SPEAKOUT

Headline and story were correct

ALL I can say is, leave it to the Missourian to write a headline saying "Bush's visit generated $100,000," then later in the article underneath the headline state that 200 people paid $1,000 per person. Now, that would be $200,000, would it not?

REPLY: The Southeast Missourian makes its share of mistakes, but this wasn't one of them. First, the headline said "Fund raiser generates $100,000." Second, the story explained that 200 people attended the "$1,000-a-couple" lunch. That comes to $100,000.

The three R's of forgiveness

I WANT to respond to the caller who said Clinton has been forgiven for his sexual escapades. Well, let's see if he has. The three R's apply to being forgiven. You must repent of what you did and say it was wrong. Then you must make restitution. Then you must make resolution. Now, has he repented? I never saw him on TV repenting. And he definitely hasn't made restitution. He caused the government to have to investigate him and spend $60 million doing it. He hasn't made any restitution. As for resolution, he's never said he won't do it anymore. Don't tell me he's been forgiven. He's probably never asked to be forgiven. He's definitely never used the three R's of forgiveness, and that's the only way you can do it.

Proud of growing up in McClure, but ...

I WAS born and raised in McClure, Ill. I am proud to say I am from McClure, because I prefer small towns. When I was young and going to school, I wasn't able to participate or be involved in a lot of activities because my family was poor. Today, I do not live in McClure, and I am not so-called poor. I am doing well financially as well as in other ways. But I return on a regular basis, and no one in McClure ever asked me to help, volunteer or donate. They don't even speak. Well, guess what. I don't need them. I am proud of my town because my family raised me with values and morals, not the town rulers. They like to push the little people around. I can push back.

Haven't we heard this before?

DEJA VU. It's 1999 and deja vu all over again. Bush Jr. sounds just like his father with his holier-than-thou attitude, forgetting that out of his own mouth he confessed to overcoming years of alcoholism, drugs and womanizing. The Republican Party truly thinks that with the help of the media they can do anything they please and that people are so stupid they can wave a hand, condemn others for lesser sins and people will fall at their power-hungry feet. Deja vu. No new taxes, Iran-Contra etc.

GOP criticism is boring

BORING. Members of the Republican Party are such hypocrites. Al Gore has years of experience handling government and foreign dignitaries. Gore is the first vice president who had a real input into helping with the present prosperity and improving world peace, thanks to our brilliant president Bill Clinton. The Republicans are at such a loss when they try to find something to criticize Gore that they created the myth that he is boring. Same old song and dance. Makes you wonder how much tax money they will waste spreading the rumor.

Time to open eyes and see

PEOPLE ARE clamoring around Clinton, wanting him to do something about all the hate and killing across our country. Janet Reno said people want us to do something about it, so Clinton and Reno decided they must pass some laws on hate and guns. The answer is spiritual, not more laws. What a shame our leaders can't see that. There's a beautiful old hymn that says, "Lord, open my eyes that I might see."

Bush's problem wasn't Clinton's fault

I WAS reading Speak Out about George Bush using cocaine, and then the caller started in about Bill Clinton. I don't think Clinton has anything to do with Bush using cocaine.

Health-care plan means more pocket money

WHEN AN employer has a good employee, he doesn't go out and hire somebody else and get rid of the good employee. That's why electing a Republican president is a bad idea. Unemployment's way down, the economy's good, you can find jobs a lot easier, so pray tell why should we change to the Republican Party for a president? Think how good it would be if we had a Democratic Congress to go with a Democratic president. We'd have good health care. The way to put more money into people's pockets is to have a government health-care plan where they don't have to pay so much for health insurance.

