Speak out 8/1

Stay out of the way

TO THE person who has driven all over: If you want to take time to smell the roses, fine and dandy. But don't pull out in front of me when I'm going the speed limit and then drive slower than the speed limit. Stay out of the fast lane. Stay to the right. That way I won't have to try to get around you. Don't block the traffic, and we'll get along just fine.

Use those brakes

WELL, IT looks like someone must have got a speeding ticket going down the hill on Mount Auburn Road, and he's complaining because the police sit at the foot of the hill and catch the people who come down the hill and don't want to put their foot on the brake. That's why they put brakes on automobiles: to control the speed if you're going too fast. Pay your ticket and take a driving course.

A challenge

I'M A student at Central High School. A recent Speak Out caller called in and said so what if the road isn't finished. He proposed that all the high school students should walk five miles to school. I suspect this is one of these retired types who always tells the suspect stories of walking five miles both ways in the snow. Well, I've got a proposal for this person. I'll walk five miles to school if you old people will quit clamoring for free prescription drugs.

Not necessary

THIS REGARDS the reader who says it wouldn't hurt for high school students to walk five miles to school. This really shouldn't be necessary. This should have been taken care of before school ever started. Besides, a lot of these children have jobs after school to help pay for their way through college.

Pet-unfriendly town

WHY IS Cape Girardeau such a pet-unfriendly town? Looking through the classifieds recently, I was struck by how many rental ads say "No pets." I moved here two years ago and had a very difficult time locating rental housing. One rental company actually had the nerve to tell me that if I wanted to move here, I'd have to get rid of my pets -- animals I have had for 12 years. I'd forsake the job opportunity before I'd leave them behind. Many pet owners like myself are clean, conscientious individuals who probably improve the value of rental houses and apartments. Why don't rental agencies take into account a person's references and referrals by former landlords, instead of simply taking a hard line on pets? No wonder our animal shelter is always overcrowded. Renters in Cape Girardeau can't have pets.

Which road taken?

I SAW some local muckety-mucks on TV touring the new Central High School. How did they get there? I thought it was inaccessible.

A police state

THANK YOU for running the commentary piece by George McGovern. If he had been elected president, many of our nation's darkest hours could have been avoided. His characterization of the current treatment of American citizens at airports as terrorism imposed by the Bush administration is not an exaggeration. We may be destroying our civil liberties in the name of saving them. Sadly, Bush and his cronies are in the process of transforming the land of the free into a police state without (as pointed out by conservative columnist Kathleen Parker) improving security one iota.

Different perspective

AFTER HEARING the horrifying story of the 9-month-old South African baby who was raped by a man with AIDS because he and many others believe that having sex with a child will rid them of the disease, I hearkened back to a column and letter recently published in the Southeast Missourian. Assuming the baby ends up HIV-positive, and I pray she doesn't, would the authors of the column and letter, both of whom complained about what they perceived as an overemphasis on AIDS education and prevention, remain steadfast and say that she reaped what she sowed because of her sinful lifestyle?

Don't remove perk

I HOPE the university administration will not support closing the indoor track at the rec center to those of us who pay memberships to use the facility. I bought a membership primarily because of the walking track, and it annoys me that my money might have been wasted. I work for Southeast, and in this grim year when the university can't afford to give us pay raises, taking away one of the few perks of my job does little for my morale.

NIE worth supporting

I CANNOT put into words how valuable the Southeast Missourian's Newspaper in Education program is to students and teachers. It is usable at all grade levels and across the curriculum. I am convinced that in many instances the Southeast Missourian could and, perhaps, should take the place of the traditional textbook. If area businesses want to make an investment that will vastly improve a student's educational experience, then please become a sponsor of the Southeast Missourian's sensational NIE program.