Speak Out A 07/26/03

Not on the menu

I DON'T know what kind of Wild West saloons other Speak Out contributors like to eat in, but I try to avoid dining in restaurants that have a reputation for shoot-outs.

Teaching is an art

ON THE surface, it seems reassuring that the Cape Girardeau School District is going to employ the latest scientifically researched techniques to enhance learning in the classroom. However, one must take pause, not only because of the paucity of scientifically proven research techniques to improve teaching and learning, but also because of the self-evident truth that teaching is not a science but an art.

Illusion of progress

IN ARTICULATING the essence of a Speak Out comment in regards to the newfangled conceptual framework approach of the Cape Girardeau School District, it seems necessary to point out that the district's goals are essentially broad enough to create the illusion of progressivity while at the same time perpetuating business as usual. On balance, I think this is good, because Cape schools are doing the best they can. In this instance, vacuousness is virtue.

No concealed fireworks

SUPPOSE WE pass a concealed-fireworks law instead of a concealed-guns law. Then when the gun nuts do something stupid, the chances are they will only injure themselves. I think this could be especially effective in the case of smokers.

Vampire government

IN ORDER to make change, you must have sense. I firmly believe that we are ready for a change in this country. We must get back to the basic principles and liberties that this country was founded on before it is too late. People need to study the Constitution. They would see what a vampire their government has become. It feeds off the lifeblood of the people. There is no area of your life that is not regulated in some sense by government. Is this what our Founding Fathers had in mind?

A well-armed lamb

BEN FRANKLIN once said that democracy was two wolves (Republicans and Democrats) and a lamb (the people) deciding on what to have for lunch. Freedom, he said, was a well-armed lamb contesting the vote. The right of the people to keep and bear arms must not be infringed;. Otherwise, we will eventually be at the mercy of a tyrannical government.

No cause for calm

WHEN THE president terrifies the American people in his State of the Union speech with nuclear threats based upon evidence that was universally known to be shoddily forged garbage, no one should calm down. When he uses that terror to make war on a nation that was no threat to America, no one should calm down. When over 200 American soldiers and thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians die because of this, no one should calm down. When that grisly body count rises every single day, no one should calm down.

Get the dynamite

BLOW IT up. The old Mississippi River bridge has served its use. Once the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is open, the old bridge will be nothing but en eyesore and a hazard for river navigation. It will be cheaper to blow it up than to develop and maintain it.

Non-shooting, please

MANY RESTAURANTS have sought to meet customers' differing preferences by offering both smoking and non-smoking sections. Perhaps it is time to update our seating options. Restaurants could start offering shooting and non-shooting sections. Just like the smoking section, anyone who wants to sit in the shooting section is welcome to do so. However, in order to sit in the non-shooting section, you first have to go through a metal detector and pat-down. Sure, it would be inconvenient, but at least you could eat your meal in peace.

Ban electricity too?

I SEE now that a former Jackson firefighter's building was damaged in a fire that was probably caused by electricity. So does this mean people are going to start calling Speak Out wanting to get rid of electricity just like they want to get rid of fireworks?

An asset for downtown

I RECENTLY read about a multimillion-dollar figure projected for the cost of blowing up the old Mississippi Bridge and for retrieving the metal from the water. What a spectacular sight that will be to view while it's being done. I would like to save the bridge for a walking and viewing platform. I walked across a bridge in Louisville, Ky., and it was a great experience. Whenever someone visits Cape Girardeau for the first time, they want to see the Mississippi River. What a spectacular view for walking or bike riding, and what a great tourist attraction. This would cost a lost less than millions of dollars and would be a nice asset for downtown Cape Girardeau.

Enough already

I GET so tired of hearing all this about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It may be years before we know the facts. There's no telling where these weapons may be buried. This hullabaloo over the weapons of mass destruction is overdone. The media need to get on with something else. If I were Prime Minister Tony Blair or President Bush, I would stop attending news conferences where they are asked these kinds of useless questions.

Safer bridge lanes

I'D LIKE to compliment MoDOT and Penzel Construction Co. for re-striping the lanes on the Diversion Channel bridge during their construction. This will make it a lot safer at night.