SPEAK OUT

A little of something

SOME TIME ago, there was a Speak Out caller who claimed that those taxpayers who made less than $30,000 would not be getting a tax refund. I'm here to prove that caller wrong. My wife and I made a combined total of $17,740 last year. We received a letter in the mail just last week. In September we will be receiving a check for $99.50. Now, this may not sound like a whole lot, but it's a little bit of something, and I would much rather have a little bit of something -- which is what President Bush is giving us -- than a whole lot of nothing, which is exactly what Bill Clinton gave us for eight years.

Plenty of rudeness

IN REGARD to "Random act of rudeness": I completely agree and sympathize. I have never lived in a place where people can be so thoughtless, inconsiderate and downright rude. I am constantly on the lookout for the kindnesses, and they are few and far between. As a fairly new resident, I have been treated like an outsider by most longtime residents and made to feel like a real square peg around here. There have been some exceptions, but not many.

Dangerous vegetables

Those who are elevating the eating of tomatoes to a virtual religious ritual have obviously never seen the movie about the revenge of the killer tomatoes.

Not good growth

The attempt to put the best foot forward on what to me is the alarming growth of Cape's Alternative School population doesn't fly. Why should we be happy about rapidly growing numbers of students unable to adjust to the normal school environment?

Powerful questions

Should a 22-acre power plant be built in Cape Girardeau County a mile south of Lake Girardeau? Will the promised jobs be filled by workers from out of state? Will there be a true impact on our local economy? Or will we sacrifice our clean air, groundwater and natural wildlife for corporate profits? Out-of-state companies producing power for other states should move out of state.

How about Sweetheart?

I hereby publicly and profusely apologize to the anti-misogynist Speak Out caller for referring to her as Honey. Will you let me call you Sweetheart?

Never been tried

George B. Shaw once said that Christianity is such a beautiful idea that it is a shame it has never been tried.

Campaign spending

In response to the article, "Big Labor untouched by campaign reform," let me get this straight. Republicans are against campaign-finance reform but cry foul when a lobby group argues the case for someone other than tobacco, HMOs or other big business. Let's get to the root. Campaign finance is for big industry but not for the workers who do the job? It's good to see a hint of honesty coming to politics. I'm nonpartisan, but I'm starting to change my mind.

Cleaner power

I agree completely with the initiative for more hydroelectric power. The problem is that the cost to produce clean power equal to that of a coal plant is significantly higher. Most power companies are not willing to pay the extra costs, even though the price to the consumer should remain the same in the end. AmerenUE and other companies should look past their bottom line and go for the cleaner power most Americans want.

Same arguments?

WHEN WE start raising embryos for harvesting body parts to alleviate the suffering of those already born, I wonder if Dr. Russ Felker will use the same arguments he is now using for stem-call research.

No heavy lifting

WELL, LOOKS like Peter Kinder is at it again. He's always got to badmouth the unions. Nobody is more corrupt than most of the politicians. They don't know what manual labor is.

I NOTICED that the Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Mo., school districts have bond issues coming up. I'm a Jackson resident and have been for decades. They tell us they need the money for transportation and library books and things, but we still have five people on that board who find a way to move money where they want to move it and buy land to build a new school they didn't ask us about. I've always supported the Jackson School District, but I'm not going to give my soul to these people any time they ask for something. They need watching, especially when they find ways to move money.

Can't be selfish

CHERYL KIEFFER talks about the pollution from the proposed electric-generating plant and the fact that we won't get benefits from it. She assumes Missouri produces all the electricity it needs. We get things that other states pollute their state for. Sometimes you can't be too selfish.

Sports facilities

SEMO DOES not need a River Campus. What it needs is an athletic complex. For being a Division I college, the football stadium is very outdated. Turf will not bring athletes to the Cape Girardeau area, but an all-out sports complex would. New stadiums for football, baseball and soccer could overlook the river. You wonder why student athletes from this area choose elsewhere to attend college? SEMO just can't keep up with other Division I colleges.

They pay taxes too

SOCIAL SECURITY recipients pay taxes too. Sometimes a lot of taxes.