Speak Out 6/6/06

Headline asterisks

SINCE ASTERISKS are added to some sports stats, will headline writers please put an asterisk next to their favorite "No one is above the law" (except illegal aliens and their employers, congressmen and their friends and the very rich -- well, pretty much everyone except for the poor working stiff who pays for the whole sorry show).

No-smoking policy

AS I walked into a business, a man smoking a cigarette was standing outside but nearly inside the sliding-door entrance. This is ridiculous. As someone who has severe asthma, I find it offensive that I can't walk into a store or sit in a restaurant and enjoy a meal without having to breathe someone else's cigarette smoke. I've heard that other states have or are coming close to banning smoking inside buildings altogether. I think for the health and safety of those who wish to not smoke and who are daily fighting a battle to breathe in the first place Cape Girardeau should implement a no-smoking policy in all buildings.

Dangerous trucks

I COULDN'T agree more with the person talking about the speeding trucks on Sprigg Street. They also routinely run the red lights on the Southern Expressway. I've almost been hit crossing at the West End Boulevard light several times. Is it going to take killing someone to get the police to do something about this?

Work opportunities

I WISH people would quit giving our young people a bad rap. The young people today don't have an opportunity to mow yards or deliver papers to make spending money. Retired people are doing these jobs to supplement their income. Young people can't learn job responsibility if they are not given the opportunity. I applaud those individuals who will look past the retiree to give a kid a chance. There are a couple of young men mowing and weeding yards in our neighborhood, and they do a great job.

Hold your judgment

WE SHOULD withhold judgment on our soldiers who are accused of killing unarmed women and children until all the facts are. Some of these Marines are on their third tour in Iraq. I support the mission but am ashamed that our policy for managing the war may have turned our guys into murderers.

Talent and Bush

AS U.S. Sen. Jim Talent kicks off his campaign, those who think Talent and George Bush have done a good job should vote for Talent. As one of Bush's most vigorous supporters, it is unsightly for Talent to distance himself from the president. If Talent made a mistake supporting the president, he should admit his mistake.

Cape's roses.

MY GRANDFATHER was one of the people who helped plant the very first rose bushes along the highway between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. I wasn't old enough to remember how they looked, but I'm told it was beautiful. I think it's a shame the roses were not kept up. It could have become a tradition for the family members of the first planters to care for the roses every year, a mixture of family and city history.

Proud Americans

CAROL DANIEL made excellent points in her op-ed column on the work ethic. I'd add only one thing: Let us all be Americans. Period. We should not be known by a color. Let us all speak English and honor our country or leave it.

Not the same country

WHAT COUNTRY are we living in? Our Founding Fathers would be disappointed with the outcome of the country today. It's not the United States anymore.

Kissing the hand

I'M TIRED of kissing the hand of Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Larry Bock so I can get my road paved. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones and Commissioner Jay Purcell are to be applauded for trying to create a transparent process so county residents know when their roads will be paved. If this first road plan is brought forward and approved and further road plans are done in the same manner, I would vote for the sales tax since my property tax is being reduced.

It's our money

THIS IS in answer to the people who are complaining about the Broadway improvements and the sales-tax holiday. The tax money the city going to give the property owners along Broadway is coming out of our pockets. So the city has to do away with the sales-tax holiday so it can give the money to the people on Broadway who want more money. Figure it out. It's our money.

Enforce beauty

KEEP SOUTHEAST Missouri Beautiful is a worthwhile organization, but Cape Girardeau should leap to the forefront and enact and enforce ordinances to keep junk accumulation under control. The next step entails residential and business property inspection rather than the citizens reporting offenses. We don't want Cape Girardeau to become a slumlord city.

Water park plan

HERE'S HOW I believe people in Cape Girardeau might even vote for a tax increase to build a water park. After it's paid for, the revenue from the tax increase would be given back in the form of tax reduction for the citizens. A water park would be a huge money-maker for Cape. Think of the businesses that would spring up around it. And let's build a big one. Cape is a medical center, educational center and shopping center. It could also be the water park center of Southeast Missouri.