Speak Out 8/2/07

Federal goodies

I'M NOT a city official, so I felt a bit wronged the other day when given a tongue-lashing for the apparent fact that Cape Girardeau has not yet applied for federal designation as a "Preserve America" community. The rant was one-sided, so I didn't get a chance to respond. But I understood the upset citizen to mean that if Cape Girardeau received such a designation, it would be in line for all kinds of federal and other goodies.

Highway safety

REGARDING HIGHWAY 34/72 construction: The lanes are not meant to be driven at NASCAR speeds. Slow down to the posted speed limits for safe passage. Please think of the workers as well. They have families. Drive safe and arrive alive.

Memorials at Capaha

I AGREE that the war monuments should be placed at Capaha Park right behind Freedom Corner. There is a sidewalk and a place for sitting that could be used by viewers. There is plenty of room in that shaded area.

Table for 10

IF RESTAURANTS don't want our business, we can go elsewhere. Last week we went to a restaurant at 8:30 p.m., and the restaurant closes at 9 p.m. Two girls at the desk rolled their eyes when we said we needed a table for 10, and they made it clear when they closed. I don't get this mentality.

Writing tickets

EAST PRAIRIE police burn gasoline writing tickets for speeding on Main Street and Highway 105 when we have children and babies riding in front seats with no seat belts. We don't see officers on other streets where trouble areas are. Is this all they know? How to write speeding tickets? Workers are only as good as their boss.

Need term limits

I NEVER thought I would say this, but it's time for a second revolution. Everyone in Congress has got to go. Federal legislators are bickering like children over a toy and have only made themselves look like idiots. And they're taking us with them. We need term limits.

Report from Iraq

I AM currently in Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi troops have been working to secure the borders between Iraq and her neighbors. There have been many seizures of arms, and many foreign interlopers have been arrested or killed, but it is still a work in progress. To date, we calculate we have reduced foreign intervention by around 30 percent, and we're getting better at it every day. By the way: It's not a civil war. Al-Qaida is fully engaged in Iraq.

Working late

I HAVE a few comments about the subject of people arriving at restaurants right at closing time and expecting superior service. I work at a movie theater where this happens frequently. The last show will have started 10 to 15 minutes ago, and people are still showing up to buy tickets. At this point, most everything has been shut down and cleaned for the night. In addition, most people are ready to go home and see their families and friends. However, we open back up and take the sale. This creates more paperwork and delays. The next time you arrive late for something, consider the employees' and feelings and not just your own greedy intentions. Arriving late is disrespectful to the person providing you the service.

Getting gray

IT HAS been several weeks now since I issued a challenge to Bush haters to produce evidence of one instance in which the Bush administration, or President Bush himself, has violated our Constitution. I'm getting gray waiting.

Staying late

REGARDING THE comment about servers should be happy to have customers come in at any time. Do you want to stay an hour or two later than you are supposed to after work?

First-hand info

WHY DO people continue to denigrate our soldiers in Iraq by insisting we have lost? Stop believing what the politicos say or what you read in the papers. Ask a soldier who has been there. You will get your eyes opened. It's like Vietnam. We never lost a battle, but the peaceniks forced us to walk away from victory. Never again.

No. 1 piglet

I RESENT a recent editorial cartoon. It portrayed a mother pig (the federal government) and her little piglets (the states) lining up to be get "federal farm subsidies." The piglet representing Missouri was shown as second to last in line for the subsidy feeding. That's what got my goat. I have reason to believe that when it comes to federal farm subsidies, Missouri ranks a lot higher on the hog than the other states. Missouri should have been portrayed as the No. 1 or close to the No. 1 piglet.

Test scores

WHEN READING that the government is considering giving teachers pay incentives for high test scores as part of the No Child Left Behind changes, I have to wonder if anyone debating this change understands the impact that parenting has on test scores. If the education system is one in which the parents are involved, teach their students self-discipline with school work and pass on the intrinsic value of education, the test scores are more likely to reflect that. If you are involved in an district where the current culture does not pass on those characteristics to the majority of the attending families, the test scores are more likely to be low. Let's look at the whole picture and not just the teacher in the classroom.

Paying for pollution

SO IT'S OK to pollute the air so long as you pay a fee for it. I didn't realize that before the article about increasing the fees for air pollution. How interesting.

U.S. handouts

IF CANADA, Britain and Cuba have such great health care, why is it Mexican citizens are trying to come into the United States at record numbers to get our welfare and other handouts?