Speak Out 8/6/08

Vote for school safety

I HAVE worked for the Delta School District for nearly 30 years. It is important to get a new, safe school free of asbestos. Asbestos was always a problem for anything that could puncture the ceiling, whether it be a pencil or a flag staff. If observed by the teacher, the teacher could report it and the area could be repainted. If not, nothing would be done. Please, everyone vote yes for this issue for the health of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Light-bulb caper

THE PAPER reported a burglary on South Benton Street. The only thing listed stolen was a light bulb. Now you know: Nothing is safe. Nothing is safe. Guard your light bulbs with your life.

Scoring discrepancy

AS A Jackson resident and parent of children in Jackson public schools, there's something about the MAP scores story that bothers me. So many of our schools are not doing well. The middle school isn't doing well. The junior high school failed in a couple of areas. The high school didn't show progress. Yet every time the honor rolls are published in the paper, the list of our children who are making the honor roll is huge, it's never-ending. Why are so many of our children making all As and Bs, yet they are barely getting by on the MAP test? That doesn't make any sense. Maybe teachers give good grades to keep parents off their back. Maybe the grades our children are getting aren't truly an indicator of what they're able to do.

Surviving graduates

I FEEL fortunate and humbly blessed to have been a graduate of Jackson High School. I was also the only member there of the oldest graduating class of 1933 at the all-school reunion. I'm sure there are a few others away from here. I know of one. Vern would have been here if he could have been. Not many remember us 93-year-oldies. Yes, we are survivors.

Scary situation

I WAS approached by a man who had an "I am mute" card several years ago at a store, I read the card and walked away. The man followed me, waving his hands. He ran in front of me and pointed at the card. I handed it back to him, and the man was flaying his arms around in anger. I was a single woman in a parking lot, and I can honestly say I was scared. I don't think people should be harassed by other people trying to make a fast buck. There are government agencies that help the disabled.

Biker support

VIET NOW held a poker run recently. Only twenty-four motorcycles participated. We bikers can do a better job by participating. Show up next weekend at the Bayou for a good run.

Carter Street

CHECK THE map in Cape Girardeau. There has been a Carter Street in Cape Girardeau for many years. It intersects with West End Boulevard just south of Bertling Street. My wife lived on Carter Street during her childhood for many years. Fortunately, it was not named after the failed president.

Rush's longevity

CONGRATULATIONS TO Rush Limbaugh for receiving a whopping amount of money and a significant contract extension. Rush is worth every penny of it, particularly to progressive Democrats. Though his entertainment value is priceless, Rush's political influence peaked in the mid-1990s but has been waning ever since as a kind of anti-Rush counterrevolution set in and continues to this day. Never mind, though. Rush will be on the radio forever, and I do mean forever, since he has vowed to stay on until every American agrees with him.

Backside boils

THERE WILL always be members of certain law enforcement agencies who will act as boils on the backsides of their respective organizations, but these incidents are normally isolated. It is also my belief that what goes around comes around and will eventually come back to bite those who contribute to gross injustice.

Bush secrecy

WHY ARE you guys so hung up on trying to see to it that the Sunshine Law is strictly obeyed at the state and local level? Since the Bush administration is without doubt the most illegally secretive administration in U.S. history, your editorial efforts should be directed there.

Broken system

LESSER BUT still loaded radio talk show host Mark Levine recently publicly thanked Rush Limbaugh for offering to get the best health care possible for him when he had a heart attack. That the non-needy Levine was afforded a luxury that would be denied millions of uninsured and poorly insured Americans speaks volumes as to how broken our health-care system is.

Hot potato

MODERATES AND other nonradicals should monitor the Michael Savage radio talk show. When he crosses the line by referring to 99 percent of children diagnosed with autism as "morons" and "brats" and says that all they need is a strong father figure who will use discipline in order to straighten them out, Savage needs to be held accountable. In this instance, the fact that he chose children as his target should mean that sponsors and radio stations drop him like a hot potato.

Right-side museum

WE SHOULD all put aside our partisan political differences and wish Rush Limbaugh a happy 20th anniversary for hosting his radio talk show on AM radio. One of his colleagues was referred to by Gary Rust as saying Limbaugh is another Mark Twain or Will Rogers. If that is the case, Cape Girardeau officials have been woefully lacking in embracing the lovable fuzzball and should proceed forthwith to begin planning construction of a Rush Limbaugh Museum to be built somewhere on the (of course) right side of town.

Harassment mess

SEXUALLY HARASSED? If you obtain a copy of Southeast Missouri State University's policy on sexual harassment and use it as a template, you'll find that the women in the auditor's office are correct. If Cape Girardeau County had a policy in place, you wouldn't need Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle to determine if someone should "forgive and forget." This isn't about Auditor David Ludwig. It's about a professional office setting and applying zero tolerance for all who work there. To "forgive and forget" for the sake of the county? What about the integrity of these women and whatever's left of Ludwig's integrity after all this mess?

Makes you wonder

IF SOMEONE once as honorable as Morley Swingle, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, can become involved in unseemly county business, then God only knows what the rest of them are doing.

Tax proposal

FORGET ABOUT a casino in Cape Girardeau. It is a pipe dream that is doomed. If we need revenue, either raise or lower taxes.