SPEAKOUT

I TAKE ISSUE with the personal view published in Monday's Speak Out that the U.S. was settled by Christian people and developed as a Christian nation. That is simply not true. Where did you get your information? Can you point to any credible historical document? I'm thankful to live in a country settled and developed with greater diversity.

TO ALL THOSE people who still want MTV, go ahead and have it and pay for it. But for those who don't want it, why should we be charged for it? Get it off the basic and make it a premium channel. Thank you.

FOR ALL THE people who want MTV taken off the basic cable, what about the channels that other people don't want? I really don't watch Vision, so let's take it off the basic. I don't really watch A&E, so let's take it off the basic. If you take every station off the basic that some people don't watch, there won't be any basic cable left.

I JUST WANTED to make a comment on the law enforcement. I'm thankful for the city cops that we have, but it is unfortunate to see a state trooper patrolling Jackson. If you want a city job, why don't you apply for it. Thanks.

ONCE AGAIN A new meter reader. If you send the same meter reader by each month, people would be less fearful to open their door. Thanks.

I UNDERSTAND THAT hummingbirds hitch rides south on the backs of geese and ducks. Well, I would assume their feeders should be brought in before the large birds have all gone south for the winter. If they miss their rides, they'll die of cold and starvation. Last week when it got cold, I intended to bring my feeder in but forgot and left it sitting on the step of the deck door. The hummingbirds searched every place where the feeder has hung in the past, even to the point of hovering at my kitchen window where I had hung it last year. They found the feeder at the door and are still eating. Those birds must communicate. How else would they know to look near my kitchen window where it did hang this year? So I too would like a close as possible date on which to bring the feeder inside. Thank you.

THIS IS AN answer to a request of when to stop feeding hummingbirds in the fall. Much of this depends on location, but you'll have hummingbirds ending when the temperature and so on gets to their liking. However, for migrant hummingbirds it's best to observe and watch when both local and the possibility of migrant birds stop feeding. It's important to keep feeding them. In quoting this, it's from the Wild Bird May issue about the hummingbird. They say the hummingbirds feed on fresh flowers like a tiger lily instead of a faded one. They also prefer the fresh food that you're giving them by changing the sugar-water mixture at least every 48 hours when the temperature is warmer than 60 degrees and to avoid the spoiling. During the cooler weather, most authorities suggest that you provide fresh mix every three days. Spoiled sugar water is susceptible to fermentation, and harmful mold and bacteria endangers the lives of the hummingbirds.

IT IS MY opinion that if the hummingbirds know the route to South America, then they also know when to depart. I continue to furnish nectar for them as long as they are here. Thank you.

REGARDING HUMMINGBIRDS, FEED them as long as they come. They should stay until about the middle of October. They know when to leave.

THIS IS FOR the person who wanted to know how long to leave hummingbird feeders up. The hummingbirds will be leaving within the next two weeks; however, you can leave the feeders up longer than that. It doesn't make the hummingbirds stay longer because their migration is timed daily. If you leave your feeder up, you might help some of the stragglers. Some might be migrating later because of injury or whatever reason.

I'VE READ IN the paper in Speak Out where someone wanted to know when to quit feeding hummingbirds. That is the last day of August. Thank you.

DON'T TAKE DOWN your hummingbird feeders before late October. Hummingbirds need all the energy they can find in autumn during their southward migration, which starts this month. Thanks.

BUSH HAS MADE A mess over there in the desert. Now this guy's back in power over there. They should have taken him out when they were over there. Thank you.

I'D LIKE TO report something. I don't like the school lunches. We pay too much. The governor is having budget cuts and I don't think that it's right because we aren't getting very good school lunches. Thanks.

I'M CALLING ABOUT MTV. I think that they should still be on because the people that don't like it don't have to watch it; they can change the channel. I like MTV. I like to watch it and so do my friends. Thank you.

I WATCHED THE new Miss America Carolyn Sapp yesterday morning as she told her story of abuse by a boyfriend and as she stated it was through her upbringing that she was strong enough to work through the problem and remain as friends. What a fine example of kindness, love, and forgiving spirit she exemplifies to all. Indeed, she does deserve to wear the crown of Miss America, and as she said, although her parents were divorced and remarried, she was loved by her extended families and was helped by all. What a happy feeling for her to share with so many families that are perhaps experiencing some of the same kinds of situations. Remember, the children need both parents. Problems can be solved. It is our attitude and actions that parents the outcome of success.

