SPEAKOUT

WHEN HITLER FIRST invaded Poland, many U.S. citizens were against involvement. The U.S. stayed out of it and Hitler obtained control of most of Europe and North Africa. If it wasn't for his mistake of opening a second front with the U.S.S.R., and for the Japanese forcing our hand into it when they did, he may not have been defeated before achieving atomic capabilities. Hussein wants to control the Middle East. Many Arab countries have populations which support him. If Hussein had control of or the backing of all these oil-rich territories, he would obtain an even greater military force and nuclear weapons. You can tame a wild grizzly bear when he's a cub or wait until he's full grown and let him devour you. Thank you.

IT ALWAYS AMAZES me. People say Americans fight for freedom, freedom to believe what you want, freedom to think what you want to think and what you want to say. But as soon as you say something they don't like or believe differently, they immediately tell you to shut up or throw you out of the country. How hypocritical.

I WISH TO thank KFVS for telling all the people in Saudi Arabia about the people in Illinois who are so happy about making the Patriot. I just hope that they don't come under any kind of terrorist attack now. Thank you very much.

IF IT'S TRUE the Iraqis set the oil fields of Kuwait on fire, perhaps they will asphyxiate and gas themselves out. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Thank you.

DUE TO THE public's continuing concern of rising health-care costs, I am wondering who will absorb the cost of operating Southeast Hospital's LifeBeat assistance in searching for a fugitive in the city of Cape Girardeau. Is it right that the whole flight crew flew along with them while being paid an hourly wage by the hospital? May I ask who is going to take responsibility for all of this? Thank you.

A Southeast Missouri Hospital spokesperson said the hospital provided the LifeBeat helicopter as a community service. She said the crew is required to remain with the helicopter at all times so that, in the event of a medical emergency, response is immediate. Had it been dispatched to an emergency, the helicopter would have left the search site and gone to where it was needed, she said.

PLEASE, ALL YOU people out there who think that Cruzan's parents did wrong for pulling the feeding tube from their daughter, I am on their side. Put yourself in their shoes. After all, they say this is a free country, but it's not anymore when people butt into other people's lives. Thank you.

IN GARY'S RUSTLING column he quoted Ross Perot, saying: If you see a snake just kill it. Don't appoint a committee on snakes, which was very, very good. I've always considered myself a peaceful person minding my own business, but I have to admit I was more concerned during the last four months of 1990 about the projected earthquake than about the plight of Kuwait. But as a Christian, I realize we cannot turn our backs on anyone in trouble. Also, we are jeopardizing our own safety here in the United States when we let this man Saddam oppress the weak. Those of us who are now senior citizens well remember how the small countries in Europe begged for help when Hitler moved into their land with his slaughtering troops. And the big countries turned their backs. Also in Gary's Rustling column, he had two quotes from generals in two different wars that we would be wise to consider. The first from Ulysses S. Grant and the other from George S. Patton.

I'M CALLING in regard to the new Division I stipulations for being a large college. I don't understand how SEMO can be a large school when you're supposed to offer seven men's and women's sports. If you could, could you possibly list the seven sports for each?

Southeast Missouri State University will begin offering seven sports for both men and women when the school becomes a Division I member next year. The seven for men are football, basketball, baseball, track and field, cross country, golf and tennis. The seven for women are basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, track and field, cross country, tennis and softball. Tennis and golf are being added next year.

FIRST, I WANT to say how proud I am of our youth here in Cape and others who showed their support and love for our troops in the Desert Shield conflict. The marchers and the ceremony at the university were very impressive. Although I'm a senior citizen, I would be happy to show my love and support in this way if there was a planned march and I knew about it. Second, to the dissenters, flag-burners, those marchers speaking hate: In years to come you will be very ashamed for your part in this demonstration. I realize someone went along with this for the ride, so to speak, and our media has given them a lot of publicity and being on TV is exciting. Thanks, again to our young people here in Cape who are not drawn into this but are repulsed by the demonstrations. Our deepest admiration to the group of young people in Des Moines, Iowa, who had the courage to counter-attack the anti-troop marcher with flags and slogans and heads held high.

AFTER WATCHING CHARLES Kuralt's program on Sunday, I am convinced that next to the majority of peace demonstrators, the TV reporters are our worst enemies in the war. They were crying about the fact that they have to have an escort when visiting the troops and cannot get the information they want to hear. This to me is a reverse form of censorship. A commercial came on between segments of the show, and two men in a business office were talking about their business doing so good. One man asked, Do we go on TV with this? The other replied, Why would we go on TV and tell our competitors exactly how to do it?

