Speak Out 10/13/08

AIG's waste

AFTER AIG got $85 billion, I hear on the news that the Federal Reserve has agreed to give the company $37 billion more. The report went on to say AIG executives went on a big luxury vacation. When is this waste going to stop?

Need right-to-work

MISSOURI NEEDS a right-to-work law now. Look at Detroit, Pennsylvania, Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and Fenton, Mo. Missouri is avoided by lots of companies that go to Arkansas, Tennessee and the Carolinas. Call it what you want, but Missouri needs this.

Thanks, veterans

THANK YOU, all veterans, especially Vietnam veterans, for your dedication through the fight to keep our freedoms. This is one patriot who deeply apologizes for the disgrace and lack of compassion you have had to endure even as you fight to get your life back. God bless all of you.

Long wait

I HAVE waited hours in the emergency room. I was there twice in one week, and I can tell you that the wait is unbearable. If you're sick and hurting or bleeding, eight to 10 hours in an emergency room is way too long. Both hospitals need to do something. I hear where they say your wait will be only 30 to 45 minutes. That's ridiculous. That may be what it takes to get the paperwork filled out, but sitting in a crowded waiting room up to 10 hours to be seen and then it's another five or six hours to be treated. Maybe the hospital administration will try to be considerate.

Community respect

AS A Cape Girardeau resident, Southeast Missouri State University student and young mother, I would like to remind my fellow citizens about respect. I am speaking of respect for each person, the natural environment and the community as a whole. If we remember to respect these things, we also show respect for ourselves. I spend time outside every day with my 2-year-old daughter. I am tired of seeing litter, vandalism and theft. Our community is better than this. I want her to grow up with a sense of responsibility, pride and security. I can't do it alone. In order for her and your own children to do this, we need to set an example. Stop throwing litter in the streets. Stop spray painting our parks. Stop stealing from your neighbors. I am not asking you to donate your time to community service. I am not asking anything except for you to be respectful of your world and the people in it. In these hard economic times we must come together with a purpose. We can't make things better financially for one another. We can make them better aesthetically.