SPEAKOUT

New soap opera?

COULD SOMEONE please enlighten me? I keep seeing the O.J. Simpson trial on the television. Is this actually a trial that's going on in California or is this a new soap opera called "The O.J. Simpson Trial"?

Against hunting farms

WOULD ANYBODY out there know if there are hunting farms in Missouri? On CBS, it came to our attention that there are farms in several states where older and surplus exotic animals from zoos and petting farms are sold off. The people then put these animals in fenced hunting areas. These animals were raised by man in captivity and cared for all their life. They have no fear of humans. These animals are put into fenced areas preventing them from fleeing to safety. Hunters are allowed to shoot these animals. Firearms or bows often allow for these animals to be first tormented and chewed by dogs, after which the heads and pelts of beautiful exotic animals are removed. This can in no way be termed hunting. It is controlled slaughter. Please, if this is going in Missouri, write to the proper officials and bring an end to this cruelty.

Question of age

I HAVE a question for all the pro-life fanatics out there. If in fact a fetus is a person, why then, explain to me, does a person's age begin at the day of their birth rather than at the day they're conceived?

New weather toy

I FEEL so much better now after reading Speak Out today. I thought for a while I was the only person that was laughing at this ridiculous weather reporting crew that KFVS has now. They have good, competent people doing the job, but the new toy they have with the filming the clouds and everything like that is driving me nuts. At the end of it I'm confused. I don't know what they're saying or what's happening, and you sure can't see it. Another thing, they need to have a marker put on Cape Girardeau so you can pick it up pretty fast before they skip off. At least they should tell where Cape Girardeau is on the map.

Flying is grounded

THANK YOU, KFVS. I'm just now watching the weather report. Thank you for not flying through the weather. That flying was getting on my nerves.

Gately's comments

ACCORDING TO page one of the March 7 Missourian, Councilman Gateley is against smoke alarms in boarding homes because "it's another infringement of our code, our rules and our government." Then on page 11, Mr. Gateley voices frustration over the amount of time it has taken to develop regulations to restrict adult businesses. I can only surmise from these two statements that Mr. Gateley does not care to protect tenants lives from a possible fire trap, but he'd rather impose his own rules of moral activity on adults who may differ with him and his ilk on what they may consider entertainment.

Take some pills

I'M NOT sure quite what the trouble is with the reports on the KFVS weather. I take a little Dramimine before the weather broadcast, and I seem to tolerate the queasiness quite well.

Rush is subversive

I JUST want to say how subversive I believe Rush Limbaugh's actions are regarding his lambasting of the president who is our leader in charge. I think it's disgusting that a person can get up on national TV or speak over the radio and just make so many derogatory remarks towards our commander-in-chief. I think he should be put in his place. Like I said, I believe he is a threat to national security.

RUSH LIMBAUGH is a disgrace to our country.

Jackson improvements

SOMEWHERE I seem to recall that Jackson received a grant to improve Greensferry Road. This was a couple of years ago. So far, the only changes we can see on Greensferry is much more traffic, many more houses being built and they are not taking care of problems that were phoned and called and put before the city council. For one thing, we have no water pressure if you live very far out. Come on, Jackson, get with. Make some improvements. Use the money you were given for that.

SS still not safe

THIS IS to all those ignorant people who think Social Security is safe because the balanced budget amendment failed. I really don't understand their logic. I guess they don't realize that at the present rate of government spending, Social Security will be touched. The trust fund will be broke within the next 20 years at the present rate. It's ludicrous to think that these people that we can just continue spending more than we earn. I can't do that. I'm sure my bank's manager would let me know if I went over my budget just one month, not to mention the last 30 years. And I might remind them that it was the Democrats who were in power and have been in power who first allowed to have a budget deficit. About 30 years ago, we never had budget deficit.

I'VE GOT a grand idea for eliminating our budget deficit. Why don't we just cut out foreign welfare? A few billion to Mexico here, a few billion to the Soviet Union there and oh, God, help us when they have a national disaster somewhere else in the world, we're the first ones on the scene. But when we had the San Francisco/Oakland area earthquake, I didn't see the other foreign countries jumping on the bandwagon to give us a hand. I think would go a long ways in cutting our budget deficit.

Lawyer complaints

IN RESPONSE to the call about being mistreated by a lawyer and a telephone number to call in complaints: Go ahead. I hope you'll have better luck than me. Don't forget you're calling lawyers to control other lawyers. It's a little scheme, it appears to me. I was done in by a lawyer, but it was a lawyer my family hired who did me out of my inheritance. This lawyer, I feel the other family members took advantage of a 90-year-old woman. I asked the bar association to investigate it. They gave me wonderful advice. They told me to pay a lawyer, which I couldn't afford to do.

Need ink advice

I WOULD like to know if there's anything that will take ball point pen out of cloth. I am having a problem.

Happy with police

I JUST want to call in and say how happy I am with our police department. They're doing a great job. I just happened to be around on one break-in to see how they work and everything and how happy they were when they caught the person. Also, their dog is great. I believe he enjoys catching somebody just as much as they do. They're doing a great job.