Speak Out 5/27/08

This isn't the end

THE HUMAN race has survived plagues, wars and the ice age, to name a few of the disasters we have faced. But now that oil is running out we are being told this is the end everything. I don't know about the rest of you, but humans have survived worst things in the past and thrived. We will thrive long after oil is gone.

Long medical hours

THERE ARE laws to limit the number of hours a truck driver can drive and the number of hours of rest he or she must have. So, why are nurses required to work unlimited hours with no sleep? Where I work, a nurse and surgical technician came in at noon and worked until 4 a.m. the next morning. They were called at 5 a.m. and told to report to work at 7 a.m. Is this whom you want taking care of you? There should be a law preventing this. Management should have enough sense not to put their patients at risk by requiring their employees to work exhausted.

Contradictory columns

IN ONE column, David Limbaugh denounces Barack Obama as elitist, too cool and condescending. In another, he reverses course and attacks Obama for being paranoid and hysterical. Assuming Obama does not have bipolar disorder, the contradictions in comparing contradictory trains of thought about Obama tell us nothing about Obama but everything about the absolute desperate straits of the David Limbaugh wing of the GOP. Talk about hysterical.

Operation Chaos

ONE OF the many ironies of Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos was that, if it had truly succeeded, Hillary Clinton would have ended up being the nominee rather than Barack Obama. Limbaugh wrongly thought Clinton would be easier to beat than Obama. Thus, had Operation Chaos been completely successful, Clinton might well have been elected president, thanks in large part to Rush Limbaugh. That would have been great.

Farmers' costs

I'M NOT a farmer, but farmers work to make some money as we all do. People complain about the price of corn causing certain foods to go up. Look what the farmer has to pay for fertilizer. Some of it has went up 425 percent.

Disorganized system

BASED ON my recent trip to Cape Girardeau's solid-waste transfer station, city employees should get a pay cut instead of a 2 percent raise. At the transfer station, the wait was long, the employee was grouchy and their system of getting vehicles through the line was disorganized.

Trick pony

CAPE GIRARDEAU is spending way too much time worrying about expanding its borders. Instead, it needs to focus on stopping urban sprawl. If developments goes up outside the limits, forget about it. Expanding the city would increase fuel usage for city vehicles. It would increase infrastructure cost. And the list goes on. And expansion always leads to decay of the older parts of the city, which costs money trying to fix up. Expansion is a one trick pony that always comes up short at the race.

Tape all meetings

INSTEAD OF complaining about the tapings, why isn't it required that all Cape Girardeau County Commission meetings be taped for the possibility of future review? I used to work for a county where I used the tapes to transcribe the meeting minutes. They were preserved for a time period. Perhaps if our elected officials knew the meetings were being recorded, they would watch their mouths and make sure their interests were the best for the county and not for their job prospects later.

Loud motorcycle

THERE IS a loud motorcycle on South Shawnee Boulevard. A middle-aged man having his midlife crisis driving. It is so annoying. I wish there was something we could do about loud bikes. It wakes my 19-month-old son up when he's sleeping and bothers my neighbors.

Unwanted animals

I LIVE on Route W. It seems like all unwanted animals get dropped off at this location. If you don't want your animals, please get them spayed or neutered. I don't know how much money I have been out these past four years taking care of unwanted animals. Take responsibility, folks. I don't see any people in the Cape Girardeau area dumping unwanted children on the streets. Act like adults.

Chasing business away

I HAVE seen it all now. Our state senator from Cape Girardeau has stooped to the lowest level yet. I'm ashamed of Jason Crowell. A legislator whose primary responsibility is to bring more commerce and manufacturing to this district is aiding and abetting the Chicken Littles to chase a new manufacturing and mining business away. This county desperately needs new business, especially manufacturing. I've seen selfish people, but these guys take the proverbial cake.

Official support

I'VE HEARD from the offices of Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, state Rep. Scott Lipke, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, U.S. Sen. Kit Bond. I was at a Cape Girardeau County Commission meeting, and state Sen. Jason Crowell was the only elected official who would offer the services of his office in a positive way to support the effort to stop the operation of a quarry on County Road 319. I would think that elected officials would value their offices and appreciate the support of the general public more than what they have, and that they would do more than give lip service on the issues that effect the health, livelihood, safety and property values of their constituents. They will be remembered when it comes election time.

Better get ready

I DON'T want to scare anybody in this lovely world, but we are living in the end time. People, you'd better get prayed up and saved and born again. That's not just a phrase. It's what you have to do. You go by way of the cross. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that's the only way you can get to heaven: by believing. People, get on the ball.

Devil drivers

I WOULD like to say something about the tailgaters and speeders. This is a mess. For one thing, they drive like a bat out of Hades. My question is, why are they driving like the devil's chasing them? Then I think maybe he is. They say the devil knows his own.

Honoring veterans

I would like to thank everyone who helped honor the veterans at the veterans home May 17.