Speak Out 6/11/06

Neglecting children

THUMBS DOWN to those in positions of trust and authority who participate in the criminal neglect of our children. How? In the 1994-2004 decade, the limited English proficient student population in Missouri grew by 211.8 percent. The fact that many are illegal aliens fosters a criminal neglect of our own children and leaders who stay silent participate in that neglect.

Bear story

AFTER READING your article about the black bear, I recalled an incident that happened at my parents' home in Jackson off Route W. It was late in the evening, and my mother saw a dark figure standing at the back sliding glass doors. She thought it was my father, but as she came closer she could see that it was a large animal that appeared to be a black bear standing on its hind legs. She said it stood for a moment and then walked away. We were a little skeptical and teased her about it, thinking it was more realistically a large dog. But this article has left me wondering. You never know.

Too much government

IN REGARD to President Bush's proposal to win some conservative support by amending the Constitution to ban same-sex marriages: This is ridiculous. Even if you are against the marriage of two people in love who happen to be the same sex, allowing the government to tell us whom we can and can't marry is the first step toward a totalitarian government. What's next? People of Chinese descent can't marry Koreans? African-Americans can't marry Caucasians? Blondes can't marry brunettes? Be careful in letting this one slip through.

Not-so-good news

GOOD NEWS, bad news, awful news: California's legislators are considering a bill that would send home the 22,000 illegal alien criminals overcrowding that state's prisons. Good news: It would save the state about $1 billion. Bad news: Unless our borders are made secure, most of those 22,000 criminals will again enter our nation illegally. Awful news: They might not all return to California.

Travel club

THUMBS DOWN to Congress, the home of foggy, easy ethics. Members of Congress and their aides took free trips worth nearly $50 million paid for by corporations, trade associations and other private groups between January 2000 and June 2005. That was 23,000 trips to popular spots such as Paris, Hawaii and Colorado ski resorts. And toil and strain as they may over congressional ethics, want to bet that those trips will still remain ethical? Think they had to take their shoes off at pre-boarding security?

More of the same

THE CAPE Girardeau School District should be defending the administrative and central office's budgetary increases. These same administrators have not increased MAP scores but are rewarded anyway. By throwing minimal salary increases to the teachers and then reducing their benefits, it is same-old, same-old once more.

Deceiving voters?

ATTORNEY GENERAL Jay Nixon was publicly threatening to sue AmerenUE and was privately accepting contributions from AmerenUE through local Democratic committees. That sounds to me like a conspiracy to evade campaign-finance laws and deceive the voters.

Too much smell

I AGREE that smokers should be more considerate as to where they smoke. But women and men who bathe in their perfume and cologne are just as bad if not worse for someone who has allergies.

Elitist irony

DR. ROBERT Hamblin is a fine man and talented author. His column on Japan was informative and thought-provoking. One question that formed in my mind is quite disturbing: We are opposed to other nations developing a nuclear weapon, yet to date we are the only nation to ever use a nuclear weapon on another nation. Have we become so arrogant and elitist that this irony is lost on us?

Animal kingdom

I WANT to be the first to thank the Missouri Conservation Department for its efforts over the years of releasing wildlife into or near urban and residential populated areas. We folks in Jackson may never have had a chance to see a black bear up close if it were not for this forward thinking. Some folks near the Mark Twain National Forest where these bears have largely been released have had the opportunity of having bears coming up to their back porches.

Overrated economics

I RESPECTFULLY disagree with your positive comments on Reaganomics. Although we loved President Reagan as a person, he went overboard on Reaganomics. As a result we are committing economic suicide. Reaganomics did not create above-normal job growth, nor did it create an extraordinary real wealth.

Illicit science

NEWS OF Harvard's attempts to clone human embryo's reveals the truth about Missouri's stem-cell initiative on the November ballot. Are we to believe that Harvard and the University of California-San Francisco have the only scientists doing cloning of humans for the purpose of harvesting embryonic stem cells? If Miki Gudermuth and her friends want to fund this science, so be it, but I don't want anyone putting his hand into my pocket to fund the murder of embryos for research.

War's toll

MY SON was drafted during the Vietnam War. He came home to rude accusations that he was a child killer and murderer. He was not able to find a job in this area. He signed up for another branch of service to have a paycheck and has retired honorably. The Vietnam War took its toll on him, and his country let him down. How can these officials sit here safe in this country and judge the ones sent in harm's way to protect their interests in these Third World countries where life has no meaning?

Too many consultants

WHAT A bunch of hypocrites on the Cape Girardeau City Council. They worry about tax-free holidays and who the money could benefit, but they turn around and hire consultants for tens of thousands of dollars. Don't they have enough sense to figure out problems without wasting the taxpayers' money?

Worrisome matter

THANK YOU for printing the comment "Bible lesson." Fundamentalist Christians must be working hard to fight off this mysterious temptation to be attracted to the same sex. That's all they talk about. Funny how most of us didn't wake up one day saying "I think I'll be gay" or "I think I'll be straight." I wish all those Christians out there so worried about turning gay good luck.