OpinionAugust 10, 1998
SPEAKOUT
I'D LIKE to point out that Bruce Collier does not determine what the standards are for our community. He can only determine the standards for himself. Nobody is holding a gun to Mr. Collier's head and forcing him to buy the Spice channel. The Constitution clearly states that each one of us has the right to view what we want to view on pay-per-view. ...
Individuals can set their own standards
I'D LIKE to point out that Bruce Collier does not determine what the standards are for our community. He can only determine the standards for himself. Nobody is holding a gun to Mr. Collier's head and forcing him to buy the Spice channel. The Constitution clearly states that each one of us has the right to view what we want to view on pay-per-view. Pay-per-view is not over a free airwave. It is not invading anybody's privacy. It is not invading anybody's sensitivities or disbeliefs. Allow us who want to watch what we want to pay for in our own homes in the privacy of our own bedrooms or living rooms to do what we choose to do as long as it is consenting adults. As for "Lolita," we live in the 1990s and not the 1890s. Many teen-age girls get pregnant because we try to close things behind closed doors, and children will experiment.
We have the right to choose
I'M CALLING in regard to the letter to the editor from Bruce Collier regarding the airing of "Lolita" on cable TV. It's not up to the City Council nor the government to legislate morality. It is up to each of us individually to do that. We'll end up with George Orwell's 1984. We'll end up with book burnings. It's bad enough we have flag burning for those who disagree whether flag burning is a right or not under the Constitution. I don't feel, and I'm sure most people do not feel, that censorship is the answer. Even in the Bible, the Song of Solomon is very descriptive and has sexual innuendoes. It doesn't make it wrong. It doesn't make it bad. Pretty soon we'll be banning the Bible as well and censoring what can be preached in our churches. At this point and time, I do not agree with Collier's feelings. I understand where he's coming from, but to legislate morality is not the answer. It's our own choice whether or not we want to watch it. You can turn the television off. You can lock out that channel. I support freedom of the right to choose.
Competition is a good thing
SHOULDN'T WE be praising competition? Doesn't that bring out the best in people? Isn't that why we fought communism and socialism? If the surgeons want to risk their own capital to give patients a lower cost, why don't we let them? The competition will inevitably bring the prices down. Is that what the hospitals are afraid of? If not, why don't they go into joint partnership with the doctors as the doctors offered, and then they could share the profit? The same people who criticized the doctors for this idea probably would have criticized Bill Gates for trying to come up with a low-cost computer system like Microsoft. And then these same people, once they saw it was successful, probably would have asked for a free computer just like they want low-cost health care after criticizing the doctors for trying to get it.
Politicians are the price gougers
THIS MUST be a joke. I just read that the politicians in Washington are trying to pass a bill to prevent the cable companies from price gouging the consumers. If anyone is doing the price gouging, it's the politicians in Washington and Al Gore with their tax on our phone bills. If we need protection, we don't need it from the cable companies nearly as much as we need it from the politicians. They're price gougers. Stop the price gouging on our phone bills. Stop the Gore tax.
Low turnout angers one voter
ONCE AGAIN lower voter turnout makes me very angry. There are 5,082 people who voted. There are 43,450 registered voters in the county. Obviously there are at least that many taxpayers, and it seems like everybody's got an opinion about taxes. I don't want to hear you talking about the county collector, whoever it turns out to be, or what happens to your taxes or how they're collected or whether you should pay them at all. This country asks very little of us, pretty much just to come on out and vote and pay taxes for the privilege of living here and to keep the country running. And if you all can't manage to do that, then I don't want to hear it. Eighteen percent of us or less decided who we want to have run to run the county.
Please spruce up Jackson Post Office
I WAS pleased to see in Speak Out this week that someone else has noticed the unsightly condition of the grounds of the Jackson Post Office. I wish more people would complain. I talked to the postmaster about this last summer, but nothing changed. Jackson is the home of beautiful homes, churches and schools. We have a beautiful post office if it were properly maintained. As it is, it is a disgrace to Jackson.
Thanks for returning lost purse
I WANT to thank the person who found the white purse in the shopping cart and turned it into the office at Schnucks. I wish I knew his name so I could thank him personally, but I hope he will see this and accept my heartfelt thanks. It was such a relief to know that it had been found and turned in.
Keep right except to pass
I THINK the highway department needs to put a sign along the highway between Cape and Jackson that reads "Keep right except to pass." Many people stay in the passing lane for miles and refuse to pull over to the right when you get behind them. People like that are the ones who cause road rage. Be considerate of others and don't block the passing lane.