I REALLY ENJOY Peter Kinder's columns. It's always good for my laugh for the day. It's so amusing how he blames the Democrats for everything and totally ignores the mistakes of the Republicans, especially the mistakes of the last two administrations. I look forward to his column to see what new thing he blames the Democrats for. Thanks again.

AFTER WATCHING TV and reading the paper about family members in the war in the Persian Gulf, I recall that my dad, from being gassed in World War I in France, died, and I was 7 and one of eight small kids. Then my mother watched four of her brothers and three sons go to World War II at one time, and all of that put her to an early death. Luckily the guys all came back alive. Thank you.

I DON'T KNOW WHO it is that has it in for Dan Rather I don't know whether they are jealous of his education, the way he can speak or what it is but I think he's a fine man and he's been through a lot. They're always saying something about him. Thank you.

I REALLY GET upset when I see all these demonstrations on television against the war. I wonder if the media realizes what kind of message they're sending to our troops overseas or into Iraq, or if they even care. Thank you.

THIS IS IN response to a Public Mind letter by Robert Krieger in the Thursday morning Southeast Missourian. Mr. Krieger misses the whole point that Trudeau was trying to get across here. The point was not that he was showing a topless woman; the point was that he was depicting the censorship that has been thrown upon our boys in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis want us there to protect them but they want to impose their petty little laws, and that's going just a little far as far as Mr. Trudeau's concerned. It has nothing to do with the Beetle Bailey incident. It's a whole different incident and Mr. Krieger misses that point entirely. Thank you.

I READ THAT whole article about Gen. McKee, but I never did see where he's living now. Was he here visiting or was he interviewed by telephone or was it just copied from an article in another paper?

The interview was conducted by telephone from Rancho Mirage, Calif., where Gen. McKee now lives in retirement.

I'M WATCHING THE Oprah show and I'm just hearing a bunch of whimpering people crying about their sons and daughters being over in Saudi Arabia. I was in the Korean war and I say quit crying around and have faith in God and pray, because my mother continuously prayed for me and I came back safely. If we don't protect those people over there and run out dictators in other countries, they'll soon be over here and completely destroy what we have got. I would like to tell people to have faith in God because he's the answer. Besides that, the young men and women joined the Army and they have been taught on a high scale. I was a platoon leader myself and trained a 60-man platoon They were very well trained and knew what to expect in a war if a war breaks. That's what the Army is for. This is not a free ride. Have faith in God, quit whimpering around, crying around and laying it all on the president's shoulders because he is protecting the United States. They know more about what's going on over there than we do.

I WAS JUST DRIVING Broadway and I noticed how good the insurance agency right behind Burger King, with its huge American flag with a beautiful yellow ribbon on it, looks. I just wanted to let the rest of the town know and how I felt about that. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to comment about something that perhaps the younger generation doesn't understand. It's about why a lot of people who are middle-age and went to Vietnam boycott Jane Fonda movies and they don't like Jane Fonda. You take these prisoners being held over in Iraq, all beat up like that and being abused. Suppose you saw somebody like Jane Fonda try to make those prisoners say anti-American things the way she did in Vietnam, and then cause them to get beaten later if they don't do what you want them to do. Imagine an American doing that. That's exactly what she did, and you can know why people do not like Jane and they don't go see her movies. A lot of young people don't understand that. Now maybe you can understand. Thank you.

WHAT I SAW THE Iraqi mob do to the American pilot shows how brutal these people are. The United States needs to show no mercy on these people at all. We need to destroy them. Thank you.

I THINK THAT we should have a march for George Washington's birthday because he also had a big part in American history. Thank you.

CONCERNING NBC AND other media in the Mideast: Israel's next move is being kept secret for now. To bad we can't do the same thing.

THE EDITORIAL PAGE in Tuesday's Southeast Missourian was a masterpiece. The columns of Peter Kinder, Mona Charen and Paul Greenberg are on target as surely as those marvelous Patriot missiles, which are performing so well in Operation Desert Storm. And I join with Peter Kinder in calling to account those particularly illustrious political senators and congressmen, the Phil Donahues and the Post-Dispatch for their constant criticism and active opposition to the development of these marvelous, life-saving weapons of defense. I thank you, Speak Out, for the opportunity to share my views.

I WOULD LIKE TO tell everyone that the SEMO State basketball Indians are going to win it all. Don't give up on them yet. Ron Shumate is the best. Thank you.

I'LL TELL YOU where Saddam Hussein's terrorist attacks are coming from: they're coming from our reporters. I don't understand why they keep wanting the government to reveal secrets that will help him in his war against us. I think they need to get those reporters out of there before they mess the whole thing up.

