Speak Out 5/28/06

Ban the burning

AFTER READING about the garage that burned down because of an unattended brush fire, it makes me wonder what's next. My home, or maybe yours, could be next because of the burners in this town. Don't these people realize they could set a whole block afire with their careless burning? Maybe this is what it would take to get some laws passed banning all burning. With the excellent trash pickup we have. There is no reason to burn anything.

Caring for animals

THE HUMANE Society of Southeast Missouri is a not-for-profit organization. It is not funded by any city, state or federal taxes and does not receive any funds from the Humane Society of Missouri or the Humane Society of the United States. Staff members are paid by the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, and they are not city employees. Funds from fund-raisers, contracts, memberships and donations are the only source of income. The funds from city and county contracts help but do not cover food, shelter and care for the animals brought in by these communities. The contracts require that the Humane Society take all animals brought in by these communities. It would be ridiculous to believe any shelter could take in 5,000 animals a year without euthanizing any. The problem isn't open-door or no-kill. It is lack of education about spaying and neutering.

Stop discriminating

THE UPCOMING U.S. Senate vote on the marriage amendment is in no way an issue of religious liberties being lost. Religious liberty does not mean that the government uses certain religious views to dictate its lawmaking. If a church does not want to recognize or perform homosexual marriages, that is its right. The government is not allowed to discriminate in that way. The Senate needs to remember that government is an entirely separate entity from the church and stop denying basic rights to its citizens. Two consenting adults should be allowed to marry each other, regardless of gender, and have it be recognized by the government it pays taxes to and is supposedly represented by.

One-sided issue

WHY IS it OK for one group to push to be recognized for their sexual desires while others are blasted for speaking out against them? You can't change your skin color, so I resent individuals placing the homosexual movement as a civil rights movement. It is not. Ask the former homosexuals whose voices are being drowned out by those afraid of truth.

Awake to reality

THE PRESIDENT, who claims he doesn't care about polls, sends out a lapdog to counter America's souring on the endless war in Iraq. Unfortunately for him, America has awakened to the reality that there were far greater threats than Iraq and that this administration had no idea what it was doing once it reached Baghdad. Claiming the other side uses revisionist history is beyond hypocrisy. Read the facts about what wasn't found in Iraq, and ignore this obvious propaganda piece.

Revising history

WHO DOES Peter Wehner think he is fooling? A servant of George Bush and a director of a White House office is going to spin whatever reality he needs most, and Bush is getting killed in the polls because of Iraq. As each reason for war is eroded, another emerges, yet they call the anti-war crowd "revisionist historians." This is an insult to our intelligence and shameful. Instead of whining, they should be cleaning up the mess they made. We all know Iran was far more dangerous than Saddam.

Not above the law

EXCUSE ME, Congress, but I do believe the FBI has every right with a search warrant to search your offices if you break the law. Stop acting like you're above the law.

Pure propaganda

WE CAN all rest easy knowing that The Wall Street Journal and the Office of Strategic Initiatives have things under control. When a director of a White House office tells the truth about not telling the truth, it must be true, right? It's pure propaganda.

Thanks for help

I WANT to say thank you to the nice woman from Fruitland I met in the waiting room at Saint Francis Medical Center last week. Your advice was so helpful, and the book you gave me is great. Thank you so much. I hope you mother gets better soon. God bless you.

Wearisome wag

THERE IS nothing more wearisome than waking to a Southeast Missourian reprint by a wag from The Wall Street Journal trying to win over the public to the view that there were no deceptions by the Bush administration on the road to war in Iraq.

Can't fish

I TOOK my grandchildren out to the County Park lake to fish. When we got there, it wasn't fishable. There was so much algae you couldn't fish. Boy, were they ever disappointed.

Reciprocal treatment

BEFORE WE do anything for the immigrants coming to the United States from Mexico, we ought to get a reciprocal agreement with Mexico regarding the treatment of noncitizens. My understanding is that the Mexican government is vicious in its treatment of immigrants.

Greedy taxation

TAX, TAX, tax. Cape Girardeau doesn't want to help needy families getting back to school by opting out of the sales-tax holiday. Now Cape Girardeau County wants to increase the sales tax on what we buy. It's greed, greed, greed. You give them a little bit, and they want more. We have been taxed and taxed and taxed. We cannot stand to be taxed anymore. Whatever happened to one of the county commissioners, Jay Purcell, who said he wanted lower taxes? Power is what's more important to these individuals than the benefits of lower taxes.

Early education

PRESCHOOL IN the public school system is more than free baby-sitting. When my child was in preschool in another state, I had to pay the school a reasonable amount. I was glad I did it. There was a big difference between my child who went through preschool and my children who didn't. My child who went through preschool is an honor-roll student. I wish I had given my other children more of a chance. It's a real wake-up call to parents about what early education can do.

Older voters

I'M 82 and drive and have an ID. Isn't it silly for people over 65 to need an ID when they have voted for years and paid taxes? I think requiring a photo ID to vote is a way to keep older people from going to vote.

Put up a sign

I WOULD like to know why the Missouri Department of Transportation or the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department doesn't put a sign on the Highway 74 exit on I-55 that Bloomfield Road is closed because of construction. How are motorists supposed to know the road is closed?

Tax holiday

SPEAK OUT has power. The Cape Girardeau City Council is willing to reconsider the back to school sales-tax holiday. Tell your council representatives that if they cancel your tax holiday, you will buy back-to-school supplies in the nearest town that gives you a holiday.

More about sex

SYMPATHY TO the person who quotes biblical verses to garner support for homosexual marriages. Could a reasonable Christian really believe that God created a man and a woman in the beginning, but would now have no problem with same-sex partnerships all in the name of love? I have female friends I love. I do not need to marry them or live with them or have sex with them to fulfill that love. Homosexuality is more about sex than it is about love.

Still separated

A SPEAK Out comment expressed disappointment with the public schools for editing the word "Bible" from a performance of "Joseph, and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." There are public schools and private Christian schools in the Cape Girardeau area. And as far as I know, there is still a separation of church and state in effect. I'm surprised the school went as far as performing something that was biblically based to begin with. I'm not a liberal, but I do believe in the U. S. Constitution.