Speak Out 7/16/10

Ethical principles

WE are a secular society based in part on ethical principles common to many of the world's religions.

Rocket science

ISN'T it strange that we can put a man into space and bail out big companies, but we can't put a cap on that oil spewing into the gulf? I just can't understand why that cannot be done.

What's left

CULTIVATE compassion in your life, for this is the only thing you can take with you when you die.

Recession cycles

THE United States seems to go up and down like waves in the ocean. The down part is usually short. We've had about 10 recessions since World War II. Each has lasted 10 to 15 months. This time the recession is much longer because the government is involved and has started spending money to reverse the cycle. The worse the down cycle, the faster the up cycle afterward. But not this time. This time the government is spending too much money, and everybody knows we're going to have more taxes. So the down cycle continues.

Playing politics

SHAME on Peter Kinder. We don't want to return to the pre-Obama days of pre-existing health conditions. We don't want the wealthy to be able to fly to foreign countries to get surgery while the rest of us pay exorbitant rates. We need to move forward and worry about this oil spill instead of playing politics.

A good job

A lot of people are working two and three jobs. Some claim they can't find jobs. A lot of companies have moved out of the country, and those jobs aren't coming back. I'd like to give a little advice to some of the unemployed people and some who are working two or three part-time jobs. Have yourself tested down at vo-tech or the state employment office. Find out what you're the best at, what you're the most oriented toward. I bet you there are a lot of jobs you could get where you'd only have to work one job. Once you find out what you're oriented toward doing, the job will become easy and you'll be really good at it. Pick out a job that pays good and that can't be moved out of the country. Once you do that, you've solved the problem for good. There's lots of help now. Taxpayers are paying for it, and you ought to take advantage of it.

Garbage math

IT'S puzzling to me how, according to a recent news article, Cape Girardeau can be making more revenue on recyclables and spending less on garbage but finds it necessary to raise my bill 5 percent to pay for a 1 percent increase in workers' salaries. Does anyone else find this puzzling?

Self-serving tactics

BASED on what I've been reading, the police officers association is angry because the officers haven't received the raises they expected. So what if other city employees aren't getting raises, which is what most workers around the country are experiencing? They want their raises or else. The ads asking voters to oppose the upcoming Transportation Trust Fund vote appear to be using extortion to put pressure on the city manager. So what if TTF is good for the rest of the city? They want their raises or else. I've always been supportive of our police force, but I am embarrassed by and disgusted with their self-serving tactics. Both the leaders of this group and every individual whose name was printed in their ad should be ashamed.

Police politicking

POLICE should not be allowed to be politicking because it ruins your confidence in the police. They're there to serve the public, and that's all they should do. They can vote however they want, but no politicking. If you lose confidence in the police, the next thing you have is police control over your country.