I AM SO proud of our young people here in the Cape Girardeau area. The march to support our troops and the ceremony at the university was heart-warming, to say the least. They were not saying we love war and killing; on the contrary, they were saying we love our country, our flag and our troops who are protecting us so heroically. This is the best country in the world and we love America. God bless you all.

I CAN'T FOR the life of me understand the comments that are made on your front page Tuesday about people speaking at the King celebration being upset that students aren't required to attend the Martin Luther King activities at the university. You can't require people to be excited about a leader. I think the university needs to consider seriously if they're going to have a Martin Luther King day. They should have a Lincoln Day too because that man did more for the black people than Martin Luther King ever did. Martin Luther King was a great leader but he has a lot of flaws. You can't jam worship down people's throats. Now they're going to have this thing where Arizona's being denied having conventions and other things because they refuse to have a Martin Luther King day. I would definitely go to a rally that honored the ordinary black man and woman who held their family together, worked for a living, and continued in this society in a positive, no-flashy way. I think those people those black men and women who are trying to make it and trying to raise a decent family in this world in a quiet way instead of talking about people taking to the streets should be honored.

IRAQ NEEDS NO spy system; they have the news media.

I RESENT THE attitude of some soldiers saying we're going to go in and kill some Iraqis. If we had put a price, a contract of $100,000 out on that dictator Hussein's head in the first place, we wouldn't have gone on this far or this long. These guys have our total support and love and prayers, but, boy, I hope it's over soon. And let's not forget their families. Wives and parents and children need just as much support as their spouses over there fighting. Thank you.

IN ANSWER TO the person who couldn't find a church in Cape Girardeau that would let him go in and offer a prayer for our servicemen and women, tell him to come to Lynwood Baptist Church and he will be welcome anytime. Thank you.

WE WOULD JUST like again to thank the truck driver who came to our assistance on Interstate 55 near Benton last Friday when our car was disabled. He stayed in close proximity all the way to Cape in the event we required additional help. You're the greatest. Thanks again.

PETER KINDER: THE tone of the last two articles you've had in the Missourian since the outbreak of war last week have sounded opportunistic, as if you're taking great pleasure in events and proving some of the views you have to be right. Instead of worrying about who's right or wrong, why don't you spend your time trying to come up with something constructive instead of taking potshots at events that are long past, and work toward the future? Thanks.

TO THE PERSON in Speak Out who is looking for a church to pray for peace, St. Mary's Church on the corner of William and Sprigg street is open from 6 in the morning until dark. Thank you.

THERE IS A piece of mail that goes to all senior girls who graduate in the area. I have found this out by talking to a number of people who are mothers of other girls who graduated last year. They send a packet of interesting things that charm the young ladies into thinking this is something they want to subscribe to. These girls, for the most part, are old enough to subscribe on their own and they sign a contract to pay for this stuff for each month's subscription and shipment. One is supposed to be able to stop after six, but they continue to send them in spite of the girls refusing the package, sending them a letter of cancellation, and writing canceled and returned across the statements that continue to come. Then the girls are sent notices that they will be turned over to a collection agency. The company continues to bill them even though the girls have returned it. Then they send a letter to the parent and threaten them with collections and lawsuits and infractions against their credit. The attorney general's office for the state of Missouri can be reached at 243-1400. Beware that they do prey on the young.

AT THE CESSATION of the Mideast war, it would be well for the liberal spendthrifts in Congress to remember three things: 1) The U.S. did not invade Kuwait, Iraq did; 2) The U.S. did not create the Gaza Strip, colonize the West Bank of the Jordan River, and displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs, Israel did; 3) The U.S. did not endanger the Japanese Mideast oil supply, Hussein did. At the risk of your congressional longevity, do not repeat, do not saddle the American taxpayer with billions of dollars for war-damage reparations, economic restructuring or other social engineering. We made this identical mistake after World War II, and thus created a trio of economic gluttons who have been eating us alive. To recognize the extent of their gratitude, kindly consider their present participation in this war we are fighting in their behalf. Remember, if you will, that Kuwait and Iraq are sitting atop trillions of dollars in overpriced OPEC oil and can well afford their own reconstruction, and that there is no foreseeable end to our yearly contribution of billions of dollars to Israel, our foremost international welfare client. I truly believe that the American taxpayer has had enough.

KENNEDY AND OTHERS say President Bush is not right spilling our boys' blood for oil. Saddam Hussein's religion is devil worship. As you can see, they were raping the women in Kuwait. No gas will hurt farmers, trucking and workers going long distances to work. Food would go up by farmers not being able to grow products. People without money will go hungry. Fathers and mothers: Speak out. Our sons and daughters are being educated and taught to fight with our tax money. We are for them.

