SPEAKOUT

Strikes led to less coal demand

WHEN THE Kerr-McGee coal miners get laid off, they can spend their idle hours in the local taverns talking about the good times they had going on strike every time their contract expired thereby pricing their product out of the market.

Law isn't a public-opinion poll

I WANT to comment about this latest thing of Bill Clinton's sex scandal. It seems like the news media now has begun to try to protect him. They bring up some legal problem, whether it's perjury or breaking the law in some way, and they say "but the public's for him, they think he's done a good job." It's almost like Al Capone. His gang was for him because he got them something, but he still broke the law. The law is not a public-opinion poll. This case should go forward, and the news media should leave it alone. It really should be going forward in private. The law is the law, not to be determined by public opinion or how much you like the guy or you don't care what he's done.

Our own version of paparazzi

AMERICA WATCHED in shock and horror when the paparazzi chased and killed Princess Diana. Now we have our own paparazzi led by Kenneth Starr attacking our president. Isn't there anything else going on in our country? The news media are running this investigation into the ground. Thank goodness we don't have to watch the news. I just hope no one gets hurt seriously in all this mad rushing around. It's beginning to look very pathetic for the news people. Shame, shame on all of you.

Stories could have been more positive

I AM deeply saddened about the subject matter these children chose to write their short stories about. Life and ideas can be so much more positive and uplifting than this. Children, try looking up. It will certainly changed your latitude.

And now a verse about sentencing

THE FOLLOWING Speak Out poem expresses my reaction to the public squabble between Cape County prosecuting attorney Morley Swingle and Circuit Judge John Grimm:

Swingle and Grimm are arguing.

It's about the appropriate sentence.

Swingle says kill, and Grimm says chill.

When convicted, I'll promise repentance.

Why is SEMO giving to Conservation department?

THE CONSERVATION Department spokesman has announced that SEMO has donated toward a building at the park. At a time when SEMO is begging for capital from their friends and the Missouri taxpayers, why are they giving money to the Conservation Department? It's time for SEMO to start restraining their spending.

Lots of video showing the hugging

I HAVE been watching the evening news and they have been showing Bill Clinton hugging Monica more than he has his own wife, Hillary.

What about those other presidents?

YOU REPUBLICANS really, really have a short memory. So let me jog it if I may. I keep hearing impeachment, impeachment. For what? is what I want to know. For someone having sex and you're not even sure that he did that? Where were you when we really needed to impeach presidents, such as Reagan and Bush with their counterpart Ollie North? Don't you remember the Iran-Contra hearings? Please, get real. Why don't you people go out and get a life for yourself?

A town of backbiting hypocrites

SHORTLY AFTER I moved to Cape Girardeau, the paper had run a story about the number of churches in Cape Girardeau and the number of new churches being built. Well, I've lived here for a while now, and I find that most amusing. As I read Speak Out and as I hear people in day-to-day conversations, I can't see that the churches are doing those people who run there every time the doors are open much good. I thought Christians were supposed to be tolerant and show compassion, and I thought they were supposed to give a person the benefit of the doubt until he was proven guilty. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I've never lived in a town that had so many backbiting hypocrites in my whole life.

Illinois borrowed for bridge construction

IF THE Illinois coffers are bulging as Gov. Jim Edgar says, then why did Illinois have to borrow money from Missouri in order to build their half of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge?

REPLY: Most state revenue is earmarked for spending by legislators. In the case of highway construction, the biggest part of the funding comes from the federal government. Illinois will repay Missouri for the bridge as federal funds are allocated to Illinois.

Ticket gates should be wider

I WILL not attend another event at the Show Me Center until they widen the ticket counters as you walk in the door. They're so small, you can't even fit between them.

Advice about topping trees was good

HEAR, HEAR! I couldn't agree more with Joe Sherinski who recently wrote regarding people topping their trees. I can't believe that any reputable business with any knowledge of horticulture would be willing to do such a thing. People need to select the appropriate tree for the right site when they plant and need to understand that these trees will eventually grow. All trees have a natural shape. With a minimal amount of pruning on some species, they can be beautiful forever. Topping trees is a horrible practice. It makes trees completely ugly, and nobody should ever do anything like that. They wouldn't be forced to if they would just select the appropriate tree for the right place, thinking 50 years ahead.

Getting some value for money spent

IF CLINTON is forced to resign, at least we'll know that the $70 million of taxpayer money that was spent on the campaign to get Clinton wasn't wasted.

Telemarketing is a good job

THIS IS concerning the Speak Out comment about telemarketing calls. I work for Southwestern Bell in the telemarketing department. This is a decent job. No where else in Cape Girardeau can you start a job making $7 an hour. And if you do hang up on us, we'll just call back. We don't sell our list to anybody.

Basic morals haven't changed

THANK YOU, Joe Sullivan for telling us in your column how things were in days long ago and how they should be in the White House and the nation today.

Individual's tax burden not that high

I WAS just wondering where Sen. Lott got his figures that he gave following the State of the Union message where he indicated that -- I suppose this is an average -- we pay about 38 percent of our income for taxes. That really scared me, so I took the figures from my own tax return for 1997 which I just completed. I found that in my own case, with a moderate income and using the standard deduction, that I paid less than 10 percent federal tax last year. This is about equal to what I paid for my tithes. So presuming that the 38 percent figure may have been for all taxes, including state and local, I factored in all of these taxes that I could think of, and the percentage skyrocketed to about 15 percent. I was just wondering what others would find if they figured their own case.

Splitting hairs over obeying the law

FOR ALL you people out there who think Bill Clinton violated his oath of office, I will inform you that he took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the laws of the United States. He did not say obey.

No voter approval for county bonds

AS I understand it, the Cape County Commission plans to issue bonds to underwrite the cost of a nature center in the County Park, and the Department of Conservation will pay the county commission on a yearly basis so the bonds can be retired. Sounds like a good deal to me. However, I don't understand how the County Commission can issue bonds without voters approval. Perhaps Speak Out can explain this.