SPEAK OUT

Spotlight on crew

SOMEONE COMPLAINED that President Bush didn't fly out to greet the service personnel coming back from China. After eight years of Bill Clinton, it does seem odd to have a president who doesn't dash off to every possible event so his face can be in the picture. What a nice change. The celebration was for the service personnel, and the president's arrival would have shifted the focus from them to him and would have kept them away from their families even longer just to accommodate a speech.

She deserves award

THERE IS a lady who walks the Bloomfield and Brinks subdivision area. She always picks up trash and debris as she goes her way. I think she deserves an award from the city for making our neighborhood cleaner and nicer.

Laws older than Bible

TO THE caller who suggested that man's laws are solely based on the Bible: the Bible is less than 2,000 years old. Man had moral standards and laws for which to live by much longer ago than that. Remember Hammurabi's Code? The Bible is just another written record of suggested rules and laws, many of which do not apply to modern society.

Conjoined twins

TWINS WHO are born sharing body parts are no longer called Siamese twins. That term is antiquated and may even be considered offensive to some. The proper term is conjoined twins.

Changing his mind

THOUGH SOME members of President Bush's conservative base are seething, I congratulate the president for retracting his initial decision to repeal some executive orders pertaining to the environment propagated by President Clinton. Bush won't be able to satisfy all of his environmental critics, but this should take care of the soccer moms.

Learning to laugh

THE ALLEGED scatological ruminations of Heidi Hall have apparently offended a Speak Out caller. One must understand that part of Heidi's purpose in writing her hysterical column is to use humor as a psychotherapeutic device to help us get over our hang-ups. After reading her column for many years, I have learned to laugh at life's pitfalls and foibles.

Teach or perish

TO THE caller who suggested SEMO should educate the children: I wholeheartedly agree. I'm a student this semester, and I have by far one of the worst professors I have ever had. I have not been educated except to the fact that SEMO's sole purpose seems to be research. This professor teaches a class because he has to and acts like it is an inconvenience to his job. If SEMO and other colleges were to follow their mission statements, they would no longer require that professor to publish papers. They would require that he actually impart knowledge to his students. But as long as we pay tuition, I don't think anything will change.

Won't change minds

DAVID LIMBAUGH has crucified Bill Clinton in a book and in his column. Does he not know of anything else to write about? We are not going to change our minds about Clinton, no matter what statistics and accusations Limbaugh continues to write.

Need investigation

HERE'S CUBA'S Castro celebrating the killing of Americans, and Jo Ann Emerson is dining with this Communist dictator. Are these politicians willing to throw values aside in order to sell rice? What a pathetic lot. This defiance of Congress' trade embargo against Cuba needs to be investigated at once.

Someplace allergy free?

THE ARTICLE about allergies by Patrick Finley and Nathan J. Plumb was informative. I would like to know if there is a healthy place for people with severe allergies to live. How far north and west would a person need to move in order to be in a better climate?

Another reason

I GUESS gas prices in Cape will go up since the peach crop was killed.

Wonderful service

I WANTED to say my husband and I attended the Son-Rise Service on Easter Sunday. It was very nice and very inspirational. I hope they hold it again next year. It was nice to see so many congregations come together.

No disgrace by GOP

IF I had to praise one party, it would be the Republicans. At least they didn't bring on the disgrace the Democrats did by bringing in Clinton.

Need better excuse

I DON'T agree with standing on the street taking donations for an autopsy. I also don't agree with taking donations for officers. Thank goodness we're in a low-crime area. Otherwise, we'd be standing on the streets getting donations all the time. I don't agree with the city council's argument that it is a traffic hazard. What about on Y.E.L.L. day? You can't get through town without being intimidated by these people. The city council needs to come up with a better excuse than just saying it would be a traffic hazard.

Thanks for cleanup

I WOULD like to thank the city for seeing the need to clean up the drain at Cape Meadows, which became a dumping ground for some. What a great job Nip Kelley Equipment has done on that hillside. Take a look from the Bertling Street hill to Highway 177. My thanks to the city and to Nip Kelley Equipment.

Remember last year?

THIS IS a rebuttal to "What a surprise." Gas prices are going through the roof. As someone said in Speak Out: Gee, I didn't know Clinton and Gore were oil men. Remember last year? Apparently, they're oil men, and we didn't know it. Gee whiz. Wake up, people. Get a life.

Top-down attitude

I'VE JUST finished reading Paul Tiffany's letter, and it seems as if the top-down attitude that was instituted at the university with the change in the administration has trickled all the way down to the students now. That's unfortunate.

Business decision

I'VE READ the articles about SEMO denying upperclassmen student housing in favor of freshman students, but not one time have I heard it mentioned the reason that seems very obvious to me. I believe that SEMO does this to attract new students. I also believe they think that once they lure them here, the students will stay, even if they have to seek off-campus housing in later years. It's strictly a business decision.

Count your blessings

PEOPLE OF Cape Girardeau, I'm tired of hearing you complain about the high gas prices. We are so spoiled, considering that we have the lowest gas prices between St. Louis and Memphis. Yes, prices are high, but they're higher everywhere else. So please stop complaining.

Not on my beach

IF THE Californians really want the energy they claim they need, why don't they tap that rich source off their own coast, where there's plenty of oil and probably gas to fuel their energy crisis? Of course, they don't want to tap that because it just might spoil their pristine way of life and those beautiful waves and beaches. Let the pollution be elsewhere, not in California.

Pull over to talk

SPEAKING OF cell phones in automobiles, I came close to being broadsided at Independence and Clark streets by a young lady who was busy talking on her cell phone. A caller observed you can legally eat while you drive. You shouldn't do it, but that's a lot easier to do. But when you're on the telephone, you drive slower and you're concentrating on your conversation. And the call is usually not necessary. If you want to talk, pull over into a parking lot before taking out your cell phone.