Speak Out 6/28/11

Blaming kids?

MR. Rediger, I cannot believe you have proved to be so out of touch with what is going on in Cape Girardeau. You blame the cigarette butts on kids. I hate to tell you, but I see more adults smoking than kids. Kids can't get a job today in this town and can't afford the cigarettes to begin with probably. If you're going to make statements like this, it would really help your credibility if you could back it up with some sort of proof.

Where will it stop?

NOW that we have pictures on cigarette packages showing the results of smoking, why not put pictures of battered spouses and children or pictures of wrecks caused by drunken drivers on alcohol containers? While we are at it, why not put pictures on fast-food wrappers showing the results of eating these items? A picture of an obese person or a person injecting themselves with insulin would do it. Wouldn't it be easier to ban tobacco? No, that won't work. The government wants the tax revenue. Where will it stop?

Jensen column

MIKE Jensen has recently taken to offering brilliant solutions to our economic woes followed by the minor stipulation that they can't be implemented.

Faculty meetings

I was talking to a retired teacher the other day. I asked her the things she considered most exciting in her many years of teaching. She replied, quite succinctly, "Short faculty meetings."

Budget talks

REPUBLICANS walk out of budget talks. It goes to show you they are not interested in helping America. They are only interested in helping themselves and their rich friends. The American people want the rich to go back to paying the taxes that they were paying before Bush gave them all the tax cuts.

Letter People

THE good news is that a Speak Out caller exaggerated when he or she said that a group of A-Z Letter People, popular with an area elementary school district, had been "exterminated." The bad news is that until the issue of whether they will be used in the classroom again is resolved, they are being housed in a Gitmo-like storage facility.

Clean up

TO the city of Cape Girardeau, don't be scared to go to the south end of Cape Girardeau and tell people to clean up their yards. They are citizens, too.

Saggy pants

WEARING your pants down to your ankles is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. Have some respect for those who actually wear pants that fit. If you can't find clothes that fit, the Salvation Army can help you get some that fit.

Partisan politics

THANKS to Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell for his shocking honesty in admitting that Republicans often oppose President Obama for the sole reason that he is not a Republican. Talk about putting partisanship ahead of country. Wow.

Jobs created

LOOK at the number of jobs being lost during the last years of the Bush administration and the number being gained since President Obama took over and it becomes apparent that DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is absolutely correct in her assertion that President Obama did (with a lot of work remaining to be done, including combating Republican political leaders who want to sabotage the economy for political gain) turn the economy around.

Obama's ranking

IT still depends on how he does during his second term, but I think President Obama will eventually be seen to rank in America's top five greatest presidents.

In the middle

STUCK in the middle again. According to a Kiplinger's online article, Missouri does not rank in the top 10 most unfriendly tax states for seniors. Of course, as you might expect, Missouri didn't rank in the top 10 friendliest, either.

Inheritance tax

MIKE Jensen was correct in claiming that far too many people in this country have an entitlement mentality. That's why I favor a near 100 percent inheritance tax. I've seen so many lives ruined because big inheritances have led the recipients to lead lives of decadence and dissipation.

Real arsonists?

AN arsonist or maybe a group of arsonists have been burning down privately owned homes in Cairo for the last few years. Notice that they have not burned down any government-owned housing. But the Corps of Engineers destroyed twice as many privately owned homes in one day. Who is the real arsonist?

FEMA relief

THE rich and millionaires don't have to worry about building their homes back, or even finding money to do it with. Not like the poor people who are going through these floods and tornadoes. They just sit back and rake in the cash with their unearned tax breaks. FEMA doesn't help a lot of the people who have these losses from the floods and tornadoes.