Speak Out 6/2/05

Riding in trucks

IN RESPONSE to the person complaining about city workers riding in the back of city trucks: Under city ordinance only family members over 18 and employees conducting business can ride in the back of trucks.

Not practical

SEAT BELTS on school buses? Let's look at this logically. School buses have the lowest injury rate per person of on-ground vehicle travel. Have you considered the cost of equipping and maintaining seat belts on busses? It would bankrupt schools and transportation companies. How are you going to enforce the wearing of seat belts on buses? Do you really think the kids are going to voluntarily buckle their belts when they get on the bus? Seat belts are a good thing, but on some modes of transportation they are not necessary nor practical.

What's next?

THE FIRST excuse for invading Iraq was weapons of mass destruction and the link to 9-11. Neither of these were true, and the White House has admitted it. The next excuse was to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. But Iraq is turning into a police state, so there goes that one too. So what's the excuse now? Come on, President Bush, we're losing lots of lives -- and you're racking up a record deficit -- with no exit strategy.

Too many choices

THE HECK with all this "Competition is good for the consumer because it provides more choices" baloney. We are already overwhelmed with choices. It's driving us nuts and paralyzing us with obsessing and indecisiveness over what choice to make. I yearn for the day when there was but one telephone service provider.

Questionable advice

DAVID LIMBAUGH reading the riot act to U.S. Sen. John McCain on what is best for the Republican Party, U.S. Senate and the United States is like a national spelling bee contender getting spelling tips from Dan Quayle.

Same as the Old Boss

The working poor think Hillary

Will lead them up the hill.

I think they're wrong because, you see

She's just another corporate shill.

Like her husband, Bill.

Political prediction

ULTRACONSERVATIVE Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has committed a fatal political error. He has publicly criticized Missouri Right to Life. However, Democrats shouldn't get excited. This merely means that Blunt will be beaten in the Republican primary when he runs for re-election by a credible, smooth-talking candidate who is even more of an extremist than Blunt. Whoever that person is will be elected governor. Remember, you first read it in Speak Out.

Dangerous hazard

I DO not understand why Missouri government continues to allow one of the biggest public-safety hazards of all time. Whoever came up with the idea of a 100-mile yard sale has to be the most stupid person in the world. I am sick and tired of trying to get to work along Highway 25 and suddenly the car in front of me stops so the driver can buy someone else's junk.

Just an obstruction

GOV. MATT Blunt's column highlighted a problem facing Republicans. The governor defends his abortion stance against attacks from fundamentalist "Its my way or the highway" factions opposing stem-cell research. Republicans should know by now that the extreme right knows no compromise. They have re-created God in their own image, re-written constitutional history and labeled all commonsense politicians as obstructionists. Yes, Governor, when you sell your soul to the fundamentalists, you give up freedom of choice and freedom of conscience. Your opinions must be supplanted by those supplied by Limbaugh-land or you risk excommunication and possibly extinction. Do not go whining to the public for support, because in the bold, new world of fundamentalism, public opinion is just another obstruction.

No-cheating policy

"WHAT'S CHEATING? Al-though we encourage students to work in groups, and discuss laboratory activities with other students, ultimately all assignments must be the individual work of the student submitting the work, unless clearly identified by the instructor as a group effort. Group reports and assignments are not permitted unless clearly indicated, neither are close paraphrases of the work of other members of the group or other students currently or previously enrolled in this course. This kind of plagiarism (cheating) is grounds for dismissal from the university; it will be treated with no sympathy." What would Professor Alan Journet have done if one of his students had submitted a plagiarized paper and the student said in explanation: "At the time of submission, I selected from my file of ideas one that I thought was mine; it certainly reflected my views as expressed in previous papers, and was entirely consistent with both my writing style and the required length." Would that cut the mustard?

Bear policy

I KNOW what I will do if I run across a bear on my farm. Whether the bear is causing trouble or not, it will be shoot, shovel and shut up.

Waiting for judges

THE EDITORIAL from the San Francisco Chronicle blames President Bush for the Senate gridlock by attacking his nominees for judicial seats. From the Chronicle's vantage point on the left coast, these judges seem to represent the far right of American policies and ideas. Many of us in the rest of the country are waiting for judges who aren't pawns of the environmental extremists, pro-abortion organizations or groups that would try and convince blacks that they will be victims forever.

Reserve differences

THIS IS in response to the caller who asked us not to forget the Army Reserve soldiers who are mobilized. I have not nor will I forget any of our brothers in arms. The difference between the National Guard's 1140th Engineers and the Army Reserve's 348th Engineers is minuscule to the average citizen. The National Guard has a much larger role in our current global war on terrorism as evidenced by the fact that over 75 percent of all reserve troops currently fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are National Guard. The National Guard is the only reserve entity with a state mission such as responding to natural disasters. While I appreciate the Army Reserve's 348 Engineers and their soldiers' service, the unit is being cut by nearly 100 soldiers due to their lack of relevance for the current battlefield. The National Guard's 1140th Engineers is gaining an additional 100 soldiers in October 2005.

Poor handling

THE CAPE Girardeau Crime Stoppers program needs a good lesson in public relations. After reading of someone I had been acquainted with, I called Crime Stoppers to pass on some information about people who might know where the person being sought would be located. I was treated rudely. I was treated as if I were the criminal by the police department representative who contacted me. I was never so disappointed in my life in the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

Speeding trucks

I READ in the paper where it says a tractor-trailer truck takes the length of a football field to stop at 70 mph. If they're going 80 and 90 mph, why in the heck doesn't the highway patrol stop them?

Thanks to deputy

I WANT to thank a police officer, Deputy Dover in Alexander County, Ill. He pulled two people out of a burning vehicle. I want everyone to know it's appreciated what police do. He's a hero in a lot of people's minds, and we want everyone to know that.

Making decisions

I AM an advocate of teenagers' rights, including the right to dye their hair. Local schools have pretty much come around on this issue. I also believe that after a teenager makes a decision to have sex that it is her privilege to have an abortion. If teenage girls want to cross state lines to have an abortion, it's fine with me. I'm a 50-year-old woman. I want to keep all the rights and privileges a free society has and provide every opportunity for people to make their own decisions.