I WAS IN THE ARMY almost four years during World War II; I served in the South Pacific for 18 months and was in five major battles. I want to tell you how important the American flag is. Seeing that flag daily was what kept most of us going. It made all of us know why we were fighting and a lot of good men died. The American flag stood for everything we love. My youngest son is now serving in the Navy. No one had better ever try to burn an American flag in my presence. That flag stands for everything I believe in. If any person in this country does not believe in the American flag, they should move to another country. It's just that simple.

I'VE HAD IT with drunken drivers. We have people in the Middle East fighting for our lives. Go over there and help them instead of staying here and endangering our lives. Use your willpower for a change.

I DON'T THINK it's right that the television stations take off regular programming now to keep on renewing the war all the time. We don't have any weather or anything we normally watch. I don't think that's right.

WHAT'S THE MATTER with the American people? When they go to vote, why don't they vote some of these congressmen out? All Congress is interested in is getting a raise all the time or going on vacation. The only way you can get them out is vote them out. The American people had better wake up. Congress is not helping the country at all.

THIS IS GREAT having a place for the general public to state their views. I wonder if anyone else gets lousy special-delivery handling from the post office. I live in Cape and I got a special delivery delivered to me on Jan. 20. It was postmarked from St. Paul, Minn., on Jan. 15. It took five days for a special delivery to get delivered. That's ridiculous. Most times a regular first-class letter only takes three days and costs 25 cents. This special delivery cost $5.60 and would have only cost 45 cents first class. So for $5.15 extra it took two days longer. It doesn't make any sense to me. I think our postal service should worry more about delivering these high-cost services instead of again raising first-class rates. It's no wonder some of the other delivery services are taking business away from the postal service. Thank you, Speak Out.

I AM A citizen of Cape Girardeau County and I would like to move to Jackson and move a trailer there, but there seems to be no trailer courts available. I feel there should be more trailer courts available in the Jackson area. Thank you.

I THINK IT IS a needed service you are doing in giving information. I would like an address where I can send an appreciation note to Judge Stephen Limbaugh for his concern about all the money being spent on education with no positive results. I would also like to say to those educators who are always crying more money: Take warning, the public is not as dumb as you think. We know it is more brains you need rather than more money. Thank you.

The address is U.S. District Court, Eastern Missouri District, Federal Building, 1520 Market, St. Louis, Mo. 63103.

SOMEBODY'S WRITING IN Speak Out bragging about Peter Kinder showing himself to be a master of politics. Well, I've got news for the writer. President Reagan's star wars were not any connection with the patriot missiles. They were brought into use, or they were discovered in 1960 and Reagan was no where near office at that time. Thank you.

I SEE BACKBITING, I-told-you-so Peter Kinder is at it again in his editorial talking about SDI. SDI, I thought, was star wars that Reagan pushed so much. And I got news for him. The Patriot missile was not during Reagan's administration or even thought of then. It was in the '60s. Peter Kinder ought to get a few facts straight. SDI was mostly connected with star wars and that was in outer space. That was not launching a rocket from a battle ship or even launching a rocket from the ground. I thank you.

The callers are right about the obligation we all share to get our facts straight, but unfortunately, theirs are all twisted. Where to begin? Well, let's see. A fact sheet detailing the missile's history, published by Raytheon Corp., maker of the missile, says funding for Patriot began in 1972 (not "in the '60s", as the caller claims), and continued through the mid-'70s, from the Nixon-Ford years into the Carter administration. For the first 10 or more years of its development, the Patriot was an anti-aircraft missile. Its capabilities were upgraded to include anti-missile defense during the last decade.

A Wall Street Journal news article this week had this to say: "... And the Patriot missile, which has been dazzling in knocking down Iraqi Scud missiles, is Mr. Reagan's baby, not Mr. Carter's. The Patriot limped along with technical glitches during the Carter years, and didn't really get going until the Reagan era, when it was brought on line in quantity and given the capability to attack incoming missiles as well as attacking planes ... The Democratic Congress tried to kill the Patriot (though then-House Speaker Tip O'Neill lobbied for the Massachusetts-made weapon)." The same article quotes Carter administration Defense Secretary Harold Brown as saying, "When it comes to the size of the force and putting in the money to buy the weapons and train the force, the Reagan administration deserves the credit."

(By the way, my column contained no reference to President Reagan, so I'm somewhat puzzled by the callers' attacks along those lines. But I'm happy to address the points raised for the record).

If the callers want more, I have a growing file on the subject, and would be happy to share it with them. Also, see my column today on Page 12 A, where I discuss some of this further. PDK.