Speak Out A 05/26/03

For the little guy

I JUST read about how U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson is trying to pass a law to make our drugs cheaper. I say great. Nobody else seems to be doing anything about this issue. It is about time someone stuck up for the little guy. Good luck.

A choice for kids

TO THE person complaining about the kids and the noise coming from the Jackson park: Would you rather have them there? Or would you rather have them out in a field with a bonfire? Think about that.

Library privileges

MY FAMILY just moved to a new house. We got a letter from the Cape Girardeau Public Library stating that we can no longer use the public library for free unless we meet certain conditions. I'm a teacher, so I can get the library card for free. But my family's going to have to pay $24 to have a library card. I live in the city limits and pay taxes, but because of old library district boundaries, my family has to pay. What angers me is that SEMO students, no matter where they live, get a free library card. That's not right. We give privileges to students and SEMO employees that we don't give to our own residents. What is this deal with this city that everything SEMO wants, they get? Why can't SEMO students use Riverside Regional Library? Why do they have to use ours?

Start at the bottom

YOU DON'T give a tax break to the rich. You start at the bottom. The reason is that a tax break give the poor and the working class purchasing power. They spend more than the rich do. The rich bank their money.

A troublemaker

GOV. BOB Holden is just trying to cause trouble. The Missouri Constitution requires the state to have a balanced budget. The voters of Missouri, time after time, have voted down tax increases. So you can't raise taxes. But the governor keeps vetoing sections of the budget because he wants to spend more money. He also says Republicans have already spent too much money. Well, if the governor doesn't have something that he wants to take money from, how are we going to give more money to projects? He's just causing trouble.

Dismissive attitude

I READ the article about the study hall at Central High School. It says school administrators dismissed the petition because only one parent had spoken to them. That is not true. I called about this matter and spoke to superintendent Mark Bowles. He was very uncooperative. He acted like this is how it is and we had no say. They didn't just hear from one parent. They had a petition with 200 signatures. That's 200 people who feel this issue needs to be reviewed. We have administrators in this district who dismiss any suggestion by a parent, but then they brag about their committees where they listen to parent input. This is ridiculous. I know that I'm not the only parent in this district who's sick and tired of this attitude.

They're mean kids

CHARGING THE parents of kids involved in hazing solves nothing. These were mean kids. The kids who were punching deserve assault charges. Alcohol doesn't make you mean. I've been drunk on my butt many times and never beat up anyone. If you're a mean person, then you're going to be mean whether or not you're drinking alcohol. If anything, the parents should be charged with raising obnoxious children.

A firing offense

ABOUT THE topless picture on the computer: Where I work, if I had topless pictures on my computer or brought any into the workplace, I would be fired.

Don't need built-in spy

I CAN see the airbag "black box being used if your car has killed someone, but not if someone's a willing passenger. I don't think that is the George Orwell society we want to live in. I just think there's better way of taxpayer money being used than spying on its citizens.

Stop the trespassing

THERE IS a law for aggressive scavengers. It's called trespassing. Have a witness, get a license number or call police when someone is trespassing on your private property.

No help in 1949

DOES ANYONE remember the 1949 tornado that killed 22 people? The survivors didn't have any assistance whatsoever for repairs.

A good law

THE CONCEALED weapons law? I think it's a good law. We have a constitutional right to bear arms. It was the people in Kansas City and St. Louis who voted against concealed weapons. It wasn't the rural areas.

Think about it

FOUR SCENARIOS: 1. A person smoking a cigarette and driving a car. 2. A person dialing and using a cellular phone and driving a car. 3. A person drinking hot coffee or cold liquid and driving a car. 4. A person not wearing a seat belt and driving a car. Which is the most dangerous, and which one is against the law? Silly, isn't it?

Tomorrow's tantrum

I WAS in the shopping center parking lot and saw this child about 4 years old having a tantrum. He fell down and almost hurt himself. His mother tried to reason with him. He kept crying and kicking. I said, "In our day, he wouldn't have lasted one minute. He would have got one big swat on the backside. That would have ended that in a hurry." She said, "I know, but you dared to discipline your kids because you couldn't go to jail and get fined, so, really, what can we do?" One day, that boy's going to have a tantrum and be physically violent. I don't know what we've come to. Child abuse is a lot different from child discipline. You can love your child, but if you spare the rod, you spoil the child.

Men: Dress up

WHY DON'T more men dress appropriately for functions or social engagements? The casual, rumpled look is not in style anymore. A man should wear a suit or a sport coat with a tie for social functions. He will be more appreciated for it.

Play day is fund raiser

THIS IS in response to the complaint about the Scott City PTO play day. The kids had a fabulous time. Everybody was allowed to play. Everybody received tickets regardless of income. The average kid spent $10 on play day, which is a fund raiser that helps keep our accelerated reader store and our student of the month program going. These cost the PTO $2,300 a year. There is no funding through our school for these activities. Anyone who thinks play day needs to be reworked needs to show up at the first PTO meeting at the Scott City Elementary School.

Can you top this?

THE SILLY antics of the Texas legislators who flew the coop was surpassed only by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Delay who tried to get them chased down by the Department of Homeland Security.

Evaluating art

"BEAUTY IS in the eye of the beholder" does not resonate well with those who make absolutist judgments about the art display in Scott City.

Mind-boggling accuracy

IT TAKES an objective editorial writer to realize that Gov. Bob Holden's "veto road show" is just a campaign ploy. You are to be congratulated. It would have been equally accurate on your part if a "veto road show" were being staged by a Republican governor and you drew the conclusion that he was motivated by a high-minded effort to educate the voters. Your ability to discern motives is mind-boggling in its accuracy.

Not enough room

LET ME get this straight. The Cape Girardeau School District just spent $25 million on a new high school that now doesn't have a spare classroom for study hall? Did the administration not remember to tell the architect that a group of freshmen would also be occupying the building?