SPEAKOUT

Get rid of the blackbirds

I'M CALLING about the blackbird situation around the Jefferson School area and Minnesota Street to Highway 74. I know my family has turned in four complaints to the city to be turned over to animal control. Nothing has been done yet. We use cap guns and other noisemakers to try to scare away the birds. But it's just a very short-term solution. They always return. In years past, I've seen the fire department help with sirens. Why hasn't anyone listened to our complaints this time? Do we have anyone working in animal control?

Fix trade deficit first

ARE OUR elected officials asleep? Are they too busy thinking up tax breaks and raises for themselves? Who's going to pay their enormous salaries when everyone is out of work due to the foreign imports? Who's going to be paying the taxes then? Maybe then they will wake up and put an end to this lopsided affair. How many more factories have to close before these politicians wake up and smell the coffee? I believe in farmers as much as I believe in every other American occupation. But we cannot only export crops and put the factory workers out of their jobs. I get so tired of hearing our politicians, when a factory closes, say they will give the newly out of work job training. These people don't need job training. They need these politicians to step in there and straighten up the trade deficit. As far as China is concerned, everything you pick up in the store now is made in the Republic of China. If I'm not badly mistaken, this is a communist country, and it has child labor.

Support Kelly bond issue

THIS IS for all those people out there who are slamming the Kelly bond issue. Have you thought about who suffers when you vote no on that bond issue? It's the kids, who have to literally shove their way through the halls to get to their classes before the next bell rings. The halls are so congested that sometimes they can't get through and will be late. It's the kids who have to cram themselves into the classroom. There's not enough room, not enough teachers. They don't get the attention they should have. The kids who have to go into the cafeteria and eat their lunch in 10 minutes. That's good for the digestive system, isn't it? Even on the buses these kids are three to a seat or sitting on the floor because there's no room. These kids are our future. We're teaching them a great lesson, aren't we? Let's teach them not to be considerate and caring. Let's teach them to vote no on issues that might benefit other children. Let's teach them not to be good Christians, not to care about their future. I don't have a high income, but you can bet I'm going to vote yes on the Kelly bond issue. I want my kids to have a better school and to be able to walk through the halls without having to push and shove to get where they're going, to be able to sit down and eat a good lunch in a decent amount of time.

Newspaper isn't fair

COME ON, Southeast Missourian. Your paper is filled with conservative views, and in Speak Out you're allowing people to call the president a pervert again. We know you're a Republican newspaper, but why aren't you fair? You're the only game in town.

Too much sunshine?

JO ANN Emerson said she's committed to the right-to-work law. I asked her who she was committed to, and she never would say. As for farmers, if any farmer voted for her, maybe he or she was out in the sun too long.

Keep 'Peanuts'

I THINK the Southeast Missourian should keep the "Peanuts" comic strip alive. I think it's been great to go back and look at what Mr. Schulz drew in 1974 and 1975. I'm in favor for keeping Peanuts.

Add on to schools

IT WOULD seem to me that the Jackson School Board should consider adding on to existing buildings instead of always wanting to build new schools. We as Jackson taxpayers have about reached our breaking point on new taxes.

Shouldn't have used the names

I THINK it's a shame when you put the deceased names in the paper regarding indigent burials. You could have written the article without using names. You personally do not know these people or about their finances. I do know one of the families, and they couldn't afford the funeral. I buy the Missourian every day, but I'm really considering stopping.

It's about states' rights

THERE HAS been much commentary of late regarding the Confederate flag issue in South Carolina. People have become so polarized and revisionist on the issue that the basic truth seems to escape many. A news commentator on TV this weekend was reviewing what the leading presidential candidates had said on this issue. Bill Bradley and Al Gore both said the flag should come down. John McCain and George Bush said it was up to the voters of the state to decide. The commentator went on to say that Bradley and Gore "got it right." The commentator's politics were obvious. The war between the states was not about slavery, except in a polarizing propagandizing capacity, as slavery was being slowly phased out in the South as it was no longer economically feasible. Furthermore, most of the Southern defenders were too poor to own slaves. It was a war about states' rights and a myriad of issues within there too. McCain and Bush have it right, and after 135 years so many people still do not get it. The framers of the U.S. Constitution were very careful about restricting the rights of the federal government and did very little to restrict states' rights. We currently have in the White House an egregious example of what the Founders were trying to prevent. This administration is hungry with power and willing to restrict the economic, political and constitutional freedoms of anyone they perceive as enemies to their liberal revisionist world. Some people are starting to get it. And probably without knowing it, they scream for states' rights every time they scream for the federal government to get out of their lives, whether it be in education, taxation or something as simple as a speed limit on the roads.

Thanks for help on icy day

I JUST want to say a big thank you to two women who helped me on the parking lot of the Country Mart in Jackson. One told me to walk around the ice. There was no salt on the lot. The other lady reached for and got me a shopping cart to hold on to. They both knew what I needed. Both ladies are in my prayers. Again, thank you.

Speak Out allows readers to call in comments about current events. You may call anytime to tell us what's on your mind. If you don't get an answer, you may call back later.