Speak Out 6/10/11

Palin and the plumber

SARAH Palin thrives on being the center of attention, but does she have the brains to follow through? Maybe she'll get Joe the plumber to run for VP.

Bug swallowing

TO the person who keeps swallowing gnats and bugs: If you keep your mouth shut, then you won't have a problem.

Enhancing the U.S.

FOREIGN aid has generally been a real American success story and has been sent to countries so as to enhance, not detract from, the national security interests of the United States.

Importance of winning

I just sat through another baseball game for my 13-year-old son. There are 16 boys on the team, and seven of them play the whole game. That leaves the other seven boys filling the other two slots for one or two innings per game. The coach made the comment last night that he was going to continue to play his good players. This only humiliates the seven boys who sit on the bench constantly. Is winning all that is important anymore? My son happens to be one of the seven boys.

Bugs in perspective

I, too, am annoyed by those pesky gnats this summer. I wonder if the people in Joplin and Tuscaloosa notice them.

Oil boarding

BACK in February, the media stated that our economy was showing signs of recovery. Then despite no significant changes in oil production or consumption, the price of oil jumped to create $4 gas. As the economy begins to show signs of weakening from this, the oil companies decided to let us up for air. I have a name for this. I call it, "oil boarding."

Other possibilities

WHY doesn't the city look into the suggestions other than Bloomfield Road and explain to the people why we're not giving them some thought? This road is worth saving, and the people are worth listening to.

Obama, do something

I'M listening to Fox News Saturday morning, hearing Obama do some talking while he's at the Chrysler plant. I'm thinking what that guy says most of the time is pathetic. He thinks up excuses, it's always somebody else's fault. I don't know when he's ever going to start doing something himself. He didn't do anything when he was a senator, and evidently he's not going to do anything while he's president but talk and travel.

Great picnic

THE Cape County Board for Developmental Disabilities should be recognized and recommended for the refreshing change it is providing for our children and loved ones who daily bravely battle to overcome their challenges in life. Our family attended an old-fashioned country picnic hosted by the board Saturday, and a great time and fun was had by all. Next week, we all go bowling. Come out and join in the fun. You will not be disappointed.

Care is different

DON'T let congressional Republicans fool you one bit. Couponcare is not Medicare.

Say again?

THOUGH used in an ordinance passed by the Cape Girardeau City Council, the phrase "nuisance party" is an oxymoron.

Talking and doing

SHAKESPEARE said, "Talkers are not good doers." If Shakespeare was around today, I wonder if he would include in the category of talkers those who call Speak Out.

No answers

SO President Obama tells us that we have hit an economic bump in the road, and he spins for us yet another of his "car" analogies; now he has brought in the Jeep Wrangler and its off-road capabilities to further his analogy. When is he going to pull his head out of the sand and actually do something to help the economy? After almost three years of his administration, he is still just making excuses. When he was running for office, he convinced all of his faithful followers that he had all the answers. Now that he is the president, we have seen that he has no answers at all.

Arab Spring

COLUMNIST Cal Thomas would like us to believe the so-called Arab Spring will turn into a nightmare because the people there have little interest in representative democracy and a civil society. Thomas is wrong because he is one of those anti-Obama oafs who wishes nothing positive for the interests of the U.S. under the Obama administration and sees a usually nonexistent, liberty-threatening radical Islamist lurking around every corner. Our rapidly changing world has passed Thomas by.

Transparency tools

WE live in a time of unprecedented transparency; embrace it. Those people charged with protecting and serving the public should be held accountable to a new standard. It's not easy to skirt the media and lie to the public. Use every tool we have to learn more and expect more of our government officials. If police abuse someone, record it. If government officials are racist, bigoted, lying, etc., record it. Expose these people and fight back with a simple email to a representative, camera phone video or any one of the myriad tools we have now.