SPEAKOUT

Lower price to improve attendance

I AGREE with Marty Mishow's column that SEMO's basketball has given fans a lot of excitement lately, and I would like to suggest that the reason there aren't full-house crowds at every game is that the price is too high for most fans to attend every game. I know I would go to most of the games if the price were more reasonable. As it is, we fans have to pick and choose which games to attend. SEMO would still make money by having more fans at every game, and the fans could go more often. Let's face it, paying over $9 a game is just too much.

Against spanking children

I'M SO glad to hear the people in California are starting a no-spanking campaign. It doesn't help anyone except prove the one who is hitting the child is bigger and stronger. Controlling your temper and talking to this child is so much better. After all, they are a part of you and what you have taught them. Violence begets violence. The children will pass on to their children what you have taught them. Hitting children doesn't protect them. It is child abuse. California and Texas are trying to get a law passed to protect children from spanking, and I hope they make it.

They don't want truth

THERE MUST be a reason why the Democrats don't want witnesses at Clinton's trial, don't you think? Otherwise, why the big fuss about not having a witness? They don't want to hear the truth.

No role models

OK, MEN of America, where are? Are you a good citizen and trying to uphold the Constitution of these United States? I can't believe that 70 percent of people of our country are in favor of letting Bill Clinton continue as our president and upholding all of these immoral acts. Is he being a role model for the teen-agers of this generation? Who can teen-agers look up to as a role model? And if the economy is so good, why is it that in so many households both the husband and wife have to work to make ends meet? Then we go to the stores to buy our needs and the products are marked "Made in China." Are we moving all our industries and technology to foreign countries? Think about it.

What about the facts?

SO NOW the yeas and nays will be decided by just looking at witnesses and determining their honesty. What happened to the facts? Are all jurors in all courts going to follow suit? What a horrible example.

We've lost our freedom

I WANT to make a comment about the person who said what Larry Flynt is doing by exposing politicians doesn't cost the taxpayers anything. It costs Americans a lot to use FBI files. That is the height of Big Brotherism. That's what the KGB did in Russia, and now they're doing it in this country. Yes, it cost freedom. If you want to look at this investigation, Clinton cost $50 million, but they have proved stuff on him. We spent billions of dollars fighting against Hitler and the Cold War, and all that's down the drain. We've accepted the philosophy of the very enemy we fought. It's all right for big government and government agencies to spy on private citizens. Wait until it's your turn and you'll see how it is. We've all paid. It's called loss of freedom.

Get information first

THE NEWS story in the Missourian, "Too fast," about the Missouri State Highway Patrol official saying that fatal traffic accidents have increased on Missouri interstates since the speed limits were raised in 1996 implies that we should have the speed limits decreased. That would also increase traffic congestion. We need research on this problem by an outside group of capable, dedicated people to define all of the factors of this accident problem. One, what was the increase of accidents in ratio with the increase traffic flow? Two, on what type of highways were the accidents? The Autobahn in Germany has a suggested speed limit of about 60 or more miles per hour in the outside lane, near 100 mph in the middle lane and a limit equal to 125 mph in the inside lane, but there is no legal limit. Would building more lanes help? Would requiring all drivers to undergo driving-skills training help? Would having information of the various categories of drivers who drive and conditions of each accident help? Would it help to not allow certain types of drivers to drive on the interstate? We must have adequate information before we change any laws.

Don't blame the party

I HAVE a comment to make regarding "One party brought disgrace." I say good riddance to you. If you're that upset by this turn of events, what about the Republicans who do the same thing? I don't condone what Clinton did, but that's not the Democratic Party as a whole.

One bright light

I'D LIKE to give kudos to the Southeast Missourian for printing it and Michael Devaney for writing the article, "The de-industrialization of Russia." It is gratifying that there's at least one bright light shining through the Marxist shrouds of academia. It's too bad it doesn't penetrate to the Democratic socialists of America.

No clean way out

AS AN independent, I certainly hope that the House persecutors demand witnesses in the impeachment trial. This would make it possible for Clinton's lawyers to call witnesses. Like many people, I would like to see Ken Starr explain his tie to the tobacco industry. And then you have the duo of Linda Tripp and Lucianne Goldberg. Goldberg is a longtime enemy of Bill Clinton's who aided and abetted Tripp in her illegal taping. Paula Jones' letters could shed much light on the illegal action of Starr and his aides and their illegal passing and sharing of information. I don't know if it would be legal, but I would like to find out about the adulterers and perjurers on the Judicial Committee attack squad. I think the Republican Party would look like the man who stood in front of the fan when someone threw manure on it. You're not going to come out of this clean. Accept it.

He was supposed to do that

WELL, WHO else is sick and tired of Clinton saying "Let me go back and work for the people"? Actually, we thought that was what he was supposed to be doing when he was having all these illicit affairs

Officers need reflective coats

I JUST wanted to make my opinion on the storm we had Sunday night. I think the police have a very dangerous job, and they need some reflectors on their coats. You just can't see them out there in the pouring rain.

King exposed socialism

IN REMEMBRANCE of Martin Luther King Jr.; I've seen the handwriting on the wall because of him. I've seen the socialism in this country.

Get tough on school discipline

THEY CAN talk education standards of our children all day long, but until moral behavior is restored and drugs are eliminated from access to the children, they will not learn. Teachers and principals cannot restore order in the classroom for fear of being sued. Without classroom discipline, teachers cannot teach and children cannot learn. So there's the crux of the education problem. Until order can be restored and drugs eliminated, the problem with education will not be solved no matter how much money you throw at it. Teachers need immunity in order to restore discipline in their classrooms. Any suspected drug user needs drug testing and expulsion to a special treatment facility. If these conditions are not granted to school teachers and principals, there's no way to correct the education problem. Legislation is needed to support these programs in order to get our schools back in shape to teach. Hard problems demand hard solutions and the courage to implement them.

A slap in the face

THIS GOING to school on Martin Luther King Day is a slap in the face of every black citizen in Cape Girardeau and also, more than you would know, to the whites.

They wanted our money

DEMOCRATS DREAMED up and brought about Social Security. Now, Democrats have squandered our money on all their various do-good programs, and they ask us, "What will we do?" Social Security was in the beginning supposed to be for our retirement. It was supposed to have been our money, not the federal government's. But do you wonder now why the Democrats dreamed it up? They wanted to get money out of us one way or another. By the way, compared to Eisenhower's, Reagan's and even Richard Nixon's job performance, Bill Clinton has the poorest record.

Not up for discussion

THE PRESIDENT has put honest Democrats in a bad situation. We all know that he lied under oath, committed perjury and obstructed justice. What we want to argue about is what should be the punishment. It's a question of whether the Constitution allows us to argue about the punishment when we all know he is guilty. Why doesn't the president do the honorable thing and just resign and let Al Gore run the country?