SPEAKOUT

Campaigning on our time

I WANT to know what Al Gore was thinking when he solicited money on our time. When he supposed to be working for us, he was soliciting money for the Democrats' campaign. I don't like that a little bit.

My two cents' worth

I JUST thought I'd call and give Dr. Kamath his two cents back. I'd hate for him to be under financial duress after contributing his two cents to the public. His comments were more of the same old party line put out by doctors. Some of the points he made to make his case don't hold water. For example, he said people don't go to Wal-Mart, take a piece of beef and pay for it later, but they expect the doctor to accept payment later. A lot of people can come up with four or five dollars for a piece of round steak, but they can't come up with $150 for a brief office visit. For Dr. Kamath's benefit, I should explain that round steak is a cheap cut of beef that common people can afford.

Many cohorts are in jail

THERE HAVE been a lot of criticisms of Kenneth Starr. No one seems to remember that many of Clinton's cohorts in Arkansas are now in jail. It took him seven months to admit his adulterous affair. Things would have moved faster if Clinton would not have lied for seven months.

Law of the land not for sale

I WANT to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak out on the current crisis taking place with the president. I'm a Democrat and have been all my life. The president's conduct, both past and present, has really seriously disappointed me in his leadership capability. I feel that once Starr's report reaches Congress in the next couple of weeks and the report shows that federal law has been violated by the president, then I strongly believe the president must resign his office. This is not a matter of whether you are a Republican or a Democrat. This is a matter of the law being violated by a person who should, out of all of us, set an example before our children, families and our foreign neighbors. I just hope and pray that the president doesn't drag us all through an impeachment proceeding and just go ahead and resign and let our leaders get back to leading our great country forward. Remember people, we can recover from this. Most of us went through it during the Nixon era, and we moved forward. Just always remember: Right is right and wrong is wrong, no matter who you are, or what political office you hold. The law of the land is not for sale.

Heavy-handed curfew enforcement

THE POLICE arrest and handcuff a 16-year-old. He explains his actions for breaking curfew. Something is wrong here. Would it have hurt the officer who made the call to go to the young man's house to ask his father if he was telling the truth? I know that they have the time to do this, because I've seen the police watch lawbreakers run red lights, go through drive-ins for food and sit and talk to each other in parking lots. I have complained about the loud stereos, and when the police come to my house they try to talk me out of filing a complaint. I really love it when a person representing law enforcement calls and wants donations for funeral expenses and bullet proof vests. Do like the rest of us and get life insurance and pay for your own protective gear. My husband has a dangerous job, and I don't call the policemen's house for donations.

Doctors have an obligation too

I THINK that anyone who is aware of the motivation, commitment and tenacity it takes to become a physician, and the dedication required to maintain their practice, does not begrudge doctors for making a good living. Certainly they deserve to bring home a healthy paycheck and any other perk that goes along with being a medical doctor. According to a recent AP article I was reading, physicians are the most highly regarded individuals in the U.S. today. Physicians are the leaders within health care, which is composed of many other service-oriented professions. In my mind, they are called to serve others in a capacity that goes way beyond what many retailers would. That is a choice and a commitment that is made when entering into the prestigious, highly regarded profession. Does it really surprise Dr. Kamath, a psychiatrist, that people who are coming to him with a need relative to his specialty may ask him for help managing their lives? Hello! Does it occur to him that some of the people asking him for help are among those who sacrificed to defend the very free-enterprise system he's talking about in his letter? I'm sure he's well-adapted to just saying no and setting some boundaries to unreasonable requests. As a consumer, I say to physicians: Work hard, make a lucrative, profitable living and live well. Live very well. But not on the backs and at the expense of the members of the community they are here to serve.

Can't take your word anymore

SHOW US proof, Bill Clinton, that ben Ladin is going to try to kill us all. Show us proof that what you say is true. Because I do not believe a word you say anymore.

Letter hit the mark

I ABSOLUTELY loved Dr. K.P.S. Kamath's recently published letter to the editor. I consider it the most honest, forthright, tell-it-like-it-is letter ever published in the Southeast Missourian.

There are military rules

THERE ARE a lot of people who think the matter between Lewinsky and Clinton is private. But let me remind them that nothing in the military is private. Any kind of sexual misconduct is not tolerated, and this includes extramarital affairs. President Clinton is the commander-in-chief of the military. Should an exception be made for him? I think not.

He's still a good president

PRESIDENT CLINTON had a birthday. I want to wish him a good birthday, and I hope he stays in there as our president for the rest of his term. He might have done a lot of things, but he's still a good president over our country.

That dress is pretty expensive

FIRST OFF, I'm not a Clinton fan. I'm appalled by what he's done. But I don't know whether I'm more appalled by the fact that we're probably going to spend a million dollars examining a stain on a dress or the fact that, since the girl got the stain on the dress, she hasn't had it dry cleaned.

