Speak out 8/4/08

Savor the heat

DO YOU remember last winter when we had all that ice and no heat? Everybody is griping about this summer heat. I'd rather have heat than freeze to death. You can always find someplace to get cool, but when you're cold, you're cold.

Logical explanation

IF PEOPLE aren't seeing ants, it's because they don't live in the country. I have plenty of ants to go around. I see the occasional butterfly. More houses are going up, so there's less room for nature. This area continues to grow into the countryside. There's a logical explanation for things.

Message for dealers

THE SOUTH side had a walk-by shooting that has the neighborhood scared to death. There are a lot of people who live on the south side and own their homes. This is to all the drug dealers: You need to go back where you came from. We do not want your kind in our neighborhood.

Local talent

I AM proud to see that Mike Dumey is showcasing our young talent again this summer in "Sing America Sing." With gas prices so high, it's good to see a wonderful show and dinner close to home. Hats off to Mike.

Invading calls

ROBO-CALLS are an invasion of my privacy, and I do not appreciate them one bit. So don't call me.

Make it affordable

AMERICA DOES not need socialized medicine. We need medicine to be affordable. We need everybody to be able to afford to buy the medicine and the health care they need. That's the real problem: affordability, not universal insurance and not socialized medicine.

Doing the right thing

YOU WOULD be surprised what you can do when you put your foot down to a lot of things. I raised my young son alone because his father was a deadbeat dad. I lived in a roach-infested apartment. I paid for my own utilities, repairs on my cars and what few medical needs had. We were careful. It makes you tougher and it makes you feel good about yourself that you can do something like this.

Oil speculation

THE PRICE of oil is not set by refineries. It is set at the market where speculators are buying up oil, hoping to sell it at a higher price. The people need to know this, and the news media refuse to tell them.

TV trash

I ONLY watched "Swingtown" for 10 minutes, and I was sickened at the thought of our children being exposed to such trash.

Pool problems

THIS IS for the parks department. Does anyone inspect the women's locker rooms at Central Pool? The shower curtains have been in shreds for months. Drains keep stopping up. The hand-held shower in the handicap stall is broken and there's mold. The city can spend $20,000 for bike signs while the pool is a disgrace. Get the priorities straight.

Right to hang up

THE POLITICIANS may have the right to call, but I sure have the right to hang up.

Offensive program

I GREW up in the 1970s, and I am appalled and offended by the TV program "Swingtown." A very small number of people lived this way.

American way

I SHOULD have bought a nice, big, expensive home that I couldn't afford. Then taxpayers could have bailed me out. It's the American way: the government makes up for our greed.

School code

IT IS hard to miss seeing young girls in skimpy bikinis holding signs for a car wash. I feel, because these are school-sponsored activities, the dress code conduct should still apply. I realize they dress like they do to lure in business to raise money, but as a mom I find it offensive and would never allow my daughters to display themselves in such a way.

Cuddling with China

THE FOREIGN policy elite in this nation continue to emphasize the need for constructive engagement with China. The American people seem much more skeptical, particularly in light of Tibet, loss of jobs to China and the resurgent nationalism among the Chinese people. Cozying up to China is obviously in large part being driven by corporations. We need a cooling-off period in this warm and fuzzy relationship.

A fun ride

I'D LIKE to congratulate Rush Limbaugh, who is celebrating 20 years in the radio business. It's been a fun ride, and I hope it will continue for 20 more years.

School success

THERE SEEMS to be mounting evidence that the key factor in the success or failure of a school results from the socio-economic makeup of the institution. The best chance for success rests with schools populated with majorities of middle-class students. Once a school system gets a high percentage of students who are from the lower economic strata, problems increase and the chances for positive student achievement plummet. Cape Girardeau School District needs to make sure that all of its elementary schools are majority middle class. As far as the high school goes, recently published data seem to indicate that a tipping point of a higher-than-desirable percentage of students who are from the lower socio-economic strata of the district, sociologically speaking, is being reached. This is a major concern with perhaps no immediate solution.