Speak Out A 02/15/02

to hav

Driving forces

SO IT'S your legal right to drive in the left lane. Nobody said you had to have common sense to allow traffic to flow better and to keep you from causing a wreck. If you enter Cape on Kingshighway at I-55 and you don't plan on making a left turn at Southern Expressway, then get in the right lane if you plan to drive slow. This is just common sense. But I have found that drivers in Cape and Jackson have no common sense. And you know that lane in the middle of the road? That's a turn lane, not a merge lane. If you're making a left turn onto the roadway, you don't get in that lane and wait to get over.

Obvious tax math

DOESN'T IT make simple mathematical sense that the top 50 percent of taxpayers are going to foot the higher bill? If you make more, you're going to pay more. Pretty obvious to me. No socialist underpinnings on that one.

University cutbacks

INSTEAD OF sending all employees an attack letter saying how wrong the Southeast Missourian was for its article on administrators, President Dobbins should take some real leadership and announce as part of his employee savings plan that he will not fill the soon-to-be-vacant vice president of administration position to be vacated by Dr. Pauline Fox. We know what the answer to that question is already: It's better to contract out services or not fill positions of people who make $20,000 a year, but we must have our executive team with vice presidents and assistant vice presidents and their $80,000-plus salaries.

Shades of prohibition

NOT SERVE liquor on flights? In the 1920s era of prohibition, you'll find there was more crime because alcohol was prohibited. If you eliminate it on flights, people will just try and smuggle it aboard.

A serious crime

WHAT KIND of message is being sent? Remember a few months back when the Cape police cars were broken into and guns were stolen? The guys who did that have been sentenced. They were each given 120 days shock treatment for stealing guns from our police force. What kind of message is this going to send to other young people that are looking to be cool? They will get the impression they can go out and break into a police car and steal a gun and will only get a 120-day prison sentence. I am sorry, but I was under the impression that stealing a gun was a federal offense punishable by many years in prison. Just what was the theft of guns leading to? A more serious crime? I think maybe ATF needs to look into this and find out why such a small sentence was passed for such a serious crime. After all, this is our community that is affected by our police cars being broken into and guns stolen. I would like Morley Swingle to explain why this small sentence was given on such a serious crime.

Lucky to be here

I'M CALLING about the people who want to move to Australia. Insulting the country you live in isn't going to make it any better. You have no idea how lucky you are to be born here. You could be begging for food in Afghanistan. So stop taking your life for granted.

Water getting better

ARE WE getting used to it, or is the water in Cape Girardeau getting better? I seem to notice a little less mud and fish taste. Maybe everything is being better filtered.

Separate waiting areas

I WOULD like to suggest to both the hospitals that they have both sick and well waiting rooms so people who have a back problem or other injuries won't have to sit in the room with a bunch of people who have the flu. It would be a lot more convenient.

Sharing textbooks

IN THE Cape Girardeau School District's elementary classes, students have to share language, science, spelling and social studies books. These children have to split these books between three of them. They can't bring them home for study. I'd think our school system would be better than this.