Speak Out 9/6/06

Weak argument

IT'S A sad state of affairs when The Wall Street Journal is reduced to defending the failed charter school movement by writing that, after all, the bad ones close down.

Butting in

WHAT KIND of country have we become? We are so worried about what everyone else is doing. We want people to wear what we want them to wear. We want them to eat what we want them to eat. We don't want them to smoke or do anything else that bothers us. We need to stop putting our noses in other people's business and take a better look at ourselves. Remember people in glass houses?

Poor planning

SOMEONE THINKS the recent rain and flash flooding in Cape Girardeau is a sign. Poor city planning tends to cause those things, not the wrath of God.

Political facts

I WANT change. I am a Democrat and proud of it. I do not believe al-Qaida would be taking over this country were a Democrat a sitting president. I hardly believe it is because of George Bush that we have had no more terrorists attacks since 9-11.

Shifting the problem

IT WILL be interesting when non-achieving students are allowed to switch to Clippard, Franklin and Alma Schrader elementary schools. Then we will find that those non-achieving students have caused the MAP scores at those schools not to meet adequate yearly progress standards. I am pretty certain Clippard, Franklin and Alma Schrader do not want the low-achieving students from other schools destroying what they have created.

Testing mold

MAP TESTS waste time, energy and money. Please do not put so much emphasis on a test that expects every child to be put in a mold and answer questions which, for some, they know nothing about. We have children from different races, cultures, living conditions and learning styles. Why are we giving a test which dictates uniformity? Also, not meeting adequate yearly progress does not mean that our children are not learning and that our teachers are not teaching.

Lunch decisions

I TEACH in Jackson. We were told at our faculty meeting that we cannot give students foods with sugar in them, and we are supposed to encourage healthy snacks to be brought by our children. We do not have any sodas in our building that are not diet sodas. Those have all been taken away from the teachers. This is a federal law. The students can bring what they want in their lunch boxes. It's up to the parents to make that decision.

Lights need repair

DRIVE ON Kingshighway at night from Center Junction south to Interstate 55 and look at all of the street lights that are out. I've been asking the city manager, the mayor and the leader of the Chamber of Commerce what can be done. They finally got the answer: It's AmerenUE's responsibility to fix the lights. It's time we start griping about this. We pay taxes. Let's light it up.

Parents' fault

BLANCHARD AND Jefferson elementary schools have some of the best administrators and teachers in Missouri. That their respective schools missed the MAP goal says nothing about them and everything about who the parents of the children. For further explanation, read the best-selling book "Freakonomics."

Medicaid logic

MEDICAID IS still paying for young women to deliberately and irresponsibly have babies, but many disabled and handicapped who did not choose their afflictions have been thrown off the Medicaid rolls. Evidently Missouri no longer sends out the quarterly statements to Medicaid recipients so they can check for fraudulent charges or errors. Is all this, plus more, logical to us?

Rose garden neglected

IT IS so sad that the Capaha Park Rose Garden has been so badly neglected this summer. This is one of my favorite places to visit, and it breaks my heart that no one cares.

Time to get out

HOW CAN David Limbaugh and the ultracons keep saying things are getting better in Iraq when clearly the facts show they are getting worse? Our troop levels are the highest since the war began. Marines on inactive-reserve status are being called up. The latest Pentagon report to Congress says the average number of attacks per week against Americans and Iraqis was 792, up 24 percent from the previous period of Feb. 11 to May 19. The 792 figure was the highest for any counting period since the war began. Iraq is slipping toward civil war. I realize President Bush gave the ultra-rich huge tax cuts for which they are indebted. But it is time for some prominent Republicans to stand up and put an end to this nonsense. We are not going to "win" in Iraq. The only reason we are still there is so President Bush, Cheney and company can save face. Stop sacrificing America's finest men and women. This is one conservative who says face the facts. Bush lied to us. Iraq was a mistake from Day 1. Get out now.

Chain migration

THE SAME people who scoff at deporting millions of illegals claim that the feds will be able to place those millions on a road to citizenship. They never say what they will do with those who don't qualify for the guest-to-citizen trajectory. They also don't say when the new guest/citizens will be able to start the endless chain migration of family members.

Church clothes

IT ANGERS me that someone would make comments about what someone wears to church. I believe that is judging, and we are not to judge. Where does it say in the Bible that we have to wear dress clothes to church? It doesn't. That is something people decided. Many people buy expensive clothes to wear to church to get noticed. It saddens me to know that someone would spend a lot of money on an outfit just so everyone notices them at church. I know I can't afford a lot of nice clothes to wear to church, so I guess I will never be allowed to go.

School forecast

NOW THAT Blanchard and Jefferson elementary schools have failed to make "adequate yearly progress," children will be flocking to Alma Schrader Elementary School. Our classrooms will be crowded, and our teachers will have to put up with more behavior problems. My family chose a home in this part of town to avoid those problems. What do you think will happen to Alma Schrader's MAP scores next year? My guess is that they will fail to make progress and go down, especially if parents start pulling their children out for private school to get away from this nonsense. Maybe it's not the teachers at those schools, but the families who fail to put a priority on education.

Listen in church

I'M AMAZED at the complaint about the pastor who speaks of sports, politics and himself. I imagine that person sitting at Jesus' feet and grumbling that all he did was talk about crops, planting, vines and parents with problem children. Jesus did exactly what this pastor is doing. He used the stuff of everyday life to help people catch a glimpse of God. He started where people are. He understood that the unfathomable, eternal truths of God had to be somehow connected to the experience of real people in the real world. He told stories. We call them parables. If you want to hear the Word of God, open your ears and your heart and listen. You can sit in the pews and still miss church.

Don't feel safe

I WOULD like to address the violence and vandalism in Cape Girardeau. I recently was the victim of a car break-in. My satellite radio was stolen. I was upset. I work hard for my money. I would like to think the police department would be right on it. But I don't feel safe anymore.