Speak Out 4/9/07

Mediocre people

IT SEEMS we have a bunch of mediocre people in this administration. The country is being dumbed down. Secretary Rice, Attorney General Gonzales and others seem to not understand their jobs. I don't recall ever having gone this long with an administration where the secretary of state has not accomplished anything.

Safety first

GREG LACEY was shown in a photograph using a power tool. He should have been wearing eye and hearing protection, not just for his own sake, but because OSHA regulation's require it. I was formerly plant engineer at Himmelberger-Harrison in Morehouse and saw firsthand the effect of years of high noise levels on employees who were working there before federal regs requiring use of personal protective equipment. I hope this is being taught at the career and technology center.

Comparing presidents

I LISTENED to President Bush's news conference and thought back to when I was in high school. Our class watched President Kennedy give his inaugural address. The difference between the two speeches are like night and day. President Kennedy spoke of hope and the future: the weak secure, the strong just. He said this country would never start a war because we had had too much war. With our current president, the strong are bullies, and the weak are to be taken advantage of.

Illegal activities

I LIVE on South Lorimier Street near Indian Park. I see drug deals, prostitution and other illegal activities frequently. I counted more than 15 cars pulling up in front of an apartment building the other evening. They were all males, and they all go into the same apartment. The police need to do something about this. South Lorimier Street is a beautiful neighborhood, but it would be a lot better without drug dealers and prostitutes.

University facilities

I AM a student at Southeast Missouri State University. The university has been spending millions of dollars on expansion projects. Now it may consider a tuition increase to pay for the projects. I often have to go to various computer labs at the university to do research and homework. The computers I use malfunction and crash. This is frustrating. Why doesn't the university use its millions of dollars to improve existing facilities rather than building new ones?

Presidential actions

PRESIDENT BUSH says he wants to work with the Democrats in Congress but then appoints Sam Fox as ambassador to Belgium with a recess appointment. This shows the true Bush. In his speech he again linked Iraq involvement with 9-11. Is he not living in the real world, or is he delusional? One time he admits they had nothing to do with 9-11 then turns around and does something out of the realm of sanity by trying to again tie them to 9-11.

Explaining the facts

THANKS, PHIL Penzel, for explaining the facts. It's too bad a Jackson alderman had to take time to explain the facts when people try to distort them for their own gain. I guess it's easier for some individuals to make things up than to understand the facts.

No vote, no complaint

I'M EMBARRASSED by the people of Jackson. Only 8 percent of Jackson's voters elected the mayor. I wonder how many of the rest of the citizens of Jackson will complain the next time something goes wrong. The next time someone complains to me about how they don't like something in the city, I am going to ask if they voted. I don't want to hear any complaining from people who didn't.

Speeding up

IT'S NOT the climate change that is the problem. Climate changes occur over millions of years naturally. It's the speed of this warming trend that is the difference and the problem. A natural cycle has been accelerated. Plants, animals and, eventually, people will suffer because of the rate of change to a warmer climate. Climate is not the same as weather. A week of cold weather has nothing to do with a decade's worth of climate change.

Sounds like a tax

I WISH to comment on Phil Penzel's facts. I find it unbelievable that Jackson is making a profit on the money it collects for utilities, especially after imposing the ridiculous 40.5 percent rate increase. It's infuriating to find out that my monthly bill is not only the cost of utility service, but a slush fund that the city can use to fund any department. That sounds a lot like a tax to me.

Hospital visit

I AM glad to see that U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson paid a visit to the VA hospital. I have to wonder: If it hadn't been for the Walter Reed debacle would she have been there? She has received letters, phone calls and e-mails about that hospital over the years. It is hard to get anyone there to listen. If Emerson will put some pressure on the local doctors to accept the military health insurance, that would also help. I hope she made the trip because she cares and not because of the bad press.

Do the right thing

YOUR COVER story about U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson begs for a solution. How will she address these problems? Will we see any changes? Will the veterans get any satisfaction? I hope she has the spine to stand on the House floor and fight the Republican and Democrats to do the right thing.

For the people

THE LEGISLATURE keeps making laws people don't want. Legislators seem to forget they work for the people, not for special interests or for the biggest contributor. How many of them have tried eating on $3 or $4 a day or wondered how they could get necessary medical goods?

