OpinionMarch 3, 2010
Speak Out 3/3/10
LET me get this straight. A Missouri woman defrauds 179 farmers out of $27.4 million and pleads guilty to one count of mail fraud. I have a friend who was caught with four ounces of marijuana and was forced to plead guilty to seven felony counts of possession with intent to distribute. ...
Inequitable justice
LET me get this straight. A Missouri woman defrauds 179 farmers out of $27.4 million and pleads guilty to one count of mail fraud. I have a friend who was caught with four ounces of marijuana and was forced to plead guilty to seven felony counts of possession with intent to distribute. Does this seem fair? Maybe the editorials we read about drug laws and their unfairness are accurate. Something needs to change. That woman deserves prison time. Many of these young people with drug convictions do not.
Tax free?
MISSOURI is having an Energy Star tax-free holiday in April. It appears that local jurisdictions must opt-in to allow this. Will Cape Girardeau allow the tax-free Energy Star appliance holiday, or will we have to go elsewhere to make our major appliance purchases?
Dropout dilemma
THE United Way is one of the most respected organizations in our area. It has access to research and studies that target high school dropout rates. Why in the world is the information coming from this United Way committee so general and so discouraging for those of us struggling to get the percentages up? A lot of phrases and words do not reflect the actions taken by other schools that have been successful with similar demographics. It's not rocket science. We spin our wheels doing the current flavor of the year as dictated by the central office instead of sound teaching. The United Way program will target eighth-graders. By that time the decision to drop out has already been made, and we all know this. To have the United Way going down the same trail is sad, a waste of time and, unfortunately, a waste of our donations.
No casino
THE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said an emphatic no to a riverfront casino in Cape Girardeau. The navigation channel comes too close to the bank on the Missouri side, so there's no safe place to put it. It wouldn't be a matter of "if" a disaster would strike. It would be a matter of "when." And you can forget about one in East Cape Girardeau also. There's no way Illinois is going to put another casino only 60 miles away from an already established one where revenue has been falling.
Democratic courage
KUDOS to the Democrats for their apparent courage to pass a comprehensive but evidently unpopular health care bill. It may not happen and it may be a while, but when I hear Democratic leaders say they are not in Washington to perpetuate their careers but to do what they believe is right for the American people, it makes me swell with pride and think there is hope that the 21st century can be another American one.
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Quake construction
IT appears that we are in a time of earthquakes. Southeast Missouri always has earthquakes, and that is good. As long as we have small earthquakes, it is less likely that we will have the big one. My challenge to the Southeast Missourian is to publish some stories about how we should build earthquake-resistant homes near the New Madrid fault. Should we build with reinforced concrete, or would it be better to build a frame house? Can we use bricks, or are they always prone to fail? Is it better to build on limestone bedrock or on the sands of Sikeston?
Criminal reform
I have a son who has been in the penal system off and on since he was 16 years old. A few weeks ago he and his girlfriend stole a car and some money, went south and got themselves shot up. He's back in the penal system. We need reform. We need to do something besides put these ingrates right back in. Put them in a mental hospital. That would be a good place.
Health arbitration
SINCE lawyers are so adamantly opposed to tort reform, the state medical society could set up an arbitration panel to hear claims against medical providers for damages. This panel would hear and adjudicate all such claims. Before any patient could see a medical provider, they would have to sign a form agreeing to binding arbitration and forgoing the right to sue the provider in court. This form could also limit the amounts of compensation for pain and suffering as well as for punitive damages. A costly court trial with all the theatrics could be avoided. If amounts are controlled, doctors would practice less defensive medicine, thus lowering costs.
Reduce government
THE most common theme among small-government advocates is "cut all programs that I don't use."
Broadway speeding
I was driving on Broadway where the speed limit is 25 mph. At least five cars went flying around me. A police car was sitting right there. Why didn't he do anything? At the stoplight where I was turning left a woman on her cell phone ran a red light and would have hit me if I hadn't slammed on my breaks. I am a 16-year-old girl who is tired of people riding my bumper when I am going the speed limit.
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