HOW MANY PEOPLE read or pay attention to the school menus or ask pupils about their lunches? Money is paid for their lunch and what they get is terrible. They all say the same thing. Let's get this improved, school officials. Thank you.

MY COMMENT REFERS to the person who criticized the display the anti-abortionists had in the Arena Building during fair week. The criticism was that he or she was shocked and appalled because they had 8-by-10 posters of aborted fetuses in living color. I quote the point that I would like to clarify. The person said, "I thought it was truly tasteless propaganda." I would like to call to the party's attention that the small children and the adults both who viewed the display did not receive propaganda; the material was educational. There is a difference between the two. I would think that the posters would be educational, both to children and adults.

YOU INVITE PEOPLE to call your Speak Out line and then you don't print what they call in, especially if it's criticizing the Republican administration or President Bush. If you do not intend to plug these people's Speak Out, then why invite them to call. Apparently this is a Republican newspaper and the only thing you will print is good stuff about Bush and his administration. I called in about President Bush not wanting to extend the unemployment benefits to the workers who have lost their jobs because of foreign imports and the policies of this country, but he is willing to turn around and give Peru millions of dollars to combat their trafficking drugs problem when we have our own here at home. This president seems to be, to me, a foreign president: not for the people of the United States. But you will not print it because it is a Republican paper. Thank you anyway.

To the contrary, we publish comments both pro and con about Republicans and George Bush, and if you regularly read Speak Out you should know we do. The Southeast Missourian is listed as an independent newspaper.

IN ALL OF this expensive hearing on the Iran-Contra mess, Ollie North goes free and Reagan got to sit in the White House to finish his term, and here you'll take these people who worked under them and try and prosecute the rest. We should have started at the top, Reagan and Bush and then Ollie. They weren't thinking of the hostages; they were thinking of defeating Jimmy Carter in the election and the people helped them do it.

I'VE JUST READ a comment in Tuesday's Speak Out about tearing down the old St. Francis and the Marquette Hotel. I've just returned from a short trip to historic cities in the U.S. and am appalled that Cape Girardeau takes so little pride in its historic buildings. With its long history, I think we should pay more attention to our historic buildings and I vote to save the Marquette and the old St. Francis hospital, if possible, and turn them into shopping facilities or apartment facilities rather than tearing them down. Thank you.

I'M CALLING IN regards to the recycling pickup. I'm sure everyone knows that we need to recycle as much as we possibly can, but we also need to use some common sense. We do not need our trash pickup cut in half. We pay $8.90 a month for two pickups a week, which we need. Some on the city council say we are getting the same amount of service. That is not true. We all know that the biggest majority of people's trash is not recyclable. To think we need to clean and have recycling pickups the same as we do solid waste is ridiculous. Thank you.

KBSI: PLEASE SCHEDULE us more Cardinals baseball games next year. When you live out in the country, all you get from April to September is mostly reruns, and some of them we've seen three and four times already.

I WOULD LIKE TO address the person who spoke out about trucks speeding and killing. Get real. I hit the interstate and cruise about 65, and I get passed by maybe one or two trucks. But I guarantee you, about every car passes me and the ones that aren't passing me are usually on my bumper waiting for their turn. And on the two-lane roads I'm doing 54 to 55, and right on my hind end, there's one there just waiting. He jumps out, he finally passes me. he turns off about a half-mile into his driveway, and doesn't signal, of course. Well, as far as killers go, in my opinion, as many cars pull of crossroads as trucks.

I LIVE IN the Perryville area and I tried to have MTV blacked out on my cable reception, and I was told I'd have to drop cable altogether. MTV is disgusting, especially after they celebrated Pee Wee Herman last week, which I gathered from the news. I think it's doubly disgusting. I think if you want to watch it you should have to pay for it. The cable company would probably make a lot of money if the people really want to see it. Thank you.

THIS IS A message for Judge Thomas. I was called girl just last week. I happen to be a waitress. Also, last month I was refused permission to use someone else's restroom and I had my 5-year-old granddaughter with me. But, you see, we understand this because the restroom belonged to them. Time to knock it off and get with it, cry baby.

A COMMENT ON the garage sales that the city should take over. I think the city should let people have their garage sales because it's helping the young generation to buy a few garments reasonable enough that they can afford to pay for. Now, I've had several garage sales, and for five cents and a quarter I've gotten some nice clothing. If the city gets this, they would have to hire somebody to take care of it, and when they did, the young generation will be taxed again some place.

