Speak Out 5/19/04

Connect with the river

MY GOODNESS, yes, the Pilots. What does Cape Girardeau have? It has the Mississippi River, and a nickname should certainly associate with the Mississippi River. Pilots does that. It's a wonderful idea. Or another suggestion might be the Roustabouts, the very roughest of the rough who unloaded steamboats in the old days. Certainly the mascot should tie into the Mississippi River which defines our city.

Sad situation

THIS WAR in Iraq started out with such high hopes. We were going to get rid of the cruel dictator, Saddam Hussein, get rid of dangerous weapons of mass destruction which were threatening us and establish a democratic government which the people of Iraq would embrace. Now we find that there were no weapons of mass destruction, that we too are capable of cruel treatment of prisoners, that we've made enemies out of the people we want to be our friends, that many fine, young Americans are dying and that we have no idea what to do now. What went wrong? We expected problems but not the disaster we find ourselves in now. We were sold an idealistic vision that turned out to be totally unrealistic. Did our leaders consider the cultural and psychological issues involved at all? Our leaders have not served us well. Like many Americans, I'm very sad about the whole situation.

Cherokee monument

WHEN THE Kiwanis purchased Cherokee Park, there was a little bit of debate. Now we're dealing with the school mascot issue. I think that the Kiwanis and the school also should erect a monument to the memory of the Cherokee Indians who died on the Trail of Tears and then go ahead and change their mascot if they like. I personally like Red Hawks because I believe that red hawks are native to this area, but red wolves are not.

Show the pride

I'D LIKE to see the Southeast Missouri State University Indian portrayed in a manner that honors American Indians, not offends them. Show the beautiful beaded and fringed buckskins, their hand-made turquoise and silver jewelry and many other jewelry items, their beautiful beaded moccasins, their hand-woven belts, their hand-tooled boots and belt, their art, their graceful dance that has special meaning and the many other fine and honorable qualities that make the Native Americans to be proud of as much as our heritage.

One more amenity

I LOVE the riverwalk. What a wonderful place to exercise, see people relaxing in their chairs. There seems to be more and more people down there each day. My question, will there be any restroom facilities?

Fill the potholes

THIS MESSAGE goes to the Missouri Department of Transportation. There are some large potholes that need to have some asphalt in them between Scott City and Highway 74 off Interstate 55. It would only take a couple of hours. So, please do so. I've had to have my tires on my pickup aligned twice within the last two years simply because of the potholes between here and Sikeston.

Sports trumps religion

DID YOU ever hear the saying, "What's the world coming to?" Just observe what is going on. Think about the language being used by coaches. Is this really necessary? Did you ever study the commandments? What happened to the religion in this area? Evidently religion isn't practiced as much as sports is.

No apologies

I SURE wish President Bush read our paper. If he did, I would sure like to leave a message for him that would say "How dare you apologize." They didn't apologize when they bombed my buildings and killed my people. They didn't apologize when they dragged my soldiers around their country and hung them off of bridges. And they sure won't apologize for beheading this guy.

Honorable mention

I BELIEVE the Southeast Missouri State University professor who stated that using the Indian as a symbol would cause psychological problems as much as I believed the man who predicted a huge earthquake some time ago. When did it become a dishonor to have buildings, inventions, world peace programs, streets, educational institutions, hospitals and so forth named after a deserving person?

Spending increase

BOTH HOUSES of the Missouri Legislature are controlled by the Republican Party here in Missouri. I read where the legislature approved a $1 billion increase for the next fiscal year's budget. Can you imagine the anguish that would come from these Republicans if our Democratic governor, Bob Holden, had submitted a budget $1 billion in excess of last year's budget? Holy Moses.