Speak Out 6/28/05

National health plan

THOUGH AN excellent piece, an enthusiastic editorial paean to the cost-cutting effects of prescription pill splitting will not put a stop to the inevitable march toward a true national health-care system.

Keeping pets

I JUST read the comment saying that no one needs four dogs and eight cats and if you can afford to feed this many animals, you should feed the hungry children in the world. This is judgmental and an attempt to tell people where to put their values. You could just as easily say no one needs an SUV. Nobody needs a $200 suit or more than three pairs of shoes. Nobody needs to eat steaks. There has to be some tolerance in respecting what other people find valuable. I agree no animals should be allowed to run the neighborhood. It is dangerous to the animal and annoys other people. If you are trying to take care of them and it is not annoying other people, it is nobody's business how many dogs and cats you have as long as you can do it in a sanitary manner.

Losing our rights

I WANT to say something to sleeping Americans. While you were sleeping, the Supreme Court took away your right of private property. If a well-connected, wealthy company wants to take your property, the Supreme Court says it can take it and you cannot do anything about it. We need more conservatives on the Supreme Court. I am afraid those liberals will do the same thing with other personal freedoms, such as our right to bear arms. I hate that we have lost the right to private property.

Almighty dollar

THE FINANCIAL disclosure reports required for the justices of the Supreme Court were recently released to the public as mandated by the Ethics in Government Act. It showed that the majority of the justices are millionaires, five of the nine. I'm not really surprised at the ruling on the eminent domain issue that allows local government to seize private property and businesses to generate tax revenue. They are looking out for big business. Why stop there. Why not let them have anything they want: your vehicle or your bank account? After all it is for a good cause, the almighty dollar.

Cookie cutter

Congress is under a lot of stress

To make both budget ends meet.

And so it targets PBS

And our friends on Sesame Street.

Taking our land

AT ONE time personal property was as sacred in this country as the American dream. Now with the latest Supreme Court decision, it makes it almost impossible to stop the seizure of your land by eminent domain. Fair compensation almost always means the smallest amount possible. If the government wants my land, bring some Kevlar.

Town problems

MARBLE HILL did not test the water supply for coliform bacteria in April as required monthly by Missouri public drinking water regulations. The explanation? "Operator has been very busy on other projects, time slipped away ... ." Certainly those other projects must have been more important than safe drinking water. Then there's the new water tower problems. This is life in a tiny town without any professionalism.

Property rights

THE GOVERNMENT has always had the right of eminent domain -- to take your home and property with "reasonable" compensation for a "public" use. The U.S. Supreme Court has unwisely ruled that "public" use can include condemning your home so the governmental entity such as a city can sell the property to a developer, which in turn would increase local sales-tax revenue. Gov. Matt Blunt should call a special session of the legislature to pass a law to outlaw this in Missouri. Where do our local and state legislators stand on this issue? I will vote against any public official who does not actively seek to restore the private property rights of the homeowner.

Freedom's limits

REJOICE THE wonderful news. The Supreme Court has ruled that the government can seize our property if it can get more taxes from it by having an apartment complex on it rather than a family home or farm. Freedom in America is becoming a euphemism. Our freedom ends at the end of government's arms.

Mixed signals

I CANNOT believe what I am hearing from some liberals. They say it's OK to burn our American flag because of free speech. But they get outraged if someone tears up a Quran.

Tanning concerns

PLEASE JOIN with me and the American Medical Association and demand of your legislators a ban on the use of tanning salons for teenagers.

Thanks to Cape PD

I SOMETIMES think that we are too quick to criticize our police department. We do not give them enough credit. I was recently involved in an incident that made it necessary for me to go to the police station and complete a report. I was treated respectfully by everyone I came in contact with, and the officer who talked with me could not have been more helpful. He took the time to read through my statement and talk with me about it, asking questions and making comments as we talked. He was polite and kind but also very professional. He also called me the next day to update me on the progress of the investigation. So, to Officer Smeltzer and the Cape Girardeau Police Department, thanks for the great job that you do.

Help save Cairo

IT IS an outrage to think of historic downtown Cairo being demolished. The city that was once expected to rival Chicago could be a historic attraction if saved and restored. Action needs to be taken to clean up Cairo. It isn't impossible to repair. I care for Cairo. Do you?

Future hotel site?

MAYBE IT'S time we start developing the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. I think it's a great spot for a hotel. I wonder if the eminent domain ruling applies to that property?

Wiser decisions

IF MY front porch could be painted, it would make a more attractive entrance into my home. However, I guess I should pay the water bill instead. Unlike governments that justify money spent on beautification projects instead of on essential things like street repair, the rest of us have to make wiser decisions on how to spend our income.

Other rights too

FAIR WARNING to public officials who think that because of the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of eminent domain they can choose future condos and stores by putting a family out of its house. They need to remember another right in the Constitution, the right to bear arms.