Speak Out 5/23/05

Social Security ideas

DON'T BE fooled. Not all seniors on Social Security are happy or even satisfied with it. Many of us realize what we might have been enjoying if we could have saved our Social Security contributions, along with our employers' contributions, in even something as simple as savings account with compounded interest. Some of us wonder why, if Social Security is such a good plan, that our elected officials do not want to participate but only want to govern it.

Charity at home

MY MOTHER taught us decades ago that charity begins at home. Our government does not believe in this adage. Until we have no needs whatsoever in this country, we have absolutely no business giving our resources to another country, whether it's general foreign aid , disaster relief or fear-driven wars created by 9-11. We can borrow money to help other people, but cannot afford health care and Social Security for our own.

Made in America

BUY AMERICAN! Remember when there was a big push to buy American-made goods? If we would have listened, we wouldn't be worrying about the value of the U.S. dollar or jobs moving out of our country. It isn't too late. Think about how much lower our taxes would be if all the companies that left the U.S. would have stayed here and continued to pay taxes. Don't blame government. Blame yourself.

Earn your rewards

IT IS hard for me to comprehend how anyone could think a doctor is a freeloader. Doctors take out student loans that they have to pay back. They live a difficult life while in training. They have families they want to support with a higher lifestyle, which they earn. The real freeloaders are those that don't lift a finger and draw a paycheck from the government or sue anyone they can to get money that isn't theirs to live without every having to work. Just remember: You are rewarded for the effort you make.

Pull together

I HAVE a message for teachers. We are all in the same boat. It is a shame when teachers at different levels, in different buildings and in different departments start worrying about what perks other groups are getting. If everyone would support one another, everyone's job and workplace would be more positive. Love your students. Take care of what you are supposed to. Don't worry about what others are doing or getting that you are not.

Unfriendly state

THE REPUBLICAN drive to suppress all opposing views has taken a new twist. After ignoring and suppressing science when it challenges their dogma, threatening to re-write the constitutional system of checks and balances that allows full Senate debate of presidential judicial nominees and accusing anyone opposed to the war as being unpatriotic, now we find the governor of Missouri has fired a state ombudsman who represents the consumers and residents of the state. Evidently this individual questioned gubernatorial decisions. I guess what Matt Blunt means when he argues for a state that is friendly to economic development and business is a state that is unfriendly to its residents. He is getting his wish.

Blame the grunts

HOW CAN it be that the only folks responsible for the prisoner abuse are the poor grunts on the front line? It is simply not credible that there was no collusion from mid- to high-level officers who were responsible for these facilities. We know that the current attorney general was responsible for supporting it. Why has no-one in this administration taken responsibility? It seems that these days the buck always stops with the poor grunts at the bottom.

Doing the work

STOP SAYING immigrants do the jobs Americans won't do. There are no such jobs. Americans simply reject the low wages and unsafe working conditions that immigrants will accept.

Lombardo concerns

I HAVE two complaints about Lombardo Street connecting with Clark. The double yellow lines around that curve mean motorists are supposed stay on their side while driving and no passing. The curve has plenty of room, but every day when I take my child to school someone is on my side of the road. Also the city recently mowed there, and guess what? There are grass clippings on the street. Go figure.

Bridge safety

THE NEW Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is a wonderful asset to the Cape Girardeau area, but the automatic traffic signal on the Missouri side is a tragedy waiting to happen. The bridge deck has a steep downgrade on the Missouri side, and at the end of this grade is a traffic light. Combine this steep grade and a 40-ton tractor trailer with the automatic traffic light, and disaster is waiting to happen. Imagine a trucker not familiar with the area traveling at the speed limit when someone pulls onto the traffic light pads from the adjoining street. The light will automatically change to allow the traffic to turn onto Highway 74. We see the black skid marks on the bridge where many trucks have had to make panicked stops. I drive trucks over the bridge on a weekly basis. I know to drive defensively. But I was fooled by a car making a left turn off Highway 74. I suggest two solutions. Extend the length of the yellow light, but I don't see this as really being safe. Or install a warning light on the east side of the bridge. Someone with decision-making authority needs to look into this matter.

Others need testing

I'M A professional truck driver and believe in random drug testing. However, I don't think the government should spend so much time on professional sports when we have Supreme Court judges in Ohio who get pulled over for drunken driving and are let to leave the scene or are taken into protective custody. I think our government needs to spend more time looking at those who have safety issues: judges, police officers, lawyers who defend these people and doctors who work on these people. I think that would be a better use of taxpayers' money.