Working environment has changed

I'M READING the front page of the Southeast Missourian about how much violence and anger there is in the workplace. I agree with that. I've been working since I was 15. That's almost half a century now. Things have really changed. It used to be that people had a lot of concern for each other and consideration. They just don't really want to know about each others' lives any more. The managers of companies are leading the charge with this. Used to be, we could talk to our managers, and they would listen to us. Now all they do is tell you what the decisions of the top brass are, and the decisions are always made without listening to the workers. When any objections are made, your people are told they're disloyal and they'll be disciplined. Also, when people get their evaluations, it used to be managers would talk to people throughout the year and try to help them do better. The workers usually appreciated that, seeing where their weak points were, and really felt like their managers were trying to make us into better workers with respect for us. Now they have evaluations at the end of the year. All the stuff they bring up, the workers never heard it throughout the year. They don't bring it up until the evaluation. They have things like peer reviews where they go out and find people who'll say bad things about others and write them down like they're gospel without even checking to see if it's true. It's very sad, the way things are now.

What to do when a pet is lost

I'D LIKE to comment about lost pets. For more than a week now, I have been watching the paper daily for a person who lost a dog in Cape to run a lost notice so I could tell them where I saw this dog. Finally, more than a week later, there's the notice that the dog is lost, with a phone number. But where's the dog now? Who knows? For people who have lost pets, I'd like to suggest how to handle it. You should immediately call the Humane Society, the police department and your vet to notify these agencies of your loss. Next, call the paper and run a lost pet notice. Also, post signs around your neighborhood, stating the pet's description, its name and your phone number where you can be reached. Do these things immediately, not a week or more after your pet is lost.

Some people can manage money

I KEEP reading in Speak Out about people calling in and complaining about not having enough money for this or that, about working all their lives, and still working. That's not anything unusual for most people, but the reason most people don't have the money they need is because they're not very good money managers. They don't spend their money wisely. Many people don't make a lot of money, but they save money and have it for later when they need it. These people have accumulated something. The others who have spent their money all their life want those who saved to help pay for everyone. The greatest thing that government could do for welfare recipients is teach them how to manage their money. They'll never get off of welfare if they can't do that.

It's the little things that count

I SAW an act of kindness that I just have to share. A lady driving along a county road that my family and I often travel stopped to pick up glass bottles that were on the street. If she wouldn't have taken the time to stop, park and pick them up, my tire could have been popped, as well as other people's. This is a prime example of unselfishness that others should follow. After all, it's the little things that count.

Uniforms help teach respect

I WOULD like to compliment the parents of the children in the newspaper picture taken during the recent George Bush visit. They were all clean, most had shirts tucked in, and most wore khaki shorts. I have a question. Could the number of khaki shorts be just a coincidence, or were they part of a school uniform? If they are part of a uniform, they are lucky kids. They are learning respect for themselves and others. By the way, I'm calling from Perryville where parents failed to pass the uniform code for the public school. They made a mistake.

Air-conditioning work is hot work

MY SYMPATHY, Tamara, for the fire in your house. But I have mixed feelings about your article putting down construction workers and heating and cooling workers. On the one hand, have you ever worked in 110-plus-degree heat index for an extended period of time? My husband has worked two weekends out of the last three to get air conditioning systems put in. He was told to collect on delivery to the service customers, then they get mad at him. It is not my husband's fault that people don't pay their bills or the owners of the company are so money-hungry that they schedule too much work. On the other hand, I don't want my child starting kindergarten in a school that has no air conditioning, especially since he has asthma.

It all hinges on the cuteness factor

GEORGE W. Bush is going to win the presidency. It's all over. The other candidates might as well throw in the towel. How do I know this? A female acquaintance of mine who met Bush while he was in Cape uttered the two magic words: He's cute.

Newspaper induces tantrums

I CAN understand post office personnel being upset with the use of the phrase "going postal" to refer to acts of violence. I often engage in lesser acts of violence, for example, kicking a chair or throwing a temper tantrum after reading a part of the Southeast Missourian. I call it "going editorial."

Bush lost points with some folks

"SHRUB" BUSH came to Cape and, as far as many of us are concerned, left town after losing many points with the people I have talked to. In his speech at the port, he proved to those of us with an agricultural college education that he doesn't know anything about the world grain markets. Then he went on to a $1,000-per-couple lunch at the mansion of a local doctor, showing that he is in the hip pocket of the medical lobby. And the first thing he did upon coming to town, he brown-nosed Rush Limbaugh, and that thoroughly disgusted a great many people.