Speak Out 8/11/08

Moral collapse

AMERICA TODAY is on the brink of complete moral, sexual and cultural collapse. We're witnessing a historic assault on family values, climaxed by so-called gay marriage. Surely God must be disappointed at the deterioration of the former light of the world, the U.S.

Thanks for help

I WANT to thank the two women who helped me at the mall Wednesday afternoon when I fell. Bless their parents for raising two marvelous individuals.

Boat restrictions

GIVEN THE enormity of the Mississippi River and barge traffic, there needs to be a law prohibiting boats under a certain size. My heart goes out to those families left behind.

Trim the weeds

REGARDING THE weeds just north of Bloomfield Road and Highway 74 on the bridge: It is difficult to see when you pull out. Something needs to be done. There have been wrecks there. I was in a car accident there a few weeks ago. I would appreciate if something was done.

Liberty in peril

IF LIBERTY dies in the United States, it is destined to die everywhere. The best free-market organizations in the world are in the United States. The first principles of the free market are individual liberty, the rule of law, free markets with peaceful voluntary exchange and choice, the sanctity of private property and individual responsibility over the dependency and government coercion. Keeping this freedom is vital in our rapidly growing socialistic nation, and it's becoming more difficult to continue to expect its survival.

Union sellout

AMERICANS LOVE China-made products because we cannot afford American-made products. And it's all the unions' fault. The unions are selling out America, so blame it on them.

Neighborly rule

IF YOU want good neighbors, you must be a good neighbor and remember the Golden Rule.

Public facility

AFTER WAITING 30 minutes in line at the license bureau in Cape Girardeau, I noticed a sign that said "No public restroom." I find it irritating that in the place I pay my taxes I can't use the restroom.

Taxes, not gambling

THE MORE honorable way to conduct city or county affairs is raising or lowering taxes. Gambling is never a good solution for any problem and all the heartbreak it would bring.

J. Carter Street

PERHAPS SOMEWHERE in the newer, hipper part of town, the city can name a street J. Carter Street after our great president, Jimmy Carter, or R. Carter Street. People don't know who the original Carter Street was named for. Certainly Rosalynn and Jimmy have lived an exemplary life and deserve a street named for them.

Giving back

THERE'S A certain loyalty to Rush Limbaugh in Cape Girardeau that I don't quite get. Here's a man who has a vast amount of money. Does he give back to the community that helped make him what he is? Does he ever come talk to the schoolchildren and tell them how they might become a radio host or how he succeeded in the business?

Hiring disparity

A MONTH ago my company closed, and I lost my job. It's getting hard to find a job in this area. Everywhere I go is full of illegal aliens. This is the United States. It's sad that veterans like me can't find a job, but companies can hire illegal aliens, and everybody turns a blind eye to it.

Smell the roses

I JUST read the glowing comments in Gary Rust's column about Rush Limbaugh, his 20 years on talk radio and his $400 million deal. Rust forgot to mention Limbaugh's drug addiction and conviction and how this should be seen as a disgrace. It is curious how such an important fact gets overlooked. Since Limbaugh is making so much money, why doesn't he do something fantastic for his hometown? How about the Rush Limbaugh Water Park? It is amazing how money can make a skunk smell like a rose.

Elementary sham

THE OFFER to parents of Jefferson Elementary School to voluntarily transfer their students to a more successful school is a sham. Everyone knows it will have no effect and Jefferson will remain an apartheid-type, essentially exiled school of woeful academic achievement. The sad thing is that's the way most of the parents whose children attend other elementary schools want it to be and would favor no steps to provide for a more equitable socioeconomic balance in Cape Girardeau's elementary schools.

Scott City issues

IT IS amazing how Scott City politics work. We can have discussions on a rock quarry outside the city limits. However, when someone wants to discuss ethanol plants we are told by the mayor the discussions are over.

Advice to prosecutor

I HAVE to admit that I feel a little silly giving legal advice to a lawyer, but it seems like Morley Swingle, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, needs it. I took a class on sexual harassment as an employee of the city of Cape Girardeau. From what I understood there, claims of sexual harassment are based on the how the alleged harassment is perceived by the victim, not the perpetrator's attorney. Those women in the county auditor's office should run, not walk, to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. If I were them, I would own the county courthouse by the time this is over. Swingle's shameful handling of this incident should be grounds for dismissal from office.