Speak Out A 03/11/02

Others scammed too

I READ with interest about someone else being scammed for money for an alternator. I was confronted and gave the guy $20, thinking nothing of it. I see there have been several other incidents.

Good deal for veterans

I SEE where they're really giving the veterans a good deal now. My 90 aspirin tablets cost me $21. That sounds like a real good deal for the vets.

Sources of AIDS

I WOULD Like to make a comment about the people who complained that David Limbaugh was wrong about AIDS and homosexuals. The callers are wrong. Time magazine in 1997 printed an article about AIDS and said 85 percent of the people who test positive for AIDS are homosexuals. It said 10 percent are bisexual. And 5 percent get it from hypodermic needles. You people need to get your facts straight.

Skips appointment

I WAS reading in Speak Out about waiting in a doctor's office for an appointment. I had an appointment with a doctor in Cape, and it took three weeks to get the appointment. I took off from work to go, and when I got there no one was there. Someone in another office said the doctor had a meeting to go to and his appointments were canceled. I think they could have called me.

Prove the need first

I SAW where the city council members are not thinking of their constituents. They should require the cell-phone companies to prove there's a coverage gap before they allow them to put up another tower. The towers are eyesores.

Jackson needs center

TO THE person who said we don't need a new senior center in Jackson: We definitely do. I don't know what day you were in there, but they do call people in shifts to get in line every day. I eat there often with a family member, and we always wait to have our numbers called. There's not enough room. The building is in bad shape, and one gentleman is always having to repair things over and over again, putting all that money into this old building. As far as giving money to the Jackson schools: That's all we do in Jackson is give to the schools. They are always building new buildings and always wanting tax increases. We need a new senior center in Jackson.

Stop your whining

IT'S SUCH a pity some veterans pay only $7 per prescription. I think it's a tragedy. I pay a lot more, and I have insurance. I'm a senior and a vet. Stop whining about the Medicare deductible. What if you paid it all? I've watched these gripers drinking beer and crying about how they should raise their Social Security checks. Or at bingo saying their check money will run out before the month's over. So give up bingo. We have many leeches who cry for more handouts and burdening our children with their greed. We also have a lot of seniors who work, volunteer and plan for their retirement, asking for nothing and thanking God they live in America.

An expensive copy

I'D LIKE for someone to answer this question for me. Recently I was involved in a traffic accident. When I went to the police department to pick up a copy of the accident report, I was charged $6 for making a copy of the report. It looks to me like if we are supporting the police department by paying our taxes, why is it $6 when you can go anywhere else in town and get a copy for probably 25 cents?

Too many other needs

THE CARDINALS stadium seems fine to me. I don't see why they can't just fix the one they've got. With all the budget cuts in mental health, social services and other necessary services, why should they set money aside for mere entertainment? I feel that if people want a new stadium, then they should fork over the money themselves. I don't care about a Cardinals stadium. What I do care about is our health-care system and how it will be adversely affected by these cuts.

Honor for veterans

I AM perplexed by Mark Baker's letter to the editor. The Jackson School District awarded honorary diplomas to some veterans who left high school before graduating. This was a nice gesture, and I am sure the vets appreciated it. However, Baker's letter heaps all his praise upon the school district. With all due respect to all involved, please explain how this single act enhanced one student's knowledge or achievement.

Promises to keep

IT APPEARS to me that our president has made false promises just as his father did a few years ago. His father said, "Read my lips, no new taxes," and the current President Bush said "We will put the Social Security money in a lockbox, and nobody will touch it." On the front page of the paper he is taking out well over a trillion dollars from Social Security. So, what do you Republicans have to say about that?

Future headline

A SOUTHEAST Missourian editorial headline says, "Tougher welfare law is the right thing to do." A future editorial headline will likely be unchanged except for the replacement of the word "Tougher" with the word "No."

Use time wisely

MODOT's Henry Hungerbeeler might achieve more by making serious efforts to modify proposals to improve roads in outstate Missouri rather than writing lengthy tracts to the Southeast Missourian trying to spin this never-ending story to try to make MoDOT look less moronic.