SPEAKOUT

We deserve a record of presidency

I THINK Donn Miller in his letter to the editor is fussing at the wrong person. If Clinton had not been wrong, there would be no reason for Linda Tripp. If someone tells you something, I would assume it's between two people who are friendly with each other, I don't know what would be wrong with taping it. We videotape each other. We take pictures. Maybe the other person is unaware you are snapping a picture. With this tape, Tripp made something Mr. Clinton cannot lie his way out of. We are unsure of what happened in the Whitewater scandal. There are many other scandals concerning Clinton, and with this one, we know what this story is. We do know that Clinton tried to get Monica Lewinsky to not tell, so now we have this on tape. I think America deserves a record of what kind of president we have in office.

Air show was wonderful

THE CAPE Girardeau air show was wonderful. The sheer power of the F-18s is just amazing when they kick in the afterburners. The little BB5 jet was wonderful in its acrobatics. I noticed it didn't tumble at all. And then the Ram jet, a pickup truck that can run 330 mph and outfly the airplanes. Just amazing.

Dad milked on the same side of the cow ...

I WANT to reply about the article that said Mr. Gateley was milking the cow on the wrong side. Then my dad milked on the wrong side all his life, because he milked on the same side Mr. Gateley did. Frankly, I think it must be a preference thing, I don't think there is any wrong or right side to milk a cow.

... And what difference does it make?

IF COUNCILMAN Melvin Gateley was milking the cow on the wrong side or the right side, what difference does it make?

There's no right or wrong side

I HAVE to laugh about the Speak Out on Melvin Gateley milking the cow on the wrong side. We milk over 200 head, and I am sorry to say that there is no wrong side or right side. You can milk them from either the left or the right. It's just the milker's preference.

Kinder is wrong on "liberal media"

AFTER READING Peter Kinder's commentary, it reminds me of a story my very wise grandfather used to tell me about life when I was growing up on the farm here in Missouri. It was about the cat watching the wrong mouse hole. Liberal media? Give me a break. Take Steve Forbes, this 1996 GOP presidential wannabe. Despite inheriting a multimillion-dollar media conglomerate and having his own liberal-bashing column in his magazine, Forbes still cries a river about being mistreated by the old standby, the liberal media. During the 1996 campaign, Bob Dole went around grouching about the liberal media and said not to read that stuff, even though he had been endorsed by two-thirds of the nation's newspapers and still lost the election. I thought Kinder was our state senator, representing all the people in this district. Why has he stooped so low as to name-call his constituents that call Speak Out? Once again, he wants to polarize our community. For instance, if you believe that way, you are a lousy liberal Democrat, and if you believe my way, you are a great law-abiding Republican. Why is it that when a Speak Out caller calls in and points out a different viewpoint or opinion, Kinder calls them an "elite liberal critic." And then when a Speak Out caller flatters Kinder, he praises their comments. This doesn't sound like a state senator I want to represent all the people in the district.

Don't try milking from the inside

THE QUESTION: Is there a right side or a wrong side to milk a cow? There definitely is. Ask anyone who grew up in the country and they can tell you. The main purpose is to milk from the outside.

Kinder's tactics are like the liberal media

IN HIS column, Peter Kinder makes disparaging comments about the elite media liberal critics and those anonymous Speak Out critics. Since he is assistant to the president of Rust Communications, can't he easily delete those critics from his newspaper? And by the way, perhaps he should check his facts on the Alabama primary before he writes a column about it. I see no difference in his tactics and those elite media liberal critics he condemns.

REPLY: No, Peter Kinder -- nor anyone else -- can delete Speak Out comments just because they are critical. Speak Out continues to offer an open forum for comments from everyone, regardless of viewpoint. Is every Speak Out comment published? No. Some are repetitious. Some are unintelligible. Some are indecent. But those that are published clearly represent a variety of views, which is the way it should be.

You can tell who your real friends are

MY MOTHER and father always told me that when you are going through tough times you will find out who your real friends are. Real friends will stick by and support you regardless of the circumstances of the problems. Your other supposed friends will ignore, judge, ridicule and gossip about you and are not now or never have been your real friend. They are not worth messing with. How true.

The real reason doctors are Republicans

I'M CALLING in response to the Speak Out caller who said doctors chose to be Republicans because they are intelligent and insulting someone else because they are Democrat, implying that they are not intelligent. I think the reason doctors choose to be Republican is because they are greedy about their money. They want to keep all their money, and that is why they become Republicans. The Republican Party is the party of big money and exclusionism.