OpinionAugust 17, 2009
Speak Out 8/17/09
Killing the bees; Making a visit; Late for church; Grass in streets; School supplies; Crack crackdown; Turn of the light; Taking the cheese; Paying for care; Street repairs; Offensive cartoon; Same plan, please; Firearms refresher; Holding detainees
Killing the bees
BEES are threatened with extinction in 35 states. Forty deadly chemicals and pesticides have been found in bee cells. Seventy percent of our vegetables and fruits rely on bee pollination. Only three crops -- wheat, rice and corn -- are derived from wind pollination. France has banned spraying in major cities. In one Chinese province the main crop -- pears -- is being hand pollinated because the bees have died. I have a colony of bees in my backyard pollinating my coneflowers. The city sprayed. The bees and my two butterflies died. Do we want food for survival? Or do we want to destroy the miracle of nature? If we continue to pollute with deadly chemicals and ignore the balance of nature, we could jeopardize life on Earth.
Making a visit
SOMEONE in our family had to be put in the nursing home. If you know of anyone in a nursing home, take five minutes to visit them. The family would certainly appreciate it.
Late for church
ONE thing that worries me more than squalling babies in a church service is one family dragging in late Sunday after Sunday. Don't they know church starts at 10:30?
Grass in streets
I live on the west side of Jackson. I've been noticing how many property owners blow grass out into the streets and sidewalks. A little grass is to be expected, but this is horrible. I have approached the mayor twice, and she said there is no ordinance against this. Having lived in Jackson all my life, I love the city that professes to be the city of beautiful homes, churches and parks. This should not be tolerated. Some of the lawn services are the worst, but there are many property owners who are just as bad.
School supplies
REGARDING the comment about school orientation: Beware, it does not get any better. We have children attending Central High School this year. At orientation, I asked about school supplies and was told students would be told on the first day of school what school supplies they need by each teacher. This does not help us since the tax-free weekend has passed. This means we lose out and pay more money.
Crack crackdown
AFTER reading Sam Blackwell's column about the numerous crack houses in Cape Girardeau that seem to be common knowledge, I can't help but wonder why the police haven't made closing them a priority. Keep busting them and making them move so they'll go to another town.
Turn of the light
YEARS ago soap operas were somewhat entertaining. I remember that, when I was a child, my mother always had to stop whatever she was doing and watch "The Guiding Light." I watched it up to a few years back when it got so bizarre. It wasn't worth watching. It's no news to me that the light has gone out in "The Guiding Light."
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Taking the cheese
HOW did it happen? How did our national government grow from a servant with sharply limited powers into a master with virtually unlimited power? In part, we were swindled. Why? Because we have given political power to men and women who promised to restore limited government and then proceeded, after their election, to expand the activities of government. Too many of us became like little mice nibbling at the cheese in a spring trap. We have incrementally taken the bait, preferring to risk our freedom and our constitutional system for a little more cheese. And all those who had become accustomed to slurping freely from the public trough became slaves of the privileged few to be ruled as that privileged ruler sees fit. We are nearing that point of no return.
Paying for care
UNIVERSAL health care is a scary idea, but so is dying because you can't afford any other care except what is already in your medicine cabinet. Even moderately well-off people can't always afford health insurance. I was fortunate at one point to have an employer who wouldn't pause at helping one of his employees deal with the often unexpected need for health care. Out of his pocket. Not many people are of that high quality.
Street repairs
I have thoroughly enjoyed driving in Cape Girardeau the past few weeks. It's not just the dozen active road repair projects. It's also those streets and areas that have been prepared for resurfacing, areas such as around Arena Park and streets like West End Boulevard where sections have been dug up but not repaired. I'm probably a little old-fashioned, but I would think that if the city were going to dig up holes, they would make it a priority to repair those holes in a timely fashion. If the city, however, doesn't have the time or budget to fill in holes in a timely manner, maybe it shouldn't go around digging them. Common sense again fails.
Offensive cartoon
YOUR Aug. 12 editorial cartoon was more flaky than any opinion of Sarah Palin. It gets tiring to see her and other Republicans being ridiculed so much in the Southeast Missourian. Why is it that anything goes as far as Republicans and Christians, yet any other group being offended would cause public outcry?
Same plan, please
I do not know what the final version of health-care reform will look like, but I will not vote for any of my federal senators or representative if they do not endorse a plan that extends the same options that they themselves and all federal employees have at the same out-of-pocket costs.
Firearms refresher
"THOSE who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." -- Thomas Jefferson. "Those who trade liberty for security deserve neither." -- Benjamin Franklin. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them. Gun control is not about guns. It's about control. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No gun, no peace. no safety. You don't shoot to kill. You shoot to stay alive. Assault is a behavior, not a device. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand? The next time a politician brags about his commitment to keep guns for "hunting only" because he is a hunter or because she went hunting with her daddy when she was a little girl, ask them what that has to do with the clear meaning of the Second Amendment and its intended purpose to keep and bear arms.
Holding detainees
SHAME on you, Paul Greenberg. After eight years of George Bush's war, you still have the nerve to blame President Obama for not ending it to your satisfaction? Where have the protesters gone? Any of our supermax prisons could easily hold terrorist detainees. How can an aspiring terrorist not see the two-handed way we deal with prisoners in our so-called justice system and not see the obvious racism and fear that make us such a tasty target? In this nation of fair-minded people, some of us still believe that an accused criminal is entitled to a fair trial and that holding a prisoner indefinitely without access to legal redress is a crime. I still believe in the principles my nation tries to cram down everyone else's throats.
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