SPEAK OUT

School supplies

IT IS the school district's responsibility to supply all instructional needs. This should come before the dozens of extracurricular activities from band to basketball. If teachers are buying classroom supplies, it is because the district, with the community's endorsement through its elected board members, is spending thousands of dollars on optional extracurricular activities ahead of instructional supplies. If there are no supplies in the classroom and the lights are still on in the gym, these communities have made a choice, and the gullible media and public are being sold a bill of goods.

Cut weeds in medians

WHAT HAPPENED to the city of Cape Girardeau's weed cutters? There are weeds growing in medians throughout the city. It looks disgusting. What happened to our pride?

Alternative support

OVER THE past month I have read with continuing dismay the negative comments made regarding the alternative school. How sad that people are against helping these kids who so desperately need our help, love and support. I'm sure there are a variety of reasons why these kids don't fit in the box of regular school. For many, this may be their last chance. Until a person takes the time to contribute to society and to intelligently research the facts, he should not speak out on issues that he narrow-mindedly chooses to not understand. On a positive note, I want to thank the teachers and administrators for their commitment and for making a positive difference to our community. I'd like to thank the public school for such a wonderful program.

Government protection

MY DAUGHTER wanted to buy a small turtle. I called the local pet store and was told it could not sell me one, because the federal government prohibited the sale of them since some children had gotten salmonella from these turtles. But teachers can buy them to keep in the classroom. The federal government said the turtles are too dangerous for you to have in your home, but it is legal for teachers to have them in the classroom where 20 or 30 kids could pick it up and play with it when the teacher's back is turned. Once again our government is protecting our children and limiting our rights as parents, but letting them run into all kinds of dangers at school.

Politically motivated

WHY DOES everyone think President Bush's stem-cell decision was not politically motivated? Of course it was. He made his choice based on current polls, and his decision ensures a minimal loss of support for his administration. His final decision is nothing but political, not at all based on morals or ethics. You may agree that it was the right choice, but please don't say it was not politically motivated.

Lake scenario

PICTURE THIS: You are out fishing at Lake Girardeau early one foggy morning. The sun cuts through the haze, and a mile away you see towers adding to the cloud that surrounds you and extends toward Marble Hill on some days and Jackson on others, depending upon the wind. Is it your imagination, or is Lake Girardeau smaller than it use to be? I wonder if that is due to the 2,800 gallons a minute the power plant uses that dropped the water table. Kinder Morgan Power Co. and several other power companies had options on farmland a mile from Lake Girardeau, and we allowed one of them to plug in. We were told it would provide jobs (a total of five) and provide us power (maybe on occasion at a price).

Broken trust

THE REASON the Jackson school system can't pass a new tax is because it broke the trust of the voters. It all goes back to when they bought the land at Bent Creek. Stop trying to make people that oppose these taxes look evil. It's their money. They should have a say in how it is spent. Try alternate methods of raising money. The school, the county and the nation are taxed to death.

STEM-CELL research would probably go a good way toward making our country disease free, but if that happened, where would we put all the people. Here we are, the United States, the greatest country in the world, and we can't even feed our people now. I know it's a long way down the road, but think about that. And besides, who are we to play God?

Act on principles

JON RUST'S column about stem-cell research might clarify some of the issues, but it misses a basic point. Bush had the power to ban all embryonic stem-cell research, and he didn't. What good is a so-called pro-life president if he doesn't act on those principles? Rust suggests a total ban could also end in vitro fertilization. So what? We should not be using test tubes to make babies anyway. If families can't have children because of biological problems, they should adopt. That's how it always happened before we decided to play God ourselves.

Moderate Republicans

PRESIDENT BUSH has defined moderate Republican thinking by his decision on stem-cell research. He showed the ability to take the facts at hand and use his own good sense and judgment.