God's moral law is explicit
I WOULD like to comment to the Speak Out comment "Don't interfere in private lives." To call it hypocrisy to speak out against murder, be it in regard to the unborn or the born, is barbaric. Has this person even read what God's moral law says? "Thou shalt not kill." The Lord God who gave that commandment expects every person to obey his commandments. God have mercy on such parents who think they have a right to murder their child.
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Rains leave mud on Lombardo Street
WHY ISN'T the city cleaning Lombardo Street? After a rain shower on Tuesday evening, it was nothing but mud. I had to go to a car wash before going home after work.
Summer school classes are too easy
THIS IS a comment for the Cape Girardeau school system. My son recently had to participate in summer school because of his failing grades. My comment is that I feel they make summer school too easy for the children. One of his friends asked why he should study nine months out of the year when he could go to school for 15 days in the summer and pass to the next grade. I feel they make summer school too easy for the children, and I feel it is not a very high honor to go there. After he completed his summer school and passed, he received a certificate of achievement showing that he had passed summer school which I thought was very uncalled for. I think they should do away with summer school. Either you pass in the nine months or you take your classes over.
More awareness of religious horizons
I WOULD like to thank the Southeast Missourian for covering Dorothy Morrison's book signing and her writing career in the newspaper. It's nice to know that the newspaper is covering authors in our area and promoting awareness as well as expanding the horizons outside of Christianity and other mainstream religions to explore human spirituality in all of its forms.
More about the squirrel invasion
THIS IS for the person who was so amused about the invasion of the squirrels. No, it was not a military type of invasion. They do not wear patches. They do not come in helicopters. But they did come into my yard and move flower bulbs from one place to another. They destroyed my hanging flower pots. They spent a lot of time sitting in my bird feeder, and they're eating my tomatoes. That sounds like an invasion to me. I would say to this person: Find yourself a hobby. In other words, get a life.
Visit to doctor was good experience
I WENT to see Dr. August Ritter the other day for a problem I have. He asked me a lot of questions about my problem, and I asked him a lot of questions. He was in not hurry. He was a great doctor. He took time and was really good.
Speaker in line to be president
A LITTLE food for thought. Why is Janet Reno so stubbornly rejecting her own people's advice to appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate Chinagate and illegal campaign fund raising? The answer's obvious. She knows the illegalities are enormous and lead directly to the president and vice president. In fact, many people claim that when the facts are known about Chinagate that this Lewinsky thing will look like small change. It all boils down to this: If both the president and vice president are removed from office, guess who becomes president? The speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Could this be the reason Reno doesn't want to pursue this matter?
City is allowing a junkyard
I'D LIKE to comment about the junkyard that the city is allowing at the corner of Cape Rock and Perryville Road. It's on the west side of Perryville Road and it looks terrible for one of the busiest intersections in Cape Girardeau. I think someone should really check it out.
Doctors give special care to athletes
I'D LIKE to be the one to thank our dedicated orthopedic surgeons for their excellent care and generous community support for over 40 years. I think it's the feeling of the majority. They are available to take care of trauma and disease 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every weekend and every holiday. They were there when my daughter broke her arm on a Sunday afternoon, and they were there when my mother fell on the ice on Christmas Day while the rest of us were home having dinner with our families. One of these surgeons is at every Central High School game and at every Jackson and Perryville football game, and they cover several of the surrounding football games as well. There's one of the surgeons at every SEMO football game and at every SIU-Carbondale game, and they cover gymnastics and many other of the sporting events as well. These doctors do not have children on the team, but they go in case one of our boys or girls is injured. They do it as a service to the community and are not compensated in any way. They also have done hundreds of physicals in the spring and fall so that our athletes can play in sporting events, and they run a free clinic every Saturday morning during football season for athlete who has a sports injury. I am thankful for these services and have never expressed my thanks, as many of us have not. These doctors do this just because they care about our athletes and about injuries and are not compensated in any manner. I would like to thank them for their excellent care for 40-some-odd years.
Band tribute should have been rescheduled
I WAS calling to express my disappointment that the Municipal Band performance in Cape on Aug. 5 wasn't canceled and rescheduled for the tribute to Homer Gilbert. What a injustice to hurry through the presentation to Mr. Gilbert in the pouring rain with only a few persons left in the audience. I feel it should have all been rescheduled for the following week. I felt Mr. Gilbert deserved better.
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