them off to Washington, D.C., I was glad to open my Missourian to see your coverage. Thanks again for giving this article the prominence it deserved. God bless all of our veterans who gave so much to keep this country free. I'm a wife of a Vietnam veteran and darn proud of him and all the hardships he had to endure. May God continue to bless and protect all of our young men and women in our armed forces all over the world who serve and protect.

Immigration bill

KUDOS to Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles who compared Arizona's recently passed immigration bill to Nazism. Amen.

Misused words

I agree with Ron Rosenbaum (author of "Explaining Hitler" and other books) that the media have been giving tea partiers a pass lately, pointing out their above-average education levels and wealth, even patronizing them. If they do have more formal education, it seems obvious to me that many of them never took a history or comparative government class. To characterize our president as a communist or Nazi, as many in the movement do, betrays not only a woeful misunderstanding of the words, but trivializes their meaning to the extent that it must horrify the survivors of Hitler's Holocaust and anger beyond words the living ancestors of Stalin's purges.