Speak Out 4/6/06

Better and cheaper

YOU CAN complain about illegal or migrant workers all you want, but the bottom line is that most of us care about the bottom dollar. We might care about illegal immigrants taking agribusiness jobs now, but if Americans held those jobs you'd pay an inordinate amount for your fruits and vegetables. Take a lesson from the auto industry. Foreign competition and foreign workers make a good product at a better price.

Midwife option

THE ARGUMENTS that oppose midwifery are a little hard to swallow. I agree there should be licensure requirements, but it does not take a physician to deliver a child. I was seeing an obstetrician until my seventh month. She assured me I would have the freedom to have an intervention-free birth. But during my last visit she informed me that I would be on continuous fetal monitoring and could walk as far as my monitor cords would allow. I was devastated. I found a midwife who worked in a hospital 60 miles away. I had the beautiful birth I had prepared for. It would've been better was if it had been at my home surrounded with the people I love. Unfortunately, my midwife would have been committing a felony to do that. If you do the research regarding complicated deliveries, midwives have a much lower rate of C-sections than physicians. They are also much less likely to have other interventions. Our country waves a banner of women's right to choose abortions versus newborns, so why are the risks of a midwife delivery so controversial? A woman's right to choose should not be limited to if you have the baby, but also how and where.

District hiring

AT THE recent Jackson School Board meeting, a new assistant principal for the junior high was hired. Following the recommendation from the superintendent and assistant superintendent, the board hired a person with little teaching experience and no administrative experience who was from outside our district. This is despite the fact that highly qualified candidates with prior administrative experience applied and were interviewed. This is despite the fact that several highly qualified candidates from within the district applied for the job. Since the current superintendent has been in charge, only one Jackson teacher has been promoted to an administrative position. However, several outstanding Jackson teachers have been hired as administrators in other districts and have gone on to do outstanding jobs. We are losing good people to other districts. This can only hurt our district both now and in the long run.

He really cares

IT'S GOOD to see state Sen. Jason Crowell standing up for the River Campus funding. Things like this should remind the public that our legislators really do care about the community.

Money priorities

I'M SO glad the state senators were able to correct their mistake and give $17 million to the River Campus instead of to medical care. By all means give to that campus and take away from the people who need it. The university needs every nickel for more fountains.

Top-notch music

THANKS AND bravo goes out to Sydney Fliege, Buddy Crawford and Mickey St. John for their fantastic performance at the Leo Hans Hassler chili super benefit in Gordonville last weekend. Their bluegrass music really was top-notch. I can't wait to hear the trio play again. They are a stellar group in our area.

Street safety

IT IS a well-known fact that motorists in Cape Girardeau have to be defensive drivers. It is a daily challenge to get from point to point. It is understandable that Main Street needed to be two-way because of the Water Street situation. But it should not take seven minutes to drive through downtown on Main Street. This morning I witnessed two near wrecks because some motorists were not watching what they were doing. Maybe a few signs would help. If something is not done, there's going to be collisions and injuries.

Building community

IF POTHOLES are a concern to someone who feels they might cause a wreck or damage their vehicle, I'm with them. I want to see my tax dollars at work. We all want our children to get a better education. We want our city administration to focus on bringing more business to our city. We all want our city to be clean and attractive to tourists. We all want more jobs. People have to get involved. They need to take a few minutes out of their busy days. Managers and administrators need to listen to their people. If we all do our share and help, this city we will grow. It could all start by not littering. Caring about our community takes a lot of time and some good people respecting others. Common sense goes a long way.

Politics first

THE COMMENT that said Republicans won't take steps to control illegal immigration because of pressure from business interests is correct. However, Democrats are equally guilty. Approximately 80 percent of Hispanics vote for Democrats, who refuse to address the immigration issue for fear of alienating such a large voting bloc. It's not about doing the right thing. It's about politicians from both sides trying to cover their rear ends.

Future bus stops

HAVING A full service bus system in Cape Girardeau would not mean we would have to have a bus going down every street. We would have bus stops. You would walk from where you are to the bus stop, and off you'd go.

Budget suggestions

THE REPUBLICAN Study Committee has unveiled some disturbing problems with the budget process. For instance, the current federal spending spree has already expanded government by 45 percent since 2001, and spending growth is still accelerating. The 10 percent increase stated for 2006, fueled by entitlements and supplemental spending, is the largest in over two decades. Furthermore, the spending spree occurs when lawmakers should be paring spending to prepare for the coming retirement of 77 million baby boomers who will cause Social Security and Medicare costs to skyrocket. The Republican Study Committee would reduce the fiscal years' 2007-2011 federal spending 2.8 percent below the baseline. It would also eliminate over 150 programs, turn back the gas taxes and federal highway programs to the states, eliminate all port projects from the recent highway bill and pare back a fraction of the 137 percent increase in education spending since 2001. It would also give states more freedom to spend federal education dollars how they wish. It should be accepted and adopted.

Spending to oblivion

REPUBLICANS ARE spending money so quickly our national government cannot afford it. We can't afford to keep spending more, but Republicans want to be compassionate. They want to give away more to the elderly, more drugs paid for by the government, more health care and more new houses for people in New Orleans. Our government keeps trying to give away more and yet we're out of money. The Democrats are not any better. They keep complaining that the Republicans are not giving away enough. So where do we go from here? This might be the end of our federal government.

Not for government

SINCE WHEN did it become a duty of public officials to "think about what our kids are doing after school like smoking marijuana, drinking and driving and having sex"? I thought this was the duty of parents. When did this change? This is nothing more than a lame attempt to push responsibility off onto government, where it belongs least.