Speak Out 5/21/05

All the answers

IF YOU are pleased with the direction this country is going, thank the Republicans. I find it interesting they have all the answers when they are a minority, but once in power they seem to lose all that superior intelligence.

Propaganda machine

IS THERE a right-wing medium that beats down and demonizes liberals to the point where they might be afraid to express themselves in a place like Cape Girardeau? Just tune into Rush Limbaugh's radio program for an hour and witness real media democracy in action. Does anyone doubt that liberals are demonized 24 hours a day on multiple channels just for being liberals? Does the supposed liberal media ever demonize the word "conservative" while publicly belittling those who call themselves conservatives? Indeed, there is a right-wing propaganda machine. This has to be a major reason why the liberals in Cape Girardeau County don't speak up.

No kidding?

SITTING IN the no-smoking section of a restaurant is like sitting in the no-peeing section of a public swimming pool.

Efficient and disastrous

THE JUST-COMPLETED session of the Missouri General Assembly will go down in history as one of the most efficient, decisive and disastrous ever.

Cheers for Oak Ridge

I WANT to congratulate all the 2005 graduates of Oak Ridge High School. Way to go. Job well-done. Best wishes for your future plans. God bless each and every one of you.

Bold action

SOCIAL SECURITY has been a broken-down system for decades and needs a major overhaul. Congratulations to President Bush for trying to do something about this issue that is going to bankrupt our country if it's not addressed.

Plant a memorial

I THINK it would be a lovely plan for the people on Big Bend Road to plant flowers, roses or whatever blooms on Big Bend Road as a memorial to the American Indians who died on the Trail of Tears. The blood of the Indians runs through my ancestors' veins down to me.

Great pop concert

WOW! WHAT a wonderful performance by the Jackson Pop Concert. It was a great job like always. I have to congratulate Mrs. Shinn and Mrs. St. John for doing a professional job and somehow getting these high school teenagers to have such talent and pull it all together. We are so blessed to have such talent at our school. Great job once again.

Peace and quiet

I LOVE these excuses by dog owners as to why their dogs bark constantly. I don't own a dog or cat. If you hear your dog barking, it also means you neighbors can hear the barking. I teach my children right from wrong. It is your obligation to teach your dog the same thing. If you are too lazy to do that yourself, then send Fido to obedience school. We don't like hearing dogs bark all the time. We love our peace and quiet.

Loud mufflers

I'M CALLING about all the loud mufflers. I am 60 years old. When I was a kid, we had glass packs on our cars. The police would stop us and give us a ticket, and we had to get our glass packs fixed to where they weren't so loud. Nowadays, young kids are running around with these little short mufflers that are really loud.

Right about workers

THE Mexican president is getting a lot of flack about his remark that Mexicans work in the United States doling jobs that blacks would not do. That statement is accurate, but it wasn't complete. Whites won't do that work either, so the Mexicans do it. I am from part of the country where there are a lot of Mexicans working while whites and blacks are sitting drawing welfare checks. The Mexican president was honest in his statement. He just wasn't inclusive enough.

Official whitewash

I HAVE been confused by all the congressional reports that deal with so-called intelligence failures regarding Iraq. They all seem to blame the intelligence community for reporting that Iraq had a nuclear capability, had weapons of mass destruction and was involved with al-Qaida and maybe even 9-11. Yet all reports that I heard and watched showed that the intelligence community knew all along that these claims were not true. It appears that the public has been duped by a huge cover-up campaign designed to shift responsibility from the White House to career experts who actually knew and argued better all along but were ignored. The whitewash simply does not jibe with historic events as they were reported at the time.

Summer work

I AM glad to read another article about teachers we have to work the summers to make ends meet. Where do they find the time? Every teacher I talk to tells me he doesn't have the summer off since he is working on his continuing education.

Salute to parents

WE CANNOT forget to thank the backbone of the Central Junior High School musical, "Annie." The parents of the cast were outstanding. They built the sets, made the costumes, did the make-up, passed out programs and shuffled kids to and from the practices. That's where the standing ovation should be directed. Bravo! Parents, you are the main reason that show was so outstanding.

Jefferson City errors

REGARDING THE "Jefferson City backward" comment: The writer should validate his sources before making such comments. As a native of Jefferson City, I can tell you that Amtrak has worked very hard, along with the city, to overcome several obstacles and has thus far managed to keep the train service in Jefferson City. The comment regarding the News Tribune is simply not true. Not only is this a thriving paper, its online version is more complete than the Southeast Missourian.