Speak Out A 07/16/03

Cash box is found

I WOULD like to say thank you to the person who found the cash box in the Jackson City Park trash can and turned it into the police department. This box and its contents belonged to the Jackson Girls Softball League. It makes me feel good to know that there are still honest people in this world, and for that I applaud you and thank you. As for the person who took the cash box out of my truck to begin with: I'm ashamed of you and your actions. I guess you got scared and ditched it or hid it thinking you would come back later and get it. I don't know who you are or why you did what you did, but God does. He's the one you will eventually have to answer to.

Dubious test site

IN YOUR report about the government plan to test Internet voting during the coming presidential election, I see where one of the states being used is Florida. If these people can't figure out how to use a punch card, how are they going to figure out how to use a computer?

Save Head Start

I AM concerned about the Head Start bill that President Bush wants to pass. If this bill passes, it will affect many children. Children who attend programs like Head Start receive many services that the public school system does not offer. Please save Head Start.

Consider the motive

ENOUGH WITH the politics. I think you should vote for someone not based on his political party but on the basis of what he wants to do with his new power.

Wasting money

WHY WASTE your money on fireworks when Cape Girardeau provides a lovely display for free? Some of us who are complaining about the rich getting richer are just trying to make ends meet. We see the government giving more and more tax breaks to the people who already make enough to live comfortably.

Hit-and-run motorists

WHY WON'T motorists slow down and pay attention when they turn? Because of speedy turners, some people are getting their cars damaged. These same motorists are not stopping after they run into a parked car. Take responsibility for your actions, please. Those of us in the lower-income part of town can't afford to fix our cars every time you decide to hit and run. It would be nice if you would pay attention to where you are going.

More control -- or less?

I WONDER how many of the people calling for the banning of fireworks are the same people that are always asking for less government.

What is our strategy?

OUR SOLDIERS are being killed in Iraq at the rate of about one a day. What is the strategy? What is our goal in Iraq? And aren't the people cheering and supporting the president now the same people who decried President Clinton's nation-building in Bosnia and Kosovo?

Analyze this

LET'S ANALYZE the concealed-weapons idea. You tote your gun. Criminal totes his. Criminal tries to mug you with his gun drawn. You draw your concealed gun without the criminal shooting you. Now the two of you are pointing guns at one another. How does this situation resolve itself without someone getting shot? How does this make you safer? Why should I support this idea?

Wonderful story

I WOULD like to say thank you to Chris Pagano for the wonderful story she wrote about my nephew, Airman Jeffery Edmundson. Thanks for taking the time and doing such a great job.

Wading-pool checks

CHILDREN'S WADING pools account for more injuries and deaths each year than firearms. Should we have a background check on parents who are buying wading pools for their children?

Right to bear arms

I WOULD suggest reading Wayne LaPierre's "Guns, Freedom, and Terrorism," which offers an eye-opening look at what happens to a country when the government takes the guns of the civilian population. The Second Amendment is very clear, and there are thousands of local, state and federal laws which violate the Second Amendment of the Constitution. There was a time in this country when public schools had gun clubs and the Boy Scouts offered a shooting badge. What is this nation coming to?

Sexist headline

YOUR FEATURE article regarding the Girl Scout camp in Wayne County surprised me with the headline "Camping like a girl." I felt as if I were in the 1970s. The author must be a young woman, and the editor must be lacking in recognizing sexist comments.