Speak Out 6/7/06

Water issues

WITH ALL of the activity in Southeast Missouri concerning ethanol and biodiesel plants, it seems to me that once the farmers put their irrigation wells down and start sucking water out of the ground that pretty soon there won't be any water in the ground. Kinder-Morgan Power Co. tried to build a big plant in the area. There was a big furor because of the water. The same thing can happen with this ethanol and biodiesel craze that's going around.

Be consistent

I HOPE the school that censored the word "Bible" from a recent performance of "Joseph, and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" is consistent in its anti-religion bias. It should also censor "under God" from the pledge of allegiance and any reference to deity in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

Spruce up storefronts

I DROVE down Broadway from West End Boulevard to Main Street for the first time in a year. What a shock. How about using a broom and window cleaner on the storefronts? That's not the way Cape Girardeau lives. Broadway always had clean storefronts to bring in the business.

Fear of molesters

REGARDING SIDEWALKS around schools, let's be honest. Most parents bring their children to school because of the fear of child molesters.

Anti-small business

IF THE new sign ordinance is not anti-small business, I don't know what is. If every business could afford to put up a $10,000 sign board, think of the clutter there would be in Cape Girardeau. Obviously many businesses -- along Broadway and Main Street, for example -- do not have that possibility. Examining the recent city council actions leaves me no other conclusion except the city council is anti-small business.

Safer Mount Auburn

THANK YOU to the Cape Girardeau police officers who have been ticketing speeders on Mount Auburn Road. Your efforts have made traveling on that road much safer.

True heroes

I HAVE tried to imagine living in a society where oppression is normal and death is considered honorable and even desired when killing someone who is considered an enemy, a place where women and children think it honorable to shield their men. Since I have never endured it, I find it abhorrent that any society would devalue life in such a way. Yet we see it and have failed to appreciate that this would be a tactic used against us. Why should we be surprised to have accusations thrown at our soldiers? Yet worse, why would our own officials be so quick to accuse them and call them murderers? If someone chose to be killed in such a manner, would that not be the same as a person using a policeman to commit suicide? Before you join a bandwagon calling our soldiers murderers, consider the tactics this enemy is using and stop, stand back and wait. Our soldiers are true heroes. Don't lose sight of that.

Roses slogan

I AGREE with the person who wants to change Cape Girardeau's slogan back to "The City of Roses." It is a beautiful name, and when you hear it you think of a beautiful city. Why on earth the out-of-town consulting firm was paid such a large sum of money for such an asinine slogan as "Where the River Turns a Thousand Tales" is beyond me. We should have been allowed to vote on this. I would vote we change it back immediately.

Right to have sale

WE HAVE fairs, rodeos and other events that cause many problems and are dangerous. I believe we have the right to have the 100-Mile Yard Sale. Stop complaining about it being dangerous. Slow down, pay attention and yield to pedestrians and slow drivers.

Biblical numbers

THE STORY about the woman who is doing everything she can to avoid her child being born on June 6 illustrates how people can take anything too far. The birth date of the child will not be 666. It will be 6606. Also, scholars agree that the original translators of the Bible misinterpreted the numerical system the text was originally written in. The number of the beast is actually 616.

Amendment quandary

AS A conservative, I am against amending the U.S. Constitution over social issues. I am sure a lot of people agree with me that the federal government has no business interfering in the personal lives of individuals. I am also against granting special rights to any one group of people. A constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage would do just that, making marriage a special right that is granted to some, but not to all Americans. Governments are instituted to protect and defend our rights, not to hand them out and take them away when the political tide shifts. The proposed marriage amendment would contradict the First Amendment, which says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." To ban churches from performing a certain ceremony would violate that protection. Banning couples from taking part in a religious ceremony because of their sexual orientation sure is a violation of their right to free exercise.

Patients come first

IF YOUR physician is talking to drug reps and causing you to be late to your scheduled appointment, protest with your feet. Notify the desk that you must cancel your appointment because of time constraints. Physicians should learn that their patient's time is valuable and that perks from the drug companies cannot replace patients.