OpinionMay 27, 2009
Speak Out 5/27/09
Crime evidence; Litter at interchange; Future stoplights; Dumping homeless; Too many vehicles; Warming conclusions; California dreamin'; GOP conflict; Good and bad; Radical shift
Crime evidence
ANECDOTAL evidence of crimes at homeless shelters or by the homeless does not answer the question as to whether serious crimes are at the same, lower or higher rate than those of the immediate and surrounding area.
Litter at interchange
I don't know who takes care of the ramps off the interstate onto Route K, but the trash around the ramps is terrible. We go that way about every day, and I don't think they've been swept or cleaned since I don't know when. It looks terrible when you're coming from the interstate.
Future stoplights
OK, so the city is getting an aquatic center on Kingshighway. There's plenty of traffic on Kingshighway. How are the people supposed to get off of the side streets in order to go home in the afternoon? It is tough to get off the side street now onto Kingshighway. Any suggestions? I think the city better look at putting up some stoplights.
Dumping homeless
People who are talking about the impact of the homeless if the federal building is converted into a shelter should be aware that homeless people will be dumped in Cape Girardeau if this is developed. I know a retired chief of police who said that has happened in the past when surrounding towns brought their homeless in and dumped them. It's happened in the past, and it will happen again. If you think we're doing this for the people who are passing through and need some help, you're wrong. It will create a magnet to draw homeless people to Cape Girardeau.
Too many vehicles
I'M all for being neighborly. But when you've got too many vehicles and you've got to park in my drive, that's where I draw the line.
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Warming conclusions
THE theory of global warming is alarming and rightly so. I agree that a scientist should be skeptical when analyzing the data. I just wonder if it is possible to acquire sufficient data to form an accurate conclusion. If not, as a community, scientists should arrive at an assumption based on conjecture. The negative consequences of inaction to remedy the problem, which in fact may exist, are such a magnitude that I feel an educated guess is most appropriate to direct political action.
California dreamin'
I grew up in Bell City and live in California where we have a $20 billion-plus deficit and no solution in sight. We don't have a revenue issue. We have a spending problem. This dilemma parallels the national deficit issue and experiences in other states. The bottom line is our Democratic legislators are unable to cut services, staff and programs. Their solution has been and remains tax, tax, tax. They also raise fees to get around taxes, which is insidious.
GOP conflict
IT doesn't matter whether or not you or I agree with Colin Powell. He is, as his past certainly demonstrates, a man who follows his conscience. He is also infinitely more qualified to analyze tactical issues than Rush Limbaugh or Dick Cheney. Of the three, he is the only one who is not tarnished by hatred and arrogance. Are we to let Cheney and Limbaugh rule our nation? I hope not.
Good and bad
CARBON dioxide is a naturally occurring compound. Can it really be bad? Water is also a naturally occurring compound. Has it ever caused harm to anyone (besides people who have been killed by floods)? Tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical compound that gives marijuana its mind-altering properties, is naturally occurring substance. Is it harmful? Most people would say "yes" if used by a teenager but "no" if it never leaves its host plant. Simply classifying naturally occurring things as "good" or "bad" is meaningless. Naturally occurring things can be both good and bad, depending on where they end up and in which quantities.
Radical shift
IT'S kind of odd. The more President Obama moves to the center and even center right on some issues, the more shrill the Limbaughistas become in criticizing the commander in chief. Could it be that those I always thought of as being on the fringe right have done a 180 degree turn and are now radical leftists? I think this is a viable thesis.
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