Speak Out 8/6/05

Expenses add up

JAY PURCELL, Cape Girar-deau County commissioner, is on the right track by cutting spending in small areas. It all adds up. Spending $10,800 to bury indigents in the last six years is a big problem when they can be cremated for half the cost. As far as religious beliefs, if they are indigent, it is the county's decision to bury them at the lowest cost. Change can be good.

Thursday-night games

I WENT to Sikeston High School 40 years ago. Whenever we played football at Cape Girardeau, we always played on Thursday night, so that's nothing new. Going to school the next day was no big deal. Do people really want to build a new stadium over such a small consideration?

Talking, not stopping

RECENTLY I was at a restaurant, sitting outside near an intersection. I saw vehicles roll up to the four-way stop, which was pretty busy, stop and continue on. One driver, however, completely blew through the intersection without even slowing down. Luckily, he did not hit anyone. I immediately checked for one thing. Yes, he was on his cell phone.

Stand makes sense

SEN. BILL Frist is taking a stand that makes sense. It isn't one I like, but I understand. He doesn't favor developing new embryos for stem-cell research. He says that if frozen embryos are going to be destroyed, then why not use them for research? I sadly must agree. It still means life that has begun is being destroyed. Statistics show how poorly research is going on embryo stem-cell research. If individuals would start catching on to the wording that is used, they'd begin to see that attacks on some of this research are unwarranted.

Ill-conceived marketing

ON MY way to Cape Girardeau on Interstate 55 last week, I noticed two of the Convention and Visitors Bureau's new tourism billboards. My reaction: I laughed out loud. Food and supplies? Please. They may as well have erected one that reads, "Cape Girardeau: a decent place to pop in for an hour or so, but you won't want to stick around long." Where is the city's endless supply of money coming from, and why is it perpetually frittered away on ill-conceived marketing projects like this one?

For better health

I DO not agree with abortion as a form of birth control, but I do agree with stem-cell research. I have a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, and I will support anything that gives my child a chance of living a normal life free of shots and needles.

Restored standing

U.S. SEN. Bill Frist has, to an extent, made up for his disgraceful showing in the Terry Schiavo case by supporting federal funding for stem-cell research. Frist may not be presidential material for refusing to continue to pander to the extremist wing of his party on this issue. However, he has restored his standing in the medical and scientific community.

Even more pork

SPEAK OUT callers who complain about all of the government pork we're getting are frustrated Democrats who can't stand the fact that the Republicans have beaten them at their own game.

Misplaced subsidies

I'LL ADMIT that I feel more than a tinge of guilt when I realize that we're sinking in government subsidies while they're starving in Niger.

Better lease deal

ALL PUBLIC school projects are paid for with our tax dollars. Just because you call it something different doesn't make the money magically come from a different source. The Cape Girardeau School District is having to pay for the use of Houck Stadium, but it should try to renegotiate the lease before demanding money for a new football field.

A citizen in wartime

I'M ALL for homeland security, but I think the government has gone overboard with this driver's license business. If you've had a driver's license like I have for 40 years, it looks as though that you've proven you are a citizen of this country. My husband doesn't have a birth certificate. But the government drafted him to Vietnam. If the government isn't going to let him drive, maybe it could give him back the year of his life he lost over there.

Sign would help

WHEN CAPE Girardeau starts the project of widening Linden Street, it would be a good idea for the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center to post a large sign at the corner of Sprigg and Linden streets showing it is on Linden Street. Too many people are coming to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services office farther south on Sprigg thinking they are at the county health center. Many have walked to our office in the hot sun to obtain a birth certificate, STD testing, immunization and flu shots and then are told they are at the wrong place. The county health center is three blocks north.

Sharing the pie

A COMMENT suggested the Republicans should eat a big slice of humble pie. Whatever the Republicans do is the right thing to do. If their decisions go awry, it is always someone else's fault.

Guilty pleasure

THE DEMOCRAT who made the comment about humble pie seems to be doing a fine job of serving it but has failed to eat it. The guilty pleasure I find in refusing it right now has nothing to do with ruling parties but more to do with the arrogant having lost.

Time to wake up

THE PRESIDENT'S approval rating is dropping and more Americans are beginning to question his honesty. Good morning, Rip Van Winkle. How long did you sleep?