Speak Out

The plan for Iraq

I SAW George Bush on TV saying he's willing to pay the price to get Saddam Hussein out of power. Sure he is. It's no skin off his nose. He's not going over there to fight. It's the soldiers who are going to suffer the effects of the chemical gasses Hussein will use to fight them. Bush is just trying to cover his daddy's mistake of not taking out Saddam when he had the chance. If we do get rid of Saddam, how long will the United States be involved in rebuilding that country? None of us wants a long involvement with Iraq.

Keep them in jail

TO THE Cape Girardeau Police Department: I think if the police pick someone up who is found to be carrying drugs, that person should not be allowed bail. Too many people are allowed back on the streets. They should wait it out in jail.

Thanks for earring

I'D LIKE to thank the person who found a gold earring in Jackson and returned it to the First Baptist Church. Thank you very much. And bless you.

Pond problem

THERE HAS been a great deal of press about the West Nile virus, and maps are now showing that Missouri is part of the area effected. In the cities of Jackson and Cape Girardeau, there are a number of so-called decorative ponds which depend on rainfall and runoff to remain as good, clear bodies of water. After the recent drought, these ponds are now breeding grounds for mosquitoes. I believe the maintaining of these ponds is putting the general public at risk.

Opposition to taxes

THE ELECTION results are fairly clear. Democrats want more taxes. Voters do not.

Speeding warnings

I WAS recently ticketed for going 36 mph in a 25-mph zone. I explained to the officer that I honestly believed the speed limit was 35 in that area. He quickly explained that he was in a zero-tolerance car to patrol that area because many people think it's a 35-mph zone. What happened to a warning? If everyone is making this mistake, shouldn't the signage be more visible? Or will somebody complain to Speak Out that the city is wasting tax money on speed- limit signs?

Job well done

TO ALL who voted against Proposition B and helped to shoot it down in flames:. Well done. Now maybe the Democrats will think twice before they start squandering our money and trying to raise our taxes to make up for it.

Coffee-shop voters

THERE IS much truth in an off-the-cuff observation I heard to the effect that candidates for public office cannot succeed by alienating the coffee-shop constituency.

Corporate cesspool

CONTRARY TO what Southeast Missourian editorials might surmise, the sad diminution in union strength is a documentable result of the cesspool of corporate corruption.

Healthy living

TO THE person who thinks that, by eating less, lower-income families could afford health insurance: Apparently you can find health insurance awfully cheap. I am overweight. But I am healthy. According to my doctor, my blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar counts are perfect. I seldom need to go to the doctor. The one time that I was close to the recommended weight for my sex and height I was sick all of the time. My husband is fairly close to his recommended weight, and we spend a fortune on prescriptions for his high blood pressure, high cholesterol and allergies. My husband's work has always provided our insurance, but the insurance benefits are getting less and less with higher and higher deductibles. Insurance is not cheap. I think you ought to try to live on a family budget, including your so-called healthy diet of eating less and medical insurance along with all of the other normal household expenses and see if you can manage.