Speak Out 9/25/08

Disaster assistance

WITH THE U.S. sending billions of dollars to other countries for help with disasters, how many of those countries are sending us money after Hurricane Ike? Not a single country is helping the U.S. out after Ike battered Louisiana and Texas, but we are helping Haiti, Cuba and who knows who else that Ike ran over. It is time for the U.S. to take care of ourselves first.

Picking up kids

RAISING THE driving age to 18 would cause more problems at schools because more parents would be dropping off and picking up their kids who don't want to ride the bus. Part of school taxes is for transportation, so ride the bus. Parents, think of all the gas you are wasting while sitting in line, idling with the air conditioner on waiting for your kid to come out. Think about all of the traffic congestion and accidents that are happening because you are there picking up your kid and yapping on the cell phone instead of paying attention to driving. Hang up and drive.

Limit campaigns

WITH REFERENCE to the article comparing the comments of Barack Obama and John McCain, I found more interesting than their comments the fact that neither man has been in attendance in the Senate to vote on environmental issues for well over a year. These men were elected by their constituents. They are paid by us, the taxpayers. And yet they have been so busy campaigning they have not been doing the job for which they were elected and are being paid. I urge that we work toward limiting time spent on any campaign for state or national office to three months.

Powerless impact

MY NEIGHBORHOOD went more than 60 hours without power. When it was finally back on, it went out again for hours. We lost at least a week's worth of food. We also have a well, so we didn't have water either. The electric company's answer? "Sorry. Check your insurance policy."

Look who's paying

IT'S INTERESTING that once again the hard-working average Joe Six-pack is going to end up paying for the latest federal bailout of the stock market. A plan started when Bill Clinton was president has borne its fruit, resulting in our situation today. Congress is going to bail out all those who made bad business decisions by rewarding them for their misconduct and greed. In doing so the Democrat-controlled Congress is making it clear that if you do business in the United States, there is no risk. Where is the accountability? It's only a couple of trillion dollars. We will raise taxes to pay for it. If you don't agree, you're not patriotic. I guess that means Joe Six-pack is not a loyal citizen. If the government really cared about the American people, it could divide all that money and give it to all the single-family homeowners to be applied to their mortgages.

Victory in Iraq

HERE IS a commentary I just read. Independent embedded journalist and former Green Beret Michael Yon, reporting from the front lines, says, "By my estimation, the Iraq War is over. We won. Which means the Iraqi people won." You won't find this kind of story on the so-called major news networks because they are all in bed with the Obama campaign and don't want to shift the focus on a United States win in Iraq that John McCain supported and predicted. He is a pretty gutsy guy. I wonder when the public will be told of this great triumph. Probably not until Nov. 5.

Illegitimate parents

THERE IS no such thing as illegitimate children, just illegitimate parents. Those children can't help who their parents are, but they can rise above it.

No reward

I'LL BE darned if I as a taxpayer want to or should be made to contribute even a penny toward rewarding an incompetent CEO with a sizable golden parachute as he walks out the door of a failed company.

Good news about tests

GOOD NEWS for students and bad news for the huge test prep industry: The ACT and SAT may be on the way out.

Blame the columnist

LAISSEZ-FAIRE libertarian columnists like Walter E. Williams helped get us in this economic mess. He should be punished with a lifetime ban on syndication.

Misplaced blame

I LOVE it when a Speak Out comment goes to great lengths to blame the economic meltdown on Bill Clinton, a president who, among other major accomplishments, balanced the budget to the point that we had a surplus.

Update the registry

THE CAPE Girardeau County Sheriff's Department has not updated its sex offender registry since August of last year. Please, update this information so that the registry can be used as a tool by citizens. When the information is this out-of-date, it isn't beneficial.

Highway trash

I WOULD just like to ask the Missouri Department of Transportation workers on Highway 72 to pick up their drink cups in the afternoon or when they're done with them. Every day I come home and I see cups, plastic bottles and all kinds of trash blown into our yard. I'm tired of picking up their trash.

Something attractive

THANK YOU, Dave Niswonger, for the wonderful planting of the 3,000 day lily bulbs at the new 102 exit on Interstate 55. I had thought about how nice it would be to have something attractive at this exit, but I never dreamed of this. This is the beginning of future good things to happen there.

Thanks, Ameren

I WOULD like to thank AmerenUE and its employees for the hard work they did in restoring electricity in Scott City. I have come to appreciate electricity so much more now and how it makes our lives easier every day.

Price gouging

REGARDING BRIAN Blackwell's article on gas prices: I think I understand what Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said, "Whatever retailers paid Wednesday for the wholesale price of gasoline is what will be delivered to their stores at a later date." He went on to say since wholesale prices are going up for the future delivery, the retailers increased their pump prices now on the gasoline they bought earlier at the cheaper prices so they can gouge us enough to survive financially if they run out of gas. What happens to the extra profit they make if they don't run out of gas? Leone admits the retailers gouge us. They make an extra $20,000, and if they are found guilty, they are fined $1,000. What brain thinks this will deter price gouging? Make the fine $100,000 and let's see what happens.

Time to intervene

I DO not like government intervention in business, but it's come to a time when government needs to have a little intervention. I'm thinking that the bosses in any corporation should never get paid more than 20 times what the hourly workers get paid. It's time we have a little bit more equal distribution for the payment for work.

Thanks for stopping

THIS MESSAGE is for the woman who stopped when my daughter ran out into Highway 25. I don't know if I properly thanked you, because I was so thankful that my daughter was OK. Thank you and God bless you for stopping.

Buying cars

MY EMPLOYER does not provide me with a car to get back and forth to my place of employment, so why should the taxpayers of Cape Girardeau County be expected to buy cars for the commissioners to get to their place of employment?

Reassessments

WITH THE decline in house prices over the last few years, I'd like to see what happens when the county comes around and reassesses everybody's properties. Wouldn't it make sense that our property taxes should go down, since our houses are worth less on the market? Let's just see what happens.

Truck driving

WHAT ABOUT truck drivers who don't use blinkers? What about truck drivers not paying attention to their driving? I had one just about run me over. Truckers don't own the interstate.

Raise the road

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ought to go through Neely's Landing where the water gets over the road and four or five houses have no way to get emergency assistance. These houses are completely cut off. The road needs to be raised about two feet.

Great band

I'D LIKE to thank the SEMO District Fair Board for bringing the group Styx. My family and I enjoyed the concert. We have two sons age 17 and 13 who loved it also. It was a great show. They sounded just like they did way back when I used to listen to them when I was younger. I hope to see more great bands like that at future fairs.