SPEAKOUT

Give O.J. a rest

I'M GETTING sick and tired of all there is on TV is O.J. Simpson stuff. I live out in the rural area, and that's all that's on. I get sick and tired of it. I'm interested to see if they find him guilty or innocent, but if I wanted to know how a trial worked, I would have gone and been a lawyer myself.

I'M WITH the person who commented O.J. Simpson's trial going on so long. I'm with them. After the first couple of days, it was interesting but now it is so boring that I wish they would please take it off the air. If it would do any good for everybody to call the station, I'm willing to do that.

Mail service, smoking

I THINK it's easy for people to call and complain about the Postal Service. However, I was sent a letter from Hartford, Conn., on Jan. 27 and received in my bright shiny mailbox on Jan. 30. How can a person complain about that? I think that's excellent service for the mere 32-cent postage stamp. On another topic, I wish the administrators at Cape Central were as concerned about smoking as they are yelling what could be perceived as politically incorrect statements at the opposing ball club. I think that it is illegal in Missouri for those under 18 years old to possess tobacco. However, Cape Central has provided them with a place to smoke. Seniors are the only ones that could be possibly be 18 years old. So, why are we catering to the illegal activity of those under the age of 18 by providing a smoking cage for them?

Leave school spanking

WE HAVE a state senator who wishes to get corporal punishment (spanking) out of the public schools. This is all we need. This will be the straw that broke the camel's back. First, they take prayer out of schools and replace it with metal detectors, security guards and condoms. If corporal punishment is outlawed, then God help out schools.

Be a soldier

I LOADED a brush killer on spray planes in Vietnam for 16 months, and I don't have any after-effects of it. Everybody wants to jump on the VA and get a big settlement out of handling brush killer, which you had to use to defoliate the vegetation to find the enemy. What's the matter with all the people today? Remember what John Kennedy said: What can you do for your country, not what your country can do for you. Don't be a wimp. Be a soldier.

Heeding blue lights

I WOULD like to direct this call to most of the drivers in Cape Girardeau County. I am a volunteer fireman in this area. Every time I get called to a fire, I turn on my blue light and drive fast but cautiously to where the fire is. My problem is the drivers don't want to get off the road long enough to let me by. I once followed somebody in a no-passing zone for five miles. They never did pull over. Finally, I was able to pass. The house burned down. Some people think just because it is a blue light, it is not that important. But if it were your house burning, I'm sure you would want them to pull over and let the blue light pass.

Show Me example

IF THE Central High School administration wants better student involvement at the games, maybe they should take a trip to the Show Me Center to see the student involvement with the basketball Indians. The band, the cheerleaders and the player introductions are so much better. I think they would have a better turnout at this games if they were made a lot more interesting. People don't just come to see the basketball game. They come to be entertained by other things around them as well.

Editorials stink

I THINK your editorial on the State of the Union stinks along with the ones on the vote of the city council and proposed increase of the minimum wage. People like you are the very reason we need a minimum wage. Your editorials and the statements by Congressman Emerson the last time we had a increase predicted drastic increases in the price of goods and massive layoffs, which proved unfounded. Why not tell it like it is sometime?

Rushing to China

I AGREE with the caller who wants the Rush Limbaugh tour moved to someplace else. How about China?

COULD YOU please put in the newspaper the address of Hip Hop Heaven? I would like to make a donation to them.

REPLY: Hip Hop Heaven is located at 632 Good Hope in Cape Girardeau.

Double tax standard

EVERYONE'S TALKING about taxes these days, and I'd like to comment on Missouri's double tax standard. Missouri allows government retirees a $6,000 income exemption from their retirement income. This exemption is only allowed on federal pensions, state pensions and pensions from political subdivisions. This exemption is not allowed on the private pension incomes of our second-class citizens. For example, residents of Missouri with a $15,000 pension from the U.S. government or the Missouri state government or any other state and its political subdivisions wouldn't pay or owe any Missouri income taxes on that pension income. Whereas a Missouri resident with a $15,000 pension from any private-sector company or business would owe at least $315 income tax to the state of Missouri. This is just another example of the private sector subsidizing government freeloaders.

Street projects

I'M JUST reading about the Lexington extension. Councilmen Eggimann and Gateley are on the right track saying to fix the existing streets. Mayor Spradling and other council members want the Lexington project and North Sprigg Street extension finished in 1996. We all know the Lexington project was started and is being pushed because of the Show Me Center.

Cutting suggestions

THE PEOPLE in Washington, D.C., are trying to find where to cut in order the balance the federal deficit. I have a couple of suggestions: Stop giving foreign aid to Russia to build houses for their soldiers. Stop giving money to North Korea, which is a communist country. Stop giving welfare, food stamps to the illegal aliens and there would be no need for any further cuts. I simply cannot understand wanting to bail Mexico out to the tune of $40 billion when actually they're bailing out, the fat cats on Wall Street. Anybody with a fifth-grade education could understand this. Why are Clinton, Dole and Newt Gingrich so hard set on guaranteeing these loans for Mexico? There are plenty of places that they cut the federal deficit without cutting Medicare, Social Security or any other program that benefits the United States of America's citizens.

No-smoking cheers

THREE CHEERS for not allowing smoking at the mall. I think the city of Cape Girardeau should take it further. I think there should be no smoking within the city limits of Cape Girardeau, and if someone is caught smoking it should be a $1,000 fine.

Comments on feminism

Regarding feminism: I'm a 38-year-old, educated female who is not dependent on my husband to make decisions for me. Believe me, I don't want to dependent on someone else to do my thinking. I am a wife and a mother. Together, my husband and I make decisions that affect our family and out lives. We have been married 20 years. Feminism is not about fidelity. It's about a woman's right to be treated as an equal. It's about being paid the same wage for the same work. Today in this country, women make 64 cents to every $1 men earn. It's not about chivalry, political correctness or careers. It is common sense. God didn't goof in making us into two different sexes. Men goofed by thinking they could control women. God didn't say women couldn't vote, men did. Feminists changed that. Today, 52 percent of the population in America is made up of women. Thanks to feminism, we can vote on laws that effect us, our families and our children. The only impossible task women are undertaking is trying to educate the truly ignorant.

High school standards

CAPE CENTRAL High School students are fortunate to have such caring leadership. I say hurrah to Dan Tallent and his staff. They set high standards and expect the students to meet those standards. They care enough to teach right from wrong and proper from improper. For too long, unacceptable behavior has been accepted as the norm at Cape Central. The staff is working hard to change that fact. The goal is to create an atmosphere conducive to learning. Our students are being taught to take responsibility for their actions. Unfortunately, responsibility is almost a lost virtue in our society today. Parents need to stand behind our school leaders and support their activities. That is our responsibility. As a parent, I am delighted I can see and feel at Cape Central. I hope the new administration perseveres. In my opinion, they are traveling in the right direction.