Speak Out 7/19/05

Maintain rentals

LANDLORDS NEED to take responsibility for maintaining their properties. If they are going to charge top dollar for their rentals, those rentals should be up to code. City inspectors also need to enforce the code

SEMO's decorations

THE CITY might not pay a dime for all the Southeast Missouri State University expenses. But the students who go to SEMO from Cape Girardeau and around this area pay more and more every year. I'm tired of SEMO building things like entrances and fountains. When my tuition goes up every year, it's ridiculous. I understand the need for a swimming pool. But the fountain and entrance are too much. SEMO needs to worry about education. That's what it is there for, not decorations.

Stop the visas

THE 9-11 terrorists were educated in the United States. So was the chemist/terrorist who carried out the London bus bombing. When is the U.S. going to close its doors on visas for students from Middle Eastern countries?

Time for unity

"FAILURE TO protect our flag ... is a celebration of evil." I suppose Daniel S. Wheeler characterizes those who see burning the flag as symbolic speech worthy of constitutional protection (wrongly, I think) as the devil incarnate. This does little to heal and actually promotes the wounds of divisiveness that afflict our nation when there is a desperate need for more unity.

Blame the air

ACCORDING TO my research, Willis Carrier is responsible for the triumph of conservatism. Carrier is the one who motivated millions to move from the industrial Northeast and Midwest to what are called the Sun Belt states. The people who moved there tended to be older and more conservative. You do the math. Check out what the Northeast and Midwest have lost when it comes to electoral votes and what the Sun Belt states have gained. So, what did Carrier have to do with all of this? He invented air conditioning. The only hope liberals have of regaining power is to correctly point out that air conditioning has been a big contributor to creating a hole in the ozone layer and global warming. They should make an all-out effort to get a federal law passed banning air conditioning.

Deporting message

A GOOGLE search of the keyword "deport" had 191 hits from foreign nations before the first story from the U.S. -- a story complaining about deporting illegal alien college students back to Mexico. Leaders from Italy, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada and India know the answer. Congress won't figure it out until it hears from us.

Did the right thing

AS FAR as the liberal-led attack on Carl Rove, please visit the Accuracy in Media Web site and read the truth about the situation. AIM, which has criticized the right just as often as the left, says Rove did the right thing and it was the journalists who did wrong.

Indigenous comment

INDIGENOUS INSURGENCY indeed. Is that what you would call the Southerners who took up arms against the Union soldiers who brought the South back into the Union? Just because they are indigenous doesn't make them right.

Jump on board

I'VE SEEN enough of praise for columnist Gene Lyon. I started reading his column but stopped when the first paragraph contained a lie. Perhaps those who read and enjoyed it should listen to Karl Rove's comments. They would see Rove never said "Democrat." He said "liberal." Not all Democrats are liberals, but all liberals are Democrats. Only the liberals put the name "Democrats" to it. Guess the shoe was so tight they had to stretch it out so others would jump on board.

Finish the job in Iraq

I WOULD like elected officials in Washington to know we will always support our military. We will never abandon the troops like the Vietnam era. That does not, however, mean we will support how our elected officials are using them. There is a big difference. If officials use them to win a war, using all the power they have, and it is a just cause, go for it. If officials use them in a limited way with their hands tied behind their backs, shame on them. I am a Vietnam-era vet. What's happening in Iraq stinks. I will never forgive our elected officials if this continues and gets worse. Either let our military really fight or get them out. Do not let young Americans die or lose limbs because our elected officials do not let them do their jobs.