OpinionFebruary 22, 2005
Speak Out 2/22/05
Neighbor is an angel; More roadblocks; More road projects; Great cleanup; Professional attire; Believe in yourself; Follow-up needed; Tax-and-spend plan; Equal cutbacks; Fuel tax is for roads; Patient carousel; Need storm warnings; Getting more money; Let schools do it; Nosy old people; Does not compute; Street improvements; Teacher's explanation; Reap what you sow; Make a list; Huge agribusiness; Just have to wait; Use those signals; Welfare abusers
Neighbor is an angel
I HAVE a wonderful neighbor on Sharon Drive who has been bringing in my trash barrel and newspaper on Fridays. I appreciate it so much. She's been doing it for the last couple of years. I just found out who it was. I want to thank her for being an angel.
More roadblocks
I THINK it's a great thing what the Cape Girardeau police did in putting up a roadblock outside Central High School. If statistics show kids aren't wearing their seat belts and seat belts are a problem in accidents, then they're doing the right thing in making sure that they target those groups that don't wear their seat belts. As a taxpaying citizen and parent of a teenager who did not get a ticket, I guess I can expect this into other areas of law enforcement as well. So maybe next week in the paper you'll have an article about a roadblock outside the country club and the new VFW and maybe the Elks and places like that to see if people are sober. We all know that alcohol mixed with driving is extremely dangerous, more so than not wearing your seat belt.
More road projects
HERE ARE some other needed road projects: The Missouri Department of Transportation needs to check the Whitewater River bridge on Highway 34. You can't go across it without changing to the other lane because it's so rough. Highway 72 at Byrd's Creek and Whitewater needs work. Between Advance and Arab you cannot drive in your lane if it has been raining. The water's so deep that you've got to hug the center line. I think MoDOT ought to fix the rural roads and resurface the interstates and let them go. Let's get these other roads going. No wonder we've got so many wrecks in Missouri.
Great cleanup
BIG THANKS to the people who cleaned up the interstate at the Benton, Mo., exit. It looks beautiful.
Professional attire
I AGREE 100 percent with the person who commented on the sloppy dress of the teachers. I can remember when the men who taught all wore suits and ties. A lot of them walked to school, and they always looked professional and acted professional.
Believe in yourself
JUST BECAUSE you stand in a church and pray doesn't make you religious. That's like standing in your garage and wishing for a Jaguar. That doesn't make it come true. Believe in what you are and don't trust anyone, because people let you down. You have to be there for yourself.
Follow-up needed
I WOULD like to know what the point is behind the police department putting orange stickers on vehicles but not following up and making the people move them off the street. It seems like a waste of time and tax dollars if they don't follow up and make people move them.
Tax-and-spend plan
THERE IS some debate on whether the cap should be raised on Social Security taxes. When Social Security was first introduced, it was sold to people as though it was a pension plan. You would pay in a certain amount, and when you retired you'd get back out according to how much you paid in. Of course the government wasn't going to pay out a whole lot of money for people who made a whole lot of income. So payments into the program were capped. That made sense, because the people who were paying the upper limit were not going to get back nearly as much money as they were putting in. And the people who were paying at the lower rates were going to get more money than they paid in. Everybody understood that. Now there are those who want to raise the limits so that wealthy people who are earning more money can keep paying Social Security taxes for their entire income. We can do that, but it would get away from the idea that this is a pension plan. It would become a tax-and-spend plan.
Equal cutbacks
WHY IS it always the poor who get cut the hardest? Why doesn't the legislature and our governor cut themselves and some of the money that comes their way? The cuts should be equal. Everybody should get some of the cut, not just the poor.
Fuel tax is for roads
USE OUR fuel tax money to maintain our city roads. If the mayor wants to spend money on the airport, he can pass an airport passenger tax.
Patient carousel
IT'S NOT the lawyers who are hurting health care. It's the doctors. The doctors send you for all these tests, and nothing comes of it. They'll say I can't do anything for you but won't send you to anybody. Or they keep passing you around from one person to another. I've spent the last four months trying to get out of severe pain. This is ridiculous. I may as well go and see a lawyer and sue these doctors who have been taking my money for nothing.
