Speak Out 7/20/10

Gambling problem

WE have all kinds of gambling: state-approved lottery and bingo that sells pull tabs. There's also Internet gambling. I see church people all the time on gambling boats out of town. Jesus said a person is more likely to not be accepted in his own place. If church people want to gamble, they go out of town where they can hide out. Has anybody thought about people who aren't rich and need a job to pay bills? The gambling boat people say they will have 450 to 500 new jobs. Do these church people care anything about people who need a job? Or are they happy saying we all are degenerate gamblers who will gamble away our bill money and food money that should be spent on our families? Whatever, you won, you've got your signatures, so stop all the new jobs our area could have. And don't let people in your hometown know what gambling boat out of town you're going to.

City transparency

As pertains to the movement for the Cape Girardeau City Council to put its spending policies online, I would say this. Transparency in the name of good government is a vice.

Bus stop

HOW do people get to downtown Cape Girardeau using the bus system when there's not a bus stop anywhere on Broadway or Main Street downtown?

Standing up

HOORAY for Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and the health care lawsuit. Someone needs to stand up for senior citizens. AARP sold us out. I think this is pretty bad for all of us, not just the seniors. I'm glad he filed the lawsuit.

Stamp prices

ABOUT the price of stamps going up: Someone asked why the Postal Service doesn't go ahead and raise the price to 50 cents a stamp. Can you name anything that probably won't be increased in a year or two, like the price of gas or food or energy or clothing? Is one or two cents that much to cry about when you look at the increases of everything else you deal with every day?

Bigger issues

WITH all the problems in this world it seems that grass clippings and poop in the park are of grave concern. Spewing oil wells, erupting volcanoes, failing economy, job loss, illegal immigration and terrorist bombings seem trivial in light of those problems. I walk in the park every day, so I would like to point out that while there may be a few dog bombs in Jackson City Park, the majority of the problem comes from the geese. I hope now that this is solved we can move onto more important issues.

Health lawsuit

LT. Gov. Peter Kinder's filing a suit against federal health care reform caught my attention. Our elected leaders are forever hanging on other issues with a bill that catches their attention. What concerns me is why would I want to let the insurance companies bail out on me voluntarily?

Ban the geese

Jackson needs to get rid of the geese at the City Park because they chase people and poop everywhere. I don't know why we have to have them in the park. I wouldn't blame the dogs for everything the geese are doing.

Just pennies

A comment about the cartoon about the U.S. Postal Service and another rate increase. I don't get all the griping. The postal service, just like any other business, is going to have increased costs and will need to increase prices. I wish other things would just increase a penny or two. It could be a lot worse instead of one or two pennies. People ought to be thankful for that.

Facts, please

IT'S sad when you can't have a real discussion with others. Why is it necessary to call names instead of using facts? Either grow up or shut up.

Foraging for food

A dyed-in-the-wool Social Darwinist and, perhaps, a libertarian and a tea party enthusiast might think it's a good idea that Missouri ranks fifth worst nationally in its rate of child hunger. They might say it would be an incentive for children to forage for food and, if they survive, help make them rugged individualists.

Not my vote

SOMEONE said political robo-calls have already started. They sure have. I got one the other day from Joe the Plumber. I made a mental note that the person he endorsed would not get my vote.

Outrageous claim

FORMER Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo recently said that he believes President Obama is the most serious threat to our country since its inception. So much for the Civil War, World War II, the Cold War, 9/11 and international terrorism. Tancredo's outrageous statement is exceeded only by his overwhelming ambition to say anything to get back into the public eye.