Speak Out 4/9/2005

Smoking etiquette

I PITY the pathetic losers who feel it necessary to have a cigarette. Who's in charge here? You or the cancer stick? If you must smoke, do it far away so you won't bother anyone. I would think most people would be too embarrassed these days to light up in public. It should be akin to passing gas in public.

No four-way stop

A FOUR-WAY stop is the last thing that should be considered at Lexington Avenue and Route W. In fact, it shouldn't even be considered at all. We have enough four-way stops in this town as it is. Let's put up a stoplight at this intersection and synchronize it with the one at Kingshighway during peak traffic. A four-way should never be the answer, although I think the people in charge around here prefer it because it's cheap.

IN HIS latest attempt to scare us about the Social Security crisis, the president is saying that there is no Social Security trust fund, just IOUs. Those IOUs are known as U. S. Treasury bonds. Does the president really want to suggest that the U.S. government isn't good for its debts? Has he considered what this will do to the bond market?

Help isn't abused

I'M TIRED of hearing all the belittling talk about those of us who get a little help from Medicaid or food stamps. There are many of us who work full-time and still need help. My children are on Medicaid. We get less than $100 in food stamps. We don't eat steaks. There are those of us who try hard to get by with what we have. Shame on those who abuse the system.

Absent voters

Impact of no votes

IT'S FRUSTRATING that there are so many people in the Jackson community who support the new high school, but not enough to pass this bond issue. The people who voted no need to understand that a community with a high school campus as poor as ours will only attract certain people to our community.

Students deserve best

AS A graduate of Jackson High School, I want to express my disappointment in the residents of Jackson for not passing the bond issue for the second time around. Jackson students deserve the opportunities that the students of Cape Girardeau are enjoying. Our students continually excel and continue to be punished. Wake up, Jackson.

Forgive and forget

Addiction's wide reach

THE GIBSON Center does not survive on Medicaid. Addiction is a disease which does not choose whom it attacks. It attacks more people who do not receive Medicaid than those who do. Most addicts are not even eligible for Medicaid. Addiction can attack high-class people as well as those who are in poverty. The Gibson Center has helped many people learn to cope without the use of drugs and alcohol. Maybe the governor should spend more money to educate people about addiction.

More education

I'M A recovering addict. I've never received one dime of Medicaid. I know a lot of people who have gone to the Gibson Center and have become productive citizens. Spending should be increased on education and treatment rather this so-called war on drugs. That doesn't work. Education and treatment do.

NO MOTHERS of illegitimate offspring should be allowed to get financial aid until they identify the fathers. The fathers should be required to provide financial aid or go to jail and be put to work on needed projects. They might think twice before becoming so wantonly irresponsible. Gov. Matt Blunt is on the right trail to reduce fraudulent Medicaid ineligibility that is bankrupting the program and keeping benefits from those who truly need help.

Scary cutbacks

I AM scared by the ideas to cut Medicaid that are floating around the state right now. I have a son on Medicaid. Because of his disabilities, he can't have a regular job. We can't afford to pay for his medication. It's about $2,000 a month. Does the state really want these people on the streets without being on their medications?

Fines too low

Clean up profanity

I SAW an excellent movie, "The Upside of Anger," with Kevin Costner. But the use of profanity troubled me. I would like people to join with me and ask our federal legislators to see if they can get profanity out of movies. For the most part it's not needed. It added nothing to the story line. This is one of the few intelligent adult movies out right now. It's a shame when movies have potty language.

No time savings

DAYLIGHT-SAVING time does not save any daylight. The sun rises and sets according to its own schedule. It doesn't matter whether you sunrise is at a quarter to 6 or a quarter to 7 . The sun is still going to be up for the same amount of time.

A reason to smile

I DON'T know of a better way to brighten my day or put a smile on my face than to have to stop on Broadway as I'm going to work for the ducks waddling across the street. What a great town.

No notification

IN SUNDAY'S paper, one of the comments about Mark Lester when he was city engineer was that he did not communicate with the public enough. Right now, the city is doing roadwork on our street, and nobody on our street has been notified. There are signs up and down the street, and that's the only way some of us knew what was going on. So I don't think it was just a problem within the engineering department. I think it's a problem within the city.