OpinionAugust 21, 2007
Speak Out 8/21/07
Equal punishment; Cool-air funding; Costly cooling; Weekly testing; Party loyalty; Someone to hate; Why not in jail?; Mailbox crime; Nothing to lose; Smoking security; Delta's park; Toeing the line; Shopping for seniors; Courts can handle it; Late-night patrol; Movie chatter; Issue distortion; Less party loyalty
Equal punishment
WE ALL make mistakes and do stupid stuff. The problem is Nathan Cooper knew what he was doing and tried to cover it up. With his expertise, he knowingly broke the law. He will receive a slap on the wrist compared to what he should get. I am sorry for his family, but he should receive the same as anyone else who broke this law, especially since he knew darn well what he was doing.
Cool-air funding
WHAT A great idea Southeast Missouri State University had in bringing the temporary air conditioning for Dearmont Hall. Those of us who are alumni of the university remember how hot those move-in days could be and particularly how hot the first three weeks or so of school could be. Sometimes I wonder if the universi-ty's fund-raising campaigns aren't too high flown and too large for folks to get behind. The Dearmont air-conditioning problem got me to thinking that maybe what the university foundation should consider is a smaller fund-raising effort to get funding to provide full-time air conditioning installed in Dearmont. That would be a program that most people could easily understand and could easily see the need for, and it would be small enough that people could get behind it and see a fairly immediate result.
Costly cooling
WE ARE starting school much too early, and schools are getting out too early. They used to get out right before Memorial Day and go back around Labor Day. What we're doing now is costing taxpayers a lot of money to cool these schools in the summertime.
Weekly testing
IN RESPONSE to the comments in Speak Out about the city storm siren and its testing, the siren is being tested every Monday rather than once a month. If anyone has any further questions, call city hall.
Party loyalty
DAVID LIMBAUGH'S column is informative to those who have any intellect at all. It rebukes the propaganda of left-wing liberal machines. Many Democrats in the area won't admit this. They are too hard-headed to admit to honest facts. They worship their party and politicians more than they do the real truth. It's a sickness called party loyalty.
Someone to hate
WE LIVE in the best country in the world, one with more opportunities than any other country. Why are some people so unhappy? Who do they hate President Bush so much? He's not running in 2008. Who are they going to hate then?
Why not in jail?
WHY ISN'T Nathan Cooper in jail? Greg Sparkman had to stay in jail until he was taken to court. I don't see why Cooper's not in jail.
Mailbox crime
IT IS a federal crime to damage a mailbox. Kids have put firecrackers in my mailbox, and last night it was pulled up from the ground. I hope whoever did this gets caught. We need police to patrol more at night.
Nothing to lose
WHAT'S ALL the fuss about Three Rivers Community College coming to Cape Girar-deau? There's nothing to lose (no local tax money or investment required) and much to gain. There are a lot of area residents who can't afford or don't have the test scores to get into Southeast Missouri State University. Why should they be denied a college education while endless surveys are done? Let Three Rivers come to Cape, then we can tell by enrollment if there's a need for community college classes here.
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Smoking security
I WOULD like to know why patients and visitors are not allowed to smoke at hospitals, yet I see security guards driving around and puffing on cigarettes all the time. This seems like a double standard to me.
Delta's park
I WOULD like to know what happened to Delta's park board. I was at the park, and it looks terrible. Weeds are everywhere. The bleachers look like they are about to fall in. This used to be a place to be proud of. I don't know what's changed, but it needs to be taken care of before Delta looks like it doesn't care if kids have a good, clean place to play.
Toeing the line
DAVID LIMBAUGH seems disturbed because there are divisions among Democrats. Don't worry, David. The Democrats have always been a big-tent party with a diversity of ideas and virtually all being welcomed. That's what makes it such a great political party and the reason why so many more voters identify with it today as opposed to the Republican party. The GOP has been hijacked by neocons like you. It is more rigid than those parties of the totalitarian persuasion.
Shopping for seniors
TO THE senior who said there are no ads for clothing for seniors: Go to the stores and shop. I rarely check the ads, but when I do they are aimed at teens. So what? I find everything I need and want in area stores. So does my 78-year-old mother, who loves clothes.
Courts can handle it
AMEN TO the "Show compassion" comment. Publicly slapping Nathan Cooper around is wrong and serves nobody. It shows flaws in the personality of those who do it as well. Let the courts deal with it. Let's put someone in office who wants to serve not for the political power that comes with the office, but for the good of the constituency.
Late-night patrol
IT LOOKS like Jackson's finest is still harassing the working man. The police seem to be afraid to patrol where the real crime is. So they hover around the construction zone at midnight to catch the tired working man doing a couple of miles over the speed limit trying to get home. If they pursued other areas at night, maybe some of the real problems could be cleaned up.
Movie chatter
I WANT to thank the couple who effectively spoiled an enjoyable movie experience for me. The couple behind my wife and me felt comfortable making various comments and asking questions to each other as if they where sitting at home in the their living room. After several attempts to turn around to them and give "the look" were unsuccessful, they had a long period of acting as if they were actually in a public place. But then, at the apex of the movie the older gentlemen says to his wife in a not so low tone, "Now who is that?" That was the last straw. I turned to her as she started to answer him and had to actually had to snap my fingers to get her attention. "Shh!" I said sternly. Her husband then chuckled, showing how much he cared. I would expect this behavior from a younger group of people, but not an older couple. Most people have the common courtesy to lean in and whisper to the person for a little bit of movie chatting, but I guess common courtesy isn't that common anymore.
Issue distortion
DAVID LIMBAUGH wrote that hucksters distort grievances for their own purposes. So what? So does a certain neoconservative syndicated columnist from Cape Girardeau. Take the Terry Schaivo case. We all do it.
Less party loyalty
IT'S GREAT to realize that there are some of us who are not so locked into our political party-of-choice that we can understand what one blogger wrote: " ... both national parties are disgusting." Less party loyalty (which often amounts to wearing blinders), and term limits might be a good start on turning our country into our country, rather than our politicians' country. "What this country needs is more unemployed politicians." -- Edward Langley, 1928-1995.
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