SPEAKOUT

Grasping at straws

I FAIL to understand one of the points being raised by the people opposing the school redistricting in Cape Girardeau. They keep saying that they are upset because this has all been pushed through and things have been done in too quick of a fashion. I knew where my children were going to go before I voted on the bond issue two years ago. This redistricting has been discussed and been public for over two years now, and they said at that time that there would probably fine tuning of the lines once it got closer to the opening of the new school. I don't understand how two years of planning and preparation and warning is shoving things through. These people seem to be grasping at straws. They're spoiled rotten. They don't want their children to move. This is silly. You don't buy a home assuming that it's going to stay in the same school district throughout all eternity. These people need to grow up, be reasonable and be gracious.

Not a very good effort

I JUST called the police department about a stray dog running loose. This dog has even bitten someone in the past, and that was reported to the police. It took the animal-control officer one hour and 5 minutes to come by. I told the police officer when I called that the dog was in the back yard. The animal control officer drove slowly down the street, past our house, turned around and came back by, never stopped, never got out, never investigated. I left my name and my address with the police officer when I reported the incident. I really don't consider this a very good job on the part of the animal-control officer. You don't find dogs driving up and down the street.

Killing to stop the killing

THIS IS typical Bill Clinton. If you don't stop the killing, we're going to kill you.

Logging trucks collide

WELL, IT finally happened. The logger trucks finally had a wreck. They have terrorized people going up and down Highway 61, getting right on your bumper, running through the lights on caution. By golly, I'm glad it was the two of them that hit each other and not some innocent person.

China fights religion

THE ROLE of the church in the fall of communism may not be clear to the western observers who think with secular myopia, but it is all too clear to Chinese government officials. As brutal practitioners of communism, they are perversely aware of the power of human spirituality and regard religion with deadly seriousness. In 1992, the Chinese press noted that the church played an important role in the change of eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and warned if China does not want to see such a scene be repeated in this land, it must strangle the baby while it's still in the manger. Underground church or house church leaders consistently report that the current government crackdown is prompted by religious events in the former Soviet bloc. Even Chinese government documents implementing the crackdown state that one of their purposes to is prevent the changes that occurred in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

How will we get out?

I WANT to comment about this war in Yugoslavia. All of a sudden, we're going to attack a sovereign nation to try to split away one of its regions. First of all, that is a religious war that's been going for thousands of years. Those Serbs have fought 100 German divisions and never got whipped. Now that we're there, how are we going to get out? We'll be in there like we are in Bosnia-Herzgovina. We've been in there five years, and it's cost us billions of dollars. The money should have gone to Social Security and to the children.

Cold-blooded murder

IT MAY be a shame. I haven't made up my mind as to whether I approve of Dr. Kevorkian's actions or not, but until the law is changed, Dr. Kevorkian is guilty of cold-blooded, premeditated murder. Too bad, that's show biz.

Jackson officials doing good job

I LIVE in Jackson. I think all the city officials are doing a great job. Keep up the good job. You are all great and doing a tremendous job.

Jackson needs experienced candidates

JACKSON RESIDENTS are very lucky to have someone like Chris Bowen running for alderman and also Don Harris. Our city needs someone with their experience and technical expertise.

Will carry a gun anyway

I'VE ENJOYED the pro and con debates regarding Proposition B. I'll vote yes, but if Proposition B fails, I'll carry a weapon anyway, concealed or otherwise. That's because I've got a God-given and Constitutional right to protect myself, loved ones and property, period, whether against hardened criminals, dumbed-down public school punks or federal, state or local government.

Poor reasoning on fee increase

IT'S NOT that I mind that Southeast Missouri State University is raising its tuition fees. It's the way they do it and the way they play students and alumni for fools in their reasoning. One of the most recent examples was the newspaper article featuring quotes from Ken Dobbins who said that the activity fee, which is included in the tuition fee, was going to be raised to help the university recoup some of its losses from giving students tickets. The implication was, of course, that by giving students tickets, it would displace seats that would normally be filled by paying customers. Anyone who attends very many Southeast Missouri athletic events knows this is a joke. If one percent of the tickets being given away to students were used, particularly in the case of football, those games would only be attended by about five hard-core SEMO boosters and the Southeast Missourian sports reporter. So, maybe the university should come up with some different reasoning. If the university is concerned about its loss of income from tickets, why not just put a price or raise the price on the tickets being given to the students? I'll answer that question. Because the university knows that if it charges for those tickets, students wouldn't pay for them. They're going to force students to pay for them by raising the activity fee.