Masterpiece of a letter

IF A picture paints a thousand words, I would love to see the masterpiece that inspired Dr. Kamath's letter.

This is absolutely too much

A SUNDAY Southeast Missourian without a Peter Kinder column is like having a television without a picture, a body without a mind, a country-club Republican gathering without wine and cheese, a Democrat get-together without lawyers, a Libertarian shindig without Mary Nall, a Southeast Missourian editorial without a call for a tax cut, President Clinton without a scandal, a Gary Rust column without conservative quotes, the KINSA contest without photographs, the YELL program without newspapers, the NRA without guns, and the streets of Cape without detour signs.

What about the traffic problems?

HERE WE go again. Southeast Missouri State University's trying to pull another one on us taxpayers. They're saying, "Oh yeah, it'll be for the city." It'll be for the city when they want to let us use it. Has anyone considered the traffic problems? There's no room in that area to do much. The new bridge won't bring people in from both directions. If it does, there will still be problems parking and getting around. It'll be a pain in the you-know-where.

Name the school for Gateley

I THINK the new school should be named Gateley Elementary. There's no one around who's done more for Cape Girardeau, and he continues to do it. Let's praise him while he's still around to enjoy it.

Just be a good neighbor

IT'S REALLY pathetic, all the little gripes in Speak Out these days about clippings in the street, cats and squirrels. Wake up, people, we have real problems with the president of the United States. Let's focus on that, and change this world. As for cats and critters and neighbors doing this or that, be a good neighbor, and you'll have good neighbors.

It's time to stand united

IF ALL the senators and others who worked for the government in Washington, D.C., had to open to their personal closets for the public to see, who's would be squeaky clean? The president made a big mistake and has apologized. We elected him as our president, and he has done a good job. Now the senators need to stand with him and present a united front to the terrorists. When the country is weakened by infighting, someone will take advantage of us. If you can't do the job you were sent to Washington to do, pack your bags and go home. You can be replaced by someone who can and will stand united.

No trust for Clinton's actions

I WANT to comment on this attack on Afghanistan and Sudan that Bill Clinton has launched. I think he's wagging the dog. Now it comes out on TV that he attacked a medical factory that made medicine in Afghanistan, and they're saying it was a nursery. This millionaire that they're making a scapegoat out of, he might have done it or he might not have. I don't trust Clinton. What if he comes back in seven months and says he was wrong? What if we bombed a pharmaceutical factory just to draw attention away from Bill Clinton's troubles at home?

Please return stolen money

PLEASE, I'M pleading to the people who broke into my granddaughter's home in Jackson to just please return the only money they had. Return it to the police station in Jackson. You don't realize how much just having a few dollars meant to that family, and now it's gone. They work to try to support a family, and now they have been robbed by you. Why don't you just get a job and you too will be proud of the money you earned, not stole.

Stop signs still mean stop

THIS IS a comment on the stop sign at Sprigg and Bertling. That stop sign has been on Sprigg Street for a long time, before the new extension was built. And this person has said that the stop sign is backwards. I have never read stop sign backwards yet. It always reads "stop." That's just like a railroad crossing, you have to stop, look and listen. That Bertling thoroughfare has been there for years, let it be. There are other stop signs in the city. You know what it reads. Stop.

Why not just admit he's a great president?

IT REALLY appalls me. Our president made a good decision to strike this terrorist group. But people are saying that he's doing it to grandstand, to call attention from his bedroom affairs. Then they find out it's the right decision, and they say, well, Clinton didn't really do it. His advisers advised him. He just had to strike. Then, if his advisers had made a mistake, it would have been Clinton's fault. If the man does a good job, he always has a hidden, sneaky reason for doing it. People just don't want to admit he's a great president.

Instead of complaining, go mow

IN REFERENCE to the caller who talked about the grass situation at McClure grade school. If the caller was so ashamed of the tall grass at the school, which happens to be Shawnee Elementary South, they should be offering to help mow. The facts are the person who usually keeps the school grounds looking like a country club was seriously hurt in an automobile accident, and the unusual amount of rain made it difficult to mow on time. Eventually, a local resident was found to help mow. With the recent history of the local community, some residents couldn't be made to work if you horse-whipped them. If the caller is seriously concerned, he or she should volunteer to help at the school, or shut up.

Plenty of previous liars

DEJA VU. President Clinton lied to us. So did Nixon, Reagan and Vice President Bush. Even Senator Goldwater said, and I quote, "Reagan either lied or was incompetent." Now there is a man for all seasons. He had the guts to tell the truth even about his own party. If you want to believe Bush, the former head of the CIA, and Reagan didn't know the truth or facts about Iran-Contra, you accept the reality that Ollie North was in charge. I voted for Reagan and Bush. What they did was reject the government our forefathers so wisely gave us. They said to heck with Congress, we're running this country, and we'll do as we played. Very close to a dictatorial attitude. And then they lied. North was ordered to do what he did. We were deceived by Reagan and Bush, as well as by Clinton. No one lies better than the CIA.

