Speak Out A 08/24/03

Teaching respect

IT IS a disgrace the way some students treat teachers. I read in your article on Jason Bandermann's first year of teaching. Bandermann, I believe, is a sincere and good person and wants to do well. I hope all parents read the article and control their children. And may they teach them to respect others.

Freedom Corner's names

THIS IS about the protesters who gather at Freedom Corner. I'm not sure we need to be over there fighting a war, but our men and women are there and need our support. If the protesters would turn around and look at the plaques behind them, they would see the names of the people who gave their lives so that the protesters would have the freedom to do what they are doing now.

Hats off to protesters

MY HAT is off to Bob Polack and his group of protesters who demonstrate at Freedom Corner every week. The group is small, but a lot of us who aren't likely to demonstrate feel the same way he does. President Bush is spending $1 billion tax dollars a week for Iraq. That's money that we need to build our own infrastructure. I think it's also been clearly demonstrated that Saddam Hussein was not an immediate threat to the United States. The people of Iraq have traded one bad situation for another.

Bias in classroom

SEMO UNIVERSITY professor Alan Journet says he makes a great effort not to teach his beliefs and his political views in the classroom. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've had Journet in one class, I'm a pretty unbiased person as far as my political beliefs. I believe you vote by person. You look at each issue case by case. But he is so biased, and it comes across in his teaching and in what he expects in answers on exams. It's also apparent in his little asides in class.

Political motives

I RESPECT the right of the war protesters to exercise their First Amendment liberties. However, I believe their motives are far more political than philosophical. In reading their letters on the Opinion page, it's obvious these people are passionate anti-capitalists. They blame every perceivable problem that ever existed on business and corporations. It's also interesting to note that most of the adults in this group derive their livelihood from the taxpayers.

Not out values

IT IS surprising that people become upset with Alan Journet's letters to the editor. Everyone knows what he's going to say before he says it. Everybody knows that he is against the values most of us here in the Heartland hold dear. He has expressed those views time and again. So when you see his name following a letter to the editor, just skip it and go on. We have better things to do and to read.

Saying our piece

THANK GOD we've got Speak Out. That's the opportunity the average person has of telling his viewpoint, whether the Southeast Missourian agrees or disagrees. That's how you know how the people feel. Thank God for Speak Out.

Recognition given

I WAS gratified and relieved to see the article on the peace movement in the Sunday paper. It's about time we recognize these people for what they're doing. Just remember, folks: What is right is not always popular, and what is always popular is not always right.

They're citizens too

ABOUT THOSE professors out there against the war. They're not only professors, you know. They're also citizens with rights and responsibilities.

Poor planning

I haven't seen a slide rule in decades. But it wouldn't surprise me if the engineers who planned Mount Auburn Road used one. What can you expect from designers and politicians who allow a bank to be built on a bogus landfill located so that it will forever cause problems by clogging up a major intersection?

Low scores are good

I'm glad MAP scores showed little improvement among Missouri students. It will soon lead parents to realize that their public school is less than perfect when it comes to the way students perform on these marginally meaningful exams. As a result, parents will soon begin putting pressure on the politicians to make a major modification in the absurd MAP tests or abolish them all together.

Bring back regulation

Energy deregulation led directly to the Enron financial debacle, the $70 billion theft of funds from California's coffers and now the most massive blackout in American history. There is no profit motive to maintain the power grid, and so-called voluntary regulation is an absurd fantasy. Energy is a matter of national security and must be re-regulated.

Just ask them

Excuse me, but I know many well-educated college grads and professors who are staunch Democrats. Quiz them and they will certainly tell you why too.

Conservative media

The idea that the U.S. media are liberal just doesn't square with the facts. As one example, four studies in the last 10 years have each shown that guest experts on the news have been overwhelmingly conservative. Missourian readers may want to check out www.fair.org. The owners of big networks are very conservative. To say that Dan Rather sets policy is like saying a line worker at Ford designs the cars. We'd be impeaching President Bush right now if the media were even middle of the road instead of hugely conservative. That's what's happening to Tony Blair in Great Britain, and that's why too.

Power behind the wheel

Inspired by Heidi Hall's husband, I found myself driving for justice this week on my way through the West Park Mall parking lot. It gave me a good feeling.

Jackson's black eye

If Jackson Mayor Paul Sander used city equipment and employees for personal use, then he did wrong. If City Attorney Tom Ludwig was in agreement with this, then he did wrong also, and both must resign. Jackson's pride and integrity must be maintained at all cost. And regardless of the outcome of any investigation, the black mark will remain until these people leave office.

For the children

Jackson Aldermen Kerry Hoffman and Larry Cunningham and Alderwoman Val Tuschoff had no problem signing off on MoDOT's taking of homes and property along West Jackson Boulevard to build a bicycle trail that no one wanted -- for the children, I think Tuschhoff said. What does she think the new Immaculate Conception school building is for? And it didn't take anyone's home.

Serious vows

It seems too many people take marriage for granted these days. Whatever happened to the vows that we take when we are married? I took those vows to heart, yet my husband left me with a bunch of excuses to escape responsibility. Please, people. When you state those vows, mean them for life, because God is watching you. He doesn't take divorce as easily as you think. You will have to pay the price in the end.

Back to secrecy

Failing to release the names of the finalists for Cape Girardeau's city manager position is a giant leap backward from the mayor's one time professed goal of more open government and communication with the public at large. Kowtowing to the wishes of a prospective city manager who objects to releasing his name to the public for whatever reason is reprehensible, illustrative of the tail wagging the dog and reminiscent of a return to the secretiveness we were told would be a thing of the past.