Speak Out 8/19/05

Economic growth

THE FEDERAL government is reporting that it is receiving more tax money than it expected. George Bush was right one more time. Bush said that if he lowered tax rates the economy would grow and the government would receive more tax money, and it happened. It takes about three or four years for the economy to change and for everything to go again. But Bush was right. The economy's growing, and tax revenue is up.

Better and better

JUST WHEN I thought it couldn't get any better, the Cape Cowboy Church has a fantastic new band and weekly appearances by the Southern Brothers. The attendance is growing by leaps and bounds, and Pastor Jim gets better and better. I am truly blessed to have this Fruitland church.

Feeling the grief

FROM THE bottom of my heart, I send the mother who lost her son in Iraq my sympathy. I lost a brother-in-law who left a critically ill wife and a small daughter. But we're not complaining about losing him because of being in the war. Our soldiers are fighting for my freedom as well as for everybody else's. That mother could talk to other mothers and console them and let them know somebody cares. That's what we've done. We tell anybody we feel we can reach about my brother-in-law, and we try to help them through this grief. There's no way you can't feel the grief and the sorrow. May God bless that woman and put her energy to a much better use than what she's doing.

Slow down and save

REGARDING HIGH gasoline prices: Until people start slowing down and driving so they can conserve fuel, I don't feel sorry for anybody. I don't care what their income is or what they have to spend. If they don't slow down and drive conservatively, they deserve high gas prices.

Nab those pets

ORAN IS a quiet town. Instead of seat belt-law violations, the new police chief needs to get control of the dogs and cats that run around.

Move to the right

WHAT'S WRONG with this picture? When you drive on a freeway, slower traffic stays in the right lane. If a car is in the left lane and another car comes up behind it, the first car will move over to the right lane and allow the other car to pass. We have a four-lane highway with turning lane between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Why doesn't the car in the left lane move to the right when someone approaches from behind? When slower traffic moves to the right, all traffic moves faster and more safely.

Let's start living

WE SPEND so much time worrying about where we go when we die and how we got here that we miss the most beautiful part of the whole thing: Living. That's what life is all about. When you die, you're dead. Before you're born, you're not alive. Let's start living and not worrying about things that we will never really know the answers to.

God created evolution

I CANNOT believe all of the black-and-white thinking about evolution. I am a Christian who studies science. I believe there is a Creator referred to as God. I also believe God created evolution. We are all products of evolution. People are growing taller because of a number of factors, including nutrition. The human brain is also evolving. These changes are considered evolutionary. I don't understand why people are looking at these two concepts as mutually exclusive. I can understand people questioning the specific theories of evolution, but evolution does exist, and the planet has left clues behind in fossils, the bones of dinosaurs and remnants of our earlier ancestors. Science has a proven trail of evidence as produced and created by God. God's evidence is also found in the heart, faith and the goodness of others.

Singled out for ticket

LET ME understand this correctly. Careless and imprudent driving in Cape Girardeau does not include purposely spinning tires. Then how did I get a careless-and -imprudent ticket for spinning my tires? There are some Cape Girardeau police officers who single out and harass certain individuals. You know who you are.

Library issues

EVERY OTHER resident of Scott County pays into those taxes that foot that $15,000 bill to Sikeston Public Library, which is far larger than any of the libraries Riverside Regional operates, so that Miner residents can use it. We're not griping because our taxes go for Miner's privilege to use the Sikeston library when the rest of us can't check out books there. I don't see droves of people from Miner coming to Benton or even to the Sikeston library. I'd like to know how many Miner residents have library cards and the usage of the Sikeston library, which is paid for by all of us.

Ticket change

THE SHOW Me Center wasted the time of many Alison Krauss fans Monday when, at the last minute, it changed the time for the first-day ticket lottery to 8:15 a.m. from 7 a.m. Many folks showed up early hoping to get a good seat for the show only to find out the lottery time had been delayed. People who showed up at 8 a.m. ended up with better seats than people who got there at 7 a.m. The Show Me Center blamed the promoter for the time change, but I don't buy it. If the Show Me Center publishes a policy regarding ticket sales, it needs to stick to it.