Equal rights -- and responsibility

I AM so tired of hearing people ask why the National Organization for Women has been silent over the so-called sex scandal involving Monica Lewinsky and President Clinton, and how hurt and wronged Lewinsky feels that Clinton has tried to soft-soap their relationship. How dare she? Lewinsky was a grown woman who sought out an adulterous relationship with a married man, and now the public is supposed to feel sorry for her? Equal rights for women mandates equal responsibility. Women have the right to enter into any sexual relationship they choose, and they have the responsibility to accept the consequences of their choices. Lewinsky is every bit as guilty as Clinton in participating in their clandestine liaison. She knew the president was married, but it didn't matter to her. She is a power groupie who will do nothing greater in her life than her attempt to defame the president of the United States. People like Lewinsky used to be referred to as homewreckers. Lewinsky has expanded her potential destruction to the entire country. It is she who should be apologizing to the country and to Mrs. Clinton. Monica, it's time to take it like a woman. You've bedded your man, now shut up.

Tax route is fundamentally wrong

BIG COLLEGES should not be supported by local taxes. While the saving of the former St. Vincent's Seminary buildings and property is a noble cause, the funding of the project should be from state appropriations and private donations. The college administration should go on an aggressive private funding campaign, even though it might be the hard way. Neither they, nor the city, should resort to the easy way of funding by using local taxes. That is fundamentally wrong.

SADI to have resource fair

SEMO ALLIANCE for Disability Independence is going to have a disability talent and resource fair on Sept. 26 at the Arena Building. The time will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. We are calling upon area artists and crafters who also happen to be disabled to come and set up and show their abilities. Also while they're there they can sell their artwork or their craft, and that way they can participate at no fee for setup and possibly make a little money and network with other talented individuals to sell their own craft. For more information, please call Marie, Monday through Friday, at SADI, at 573-651-6464.

A case of wagging the dog

I WANT to comment on this "Wag the Dog" that old Clinton is pulling with the news media behind him. He claimed that he interrupted his vacation to get back for this crisis. Clinton knew 10 days before that they would be having these air strikes. Clinton is commander-in-chief. He's the one who set the date when they attacked. And he sent them on the very day that Monica Lewinsky went back in to give her second testimony. This guy is nothing but wagging the dog. They don't call him slick for nothing.

Name calling is resented

I TAKE great umbrage to the person who called in comparing the Clinton supporters with Nazi Germany. That is like apples and oranges. There is no way to compare Nazi Germany with Clinton supporters. That's a sick statement. This person is surrounded by German settlement. Hitler had much more in common with Ken Starr and Joseph McCarthy. I think the caller made a disgraceful statement. It was really uncalled for.

Don't use my money for probing

I CERTAINLY don't approve of the president's actions, the things that he did, that he admitted and owned up to. But I do not approve of Mr. Starr using taxpayer money to delve into somebody's private life, whether it's the president's or mine. He was in a place where he had no business.

It's no wonder they hate us

I WANT to comment about this attempt by Clinton to start a war to cover up his sexual peccadillos. He's gutted the military and the intelligence gathering apparatus of the country. They've had plenty of sensitivity and gay rights studies, but they don't know how to find out when someone's going to throw a bomb on American personnel anymore. Then, to order an attack the very day your girlfriend is going to testify, and then on another day to wear a tie to signal to her that you're thinking of her, this is ridiculous. No wonder these other countries think we're the Great Satan.

Game in St. Louis changes things

WHEN SOUTHEAST Indian basketball fans purchased their season tickets, it was with the clear and advertised understanding that one of the home games we would be able to attend at the Show Me Center was Carbondale. Do I have this right? Now that ticket is no longer good? And in order to see Southeast play Carbondale we will have to buy an extra ticket and drive to St. Louis? Is it legal to change a contract like that after it's already been advertised, with no consideration on both sides?

A disgrace to the office

PAULA JONES was at her job in the hotel when the president of the United States summoned her to his room, exposed himself, and asked her to perform oral sex. She said no. How does that make her a bimbo? Kathleen Willey and her husband are in financial difficulty. So much so that he commits suicide the same day that she desperately goes to their friend, the president of the United States, and asks for his help. He takes this opportunity to make sexual advances to her. She says no. How does this make her a bimbo? The young White House intern doesn't have access to the president of the United States unless he wants her to have that access. Monica Lewinsky is given that access and lured into a purely physical sexual relationship with the president of the United States. Is she a bimbo? Our president is a sexual predator and a disgrace to the office he holds.

Forget party -- vote Christian

HERE'S A message to all Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. Let's forget what political party we belong to, and in the next election, let's elect the best Christian candidate we can find to the presidency. If we do, maybe we won't end up like Sodom and Gomorrah.