SPEAKOUT

Let workers check off unions

IF YOUR pay is fair, then you don't need a union. If you're not forced into unsafe working conditions, you don't need a union. Many people don't want a union that takes your money and you have no say about it and then you have fat-cat union bosses on the top. If you could check off whether you wanted to support a union or not, since you might want to belong, would be OK, but when it's forced in your face, many don't want to belong. It's unnecessary unless a large enough group of people think it is necessary.

The wonderful world of taxes

LET ME get this straight. I give our government money every week out of my paycheck, then when I go to the store, I pay taxes. We get our licenses for our vehicles and trailers for our farm, and we pay taxes. We pay taxes on our homes and property. Now our wonderful government blows it on bombs, investigations and pensions. Some person thinks that we should give our property to the government. Are you crazy? I'm leaving mine to my son so he can pay taxes on that property too. What a wonderful world we live in.

Workers have paid fair share

TO THE 70-plus-year-old man who says he's not paying his share, he can speak for himself. Anybody who started working at 16 and now is almost 70 has more than paid his fair share of money that goes into Medicare. Even if you start working at age 21, you pay more than your fair share. The more money you make, the more you pay. So this caller can strictly speak for himself.

It's still a witch hunt either way

I'VE NOTICED that the Republicans aren't calling in to Speak Out about George Bush. They sure raked Bill Clinton over the coals. Fair's fair. Why don't they just admit that Clinton got a bum deal, and then we'll admit we're trying to give George Bush a bum deal. A witch hunt is a witch hunt. The only difference is one's a Democrat and one's a Republican.

Officer effectively handled situation

I WOULD like to commend police officer Ross of the Cape Girardeau Police Department for his expeditious and effective resolution of a problem that occurred down on William and Lorimier stemming from the SlamFest event at Indian Park. He did a fine job.

In spite of everything, it's still ours

THIS IS a response to "Paying their fair share." Do you think it is fair for a man to give up a college degree to keep his family farm going, only to watch his siblings get their degrees? Now he has to pay his mother rent so he won't lose the farm, which this church-going mom has threatened to sell if he doesn't abide by her ways. The other siblings do nothing, but they expect to hunt and fish on this land and get their inheritance. One of the other siblings even runs his business from this farm, and he pays no rent. Now my husband has to worry if he will have a farm because his mom loves to go to the doctor. We don't get vacations, and my husband is gone a lot, and spends little time with us because of this farm, but I'm behind him 100 percent. This is his inheritance, and not the government's.

School uniforms are a good idea

I READ where a caller thinks schoolchildren should wear uniforms. I think it's about time. I've never seen such crummy clothes on kids going to school. How are our children going to know how to respect and dress halfway decently if you don't make them dress nicely? Some of the boys have their pants dragging the ground. Some of the girls wear their skirts so short that you can almost see their underwear. I think we should do something about it. Uniforms are the most wonderful things in the world for children. They can take care of them. They can turn them back in for a deduction on the newer ones. And there is no excuse that they can't look neat. In 1933, our school required uniforms, and we had white tops and black skirts. No one could tell me from a rich girl, and I'm proud of it. This world is going to the dogs with the way they're dressing today.

Empathy for child-support situation

MY EMPATHY to Carol Christopher. Thirty-three years ago I was a divorcee with three young children. I knew exactly where my ex-husband lived and where he worked. He lived in a neighboring state. I spoke with various prosecuting attorneys, year after year. Non-support charges were filed. And the good old state of Missouri was never able to force this man to support his children. So hang in there, Carol, and do your best. It will probably be up to you, and you alone, sad to say.

Updated parable made excellent points

I THINK Speak Out ought to run once a week the modern version of an old parable by Robert Cron which was printed on letters to the editor. It's excellent, about the ant and the grasshopper.

Answer questions with questions

WHEN GEORGE Bush is asked by reporters if he has ever used drugs, he should reply, "What is your definition of drugs? What is your definition of used?"

Democrats wanted to help farmers

TO THE misinformed person who said Clinton is the source of the farmer's problems: The president wanted to get a bill to aid the farmers in this hard time for them, but your Republican buddies in Congress have an attitude opposed to helping the farmers. The congressman from Iowa said, "If we help the farmers, we'll have to help the steel industry and the electronics industry and the shoe industry." He's from a farming area. I think it's the Democratic Party that wants to give aid to the farmers. The hog farmers here right away spoke out saying they didn't want any government help. Well, if they get their Republican buddies in Congress along with a Republican president, they won't have to worry. They won't get any government help. I would have no sympathy for these farmers at all.

New funeral-procession law is good

I'M CALLING to agree with the new state law on the funeral processions. I think this is a wonderful idea. If most people haven't been in a long funeral procession and had to drive several miles, it's ridiculous the way people have no idea how it makes a family feel when they're passing the procession. It shows respect to pull over. Not only do we need a lead car with lights, but also a car at the end of the procession with lights so the traffic coming up from the rear of the procession will know it's a funeral procession.

