Speak Out 5/12/06

First offense, no jail

IN REGARD to the suggestion that Rush Limbaugh received special treatment by not being sentenced to jail time: I'm not defending any of his actions, but if you really think a first-offense prescription drug offender would ever get any kind of jail time, you're kidding yourself. I am in law enforcement. I have seen people with much more serious and more easily proven drug cases walk with probation. Our system believes in second chances, and rightfully so. First offenders rarely serve any time in jail.

Wonderful show

THIS IS referring to the 50s Diner done by the youths of First General Baptist Church of Jackson. I know it's been a while back, but their performance is still lingering in my mind. They did an awesome job. I heard that they raised enough money to go on their mission trip to Florida. That's amazing. Thank you again for your wonderful performance.

Read the textbooks

THIS YEAR and next, students in core subjects are not given a textbook and must work from a room set. Maybe the three new administrators at the Cape Girardeau School District could come read to students.

Douglas was best

AFTER LISTENING to Justice Antonin Scalia, I'm convinced that the best and brightest justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to ever speak in Cape Girardeau was the honorable William O. Douglas.

Bad oil suggestion

A FEW days ago a Speak Out writer commented that to let the price of gasoline keep climbing would lower our demand for gasoline, because the average person would only be able to afford so much. While this suggestion fits with the law of supply and demand, what are the rest of us to do in the meantime? Outside of the metro areas you are not going to find the European-style mass transit infrastructure that gives people the option between cheaper transportation to work and more convenience. It is great to speculate about alternate transportation power sources, but ethanol plants don't go up overnight, and the Manhattan Project took five years. Thanks to the last 30 years of visionary federal leadership, we get stuck with the bill.

A teacher's job

TEACHERS HAVE a responsibility to teach what the school district wants taught and to abide by the moral standards of the district. The school district is the teacher's employer. The employer decides acceptable standards for the employee, not the employee. Promoting a bawdy adaptation of a play or filling lecture time with personal opinions about illegal immigration, sexual orientation or the evils of capitalism is counterproductive. A teacher's job is not to undermine the morals and ethics of the children's parents and the district as a whole.

Tap fuel reserves

I KNOW there are some countries like Norway and the United Kingdom that are paying out the nose for gasoline, but why is it that Kuwait is only paying 65 cents a gallon and Venezuela is only paying a measly 12 cents a gallon? What can we do about it? Tap our own reserves.

Unprofessional attire

I WENT to a store to buy some clothes. I was surprised by the attire the sales girls were wearing. I know it's the in look. But I think the people who work there should dress professionally. I don't like going to a store and seeing the undergarments the employees have on.

Willing to work hard

QUIT COMPLAINING about the migrant workers. I don't see anyone other than the migrants bent over in a strawberry patch. They also help harvest the peaches and apples. That is hard work.

Straight-party voting

THE PERSON using the term "mindlessly" in reference to voting a straight ticket and claiming they vote "regardless of qualification" has it backward. Those who go through a ballot and check off each candidate's name are far more likely to do so mindlessly and without regard to qualification. You get votes based upon name recognition (with a great advantage for incumbency) and having the best TV ads, not who is right on the issues. For those of us who care most about issues, voting a straight ticket is often the best option. I care more about a strong education system, fair taxes, access to medical care, protection of the environment and workers' rights than about which candidate has a familiar name or cute TV ads, and most of the time I vote Democratic straight ticket. Mindlessly? No concern for qualification? The opposite is true, because I'm involved in my party. I know who the nominees are and why they were chosen.

Thanks, teachers

I WOULD like to say thank you to our teachers at Egyptian School in Tamms, Ill., for all their hard work this past school year. I especially want to thank the prekindergarten staff. They are truly dedicated and do a wonderful job with the little children. We have had a fun filled year, and we owe it to our teaching staff and our dedicated parents and grandparents. Thank you, Egyptian teaching staff.

Not constructive

I'VE WATCHED the Cape Girardeau School Board meetings. Charles Bertrand seems to have a hearing problem. He asks questions about topics that have already been covered. He seems to pride himself on being cantankerous and unhelpful. It's easier to gripe than to be constructive. Bertrand has the griping down just fine. But he's certainly not constructive.

Holding wages down

I AM sick of hearing that illegals do jobs Americans won't do. Employers don't want to pay a living wage. Illegals keep wages down, and that is what employers want.

Too much good food

A WATER park wouldn't make it in Cape Girardeau. We can support all the restaurants in the world, but few Cape Girardeau residents want to be seen in a swimsuit because of all that restaurant food they've eaten.

Watching incumbents

PRESIDENT BUSH has low approval numbers because he has turned his back on the conservatives who put him in office. Other Republicans risk the same backlash if they don't do something about illegals and protect our borders. Their spending and corruption harken back to the days of a House controlled by Democrats. Incumbents shouldn't expect to whip up their base with the regular fare of abortion, homosexuals and gun rights. We're watching, and they better get it right.

Abusive people

A WOMAN said she was a victim of domestic abuse but no one would help her because her husband had everyone convinced he wasn't capable of doing such things. This woman surely did not utilize programs available to her in such situations. Physical abuse cannot be hidden for long. Abuse accelerates over time as men become more frustrated and enraged. Anyone who believes that a woman is suffering from years of abuse and that no one, not even her children, suspect does not know the psychology of abusive people.

Who's benefiting?

HEALTH AND Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt says there are four groups of people not signing up for Medicare Part D. I assume one of those groups contains the seniors who see this as another government fiasco. When we see that the companies offering Part D can raise the premiums, take drugs off their lists and charge co-pays that are more than the 25 percent we were led to believe they'd be, we might wonder who this program is really going to help.