Speak Out 6/22/05

Bone-jarring bump

ON MOUNT Auburn Road heading south on the inside lane between Themis and Independence streets, there is a concrete joint that has turned into a bone-jarring bump. There are several others along Mount Auburn that need fixing too, but in my poor little car that one hurts the worst.

Making it legal

ARE WE sure legalization of alcohol did anything but put some tax dollars in the government's pockets? If it were illegal and more difficult to obtain, would there be fewer drinking drivers and fewer alcoholics? So if we legalized things like meth, would there be fewer drug addictions, or just more taxation on something else that is bad for us?

Comparing populations

REGARDING BARRELS of oil per person: There also happens to be over 1 billion Chinese versus about 200 million Americans. Also, not every Chinese person has the means to live like the average American. Once you do the math with these figures taken into account, things will be relatively equal on a per-person basis.

City's tall grass

I THINK Cape Girardeau needs to worry about the height of the grass on its own property instead of everyone else's yard. I can't count the number of city-owned properties where the grass is knee high before it's mowed. It's like the kettle calling the pot black.

Double trouble

THE POLICE need to do something about the double parking on Main Street in downtown Cape Girardeau. I travel that route four times a day, and it's not delivery trucks that are double parking. It's the public. The double-parked motorists are either letting someone off or are waiting for someone to come out of the store.

Not in the preamble

PROMOTING THE general welfare mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution does not mean handing out welfare checks.

Marriage laws

IS IT just me, or do others notice how the politicians all over the world no longer listen to the people they are suppose to represent? There are countries that support gay marriages, which is what they want. But what about the people in states or countries that do not want gay marriages? Do these deaf politicians have a right to force their views on us? I once lived near a community that was so closed to outsiders, I was glad to move to Cape Girardeau. I pray that Missouri remains firm in defining marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Working less

WORK IS our national religion. We work harder than any other citizens of the world, including those of Japan. If the likes of Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage, had his way and employers asked for less from workers, we would be lost as individuals and as a nation.

Lots of sweeping

CAL THOMAS clamored concerning the acquittal of Michael Jackson: "The narcissistic generation has come full circle, from indulging children to abusing them, from setting standards to removing all taboos. Nothing is wrong any longer because nothing is right." At first I thought this statement to be an example of a propaganda technique known as a sweeping generalization. Upon further reflection, I decided that it deserved modification and should be deemed a sweeping, sweeping, sweeping generalization.

Don't need Tasers

SCOTT CITY is building up cash reserves, and that's very smart business management. Buying Tasers for the police department is not. Tasers have caused many deaths, and many much larger police forces are questioning their value. It's a foolish investment of $10,000 that we can ill afford. Besides, we don't really need them. The crime here isn't bad enough to warrant such a foolish investment.

School funding

"FISHING AROUND for a liberal judge is the wrong way for the state of Missouri to do the business of educating our children." Thus, a classic example of the motive fallacy from the reprint on school funding from the St. Joseph News-Press. Who cares what the motive of trying to improve school funding is as long as it can be empirically demonstrated that an equitable increase in school funding is a worthy goal and will help improve academic achievement in Missouri?

Weeds are mowed

I'm here on Route W, and the weeds have been mowed. It looks great. I want to thank whoever mowed the grass. We really appreciate it.

Political gain

IF I hear another liberal say he supports the troops but not the war, I think I'll throw up. You can't have it both ways. It endangers our troops to make accusations about how captured terrorists are being treated. These prisoners have eaten better and been given more time to worship than they ever had. But the Democrats couldn't care less. They hate President Bush and the conservatives and will do anything to destroy American policy and weaken our military and the president for political gain.

Thanks for glasses

I'D LIKE to thank the person who found my prescription safety glasses from work. I am really thankful you found them and turned them in to the police for me.

Floodwall critic

The portion of the floodwall in downtown Cape Girardeau that was painted last year is absolutely beautiful. But why do we have to have the nice section and then the ugly section that looks faded out? Then we skip back to bare wall again. Behind the Little Red House are a few more figures. Nothing is the same.