Speak Out 6/4/06

In sheep's clothing

THERE MAY be no Republicans on the ticket in Scott County this year, but even though a candidate says he is a Democrat doesn't mean he is. We have elected individuals thinking they believe in the same things we do, but they run as Democrats only to get elected. I think it should be mandatory that every candidate swear an oath that how they are representing themselves is the truth. I don't want to vote for a Republican thinking he is a true Democrat.

Spending to save

I CANNOT believe how crazy people are about the sales-tax holiday. Shoppers must spend $100 to save $7. Many stores offer discounts greater than that every weekend.

High-calorie menus

WHEN YOU look at a typical lunch menu for the Cape Girardeau School District, it is filled with fried chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, french fries, ice cream bars, pizza and a lot of other high-calorie foods. The person in charge of menus needs to start there with reducing calories for our children.

Kids aren't hungry

NO MORE soft drinks at school? Shades of the past. Remember when your school cafeteria offered no choices, milk with your lunch and no vending machines? We all managed to get our nutrition, and we were more healthy than today's children. Many of us were glad to get the lunch because we were hungry. Today's children are seldom hungry, which we assume is the reason schools began offering junk food: so the kids would eat. With all the sugar students get outside school, withdrawal doesn't seem too likely.

Bannerless byway

IT IS so nice to drive down an attractive Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau now that all the awful banner signs are gone. Thank you, city council, for passing the new sign ordinance.

Healthy backfire

THE FOOD police are coming to the Cape Girardeau School District. I guarantee this well-intentioned effort will backfire. The forbidden-fruit truism dictates that students will, in their off-school hours, consume even more of the bad stuff. Several studies back up my view. The sad thing is it likely won't stop here. The next thing you know, Missouri will, like Arkansas, require the in large part meaningless body mass index to be included on a child's report card. Poor kids.

Something to hide?

I THOUGHT Republicans in Congress who describe themselves as conservatives came to power in part because of their concern over coddling of criminals. Now some of these same folks are screaming bloody murder and are trying to hide behind the constitutional concept of separation of powers to keep the FBI from legally entering their offices with a warrant. I thought conservatives took the view that if you don't have anything to hide, what's the problem?

Behavior tactic

IF A teacher has to depend on keeping a kid from having recess for discipline problems, then someone needs to teach the teacher how to make the kids behave. Missing recess doesn't make a child act better.

Speaking English

THERE ARE lots of large farms in the Sikeston area that do not need illegals to do the work. All of the farmers I know want to hire Americans who speak English. Do you know any local farmers who want to hire illegals who do not speak English?

Photograph litterers

TRAVEL SOUTH off Highway 77 to Blodgett and view the trash there if you want a prime example of a lack of regard for our environment. Any road within a 10-mile radius of a fast-food restaurant will sport trash from that place of business. Biodegradable receptacles might be a thought for all businesses providing take-out containers. Why wait a year to do anything about the trash problem? Set up cameras in those high-trash areas and catch some of the offenders, then make them clean up that area.

Rigged elections

THE ONLY argument against requiring photo IDs to vote is that it makes voter fraud more difficult. My observation is that the only people opposed are strong supporters of rigged elections.

Where we live

A RECENT comment suggested people should relocate from the Gulf Coast to avoid hurricanes. If we had a major earthquake here, which could happen at any time, do you think the people here would relocate? The people who were born and raised here and have never known anything else would probably rebuild and stay right here where they have family and friends. This is where their lives are. It's the same for the people along the Gulf Coast. It's all they know. I don't think they should have to relocate.

Unctuous motives

IT SADDENS me no end that the Southeast Missourian editorial board would try to sneak by us a positive spin on the Missouri General Assembly's campaign-finance changes. Luckily, Attorney General Jay Nixon set the record straight by pointing out how seedy, smarmy and sly this bill is. I would like to believe that the Southeast Missourian editorial board's motive for writing its editorial was based on bad information about the bill, but I know this can't be the case, Thus, I have concluded that, unbelievable as it may seem, the board's motives were utterly unctuous.

Football tithe

THE METHOD of funding a new football stadium for Central High School shouldn't be uncertain. Like with so many areas of the country, football is the predominant religion of the Heartland. Therefore, residents of the school district are more than ready for a financing method based on a substantial tax increase.

Catching speeders

REGARDING COMPLAINTS about receiving speeding tickets in the mail: Slow down. It is against the law to speed. Speeding in construction zones, not to mention school zones, kills vulnerable people. You wouldn't be getting speeding tickets if you weren't breaking the law. I'm not 100 percent for the traffic-camera ticket system, but if that helps keep the cops out looking for real criminals, drug dealers, kidnappers, child molesters and murderers and not chasing speeders, then I'm all for them.

Public employees

I'D LIKE to say that I think the prosecuting attorney, his assistant and the secretaries need to be reminded that they are paid with the taxpayers' money. When you call with a question, they don't need to be so rude. They're supposed to be working for us.

No sacrifice

IN RESPONSE to the suggestion that we should put gasoline costs first and do without cable TV and cell phones: Why should we have to sacrifice for the oil companies? The rich get richer, and the poor gets poorer.

Local fuel

THE ONLY reason oil is shipped by pipeline is because it isn't produced where people are the most populous. Ethanol can be produced right where it is needed. If you need ethanol in Southeast Missouri, you produce it in Southeast Missouri. If you need it northern Illinois, you produce it in northern Illinois. The production of ethanol is not limited by fossils that were put in the ground millions of years ago. It was determined by some farmer or forester removing trees or other crops to produce it. It can be done anywhere in the United States.

Arthritis pain

I'VE NEVER in my 76 years been in so much pain as I am today and have been the last three or four weeks. My sister in California is almost two years older and is having the same pain. I'm wondering why in the world pharmaceutical companies have not found anything to ease the pain of arthritis. Apparently we're not the only ones with arthritis pain at this time.