Caught in the act

KUDOS TO U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson. I think people with power should make more unscheduled stops to veterans homes and nursing homes. Don't give these people time to get their act together. Catch them in the act and punish them if need be.

Missing prisoners

EVEN THOUGH Cape Girardeau County may lose $1,000 a day if the county jail loses federal prisoners, I don't think those who don't like it will get much mileage out of a "Bring back the prisoners" protest.

The Meaningful Life

I hate to work in the yard.

It's such a waste of time.

I'd rather be a Speak Out bard

Composing crucial rhyme.

Litter and prisoners

I DON'T believe inmates get paid for litter patrol. They are credited a certain dollar amount per hour, which is applied to their fines and court costs. This helps the inmate and their family members, who many times are burdened with making ends meet on the home front. This area needs all the help it can get for litter control.

Wrong name

STATE REP. Yaphett El-Amin is no longer a member of the Missouri Legislature. In 2006, El-Amin was an unsuccessful candidate to replace Democratic Caucus chairman Pat Dougherty in the Missouri Senate. She finished second in a heavily contested Democratic primary election behind political science instructor Jeff Smith. Her husband Talibdan El-Amin won a contentious primary and to become the Democratic Party nominee to replace his wife in the Missouri House. He was elected without opposition in the 2006 general election. It was Talibdan who sponsored the resolution to issue an official apology for Missouri's role in slavery.

Water-rate increase

MILLERSVILLE IS raising its water rates again. Not surprising. When I moved to Millersville 20 years ago, we were paying $15 a month for water. This past month and the past several years I have been paying over $60 a month. I bought a new washer and dishwasher to keep the water prices down. Use less water, pay less. We will see how that helps. The water board needs to tell folks why the prices are going up.

Soaring gas prices

I THOUGHT the Democrats were going to fix the gasoline prices when they got into office. They all made promises to control this issue. Look at us now. Gas prices are soaring again. Will the Democrats take the blame for this? No. They will still blame the Republicans. Democrats are pushing alternative fuels (which is a good thing), but then they are flying around in the multimillion-dollar jets.

Worrisome statistic

SIXTY-FOUR PERCENT of Americans trust the U.S. Supreme Court justices. Sixty-eight percent of Missourians trust the state's Supreme Court judges. Missouri's Chief Justice Michael Wolff believes these are "impressive numbers." Having almost one-third of the population not trusting our Supreme Court judges should be rather worrisome.

Show some respect

I LIVE in the Benton area, and there are problems with some of the children. Some boys skateboard in town, deface the veterans memorial and block the roadway. I can't even begin to count the times I have driven through the town and those children are in the street, I slow down or stop and wait patiently for them to move out of the way, and they yell obscenities at me. I know the sheriff's department has had complaints about these children, and their parents complain about how unfairly their children are being treated. If those parents paid attention to their children and taught them manners, they would act better. Children need to show some respect.

Dealing with slimeballs

THERE'S NOTHING lower than a sexual molester or abuser. They are human slimeballs. Thank God the police are able to do a job where they have to deal with such trash. We don't always say it, but we really appreciate it. I don't know how you do it, officers in blue.

Ethanol financing

Phil Danforth seems to show up every time somebody tries to put together financing for an ethanol plant. He pretends he already has financing and is going to build a competing ethanol plant next door. I don't know what's going on but it appears that Danforth is trying to mess up financing for other plants, making it more difficult to get investors and more difficult to get bank loans. He's done the same thing in Marshall, Mo., and Carbondale, Ill.

Substantial movie

AFTER SEEING the top seven movies, I would encourage adults to see "The Lookout." It's a good character study movie and considering "Grindhouse" is about to come out, I would think there might be people who might want something more intelligent. Justin Gordon Levit who was the child in "Third Rock from the Sun" puts in a stellar performance. Jeff Daniels in "Fly Away Home" is another stellar performance. It's a movie with substance compared to a lot of the nonsense like the top seven movies this week.

Earthquake authority

AS AN alumnus of Southeast Missouri State University, it pains me to see out-of-state universities being consulted in recent news stories regarding research on the New Madrid fault. For years, Southeast Missouri State was considered the source of record for information on the New Madrid fault and earthquakes in the Midwest but lost that distinction in the fallout of Iben Browning's earthquake prediction in 1990. It seems to me the university took the punishment and has never done anything since then to try to cultivate and re-establish its reputation as the source of earthquake information. It's time the university did so.