Speak Out 8/31/11

Thank you

OUR first visit to the Starbucks off William Street was great and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously, but before reaching home we found that my wife had left her purse. We rushed back to the store, but the store personnel had already found the purse and put it up for safekeeping. Many thanks to the friendly and honest folks at Starbucks.

Beautiful flowers

THE flowers in front of Cape Girardeau Central Junior High on Carruthers Drive are gorgeous. They have school pride written all over them. Stop by and see them sometime.

Music over fussing

FOR those of you that complain about loud music, I'd rather hear loud music anytime than your cussing, fussing and fighting.

Obama stimulus plan

PLEASE tell me there's not going to be another Obama stimulus plan. How much further in debt can we go with this one-term president?

GOP agenda

IF Republicans kill off President Obama's sensible call for the extension of the payroll tax, their true colors will be exposed. It will then be crystal clear to every informed voter that the singular agenda of the GOP is to get President Obama out of office, even if it means additional economic woes for the middle and working class.

No new Texans

READ my lips: No new Texans.

I-66 study

I can't imagine the need to spend $3.6 million to study either the route of the Interstate 66 proposal or where it's going to connect to. To spend that much money, I don't care if it's a grant or where it came from, the federal government doesn't have it.

Tax loopholes

I'M reading in Speak Out, "pay more taxes." It's not that Warren Buffets and those people that make millions and billions of dollars aren't in a tax bracket. The problem is our politicians have put in too many loopholes to get out of paying taxes, and the politicians themselves reap the benefits from this. They can't balance the budget or keep a surplus in our federal budget, but they sure can keep a surplus in their campaign funds.

Social Security

I have been reading in Speak Out about how the government is using Social Security for things it should not have and how people that had jobs think they paid in a lot. As a self-employed person, I paid in all of my Social Security and it seems like we won't get any of it back.

Eyesore

I want to report an eyesore: the medians on Kingshighway and Route K with all the grass growing up in them. It looks awful.

Apology would be nice

TO the person who hit my mailbox on County Road 205, an acknowledgment or apology would have meant a lot.

Blame game

HOW many decades would it take for Obama to be in office before he and his liberal friends would stop blaming someone else for his failed policies?

Offensive mascot

I wish Jackson schools would change the name of their mascot from the Indians to some other thing. As a Native American, I find it derogatory and offensive. I wish they would bring that up at their board meeting and get that taken care of like the college did where they changed their mascot to Redhawks. It's offensive to us Native Americans in the area.

Rich Dems

CONCERNING the Republicans in Congress with their overpaid jobs, I will remind the caller that all members of Congress make the same. As far as the rich Republicans, I remind them that the richest person in Congress is Nancy Pelosi, and one of the other richest is Claire McCaskill. So don't tell me it's just Republicans who make a lot of money out of being in office.

Rebuilding levee

BLAKE Hurst was a wonderful spokesman for the Farm Bureau, and he's right about rebuilding the levee. You've got to rebuild the levee that you blew up with explosives back to the height it was before, 61 feet. And now compare it with the 65 feet in Cairo, Ill. But Cairo will still be more protected. The other thing is, Mr. Hurst farms in extreme northwest Missouri and they've been flooded by the Missouri River. They need some help, too, but their levee was naturally overtopped. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers never tried blowing up the levee on purpose.

Wake-up call

THE earthquake they had is a wake-up call for us here. You all in these stores who stack that stuff high on shelves, heavy stuff, you'd better stop because it can really harm people.

Election season

YOU can tell there's an election coming up when the politicians start slinging mud in their ads on TV. I just want to give them fair warning: They better not bother me on my telephone or my answering machine, because if they do they will not get my vote.

Cardinal baseball

THIS pertains to St. Louis Cardinals baseball. I guess they're going to have to wait until next year now, because they aren't going to win this year.

Road repair funds

MORE than 500 overweight dump trucks are driving Highway 77 past Kelly High School everyday. When is the state going to get the money to fix Highway 77 after these overweight dump trucks are through?

Flag respect

WHOEVER is in charge of the American flag between New Hamburg, Mo., and Chaffee, Mo., needs to have more respect. If you don't know the rules about the flag, you need to learn them. The way the flag drags the ground is a disgrace.

RX regulation

RECENTLY in the Southeast Missourian, Dr. Gott had a person write in about prescription drugs. They don't want to clamp down on these drugs. They come from everywhere. Why doesn't the government do something? We don't even know what we're taking.

Republican recall

THERE is a need to recall all Republican members of Congress before they take our country completely down to nothing. They now want to raise taxes on the middle class and poor but not the rich. Reason: That is where they get their campaign money.

Obama's economy

I am certain there will be no improvement in the U.S. economy until Obama is out of office. In fact, how is this economy working out for you?