Speak Out 7/23/06

Using embryos

IN DISCUSSING the use of embryos created for fertility treatments for stem-cell research, some people say using them is the same as murder. Isn't it a fact that these embryos are going to be discarded anyway? And if so, isn't that the same as murder too? I think so.

Working in the heat

MY HEART goes out to all who have to work outside in this sweltering heat, especially the utility workers who make it possible for us to work and enjoy our homes and churches. I cannot thank them enough for the safe and comfortable environment they provide for all of us. Anyone complaining about utility rates need only change places with them one day. Again, thanks so much. You are appreciated.

Wall pride

I THOUGHT Rush Limbaugh should have not been put on the "Wall of Fame" mural in the first place. He's an embarrassment. Or are we playing politics? Let's have someone on the wall we can be proud of.

Brave position

I WANT to express my appreciation to TJ Greaney for his "Wall of Fame" column concerning Rush Limbaugh. I agree 100 percent. Mr. Greaney, you are a brave young man. I applaud you.

Vouchers for all

I DON'T think it's right that just the poor get vouchers for schools. Who wouldn't like their kid to go to a private school? I think the voucher system should be for anyone. I don't think it's fair when just the poor get things when other people work and pay their taxes. You can look at the number of people choosing home schooling to know that the school system isn't always working.

Not working

TAX CUTS aren't working. We are going further into debt. At the start of the Reagan administration, the country had less than $1 trillion of national debt. We are now floating up to $10 trillion. We were paying $75 billion in interest on the national debt when Reagan was president. We are now paying over $350 billion on the interest of the national debt. Pretty soon the pigeons are going to come home to roost, and you're all going to be covered with pigeon manure.

Give him the rush

I RARELY read TJ Greaney's column in the newspaper, but today I did and I'm glad, because I totally agree. Let's give Rush the rush.

Change the mural

I AGREE 100 percent with TJ Greaney's column about being a time for a change on the "Missouri Wall of Fame." I think it'd be a wonderful idea to put Rush Limbaugh's grandfather on the mural.

Lines are cut

I LIVE in the Pleasant Lake subdivision in Jackson. This is the fourth time in two weeks that phone lines have been cut due to construction in this area. It's getting a little ridiculous.

Moral grounding

I JUST read the comment saying that Dr. Michael Wulfers must have taken the position he did against stem-cell research because it didn't benefit him personally or anybody he knew. That comment implied that if you had somebody in your family who might conceivably benefit from stem-cell research, you would automatically support it. I have several people in my family, including myself, who might benefit from research like that, but some of us are able to keep hold of our moral and ethical grounding despite personal advantage.

Motoring safety

REGARDING BOOSTER seats: Those calling for them the most are emergency room workers who see the damage seat belts sized for adults do to little bodies. Seat belts work if they fit properly. It is well worth the money for a booster seat. People in Florida complained about government interference over motorcycle helmets, and the law was repealed. But the number of people dying in motorcycle accidents has quadrupled since then.

What we want

PRESIDENT BUSH, who famously dismisses polls, claims it is necessary to waste time debating things like flag-burning, gay marriage and bickering over immigration laws because it's what Americans want. Now, after almost six years, Bush pulls out the veto card to strike down federal funding for stem-cell disease research, which nearly 70 percent of Americans approve of, while only half disapprove of gay marriage. Congratulations, President Bush, on proving yet again that Republicans are beyond reason and common sense.

Florida's permit

KEEP IN mind that there are thousands of Missourians who have out-of-state conceal-and-carry permits, especially from Florida. It can be issued to nonresidents and costs $117, lasting five years. It also is accepted with full reciprocity in many more states than a Missouri license. Virtually everyone I know who carries a concealed weapon has a Florida permit. That may be a large part of why Missouri conceal-and-carry applications have been less than originally expected.

No federal funding

PEOPLE WHO are misinformed about stem-cell science don't realize that President Bush is not stopping stem-cell research. He is saying the federal government cant take money from your pocket and force you to participate in stem-cell research. The private sector can kill and use all the embryos it wants.

Treatment claims

OPPONENTS OF embryonic stem-cell research claimed that 65 treatments have been accomplished using adult stem-cell technology. These numbers apparently came from a list prepared by David Prentice, an opponent of embryonic stem cell research. However, a study by three prominent scientists in a position to know contradicts these claims and others related to treatments for Parkinson's and spinal-cord injury. According to an article in Science Express, only nine treatments have been successfully tested and approved by the FDA in 50 years of research. These findings will be published July 28 in Science magazine.

Buying buses

THE COUNTY'S white elephant bus I've been seeing is almost always empty. It feels so good to shell out all that tax money to buy the driver a new bus to drive in his full-time job. Let's pass that new sales tax so we can buy more buses for these newly created full-time government jobs.

Access to drugs

I CAN'T wait for the Missouri Conservation Department and Cape Girardeau to spend close to a million dollars on the new paths and old bridge project so I can go for a stroll below Morgan Oak and get mugged or get illegal drugs offered to me. What a concept.

Giving away the store

THE CHANCES of new businesses locating in Cape Girardeau are not affected by the absence or excess of yard signs. The thing that determines a decision on whether or not to locate in a community is the degree to which the city fathers are willing to give away the store in the form of tax breaks, tax deferments and free land, all at the expense of public facilities and ordinary taxpayers, to get them to come here.

Just say no

I'M SORRY the city thinks it must change the roundabout every time someone calls to complain. I have driven a low-slung car through there and never had any trouble. I wouldn't think that street is considered a truck route, and I certainly would not like to see semis going through that intersection. Come on, City Hall and the mayor, have some guts and say no for once.

Different times

HOW DID all of us who are over 40 ever live to be this age? When I was growing up, not only did we not have car seats, most of us never used a seat belt. My dad used to tuck them down in the seats out of the way. Some of my friends say their fathers would cut them out of the car. We rode our bikes without armor, swam in the creek without a lifeguard and went to town without a bodyguard. Times have changed.