SPEAKOUT

Adults set poor example at school

I WAS at a football game and saw some of our adults -- and I use that term very loosely -- standing by a sign that says "No tobacco usage of any kind on school property" smoking and laughing and throwing their cigarettes on the ground. No wonder some of our children go around shooting other people. No respect for any kind of law.

VA bureaucracy is no honor to vets

LET'S SEE how the Veterans Administration honors the vets. First, less than 10 days after a veteran dies, the VA sends the widow a letter telling her that his disability check is not hers and to send it back immediately. Let her send in all the paperwork and proof for burial payment. Then send the letter back to her and tell her it's under review. This takes two months. Next, the VA loses all the paperwork for the widow's benefits, which were filled out in the VA office by a VA employee. Two months on this to let her know they'd never gotten it. They'll send another application. Two more weeks go by, still no application. Yeah, let's show our vets how much we really care about them.

Police out raising revenue

THE OTHER day a Cape police officer was standing in the bushes at a busy intersection informing waiting patrol cars of drivers who went through the intersection when the light was yellow. Another officer regularly sits on North Kingshighway where the speed limit changes from 45 to 35 mph. That way if you're going 50 mph, you're 15 mph over the speed limit, whereas only a few yards to the north you're only 5 mph over the speed limit. There's only one reason this officer sits at this location: 15 mph over the limit results in a much higher fine. Cape's police department has been transformed into a money-making machine under the guise of promoting safety. If this top-heavy and bloated city government can't fund itself through traditional means, then it should cut the fat instead of resorting to these Barney Fife-type tactics.

Observers don't always get the picture

THIS IS in regard to the comment about the person who saw the motorist turn left and get a ticket. What these people need to realize is that the cop might have taken some time to get turned around to get back onto the person he was pulling over. Interchange dangerous in emergencies

I'D LIKE to make a comment about the terrible traffic situation in Scott City, especially going south trying to get into Scott City on the exit ramp. I saw an accident down there, and an ambulance couldn't even get to the victim because of the traffic.

Exploitation around the world

THE NEW world order is nothing more than complete exploitation and a bid for world supremacy. This is communism, which America defeated when the wall came down in Germany. World trade is one thing, but when Clinton tries to impose his socialist programs on all countries, that is following the communist plan. It didn't work, and Clinton's plot will not work either. He and Hillary are power-driven autocrats. They studied Marxism and are trying to force it in every direction. Their glib rhetoric is fooling a lot of people, but America will wake up and defeat their goals because our nation is not a despotic country. In the end, it will not tolerate tyranny. We love peace and freedom, not world conquest and war.

State would be selling its soul

ABOUT THIS comment about Mo

DOT wanting the state to lower the alcohol level: The only reason for that is that the federal government will give them $12 million more. To do that you have to be a partner in crime with the federal government, because for the federal government to say that is coercion, intimidation and bribery. It reminds me of the old saying that some people will sell their souls to the devil for anything.

No support for teaching wrong values

I VOTED for the River Campus project, and I supported it with my friends. But I'll never do it again. On Veterans Day I attended the performance at SEMO put on by the music theater workshop. And I can't tell you how dreadful it was, listening to people sing catchy little tunes about things like cannibalism and homosexuality. I sat there thinking: My relatives died and I pay taxes so that our young children today can learn the wrong values. We don't need a new campus to teach them more of the same.

Music theater production was terrible

I WAS reading Sam Blackwell's review of SEMO's music theater workshop production Veterans' Day. I like Sam's articles. I've enjoyed them for a long time, and I like his perspective, but I think he should report on all aspects of the production, just like they do in New York when they write theater reviews. They always mention when people walk out. I can only say six people walked out. I sat up front so I couldn't see the rest of the theater. But at least six people thought it was as terrible as I did. I want to thank Sam for only using the word "tasteful" when he described the lighting.

Donate the essentials for needy folks

IT'S THAT time of year when everybody's collecting for the Salvation Army food baskets. What people really need is toilet paper, tooth brushes, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, razors, dish liquid, roach spray, detergent, anything they cannot buy with their food stamps that we all take for granted.

Negative ads go too far

I JUST read in the paper that people are getting tired of negative ads. That is true. It's no wonder our world is in such a mess. Our politicians put out the nastiest ads about their opponents. Why? God says tell the truth. Don't try to run everybody down. I think it's a shame. I think it's God's right to judge, not theirs.

Democrats disagree with party positions

I HAVE a couple of friends who are Democrats. Bless them. They have their problems. First, they're strongly against abortion, but their party isn't. They don't support gay and lesbian rights, but their party does. They are for cutting welfare and making the government smaller and ending foreign aid. Their party doesn't. They're for prayers in schools and don't care for the ACLU or racist groups, yet they are radical Democrats. They say they have been Democrats all their lives. If they really supported what they believe, they would have to vote for Pat Buchanan instead of voting for Democrat candidates who can't compare to the Democrat policy years ago. They are the very opposite to what their family voted for.

Poverty, drugs will follow students

UNTIL THEY eliminate the real basic problems, children won't learn any better in charter schools than in public schools. Poverty and drugs will follow these students wherever they go. Students can't learn when they come from a poverty and drug environment.

No kind words for the robin AH, YES. Robin Redbreast, the most destructive and overrated bird of all. This descendant of a dinosaur consumes earthworms which enrich our soil by the millions. They build their messy mud nests everywhere, and they are the worst for pecking fruit, vegetables and flower gardens. They deposit their waste on walks, porches, windowsills and cars. They used to leave when it got cold, but now they stay here all year, wreaking havoc. What's the Audubon Society's phone number? I'm going to sue. Isn't that the trend? Or is suing for the birds.

SEMO national champions overlooked

I ENJOYED your supplement on sports figures of the 20th century here in Southeast Missouri. I think there was one omission, however. In 1943, a basketball team at SEMO won a national championship. I think it's the only one in a hundred years from 1900 to 1999. Seems like this was an omission that could have been avoided.

Speaking out is part of the process

THANKS TO Speak Out, we all have the privilege to comment on the current news that the Southeast Missourian publishes for our enlightenment. It gives us all a chance to try to counteract the constant spin and propaganda we all are exposed to daily. It is every citizen's right and responsibility to be involved in his country's political life so as to be better informed voters and, thus, to try to elect people of integrity to our nation's offices to better serve our country and to represent us to the world. Let us not be silent contributors to the moral decay that is going on in our country today by not speaking out against it.