Don't take the child

WE HAVE a country that's turning into a police state. I couldn't go to my kids' high school meet for parent-teacher night without a cop standing right next to the principal. Now we have surveillance cameras that show a mom spanking her child. Yes, it was excessive, but some people are saying "If that mom was doing that in public, what would she do in private?" I have a very strong feeling that this mom is the kind of mom who does in public what she does in private. It's the ones who sneak around that you have to watch out for. I think this mom may need counseling, but I don't think it's an opportunity for the state to take that child away.

The future of Cape

THE NEGATIVE reaction to the proposed TIF is not in the business interests of Cape Girardeau and smells of a personal vendetta established by many of the vocal opponents. This golf course and its eventual surrounding community will bring in an exorbitant amount of commerce to the city and will speed the development of south Cape. If Cape decides it doesn't want to invest in these and similar interests, it is doomed to become the city that could have been, not the burgeoning community it is poised to be. Anyone been to Cairo recently?

Act of aggression

"PRE-EMPTIVE strike" is just an Orwellian phrase to try to justify an unprovoked, illegal act of war on a sovereign nation. This is a major change in American foreign policy that will change our relationship to all nations. It will make us feared and, if possible, hated even more. We still haven't been able catch Osama bin Laden, a 6-foot, 5-inch cave dweller who needs dialysis three times a week. How can any sane thinker imagine that a naked act of aggression that will justify anger toward us is going to make our nation safer from terrorism?

Preserve the pool

HAVING FOND memories of the place, I offer the following slogan as a rallying cry for a serious SEMO student protest: Preserve Parker pool!

Closed campus is good

REQUIRING CENTRAL High School to have a closed lunchtime is the best thing they ever did for this town.

Littering from cars

COULD SOMEONE please tell me the difference between throwing a candy wrapper or a soda cup from a car and blowing grass in the streets? Or never picking up garage-sale signs all over town? Some signs stay up until the weather brings them down. Why is it when you're in a car or automobile, it's more serious? I've never heard of someone being arrested when their dog or cat litters. Maybe if they dropped it from a car?

Teachers need to help

I HAVE raised a son and a grandson, and I can tell you there are teachers in our schools who will not help students who need to be helped in math. I was so thankful that one teacher got a reward for helping children. He did help. I talked to students in his class. He is a wonderful math teacher. Why don't the other teachers see what he is doing and try to help the children? If you're a teacher in a math class where kids are getting a lot of low grades, just think: Is it the students, or is it the teacher?

Smoking in restaurants

THIS IS about restaurants that allow smoking. I was at a restaurant, and a man and woman sat there smoking their heads off the whole time and ruined my supper. I had to go home and take a shower because I smelled and itched. I'm getting tired of trying to eat meals and have to put up with cigarette smoke. Why don't they put about a $20 tax on each pack? Maybe that away they would have enough sense to quit.

Subsidies for businesses

FARMERS WILL be getting additional subsidies because of drought conditions. Jewelry stores, hardware stores and bookstores are closing daily, but they get no subsidies or government help. Why? Is it because they don't have lobbyists and contribute big bucks to politicians?