Speak Out 10/23/08

Missing the big one

To all cell-phone addicts: I feel sorry for you. The trumpet of the Lord is going to blow to announce the Second Coming, and you are going to miss it because you had you phone stuck in your ear.

Speeding bus

I was surprised as I was driving to work this morning to see a school bus passing by so many cars on U.S. 61 between Highway 177 and Interstate 55. I was driving the speed limit of 45 mph as was most of the other traffic while I watched the bus pass us at what must have been at least 55 mph. I am glad I don't have a child riding that bus.

Marxist movement

David Limbaugh and Mike Jensen need to look up the "Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto" written by Karl Marx in 1848. We just jumped onto one more plank by centralizing the means of credit in the hands of a national bank. Both of our political parties are falling directly into the Marxist trap, but the Democrats are just faster to move toward Marxism. Republicans are moving slowly toward Marxism. It is interesting to note that in the time of Marx, socialism and communism meant almost the same thing. We need to reject the failure of Marxist economies around the world and move back to the free market.

Casino impact

FOR THOSE of you who want a casino in town, I invite you to take a look at the bingo venues in the area. Watch when they let out and multiply what you see by 24 hours a day, seven days a week times 10 and you'll get a good look at what a casino will be like in town.

Chinese workers

I KNOW times are bad with the economy, but it is true every cloud has a silver lining. I was reading how, because American consumers are not buying their cheap goods, Chinese factories are closing. To all those cheap Chinese laborers who spent the last 10 years stealing jobs from the American factory workers and are losing their jobs this time around. I have only two words to say: Ha ha.

Those endorsements

JON RUST'S endorsement of Rock Finch for county commissioner would carry more weight had he deferred judgment on his overly enthusiastic endorsement of what has turned out to be the disastrous candidacy of Sarah Palin.

Hard-core base

I RESPECT Joe Sullivan's ability to have his pulse on the psyche of the American public but strongly disagree with his assertion, "We are, it turns out, a nation that chooses by deciding which candidate is worse and voting for the other guy." Joe should, as I do, defer to the honorable heretofore Republican Gen. Colin Powell, who recently said we have two good candidates for president, admitted there was justifiable enthusiasm for both, but said that on balance Barack Obama is the better choice. Joe, I think this is proof positive that you've been hanging around with and are too much influenced by those relatively few who make up the hard-core Republican base and are now those stereotypical angry Americans, bitterly clinging to their guns and religion.

Kind ghosts

I WOULD like to thank the people who were working Friday night at the Haunted Train Car in Jackson. My daughter became upset and started crying during the tour. Everyone stopped what they were doing and took off their masks to show her that they were just ordinary people. They told her that if she came back and wanted to go on a train ride at a later date that she could even tour the engine. Thank you so much for your kindness and understanding.

Explanation needed

JON RUST'S rather cavalier description of Jay Purcell as suffering from paranoia is stunning. Paranoia is a serious psychotic illness, often associated with schizophrenia. Thus, Rust is apparently characterizing Purcell as someone who not only wrongly thinks people are out to persecute him but also most likely has confused thought processes, suffers from serious delusions and so forth. If Rust is right, Purcell is in need of psychiatric intervention. If Rust is wrong, one can only conclude Rust has been reduced to relying on tactics common to the old Soviet Union, erroneously declaring opponents of the status quo mentally ill and consigning them against their will to state run psychiatric facilities. Ironically, if Purcell is sane, his "paranoid" belief that people like Rust are out to get him would be correct. Rust has some explaining to do, to Purcell and to the public.

Reading concerns

MEADOW HEIGHTS parents who have children in junior high have a real concern about what their children are learning in reading. There is a problem when 80 percent of the children in the communication arts class failed. This puts up a red flag to me, and it should to administrators. Most parents had the same feeling after parent-teacher conferences. There is no concern over the reason why so many failed. We voted to pay more taxes to update the building. Now we want teachers who are more concerned for our children and the final outcome of their education.

Pretty fair

THIS IS regarding the person who said the Southeast Missourian is getting too liberal. Are you reading the same paper I am? This paper has a column by David Limbaugh, who I don't think could ever be referred to as liberal. To me the Southeast Missourian is pretty fair to both sides, with a slight lean to the right. It sounds like you only want the conservative message told in our paper. That's not balanced.

Not directing traffic

AS I left the Taste of Home Cooking Show at the Osage Community Centre, the traffic was horrific. Common decency is out the window when nobody lets anybody else exit the parking lot. Every other car is what people should be doing. but when I finally got to turn onto Kingshighway, there were two Cape Girardeau police officers in the Rhodes parking lot. What harm would it have done for them to direct traffic to make the exit a more timely effort? But instead they were spending our taxpayer dollars in a parking lot on North Kingshighway having a little chit-chat with each other. Thank you, Cape Girardeau city police, for spending my tax dollars so wisely.