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OpinionJuly 7, 2009

Try recycling; Spending too much; TV troubles; Detecting drunks; Cycle insurance; Idol worship; Failed effort; Landscaped parking; Marriage proposal; TV savings; TV ratings

Try recycling

ABOUT the trash pickup complaints in Cape Girardeau: I live in Jackson. We get one pickup a week. My husband and I put out one small trash bag a week. We recycle everything -- cardboard, newspapers, office paper, plastic -- and we sort it in bins. When they're full, we take them to the recycling center. Do you know that a plastic water bottle lasts over a million years in a landfill? We're destroying our country by not recycling. Compost and recycle and you wouldn't have to worry about trash pickup.

Spending too much

ANYBODY who's ever gotten behind on credit card payments knows that it's easy to spend too much money. It's really hard to slow down to have enough money and pay off the debt. That's what our government is getting us into right now. The government's spending too much money, and it's going to become really hard to pay off the debt.

TV troubles

THE person who said he wasn't worried about the 2.5 million viewers who aren't getting a television signal must have cable or satellite service. I prepared for the switch. I received my digital box. We've scanned the channels. And we still have big problems. I can't afford cable or a new TV. All our income goes for health insurance and electric bills.

Detecting drunks

I have a relative who has had to install a breath-analyzing ignition device. Some of the information you have provided is incorrect. Once the vehicle has started the driver must blow into the device every five minutes or the engine will stop. The driver also has to hum while blowing into the device. The idea of hooking up a blowing machine to start the car won't work either. There is no way get around these devices. When these devices are installed, there will not be an intoxicated driver behind the wheel. These devices are a good idea.

Cycle insurance

I'M glad the helmet law wasn't repealed. As a motorcycle rider of 20 years, the biggest problem is the proposed law didn't contain a freeze on insurance rates. In the long run, if you don't care about your head and the cost to your family, neither do I. But insurance costs would have increased for all riders in Missouri. I shouldn't have to pay more because some weekend warrior wants to go without.

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Idol worship

I wholeheartedly agree with the content of the July 2 Cal Thomas column on the lives of the recently deceased celebrities whose broken lives are hardly an example to follow. The mainstream is so enamored with the worship of idols.

Failed effort

NEOCONSERVATIVES couldn't have cared less about the failed effort to establish democracy in Southwest Asia. They used it as part of a thinly veiled cover for an also failed U.S. attempt to export imperialism.

Landscaped parking

THERE'S been lots of talk about how Southeast Missouri State University is turning buildings into parking lots. If you look at most of the university's parking lots, you'll notice that they are some of the best in town in terms of landscaping. The university plants lots of trees and shrubbery. I'm happy to see some of the ugly buildings disappear in favor of what promises to be new, well-maintained areas. No offense meant to Howard's, which was better than a lot of downtown buildings, but the building wasn't anything special. University: Don't let us supporters down now. Please make sure your landscaping is great. We expect no less from you now.

Marriage proposal

LET'S face it, a lot of men in politics are driven by vanity and ego. It's no wonder they have affairs. They start thinking they're idols, and these attractive, adoring women around them become temptations they can't resist. It's sad. That's why we should elect only single men and married women. Better yet, forget about the single men. We need more married women in government.

TV savings

PEOPLE keep saying that if someone doesn't like what's on TV, change the channel. I kept doing that over and over. I found nothing outside an occasional show. A hundred channels and still, nothing. I found the perfect solution. I canceled my satellite subscription, saved money and don't even turn the TV on. I am much happier for it. It's amazing how much time and money I saved.

TV ratings

CONSERVATIVE columnist Cal Tomas is upset because more people watched TV specials on Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson than the ABC health-care standards special with President Obama. Thomas wrote that "the ratings disparity is a commentary on our shallowness." I disagree. I think the American people have so much confidence that President Obama's health-care proposal will be passed and will be for the good of all that their collective interest has turned elsewhere.

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