Speak Out 5/29/07

Crisp uniforms

I AM not putting nurses and doctors down. I am watching an older movie in which the nurses are wearing starched uniforms and caps that they received when they graduated. What is wrong with people today? Don't they want to look professional? I know I am old-fashioned, but I have found old-fashioned is better sometimes.

Undisclosed facts

SHAME ON the Southeast Missourian for the front-page article regarding the Scott City School District for banning a student on a field trips. There are many more facts regarding this situation that support the school system's decision but cannot be made public at this time. When and if the other side can be revealed, you will see that the punishment more than fits the crime.

Give it a try

THANK YOU for bringing the big picture of the ethanol debate to the front page. As gasoline prices go above $3 a gallon, the debate on ethanol gets smaller and smaller. If there is some way we can make a substitute for gas that costs less than $3, then we want that substitute. Let's make a little ethanol and put in gas and pay a little less for the blend. We can all do better with a little bit more energy.

Fuel to the fire

TAKING THE time to read the dissertation-length piece by one of the last holdouts opposing the scientifically proven phenomenon of global warming ("Coal man," May 23) would require the expenditure of so much energy it would increase global warming by a factor of 10.

Blame refineries

I DON'T think people understand what is going on with gasoline prices. The price of oil has dropped considerably over the last seven months (until just recently). The problem is with the refineries. They are hurting gas prices. They have let their plants drop production and haven't repaired plants that don't work properly. That is why gas is costing so much.

Democrats' turn

SO WHEN is the Democrat-controlled Congress going to do something about the price of gas. Last summer they were all over the Republican-held Congress. Now they have a chance to do something about but stay mute. Did they lie to get into office?

Helping others?

THANK GOODNESS we have dedicated, helpful students like those attending Notre Dame Regional High School. It is heartening to hear about those students who only charged with being in possession and not drinking at the Sikeston graduation party. I suppose they were helping other students who were too drunk to get their drinks themselves. And kudos to the Sikeston Public Safety Department. You really did yourselves proud on this one.

Not all there

JUST BECAUSE some Notre Dame Regional High School students were at the beer party does not mean all were. Congrats to you smart and strong moral-standing few.

Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!

Tax advantage

WITH SUCH an embarrassment of stinking-riches from which to chose, it is hard to pick which part of the Senate's immigration bomb is most repugnant. But giving the illegals a pass on paying back taxes that is denied to citizens is a real cookie-hurler.

Construction zone

TO THE Jackson police officers patrolling the construction zone on Highway 72: Patrol it at daytime when the workers are in jeopardy, not at midnight when hard-working folks are going home. Thanks for the $200 ticket.

Draconian rules

THE NATIONAL Animal Identification System has little to do with protecting the "national herd" from disease. It has everything to do with protecting big agribusiness, feed lots and packing plants from liability. This obtrusive law will put small and organic farmers out of business, limiting our choices for our food supply to only those big organizations that will be exempt from complying with the draconian rules of NAIS.

Tuition blame

GARY RUST can wax poetic all he wants about specific state Republican legislators like Rod Jetton and their alleged accomplishments, but the fact remains that Jetton and company are ultimately responsible for Southeast Missouri State University tuition increases.

It's our fault

ARE HEALTH-CARE costs too high? Maybe. Are we required to pay for those high costs? According to Dr. C. Everett Koop, former surgeon general, no. Koop once said 75 percent of our health care is up to us. In other words 75 percent of our illness is due to lifestyle choices. If Americans would eat right, exercise regularly, stop smoking and drink alcohol only in moderation, we could cut our health-care costs by 75 percent. So our high health-care costs are our fault.

Corporate greed

MY EMPLOYERS had to raise the premium on my health insurance and also increase the deductible. My employer allowed an insurance agent to come in and offer us various supplemental insurance plans. The insurance industry's approach to the health-care crisis seems to be to sell us more insurance. The bank that handles my credit card contacted me to sell me a protection plan against credit card and identity theft. As long as the insurance industry and the banking industry are making more money off these problems, do you think they have a vested interest in solving the problems? Or are these more cases of the ordinary working person once again taking it on the chin for the gain of corporate America?

Gas pricing

ONE MORE time: The minimum wage is not meant to be a living wage. However, it did increase. This adds cost of doing business to everyone who owns a business, including those who sell gasoline. I think many of us mentioned that you would see prices rise on everything if the minimum increased. Of course, if we were allowed to build new refineries and drill new wells here instead of buying so much from foreign sources, gasoline would be cheaper. The cost per barrel of oil does not include the cost of transporting it half way around the world. Nancy Pelosi likes to get indignant about high pump prices, but we do not see her advocating a reduction in the taxes on a gallon of gas, California being some of the highest in the nation.

Mexican solutions

HAVE YOU ever been to Mexico? Our first visit, many years ago, was to drive in, look around and then keep driving for two weeks. The problem of getting out was interesting. We had not realized that there was a 25-mile limit to travel in that country without the proper paperwork being filled out and approved. A visitor receives a six-month temporary permit. Every six months that person must return to a border station to renew it. A nonresident is not allowed to work in Mexico (although with American companies down there, there may now be some exceptions) until he becomes a resident, which takes years plus proof of viable income. Perhaps our legislators should be looking to Mexico for solutions to our illegal immigrant problems.

Story Tags

Speak Out