I THINK THE Missourian owes the public and everybody that reads the paper an apology for calling Brad Harris an expert on baseball. That is an insult to Jack Buck and those that really are experts in this town.

IF I MAY ASK without hurting someone's feelings, why has the space allowed Speak Out become less and less over the last year or so? Is it simply a money matter or have the judges, the lawyers, the doctors, and above all, the politicians that abhor having public complaints, pressured you into it? A very concerned, conservative Republican that is every day becoming more like a liberal Democrat because the powers of the state and federal government. I love Speak Out.

The space allotted Speak Out has not been reduced. When we switched last year from a morning to an afternoon newspaper, we added Speak Out to our Monday papers, expanding it to four days instead of three days per week. Additionally, our free Southeast Missourian Plus, which was initiated with the switch over to a morning paper, contains considerably more Speak Out than did its forerunner. And, no, no one has pressured us to limit Speak Out space.

YOU KNOW, THE whole outfit up in Washington just wants votes on issues. You vote for me here and I'll vote for you there. And, if you tell the truth on me, I'll tell what I know about you. So round and round we go and the taxpayer gets the bill. I think we should vote all of them out, from the president down.

I READ IN THE Missourian about the person who called in and said they were upset about the rap band following the Clydesdale horses. I too see that you have some concern of a legitimate nature, but I really don't think we're going to have to worry about it for quite some time to come because the Clydesdale people were not very pleased with being placed down on the midway right next to all the hustle and bustle with the loud noise of the midway on one side and the hog barn on the other side. Needless to say, they felt that was about as low as you could go. I don't think that something of so much beauty and so much dignity should have to be treated that way.

MAYBE IT'S JUST ME, but about the third time I try not to get tense, here comes the overworked, monotonous, repetitive phrase from KFVS. The first one we all hold near and dear to our hearts is, from the heartland or in the heartland or over the heartland or through the heartland or up the heartland. Gasp. The other one, just as memorable and precious, is, storm team weather, storm team report, storm team advisory, storm team radar. It's enough to make a person start grinding their teeth, and a little of that goes a long way, too.

IN ANSWER TO some Speak Out calls in the Sept. 17 issue: One person complained about the possibility of the city making money on recycling. I doubt very much if this can happen, but I sure hope it does as this would help keep fees down for solid-waste trash pickup. One person is worried about subsidizing the city for its recycling project. He or she said they needed more than one pickup per week. All they need do is recycle and they will have two pickups per week. These are the people who need to recycle the most. There never was any reason to have two pickups a week; many cities have only one pickup per week for solid waste. And, to the person complaining about having to wash a few containers a week to comply with the rules, big deal. How much trouble would this be? It's a very small price to pay for helping the environment. All the comments above, and that includes this writer's, is purely academic as the federal government has mandated that we reduce by 40 percent the amount we put in landfills over the next few years. Thank you, Speak Out.

IN REGARD TO OUR city efforts on recycling trash and the disposal bill they have proposed, I thought it was interesting that Mr. William K. Kelley of the Bush Administration testified before the Senate Environmental Protection Committee that he and the administration would oppose the boosting of recycling and tightening of waste disposal regulations nationwide. He said that the cost of such proposals could be extraordinary and would be unworkable or too costly. I think the same idea is applicable to our city.

I'M CALLING IN reference to the person who wanted to know if there was an organization that gives clothes to the needy. The women of Delta Sigma Theta sorority have a clothes drive every year in conjunction with the Cape Girardeau Civic Center. If you want information, you can write Delta Sigma Theta Sorority at the Student Government center on campus. Just write in care of Delta Sigma Theta, Southeast Missouri State University Student Government, and you can get more information about it.

THIS IS TO the person who called in about the teacher from Scott City High disrupting the Scott City Council meeting. If you had been listening, you would have heard the teacher proclaim that she was not an expert on proper rules of order, but she was the coach of the parliamentarian team at Scott City High and that her team had won the state championship in parliamentary procedure the last two years. Also, she never disrupted the meeting. The only time she spoke was when the mayor or councilwoman asked her a question about Roberts Rules, and then and only then did she speak, and she only offered her opinion and guidance. It's really sad when we close our minds to learn how to do things right. I personally think that there are citizens like this teacher who will stand up for the rights of the citizens of Scott City. Thank you.