Kelly schools cover a big area

THE REASON Kelly schools are running out of space is that when the school district was organized it was sparsely populated, and they had to have a large area to justify the school. Now, well over half the students live closer to the other five schools in the county, but do you think they would like to lose any of their district? That would cut into their tax money, and I don't think they want that. But the school district is oversized.

Decoding Caller ID terms

IN REGARDS to the article about Caller ID, a lot of people are confused about the difference between "Unavailable" and "Anonymous" calls. Unavailable isn't necessarily bad. It simply means that the information about the caller isn't able to be transmitted over the phone wires. It may be because the area the caller lives in does not have access to Caller ID service. Or, in the case of telemarketers and others who have a computer that dials calls, the information can't be sent because the call isn't made from an actual phone. On older Caller ID models, cellular phones may show up as unavailable. Anonymous is completely different. It means the caller enters a special code so that you will not know who is calling.

Liberal backlash is coming

THE LIBERALS are holding our country hostage for now, but a backlash will take place. American values will once more supersede the evil that is loose in our society. Debauchery never has won and never will. It has lost throughout history. Its downfall is coming. Americans always stand up for their rights when the chips are down.

Westfield area needs substation too

EACH NIGHT I take a walk in the Westfield area near Boxwood and Spruce street. I would like to thank the lovely woman who walks each night and picks up the beer bottles and trash. At least someone is trying to clean up the neighborhood. Recently I was informed that there have been a rash of burglaries in that area, which have not been reported in the newspaper by the police department. Someone is trying to get into windows on lower levels of apartments. Stereos are taken in broad daylight while people are at work. I think the Westfield area is getting as bad as the Good Hope area. I know I would appreciate a police substation in this area.

Let phone customers decide on services

I READ with great interest the article in the Southeast Missourian regarding the number of features that are being added for Southwestern Bell's customers. I appreciate many of these features and use many of them. However, I feel any customer of any telephone company should have the opportunity to choose those features on his or her own. Recently I've noticed that when I call someone and get a busy signal, I get a recording informing me that I can punch one number or another to have an automatic callback. For some people this may be handy, and these people ought to be able to call Southwestern Bell and have that feature added to their phone. I don't care to be reminded of it every time that I call someone. In addition, some months ago, they added a three-way calling feature to the phone so that if you use the flash button to hang up, it didn't really hang up. If you hit the flash button and didn't hold the hook down long enough, it didn't truly hang up. So when you dialed your next number, the call wouldn't go through. I had to have Southwestern Bell take off that feature so I could use the flash button on my phone. I do quite a bit of calling, and this caused a great deal of trouble. I think these features should be advertised and let people choose whether to have them added to their phones.

Body man says some parts are inferior

ABOUT THIS State Farm lawsuit that's going on. I've been a body man for over 20 years. These after-market parts are inferior as far as fit, rust corrosion and just general durability. It should be against the law to put them on, and I support the people who are trying to sue the insurance company.

There's a question of privacy

I CANNOT help thinking that all technology is not a good thing. What if some pervert found your child's notebook and he got your telephone number. With the telephone services they have now, he could link into that on a computer and get the address of your child and your name. I think these companies need to think about the right to privacy. Telephone companies are going too far.

Jackson board's action shortsighted

AT THE meeting of the Jackson School Board, I listened to a national insurance consultant offer a recommendation to drop or reduce the number of tax-sheltered annuity plans that employees were taking instead of medical insurance. His statistics were simple. Eighty percent of the employees taking the medical insurance are being hurt by the 20 percent who have elected the tax-sheltered annuity. I listened to the insurance committee and administrators recommend cutting the number of tax-sheltered annuities. Yet the board took a more political viewpoint, ignoring the recommendations of both the consultant and the insurance committee, and instead grandfathered in all existing tax-sheltered annuity plans. Shame on you, Jackson School Board. You spent a great deal of time deliberating over the impact on the 20 percent who would have to give up the tax-sheltered annuity and instead take the district's medical plan. But I did not hear one board member voice any concern over the 80 percent of employees who have to deal with a 25 percent rate increase for their families' health-care premiums. Yes, you did cap the tax-sheltered annuity premium, but how many years will it take us to reap any awards for that token gesture? I believe the estimate was two to five years. In the meantime, 80 percent of the district's employees are going to look at higher premiums year after year because we have not made a marketable risk out of the Jackson School District. Why not dissolve the insurance committee? Why would we hire a national consultant if we're not going to listen?

Flags would help define processions

I THINK the new law requiring the flashers on the funeral procession cars is way overdue. I hope Cape and Jackson pass ordinances requiring that flags be on the last two vehicles in the funeral procession and on the lead cars and maybe a couple in the middle. It's very dangerous when cars coming up behind do not know there is a funeral procession. I think the flags would help. They could be put on the trunks of the tail-end cars.