Need storm warnings
IN REVIEWING the Cape Girardeau city manager's needs list for city projects, I find no mention of a storm-warning system. After last year, I would think it would take top priority before building a grand entrance to Southeast Missouri State University.
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Getting more money
I JUST read the article about the police department getting more money. I can't tell you how happy I am for the police department. I didn't know it was that bad. I know how bad it gets when you don't have the money and you can't get the raises for the people and the equipment they need. The morale gets so bad you may as well not be doing the job at all. I'm very happy for the police and the firefighters. And I hope the public services in this community get some help too. I think everybody could live a much better life.
Let schools do it
IT'S VERY important that schools offer preschool. All kids are not ready for kindergarten. Also, it's important that teachers can handle a diverse group. When the home fails, the schools need to be there. In some states too many teachers have been allowed to gloss over the special-ed students instead of really making an effort to teach.
Nosy old people
LET'S TALK about nosy, rude people. I was in a restaurant trying to have a private conversation with my husband. These nosy old women were bending their necks trying to listen to our conversation. And then they were talking about what we were talking about. Old people have no respect. They don't know what it means to keep their mouths closed and respect other people's privacy. It really irritated me. I have no respect for people who can't keep their noses out of other people's business.
Does not compute
I'M READING about leaving Social Security alone. I can't figure out why everyone is afraid of privatizing part of Social Security. If that's bad, then 401(k) and IRAs are bad. They're talking out of two sides of their mouths.
Street improvements
SINCE KOHL'S will be open in the next couple of months, traffic down Siemers Drive can't get any better, especially after the Sears store opens. The street in front of Kohl's needs to be extended to Bloomfield Road. Bloomfield needs to widened from Siemers to Kell Farm Drive to meet the extension. So what is the plan? What can we look forward to?
Teacher's explanation
REGARDING THE comment about teachers needing to dress professionally: I agree. There are teachers who do not dress appropriately for school. However, I am a teacher, and there are numerous reasons I disagree with the comment. I sit on the floor with my students all day. I am not going to wear a dress or suit that is uncomfortable and will get ruined. I don't get paid enough to afford nice clothing. My salary, which has been frozen, pays bills and provides for my family. Clothing is the last thing on my mind.
Reap what you sow
WHY ARE U.S. farmers surprised that the Bush administration has targeted them for destruction by dropping farm-support subsidies? Everything about the first four years should have told you that the GOP is on the side of corporate megafarms, not family farms. They are committed to destroying your way of life, yet you voted for them in droves. Get a clue, rural America, You now reap what you have sown.
Make a list
TO STOP these people on Medicaid from going to the emergency room for little things like a cold, Medicaid needs to make a list of real emergencies. Then individuals on Medicaid who go to the emergency room for non-emergencies should have to pay out of their own pocket.
Huge agribusiness
A MAJOR problem with farm subsides is the taxpayer money that goes to huge agribusiness concerns like Archer Daniels Midland. Its former president defended this disgrace by saying, "Socialism is as American as apple pie."
Just have to wait
IT BURNS me up that some politicians claim Medicare is going broke, yet Medicare covers the cost of Viagra. I've suffered from erectile dysfunction and deafness since I was 24 due to a reaction to anesthesia and can't get any help from anyone. It has had a severe impact on my marriage and jobs, but I guess now I will be able to get help in 30 more years.
Use those signals
POLICE CARS have turn signals too. So use them.
Welfare abusers
I AGREE that some people need help sometimes due to some misfortunate act. But there are people who abuse the system to get the most out of it and live off of welfare and food stamps and teach their children to do the same. This is a disgrace. I work hard and budget my money to buy food and clothes for my kids. Sometimes they have to wait. They go to school with kids who have name-brand clothes and brag about how they have steak every night for dinner. Their parents don't work. And dad isn't around. They also drive late-model cars. It is those people who make it hard for the ones who really need the help.
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