Speak Out A 03/20/02

Buses hog the road

DOES ANYONE else get a headache when school lets out in Jackson, Mo.? School buses do not have all of the rights on the road, but they seem to park right in the middle of it without their stop signs out. Other traffic has to get through. The problem is bad and only getting worse, especially around West Lane and the middle school. School bus drivers need to have some consideration for other drivers on the road.

Creating a hazard

I SEE our city police force was at it again. I witnessed a city cop pull a lady over in the 50-mph zone on the interstate. Traffic was light and probably moving at around 60 to 65 mph before the officer showed up. When are the police going to learn that by pulling someone over on that tiny shoulder they are endangering more lives? Let traffic do what traffic wants to do on the interstate. All it takes is one police car -- which causes everyone to hit their brakes whether they are speeding or not -- to be the cause of a multicar pile-up.

Cutbacks everywhere

BOB HOLDEN'S attitude makes me sick. I don't understand how he can put baseball above any state-supported program. There are cutbacks virtually across the board in state departments in funding and hiring, yet he wants to build a stadium. I quit going to ballgames cause the prices were too high. If the Cards want a new stadium, let them pay for it themselves. Smaller towns shouldn't have to foot the bill for St. Louis' money problems.

Don't use tax dollars

AS A SEMO graduate and a hardworking taxpayer, I find it very disturbing that the university gives tacit approval to illicit sex and drunkenness by providing condoms and saliva test strips for students going on spring break. Surely students who can afford to go Padre Island, Breckenridge, Panama City, Mexico and Jamaica can afford to buy their own. I can't choose to withhold taxes from SEMO. I wish I could. Over are the days of Mark Scully, decency and morality.

Phone warning

I JUST want to say this to the person who rings my phone and then hangs up when I answer. When I find out who you are, I'm going to have you prosecuted, and I hope they put you in jail for a long time.

That other shredding

WE CAN see from the front page of the newspaper it didn't take very long for the federal government to indict Arthur Andersen for shredding documents and deleting computer files in conjunction with the Enron mess. Can you remember anybody else who's ever done something like that? What about the Rose law firm? It shredded documents that were under subpoena immediately after Vince Foster died. What about the Clinton EPA that shredded documents? What about the Clinton administration as a whole shredding documents? If we're going to enforce the law on accountants like Arthur Andersen, we ought to enforce the law on politicians. Everybody should obey the same law.

Pay full postage

I FULLY agree with Ron Wooldridge that all mail excluding religious and church-related mail should pay the full first-class rate of 34 cents. Why should I have to pay high postage all the time due to the excess cost of handling and mailing junk mail that I don't even request? I've talked to a lot of people who feel the same. Let's do something about it.

All about abortion

AS USUAL, the Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee rejected a nominee for the Supreme Court for only one reason: He didn't believe in abortion. The pro-choice wing of the Democratic Party has made it clear that no one who is pro-life will be given a chance by Congress. We have a lot of Christians who claim they believe in God, but I guess it's his Word and the Bible they have trouble with. A political party means more than their faith to these people.