SPEAKOUT

Who will be next?

HOW MANY other country's civil wars is Clinton going to get the United States involved in? Are we going to occupy all countries then, and afterwards, like in Bosnia? Aren't Italy, Greece, Turkey, and other countries near Yugoslavia getting apprehensive that they may be next if they don't toe the line with Clinton's foreign policies? Clinton has given the U.S. military the chance to make its debut of its $2 billion toys.

For our protection

I GUESS you see now another mess Bill Clinton has gotten us in. We don't pay our military to defend other countries. We pay the people in our military to defend this country. Us. Who the heck does Bill Clinton think he is, God?

Prepare for soup kitchens

TO THE farmer: It might pay farmers to go into truck farming raising vegetables like potatoes and string beans that make good vegetable soup. Just in case Dole or Bush wins and takes a Republican congress with them, the government will be buying large quantities to stock their soup kitchens.

It's all a cover-up

I WANT to comment about this Operation Allied Force. This is a bunch a bull. It's name should be Operation Chinese Spying Cover-up. This is just Clinton trying to make himself look like some kind of John Wayne macho war hero.

Can't make everyone happy

PITY THE poor Cape Girardeau Board of Education. It has apparently succumbed to the siren song of the Southeast Missourian and has decided to delay action on drawing elementary-school attendance boundaries. Thus the board has evidently bought into the view that it eventually may be possible to satisfy all parties and be all things to all people. How sad.

Looking for end to column

CAL THOMAS has suggested so-called religious conservatives pull back from political involvement. Perhaps this means my prayer that Thomas will stop writing columns will finally be answered.

No tax alternative

RECENTLY THE Southeast Missourian chastised the Republican Party for suggesting that the current tax code be scrapped without suggesting with what kind of tax it be replaced. At the same time the Southeast Missourian supported the Republican proposal for scrapping the tax code, and like the Republicans, suggested no specific alternative.

Socialization at schools

CAPE SCHOOL school board member David Goncher correctly pointed out that no research indicates students who attend largely racially integrated schools perform at a higher level than those who don't. The problem with that view is that public schools must abide by federal mandates, and many citizens want schools to perform socialization functions that may have little bearing on academic achievement.

Playing with their toys

The United States' billion-dollar planes are not being used for the defense of the United States of America, but for attack on a small country. Is this what the American taxpayers are paying for? The Pentagon boys wanted to use their latest toys, so Clinton obliged and cooked up a little war for them to debut their pride and joy. What a despicable chapter in America's history. Clinton should be tried for war crimes and a threat to world peace.

College is an investment

COLLEGE IS very expensive. But college is an investment, not a cost. Assuming one spends $12,000 for four years of college plus books, this is much less than the cost of a new car or truck. Room and board is very expensive, but this has to be factored in, because regardless of whether we go to college or not, we have to eat and live somewhere. Thirty-four years ago I came out of service and started working for minimum wage at a bad job. I did this for a while, then entered SEMO. After graduating in four and half years, I almost tripled my income and went to work for a major company. I retired with a salary and retirement worth over $85,000 per year. I owe my success and ability to learn to SEMO. I'm indebted to the university, the taxpayers and the instructors who allowed me to seek an education and expand my horizons. I'm truly indebted to the university and still support it financially. Lastly, if you think college is expensive, just think how expensive it is if you don't go.

Concerned about road rage

PROPOSITION B: I have mixed feelings about it. It's a good law for women who need protection or someone who lives in a dangerous area. I'll probably vote for it. But one caller raised an issue that concerns me: road rage. Someone might get killed by an angry motorist. The caller said if we drive carefully we don't have to worry, which is saying you could pay for a foolish mistake on the road with your life. We're all human. We all make mistakes on the road. I realize that safe driving is of the utmost importance, but this caller is saying that if you don't drive safely, be prepared to die. If this is what the right-to-bear-arms advocates think, we're all in trouble.