Speak Out 5/26/09

Cycling issues

BICYCLES have been allowed on the roadways since before there were cars. That was when the roads were no more than paths ground out by daily travel. After the automobile was invented, the bicycles on the roadway issue was tackled even then. It was determined that bicycles were to be considered automobiles and have the same rights as those traveling in a horseless buggy. The issue has been addressed more and more in recent years, and still cyclists are defending ourselves. Yes, bicycles are still considered automobiles and have all the same rights as those driving cars on the roads, and we can take up the entire lane of traffic if needed. As such, we are required to follow all the same traffic laws as automobiles, which most of us do. I agree there are those who blow through traffic signals, cut people off, make left turns across traffic. Having said that, on a daily basis I see people driving cars, speeding, blowing through red lights, cutting people off, making left turns in front of me at intersections and various other traffic violations. What makes this any less offensive than when a cyclist does it? In town many times a "cyclist" can travel the speed limit on most streets. I find it humorous that I can be traveling 30 mph in the 25 mph area of Broadway and have a constant row of traffic passing me.

Great leader

THANK you, Dr. Andrew Rogers, for being such a great leader in our Jackson schools. Good luck and thanks for your service and your son's service to our country and our schools.

Wasted vote

I voted against hypocrisy and lost. I voted against higher taxes and lost. I voted against abortion and lost. I voted for change, and that's what I have left. I listened to rhetoric instead of common sense and voted Democratic, but I won't be fooled twice.

Positive effect

A wicked person is deluded by a false happiness. He is devoid of the emotion one feels when goodness is exchanged in social interaction. A hermit, likewise, doesn't realize that something may be lacking in his life without receiving and giving. When others are selfless and show goodness by giving, they have a positive effect on a person.

Traveling homeless

A homeless shelter would benefit the homeless people of Cape Girardeau. However, homeless people have their own network, and many of them travel from city to city. There would be all kinds of people in Cape Girardeau.

Take a look

HAS anyone who supports the idea of using the old federal building as a homeless shelter ever been inside the building? Have they ever been downtown outside of driving through? Have they ever been exposed to large homeless shelters in other cities to see what happens to those areas, which almost always deteriorate due to the shelters? Have they ever seen any statistics regarding the numbers of homeless who have been "rehabilitated" to the point of being independent due to their stay in a shelter? Have they ever spotted any of these hundreds of homeless people living in cardboard boxes and eating out of trash bins in the Cape Girardeau area?

Homeless concerns

ABOUT the homeless shelter in the old federal building: I agree with the mayor when he said "If you build it, they will come." The size of the federal building is more than is needed for the number of homeless people in Cape Girardeau. It would become a magnet for other cities to send their homeless people here, and it would attract transient people to the area. Businesses and churches have spent a lot of money to upgrade the area. We are in the middle of a project to clean up and refurbish the blighted areas on Broadway and Main Street to keep the downtown area a viable place for people to come and visit. Do homeless people need a place to go? Yes. Do homeless people necessarily cause an area's property values to drop? No. Are homeless people necessarily criminals? No, but the fact is some are, and a homeless shelter would attract all types of homeless people. No one could control this. I would not want to go to a business in that area and be afraid someone might attack me. If the Rev. Larry Rice has money to sue the city or the federal government if his request for the federal building is turned down as a homeless shelter, why doesn't he use his money to help the existing establishments that help the homeless?

Local homeless

SPEAK Out has a lot of comments about the debate over Larry Rice wanting to have a homeless shelter downtown. How many homeless people are there in Cape Girardeau? I know there are a lot of people who don't have much money, but I want to know exactly who would be housed in the shelter. We deserve to have that information before we have any more debates. It's one thing to take care of the people in your town. It's another thing to contemplate building a homeless shelter to take in people from the surrounding area.

Role of women

WOMEN have a very important role in society. Feminists have brought about a certain enlightenment to the modern male. He no longer has to be all masculine in attitude and behavior. The dominance of the male over the female is certainly unjust and a detriment to her growth as a person. Her desire to better herself through education should be applauded. Buddha said women are goddesses. In politics, her views are necessary to bring about a type of harmony to life. She brings life into the world. Mothers have the most important job of all. She endures. She is strong. She deserves respect. She is a half of a wholeness not possible without her.

Homeless and trash

I would like to make a comment on having a homeless shelter in the old federal building on Broadway. I would think that would fit in just great. Driving down Broadway and seeing trash all the time, weeds and grass growing up curbs and sidewalks, it would feel like they were at home.

Bidding process

I just finished reading the article about the Shawnee Park bid. With that much money on the table, where was the city oversight during the bidding? Perhaps the city should re-examine its procedures. Not only has the city lost out, but so have the taxpayers and the contractors who spent days putting their bids together. Perhaps the mayor and the city council should take a hard look at how this was handled from the beginning to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Get some exercise

ON the whole, we use our brains in complex, difficult and exhausting work each and every day. A sedentary lifestyle without strenuous physical activity renders us ill. Psychosis and neurosis can be greatly diminished by exercise and meditation. We have a physical body that is created to facilitate movement. One ignorant of reality will laugh when he is told that the more exercise you get, the more energy you will possess. Americans are lazy. Don't dread exercise. Demand it. Consider practicing meditation. It is beneficial and effective in relieving stress. There are no hangovers or side effects.

Shelter alternatives

I agree, we need a shelter for the homeless people in Cape Girardeau, but not on Broadway. How about the Washington School or May Greene School or the Womacks drugstore building, somewhere like that?