Speak Out: Thoughts on the legacy of President Jimmy Carter?

The Speak Out column allows readers to voice their opinions on topics important to them. Comments are meant to be short in nature. There is no guarantee that a comment will appear in print or online. We encourage positive comments, especially those that mark local accomplishments and acts of grace. To submit a comment, go to: Submit Speak Out comment.

Good riddance

Twenty-two days before leaving office (good riddance) Joe Biden gives $2.5 billion to Ukraine! Ten percent to the Big Guy?

Wrong direction

On the day that former President Jimmy Carter died, the NY Appeals court upheld the $5 million verdict by E. Jean Carroll against President-elect Donald Trump for sexual abuse and defaming her. This is another indication that the country is heading in the wrong direction.

Get on with life

Oh no, Joe Biden, we're doomed! No wait, his term is over and we're still here. But it's Trump again and we were doomed last time he was president. So what happens now? How about getting on with life.

Carter legacy

Jimmy Carter was one of the absolute worst Presidents in U.S. history. His foreign policy failures have put countless people around the world in severe danger! We cannot ignore this part of his legacy.

Real doctor, please

Sorry, but I don’t take medical advice from realtors, truck, drivers, or retired people with no medical backgrounds. When I go to sell a house, I’ll talk to a realtor. When I need a load of gravel, I’ll talk to a truck driver. But for my all my medical needs, I will talk to a real doctor, not someone who has a degree from Facebook University.

Water main breaks

Re: Boil-water advisory in effect until Tuesday night following LaCroix main break: Stated that cold weather equals a higher probability of future breaks, on top of those already being experienced at a seemingly exponential rate. Seems a reasonable prediction though — extreme cold, drought-level dry, and anything else causing ground shift and heave.

Special election

Summary recalled from the last council meeting pointed out the rate issue is now too late to put on the April ballot. Potential for a special election by petition not explored? Suppose if the majority of voters thought the proposed cost of clean water, a utility intended to be isolated and self-funding from its own revenues, would be too high — figure we're all fixin' to have our turn exploring the costs of no or unsafe water on the existing rate schedule. Cut off the nose to spite the face, blame the cause and results on someone else, and the beat goes on.

Solar farms

Re: Solar farm SpeakOut comment from Dec. 30: Haven't seen anything here about Ameren's three new solar facilities totaling 500 megawatts, as shared in other recent news releases. Considering averages for solar farms are running at 5-10 acres per megawatt, suggests 2,500-5,000 acres are now farming sun rather than other crops or most other previous uses. For reference, 640 acres equals 1 square mile. According to the US Census data, the land area of the entire city of Cape, from the river to west of I-55 and the Scott County line to up near Fruitland, is 29 square miles, suggesting these new solar panels now cover areas somewhere roughly 15-30% the size of Cape. Suppose all well and good as long as the NIMBY principle applies — Not In My Back Yard.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter did so much for the world and humanity after his presidency. One example was his tireless efforts to eradicate Guinea worms from the face of the Earth. When he started there were 3.5 million cases worldwide. This year there were only four cases reported. He may not have been a good president but was a great human being. I hope other presidents can follow in his footsteps after their terms are up, especially the one about to be sworn in on Jan. 20.

Musk visas

It appears that President-elect Musk is starting to anger MAGA because of his support of H-1B visas for foreigners. Voters were under the impression that the campaign was for America First. Yeah right, remember who made that promise!

Monopoly problem

Department of Justice has no more monopolies to bust up. Decades of this phony action to prevent monopolies has failed. The correct way to fight monopolies is to add competition by creating new businesses and high-income jobs. With a $36 trillion debt as evidence of this failure, it's time for a different path.

Chasing tails

Switching political parties, which some politicians are doing, trying to find the answer is equivalent to a dog chasing its tail. Neither party has the solution.

Murder numbers

Violent crimes are down and murder is down by 16% in 2024. Violent crimes were up and murder was up 30% in 2019-2020. And Trump claimed murder was rampant in America? He must have been referring to his first term.

Trump on Carter

Trump once called Jimmy Carter “a nice man but a terrible president”. Well, Trump turned out to be a terrible man and a terrible president.