Speak Out 02/28/03

Relatively overweight

TO THE person who said Marilyn Monroe was not a fat chick: Marilyn Monroe was a size 16 and wore padding on her hips because she was told her hips were too narrow in those days. By today's standards where women are considered to be fat if they wear a size above an eight, Marilyn Monroe would be an overweight woman. The average woman in America wears a size 18 now. Just because you are overweight does not mean you spend your time in the drive-through.

Doing the math

WE HAVE been misled again. Cape Girardeau's mayor said the proposed taxes would only cost an average of $100 per household. If you take the city's figure of $4.13 million dollars a year in new tax revenue and divide it by 35,000 people in Cape, you come up with $118 for every man, woman and child in the city. For a family of four, that's $472. If the city says a certain amount of these new taxes would be paid by businesses, you have to realize that businesses add the tax to the products and services they sell. Guess who gets caught paying the bill? Tighten your belt. I won't pay any new taxes, and I don't think you should either.

Unattended child in car

I WITNESSED a sad situation. I was at a store in Jackson. When I came out to my car, there was a small child and a dog in the car next to me. I stayed in my car for a good 15 minutes before the mother came out to her car. On her car was a bumper sticker that read, "Pray to stop abortion." I got even more upset. She needs to pray and thank God no one kidnapped her child

Beautiful snow

I HAVE an idea for all those griping about the snow. Realize the beauty of it. It is wonderful.

Conforming standards

IT'S SO easy to generalize about teenagers that it's not stereotyping. They all try so hard to be nonconformists. They end up conforming to the same standard -- one designed to drive adults batty.

Shopping Day

PRESIDENTS DAY has lost all significant meaning. It was important when we singled out Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays. Now we equate the likes of Franklin Pierce with Washington and Millard Filmore with Lincoln. Presidents Day has sadly become part of yet another three-day weekend and so commercialized that, as the astute George Will said in so many words, it should be renamed Shop Till You Drop Day.

Liberties under attack

YOU RECENTLY editorialized that "there is a fine line between privacy rights and government-sponsored secrecy." No more. With a few exceptions, The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have cynically been used to destroy civil liberties across the board. Little wonder that since John Ashcroft was sworn in as attorney general, there has been a 20 percent increase in the membership of the American Civil Liberties Union.

TIF couplets

To be miffed

Is to be mad.

If Cape is TIFfed,

I'll be quite sad.

This government gift

Would be so bad

And cause a rift

Much more than a tad.

Better than the game

IF YOU want to complain about railroad crossings, might I suggest the one near Delta on Route EE. Someone who does not know the area will encounter a situation similar to the one I have on my Xbox. The only difference is the game requires a speed of 100 mph to go airborne. In Delta, I think you could go airborne at 30 mph.

Pets become victims

IT IS so very wrong for a person who is angry at a pet's owner to kill or to harm that dumb animal in any way. That's all there is to it.

They weren't duped

AS A 10-year veteran of the armed services who served in the Gulf War, let me tell you that the greater majority of those serving were doing so of their own free will, and they were not duped. All of those young men and women serving our country need our support, and they need it now.

The public good

FORGET ALL partisan distinctions and blame. This is the post-Sept. 11 world. All the rules have changed. Right? If you listen to the high priests of the political class, they have no choice. The people demand it. Good citizenship is now defined as securing the public good -- as only the Beltway crowd knows and can administer. At any rate, isn't it all for the children, even if fewer and fewer folks can afford to have any?

Deep pockets

WE NOW have become a nation where many leeches who take no responsibility for their own actions will sue anybody over any situation. It's become a business for some and a way of life for others. There's been a warning on tobacco for 40 years, yet people still ignore it and sue after becoming ill. Many injuries are legitimate, but many individuals are looking for deep pockets.