Speak Out 8/7/08

Closing the barn door

FIRST OF all, I can't believe Cape Girardeau County officials haven't had sexual harassment training before now. It sounds like Morley Swingle, prosecuting attorney, should be in the first row of the class when they have it. How are these two women supposed to work with the county auditor after all this? This sounds like closing the barn door after the horse ran away.

Enforcing litter laws

PAPER IS paper no matter how small or how large. I see people throwing cigarette butts out their windows and never get stopped for littering. I have even seen police officers do the same thing. Come on, chief Kinnison. If you can't enforce your own police officers who litter, how can you enforce it upon the citizens?

State takeover

AREA PUBLIC school officials should stop worrying about having their schools taken over by the state because of low test scores. Believe me, state bureaucrats sure as heck wouldn't know what to do with the situation, and the last thing in the world they want is direct state responsibility for raising the scores, since they know they'd flunk worse than ever.

Academic priorities

IF THE Cape Girardeau and Jackson school districts put as much emphasis on the school libraries and computer labs as they do on sports, I bet our children would get decent scores. I like sports, but these communities treat 17-year-old football players who can barely read like idols. It's time to get our priorities straight.

Food drive challenge

THE EMPLOYEES of Manpower have started a food drive with a goal of raising 15,000 cans of food by the end of the year. All donations will be distributed locally by the Bootheel Food Bank. We challenge all other companies in the area to start a food drive with their employees. The local charities are suffering as the economy gets worse every day. Please share with those who don't have anything.

Listen to the show

I'D LIKE to ask those who are jumping on the derailed Michael Savage bandwagon if they listened to his show regarding autism in its entirety. Most people haven't even heard it. They're responding to sound bites. The show was good in that it was talking about how doctors are misdiagnosing or attributing autism to other diseases. Savage was not bashing autistic children, but he was challenging the diagnosing process for autism. Listen to the show in its entirety before making any judgment.

More energy, please

REPUBLICANS ARE staying on the House floor to debate an energy bill while Democrats go home. Republicans want more energy for America. We want more offshore drilling for oil. We want more ethanol. We want more solar power. We want more wind power. We want more of everything. We want more energy.

Motherly teaching

INSTEAD OF crying over spilled milk, we mothers should be teaching our children, "You do the crime, you do the time." Simple as that.

Stop the calls

FOR THOSE responsible for political robo-calls, cut it out. I put in my phone for my personal calls, not yours. Leave me alone.

Potty mouth

I KNOW things are getting bad in a lot of areas with the gas prices and housing market. But I used to enjoy watching television a few hours each evening. There were some programs I liked. Now it's hard to find a program that doesn't use foul language. It's terrible.

Bridge spending

I'D LIKE to know why it is our government can spend billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq, but it's a struggle to spend the money to get our bridges fixed to make it safe for Americans.

County intimidation

I CAN'T believe that two attorneys came to two people at their county jobs and tried to intimidate them because of sexual harassment. I cannot believe the county's going to put up with this. Shame on those two for doing it, and shame on the county for allowing it to happen.

No third chance

REGARDING THE Aug. 2 article on the David Ludwig, Cape Girardeau County auditor: I would like to know why we are paying an elected official to look at porn on the Internet and do it while he's being paid to do his job. Why is Morley Swingle, prosecuting attorney, backing him? This is not right. At any other job, a person would have been fired on the spot for the first offense. When a person signs documents saying he won't do it again and he does it again, he should automatically be made to give his resignation and not be given a third chance.

Side-by-side views

THANK YOU for the side-by-side op-ed columns by Alan Journet and Dennis Avery. Avery's article was filled with science, facts and logic. It is clear to me that global warming is a hoax. While the world may or may not be warming slightly, mankind has nothing to do with it.

A new doctor

To the individual complaining about calling the doctor's office and being put on hold for two hours: Find a new doctor.

Proactive defense

REGARDING THE two women who work with David Ludwig, Cape Girardeau County auditor: It is ridiculous that Al Lowes and Morley Swingle told them that they don't have a case. Lowes represents Ludwig, and Swingle represents the county. They are not going to advise these women on their rights. The women need to go to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and get an attorney outside of Cape Girardeau County. These women should not have been subjected to Ludwig's behavior. They have complained, but nothing has been done. They need to stand up for themselves.

Surprise inspections

I THINK nursing homes need to have random inspections totally unannounced so inspectors can see what's going on instead telling administrators several days ahead that they're coming. Our elderly deserve this, and it should be the norm.

Political calls

I WOULD like to comment on political phone calls. I got my fifth call today. I picked it up. Nobody was there. I hung up. I was called right back until I listened to the message. That's ridiculous. Something needs to be done.

Clean house

WHAT'S GOING on in our county government? What will be next? Will the two women in the auditor's office be fired because they spoke out about the perversion? I'm appalled at our county commission. They used to stand for integrity. It's time for Cape Girardeau County clean house unless we want to become a government that is as corrupt as some neighboring states.

Doggy welcome

MY NEIGHBORS let their dog out in the front yard to do his business rather than out the back door. I love dogs. If I had a dog, I'd put that dog out back so my neighbors wouldn't smell dog doo-doo when they come up to the front door.

They will be missed

I WAS out of town when Joni Adams and Rick Proctor passed on. I'm catching up by reading the newspaper. I would like to say that Joni Adams was the best reporter I've ever met. She truly understood and wrote the correct interpretations from the people that she interviewed. Rick Proctor had exhibited in more national juried shows and won more awards than any other artist in Cape Girardeau. We will truly miss them.

Oil taxes

In the last few days you have been barraged by reports about the evil Exxon netting $11 billion in oil profits in the last quarter. How many times in the same news period did you also hear that in that same quarter Exxon also paid over $36 billion in assorted federal taxes? Now who is the villain?

No offense

Our society has become too politically correct. Nowadays, people fear expressing themselves on the off chance they might offend someone. You can't please 100 percent of the people 100 percent of the time. It just doesn't work that way. I would go into greater detail, but I fear I have already offended someone.

City amenities

If I open a bar in Cape Girardeau, can i get the city to build outside restrooms and a multimillion-dollar parking garage next door for me too? It's only fair.