SPEAKOUT

IBEN BROWNING SHOULD be remembered along with Martin Luther King. They both had a dream.

THIS IS FOR the person who says apparently there's not a thing we can do about postage rates going up. Sure there is: find another country that has cheaper postage rates and move to it. What, you say you can't find another country that has cheaper postage rates? Too bad. And this is for the person whose idea it is to tax people's salaries who live in the surrounding areas but work in Cape: the idea is absolutely ludicrous.

AS LONG AS we're plugging Illinois on TV, why don't we plug Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau? They've been making quilts for years for people. They get together and sew. I think they deserve a plug.

THIS IS TO the person who wanted to hear from other people in the area about being assessed an earnings tax on wages made in the town. It seems to me like the people out in the county and out of town are being assessed every time they spend a dime in Cape Girardeau. We could spend our money someplace else. Maybe that's what this lady would like for us to do. Thank you.

THIS IS CONCERNING Pete Rose not being allowed into the Hall of Fame because of his gambling. If this is the case then I think all of baseball needs to go back to everyone in the Hall of Fame and judge them morally, not for how they played ball but how they were morally. If you want to know the truth, it's a bunch of bull.

I WOULD LIKE to make a comment on the rise in the postal rates. I hope that people realize this is just the beginning. The postal workers are about to settle a contract that's going to raise the average first-class mail up to 44 cents. The problem is, the postal workers are overpaid and underworked. We need to privatize this postal service. It's just like this budget that Bush is presenting. The tax raise that we just had is not going to make a bit of difference. They've got a bigger deficit this year than they had last year or they've ever had. If the public doesn't stand up and do something, and allows these people to continue on playing us for suckers, we're going to live under a virtual dictatorship. I, myself, am going to cut down on using the mail. Others are going to have to join in. If nothing else we're going to have to close the government down, do away with all these federal holidays such as Martin Luther King Day, all of them, and cut this government down to size or we're all going to be working for them as slaves. Thank you.

I JUST WANT to say I'm so proud that our colors and our flag are being presented at the SEMO basketball games before each game now. However, I think the flag should be displayed all through the game. I don't know why it can't be done. Somebody should correct it. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to thank the people at Kicks for allowing us to get free valentines to send to the service people in the Persian Gulf. It is really a wonderful thing they are doing for the men and women in the gulf. They also provide names and addresses if you do not know anyone there. Kicks is located across from K-Mart at the Crossroads Shopping Center. Please go by and pick some up and send to our men and women overseas. Thank you very much.

ALL I WANT to say is the war is giving us all a bunch of headache problems. The deficit and the budget are a lot of problems. I just want to give thanks to the couple who drive out on Route W in Cape through the fog and ice and the sleet, and sometimes they roll the paper where you can see the date and other times they don't. But they make sure we see how many Marines we've lost and we don't want to lose any more. We're proud to be Americans. Thank you.

IN REFERENCE TO Cher on CBS Monday night, her acts were very repulsive. I can't imagine anyone paying money to see her show in Vegas. To me she has a negative rating compared to the show she had with her husband many years ago. She can't sing; what she does is yell. It appears she loves acting and X-rated movies. Perhaps that is where she belongs. Thank you.

I AM A senior citizen. I feel it is a shame to ask for a 5-cent tax on our young workers for senior citizens who are drawing Social Security when our young men and women are fighting for our freedom.

CONTRARY TO THE article on dancing that appeared in the Southeast Missourian Monday's supplement, TBY, ballroom dancing is alive and well and has been for several years at the Scott City Knights of Columbus on 61 South the first and second Thursdays of every month. The Golden Slippers play the melodies of the '40s, '50s and '60s, some of the country classics, and at least 10 to 12 waltzes every dance. Thank you.

I'M ONE OF MANY Americans who has fallen into the credit-card trap. I had so many credit-card charges, got behind in paying everything bad, and then caused an excellent credit rating to go to a poor one. In an effort to try and rebuild my rating, I consulted a credit bureau and they said the only way to do that is to apply for credit, make charges and make payments so you don't get behind. The only problem is, how can you gain credit with somebody else when the same credit bureau gives the rating to them and causes it to be bad? I am trying to rebuild my rating because I know it's important, and I'd just like to know how to do it. If anybody can provide me with help I would sure appreciate it. Thank you, Speak Out.

I WOULD LIKE to make a comment on my brother Republicans in this community. Just because you do not stand for the Republican platform or George Bush does not mean you are anti-American. We're both in this war together. If you speak out against Bush, that doesn't mean you are not for the fighting men overseas. They have 100 percent support of the Democrats as well as they do the Republicans. The Republican Party has no priority on the flag. Thank you very much.

