Speak Out

Pining for tomatoes

YOU KNOW why I want to move south: more tomatoes. Up here in northern Illinois, we get one crop of tomatoes from our tomato plants, and it's almost August before one turns ripe. I grew up just north of I-70 and had nice long summers and plenty of tomatoes. We do have a farmer who brings his truck to church loaded with sweet corn for about three Sundays every summer. That's great -- but not tomatoes.

Retaliation target

THE PERSON who said he thinks Osama bin Laden is "no longer with us" may have made a very critical mistake by going public with that statement. He has no proof that bin Laden is dead. Yet he goes on record saying that. That statement may hasten another terrorist attack on this country. He should have remembered the old saying, "Let sleeping dogs lie." Now, just to show the world, bin Laden (whom I believe is still alive) may impose another attack against U.S. civilians just to prove that he is alive and well. Americans need to start thinking about what they are saying before they say it. Once again, we open up ourselves for retaliation.

Topical update

LET ME see if I got it all straight. The liberals are responsible for crime. The Republicans are screwing up the economy. Someone named Limbaugh should be the next pope. Everyone in Cape Girardeau is a terrible driver. And in the end, it all boils down to "them kids with their rock music and baggy jeans." Is there any other Speak Out news that I've missed? One last comment: Without naming an age group, I feel like someone who is 4 feet 8 inches tall and looking through the steering wheel of a Lincoln and driving 8 mph is more dangerous than someone driving 5 mph over the limit.

Seeking donations

FRANKLY, I think it is a bit nervy for a taxpayer-supported school to pass a big tax increase to build a new school and then turn around and ask for private donations to add a bunch of other goodies. They should have thought of that in the first place. For now anyway, private and parochial schools must make it almost exclusively on private money, tuition and donations. I sure don't hear the public schools pushing for taxpayer assistance to private and parochial schools.

Look at SIDS cases

SUDDEN INFANT Death Syndrome is in large part a myth. Forensic pathologists should re-examine all cases where SIDS was said to be the cause of death.

Pushing an agenda

YOU KNOW what? I don't care what the Farm Bureau wants. It's always wanting this or that, and you guys always seem to back up the Farm Bureau's list of demands with a favorable editorial. The Farm Bureau just helped shove through Congress the biggest farm subsidy in human history. Won't it ever be satisfied?

Keeping your word

I VOTED for the gas tax a few years ago. What happened? The money was spent on other things. That's why I will vote no on the gas tax this year: to teach them a lesson that they need to say and do what they're going to do.

Tighten the belt

I'M CALLING about the university's financial emergency. Yes, the university's budget is open to public record. Anybody can go see where it has been wasting money. First off: $145,000 to this guy to drum up money is absolutely ridiculous. They don't need to pay somebody that kind of money to find them money. If they do, then something's wrong. Not to mention all the money the university is spending on buildings it doesn't need plus the River Campus. And then the university expects people to feel sorry and honestly think there is an emergency. Everyone else has to live within his means without getting in financial trouble. So the university needs to learn how to rein in its spending habits and quit wasting money. Then it won't have an emergency.

Saving history

THANKS, CAROL Bullock and your mother, Ruby, and all the others who helped save our historic Marquette Hotel. I worked as a waitress at the Eat Shop in 1943. Now it's called the N'Orleans Restaurant. I am so happy we got to save a piece of history.

Magnificent building

IT HAS been a long time coming, but now the Marquette Hotel will again be the most magnificent building in Cape Girardeau as I remember from my youth.

Phone solicitation

RECENTLY I received a call for the fourth time in the last two weeks soliciting funds for our local law enforcement agency. When I asked the caller who gets paid for this and where the money was coming from, he said he did not have this information. Can someone please tell me who is paying them their salary? Please, don't tell me it's my tax money, or I'm going to be very upset.

End of the rope

I'D LIKE to respond to a caller who said these are trying times for SEMO. I totally agree. When you are charging undergraduates record amounts per credit hour, SEMO is definitely trying to get rid of its valuable students who are paying a fortune for classes and parking right now.