OpinionJuly 5, 2007
Speak Out 7/5/07
Violating the 14th; Brown's effect; Internet dining; Official anxiety; Male rule; Golf rates; Slide rule; Why I love Paris; Tradeoff; Grade inflation; Making our day; A different story; Power of prayer; Techno slaves ; Drug tests for teachers; Praying for diabetic; You can do it; Taking on arthritis
Violating the 14th
Thank you for printing the Juan Williams' article titled "Don't mourn Brown v. Board of Education." The article points out what many of us have been saying for years: That ruling went against the 14th Amendment, and the results over the decades have not been positive. If one reads various newspapers across the nation, one will note that politicians like Kennedy and Clinton are standing against the concept that we should all be treated equally. This is shameful politics, geared only to attempting to retain the minority votes.
Brown's effect
The one of my sons who was bused across a city to "balance" the racial enrollment of a predominantly black junior high school might not have eventually become a high-school dropout had he been allowed to remain in our school district. Until the time he entered that junior high, he had been a straight-A student, was friendly and outgoing, and had high aspirations as to his education and future career. I will never know what all went on in that school, but I took off work several times a month to fight with the school officials about the lack of quality of the education, about the harassment he and other white students received from not only black students but from black teachers and administrators. Those two years broke my son's spirit, destroyed his confidence and set him back academically. Incidentally, a few years after he grew up, he earned his GED and went on to a junior college. As far as I'm concerned, the Brown v. Board of Education decision has ruined some of our children's futures, with little positive results for the black children this was supposed to help.
Internet dining
Sure would be nice if more restaurant owners in Cape Girardeau would list their menus on the Internet.
Official anxiety
I was thumbing through a dictionary of psychology and ran across the term anticipatory anxiety. Believe it or not it said in part, "Feeling experienced by area public officials prior to reading the Southeast Missourian's Speak Out section."
Male rule
For every Speak Out caller who claims he will vote against Hillary Clinton because she is a woman there are 50 who will vote for her for the same reason. The 220-year U.S. history of presidential control by white males is coming to what many consider a merciful end.
Golf rates
THE CITY of Cape Girardeau and the Jaycee Municipal Golf Course had a lot of nerve raising their rates 5 percent this year considering the condition of their greens. The greens are appalling. Worst I've seen in 25 years. So how can you justify raising the rates?
Slide rule
IF A water slide is so desired by the people of this area, why did the water slide between Cape and Jackson close?
Why I love Paris
I LIKE Paris Hilton because of "A Simple Life" and because of the "House of Wax" movie. She's a break from mundane life. It was a lot of fun tuning into her show, seeing what wacky thing she would do next. What really troubles me is how harsh the New York Press can be. Where's the love? It's just hate from the newspaper and I hope and pray that the Southeast Missourian newspaper will never spew the kind of hate that the New York Press spews toward Paris Hilton. I have the Paris Hilton cologne and I have my Britney Spears cologne, too.
Tradeoff
TO WHOEVER took my grandchild's Power Wheels Jeep off Bainbridge Road: If you return it in good shape I will not release the videotape.
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Grade inflation
I'VE BEEN reading the Speak Out comments congratulating all the teachers on the page after page after page of A and B honor roll students. I'm sure there were many, many students on that list who worked hard, learned a lot and deserved the honors they got. But there can't be as many who actually deserved it as were published. This is nothing but grade inflation. Instead of congratulating the students, the teachers should be ashamed of themselves. How can you tell who really is excelling when everybody is above average?
Making our day
I WANT to thank the nice lady who paid for my husband's and my supper June 28 at Grecian Steak House. You made our day.
A different story
I WOULD like to challenge the person who called in about the big easements being 30 feet each way from the center of the road. If there are any banks or cuts along the road, they need that much or more. I bet this person hasn't measured from the center of the road, one way or the other, to see where 30 feet ends up being. I've had a reason to do that with a road that runs by property I have and it's amazing how fast the feet go by when you start measuring. It doesn't look that much just looking but when you start measuring it's a different story.
Power of prayer
TO THE person who called himself, short, fat, ugly and gray-haired and diabetic: I'm praying for you and I hope somebody's praying for me. I don't want you to die young. I hope that helps.
Techno slaves
Long lines of people anxious to purchase Apple's iPhone reflect the degree to which we have become slaves to technology. Bruce Willis's new movie, "Live Free or Die Hard," illustrates the potential consequences.
Drug tests for teachers
AS A Jackson taxpayer I would like to ask the Jackson schools to start thinking about drug testing of all school employees, especially teachers, administrators, ones who have direct influence with our children. After what happened with athletic director/assistant principal Mr. Bohnert, I don't think that's out of line. I think they should have been done a long time ago and I'd like to know an answer as to why they can't do it. These people are teaching our children, and if any of our children would have been charged with the same offenses they would have been in big trouble and they wouldn't have been congratulated by the school district for doing a wonderful job.
Praying for diabetic
THIS IS for the lady who called in about being a diabetic and being overweight and sitting there at 3 a.m. eating cookies. I'm praying for you, but I have to say, if you don't care and don't try to help yourself, all anybody can do is pray for you. I also have diabetes. I was 200 pounds, and I'm down to about 180 now and try to get exercise and watch my weight. I don't stick to a strict diet, but I don't sit at 3 a.m., eating a plate of cookies. It's too late for me to die young because I'm already 72, but I thank the good Lord for every day that I have and I'm still able to do things and help other people. You can always see somebody in worse condition than you are. That's a good way to look at it, but I am praying for you.
You can do it
THIS IS in response to the person who was calling in at 3:10 a.m., the diabetic with the plate of cookies and candy. It's not about dieting, it's about your life and it's about making better choices. It doesn't have to be called a diet. It's just making better choices that will enable you to live a better life so you can help people and lift them up by showing them your success. It doesn't have to be that bad. You can do it with a little bit of instruction from a nutritionist, which is available if you can't pay. You can do it. Just walk up and down the street or around your house a prescribed number of times to get your body moving. But it's about choices.
Taking on arthritis
The Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act (not sure why "Cure" is part of the title, since there is no cure for any of the many forms of arthritis) is a good thing. Saying that it might help ensure early diagnosis to prevent future disability is correct. If my own rheumatoid arthritis had been diagnosed and treated in a timely manner (as my osteoarthritis was), I would not now be crippled to the point of disability. Please support this act.
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