MANY SENIOR CITIZENS are not interested in the new, bigger Wal-Mart store. Due to our age and health we are not at all interested in or able to walk extremely long distances in a store to shop. I would like to go to a grocery store to buy my groceries, a clothing store for my clothes, a prescription shop for my medicine, and so on, and not have to walk a country mile in a big super store. Thank you.

I HAVE A message for the person who is complaining about the money that is spent for colleges and universities in Missouri and who quotes Don Pritchard as saying we ought to take that money and spend it on the elementary level so everybody who gets through high school or even the eighth grade has a minimal level of functioning and confidence. We don't need to spend more money on elementary education. What we really need to do is get parents to support the teachers when their children are in grade school, junior high, and high school. The problem is that little Johnny is asked to do work by the teachers, little Johnny doesn't do it, and he gets a bad grade. Then little Johnny's parents go to the school and complain about the bad grade and harasses the teacher and the principal, and the superintendent doesn't back the teacher because he's afraid of his job and he's afraid he'll get fired if he supports the teacher against the parents. So what's the solution? The parents ought to read to their children from the time they're in the cradle, and then make sure that they know what's going on with little Johnny's schoolwork and support the teachers so that little Johnny doesn't work against the teacher with the parents. The problem with American education starts in the home and remains in the home. To view it in any other way is a mistake. So, parents, you stop whining and support the teachers by demanding your children do the work when they're in school. Otherwise, forget it.

I JUST TURNED on my TV weather station to see how to dress for church today. Instead of getting the weather at the bottom, I got that little printout that they run along there. This annoys me to no end. I turned the TV off and called the Weatherline so I could see what the temperature was. I absolutely hate that thing on my weather TV station.

I WOULD JUST like to say the whole quandary concerning the car-stealing issue gets back to choice. Anyone who feels car stealing is wrong, don't do it; just don't try to tell others what to do. Thank you. This is a word-for-word repeat of a comment in Sunday's Speak Out except these people used abortion instead of car stealing. If something is wrong it's wrong; you can't get around it by just saying, oh, it's a personal choice. Car stealing's wrong. Abortion is wrong.

WELL, I just read in the paper today about the City Council deciding that Kage Hills Drive might be able to park on one side. What about the rest of this town? Most of the east and west streets have fairly small streets. What about West End Boulevard and Dunklin streets? You can't even get through there most of the time. There's parking on both sides of the road, and especially on Sunday only one car can go through there when there's parking on both sides of the road. And what about all through the college? There should only be parking on one side of all roads. That's my thought on that. Thank you.

I'M CALLING in regard to the yellow ribbons being used as symbols of love and support for our loved ones who are far, far away. It dates back to the song, "Around Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." The reason for the yellow ribbon was because her true love was in the cavalry. Yellow signifies cavalry, red signifies artillery and blue signifies infantry. I believe this is when the whole thing originated. Thank you.

HERE'S A NEW look at an old feeling. My heart jumps each time she speaks. To please her is my goal. I will always be there when she calls. She owns my very soul. Though I close my eyes and sleep, she won't leave me alone. I see her face. I hear her voice from daybreak until dawn. This life of mine is in her hands, and like a kid in school, my eyes are wide in awe of her. Now don't think I'm a fool, she's my sergeant in the Army. Thank you.

I BELIEVE WITH all my heart that the best legacy we could leave our children is the right to choice, their right to be independent. Each state in the United States is like a small country, no different from Switzerland, Israel, or Iran, and each state has its own peculiarity. We are united because there's such a mixture of cultures within each state. But those who control all our lives are too far removed from us just as Great Britain was too far away from the colonies to rule them. America declared her independence when she was small. Now the populations of every state in this union continue to grow and grow, yet our lives and our monies are still controlled by a federal government so far removed from us that they can't keep up with our ever-changing needs and wishes and we can't keep up with them. Just remember this: It's mighty hard for an employee to put one over on you when he's right under your nose. But out of sight, out of hand, there's safety in numbers as in states or countries that are united against or for a cause. But there is danger in one idea, one judge, one ruler, one tax collector, and that is our federal government. God forbid that we've become so lazy and so complacent as not to realize that we need a change. Thank you.

ARE WE EVER going to get our regularly scheduled programs back, including "MASH"? It is the only decent, clean program on the air, a program you can get a laugh from and relieve some of the stress we have been seeing day and night since this war started.