Speak Out 5/15/07

What if ...

THINK ABOUT this: What would the difference be if we had not escalated the action in Vietnam? Where would we be today? We left Vietnam and are normalizing relations. We would have 58,000-plus Americans alive and 400,000 veterans not eating up tax dollars. How do we think this goofy war in Iraq is going to be viewed in 30 years?

Liberal professors

I HAD a handful of college professors who pushed liberal causes in their classes, none of which were related to politics. There were only a couple who would give you a lower grade if you disagreed. One in particular enjoyed being challenged but never strayed from the party line. I never experienced a professor pushing a conservative agenda.

Dangerous act

THE SO-CALLED intellectual diversity act being pondered by the Missouri General Assembly is the most dangerous piece of legislation since the early 19th century's ill-fated federal Alien and Sedition Act.

Gentleman scholar

I HAD George Suggs as a Southeast Missouri State University teacher of constitutional law in the tumultuous 1960s. He was a level-headed scholar and gentleman. He remains so to this day. He has become a prolific and successful writer, and one wishes him much success with his latest endeavor.

Ethanol worries

I HAVE a bundle of literature titled "Citizens for a Quality Environment." It includes a cover letter of Monty Keesee's presentation to the Scott City City Council. There are more than enough red flags in this information to strongly suggest that the citizens of Scott City will not be well served by ethanol plants in our neighborhood. And if they are built, Cape Girardeau residents should prepare to hold their noses when the breeze blows from the south.

Downtown security

I SEE where some merchants in downtown Cape Girardeau want to use surveillance cameras, and it sounds like they want the city to pay for it. I do not believe placing cameras in the downtown area is a good idea. Surveillance cameras could cause people not to visit the downtown as much as they have in the past. People don't like being under the eye of Big Brother all the time. What the merchants need is more uniformed security downtown at peak periods, and the merchants should pay for it.

Left-turn lanes

THERE ARE many intersections in Cape Girardeau where two lanes are making left turns. When you are making a left turn in one of those two lanes, please do not switch lanes during the middle of your turn. If you start turning in the left left-turn lane, stay in the left lane on the road. If you start in the right left-turn lane, stay in the right lane on the road. When I am beside you and we both begin to make the left turn and you start switching lanes in the middle of the turn, it makes me have to run off the road to get out of your way. I prefer to stay in my lane. Please stay in your lane.

Too expensive

IT IS a shame that Southeast Missouri State University can't find a better way to recoup its cost for the River Campus than by raising the tuition for kids trying to get an education. We don't want to pay for the River Campus, we parents are trying to put our kids through college and not frivolous things like that. We want a college education for our students. This is one parent who won't be sending his next kid to SEMO, because it is just as expensive to go to SEMO as it is to another college.

Thoughtful teacher

DR. JOE is a teacher at the Career and Technology Center. He is the one of the most overlooked instructors in the area. He is thoughtful and kind and has helped so many people. Because of his quiet, unassuming personality, he is overlooked. I would like to say thank you to Dr. J for helping an so many other kids get through the mess that their life turns into sometimes.

Great performance

MIKE DUMEY and 160 Central Junior High School students entertained and wowed the audience during the Thursday evening performance of "Beauty and the Beast." The singing, dancing and acting were superb. Mr. Dumey, his students and his assistants should be commended for pulling it all together. Mr. Dumey, you truly are amazing, and your love for your students, past and present, and their love for you is beyond compare. Bravo to Mike Dumey and staff for an over-the-top performance of "Beauty and the Beast."

No four-wheelers

WHAT BOTHERS me is people who feel they have the right to take their four-wheeler on a church's property. You don't own the property. You should not have the four-wheeler on it unless it is public property. If you don't have a private place to ride a four-wheeler, then don't get one. Mothers of teenagers, don't you ever see what your teenagers are doing?

McCain's first wife

THE PERSON who recently commented about John McCain -- praising him for how devoted through the years he has been to Cindy, his present wife -- should read one of the books about McCain, whose first wife was in a terrible car accident while he was a prisoner of war and whom he divorced when he got out of service.