SPEAKOUT

Attack drugs, not tobacco

WHAT A lot of hogwash, going after cigarettes instead of the hard drugs. What a smokescreen cover-up for the real killer that they haven't eliminated. If Clinton warred on drugs like he warred on countries and made the drug war his No. 1 priority, America could get cleaned up. What a fraud impostor he is for a president. Good riddance when he's gone.

Pornography at the library

I'D LIKE To speak to the parents of Jackson and Cape. If you let your children go to the library, which most parents do, beware. The Internet is there. I was there, and I saw pornography from some pervert on the Internet. If told to the librarians, they will make them get off. But I think parents need to know that the access is there, and there is no monitoring. So you really need to watch your children. Be with them and watch those who are there, because there are a lot of people there out to hurt children. Beware.

What about Hillary's anger.

I'D LIKE To comment on how the news media is taking this deal of John Mc

Cain's anger and trying to use it against him. If we want to show anger, let's show some of Hillary Clinton's anger, like when she found out about Monica Lewinsky. When she found out it was true, I heard she slapped her husband so hard it left a mark on his face, and a makeup artist had to cover it up. And there was the other scandal where she threw plates in the oval office.

Money is the magnet

CLINTON CONTINUES wasting taxpayers' money by flying all over the world, trips that don't amount to anything to places that are none of his business. In Oslo, Norway, Clinton met with Arafat and the prime minister of Israel and gave them large sums of taxpayers' money to meet with him there. Otherwise they wouldn't be there. He wants Israel to give up land so there will be peace. This is against the will of God for Israel. It states in the Bible how God will take care of Israel. Clinton wants to have this as his great legacy, as a great peacemaker in a land where there will be no peace until Christ returns. They have a Feb. 1 goal set, and Clinton said "we might have a summit patterned after the 1978 Camp David negotiations." Secretary of State Albright will travel to the Mideast several times before Feb. 1. Mideast envoy Dennis Ross will visit the region every couple of weeks. He gives Arafat and Barak millions of dollars to get together for meetings, and that's why they meet.

Speak up by voting

AS A citizen of Cape Girardeau for over 35 years, I think it's time that our citizens wake up. At the next elections, go vote. I have never called Speak Out. However, I felt compelled to call after seeing police cars parked in every direction within the city limits of Cape Girardeau and after reading that our city officials were happy our police department had written over 19,000 tickets for traffic violations within the city. Furthermore, after seeing two of our fine police officers on Hopper Road with what appeared to be some type of camera and radar gun checking the traffic, I realized it's a little too much, especially since they were out of their cars using their equipment to supposedly slow the traffic. Cape Girardeau has not grown over the years. With the attitude of its management and City Council, it is not going to. People do speed and roll through stop signs, and a lot of tickets that the police department writes are 100 percent legitimate. But when we start using every tactic and technology available to increase the revenue of our city by putting our police department out doing those things, it's over the line.

I CAN'T keep my opinions to myself anymore. The TV media is getting a tremendous amount of mileage off of the news that nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile knowledge is being stolen by the Communist Chinese. Even though it is a serious situation, I believe that, because of some of the ridiculous regulations by the EPA and by many states' departments of natural resources, many private citizens are being threatened much more by these agencies than by the loss of the missile technology. No one has to convince me that we need the EPA with reasonable regulations, but I do believe they need a budget cut and should start making regulations to protect the little guy from the big bad government. just like the politicians did to IRS. If more people like me get enough of this agency, then maybe this out-of-control spending will change or omit ignorant regulations that are unnecessary. Demote some of the leaders in the EPA with master's degrees and doctorates and replace them with people with less education and more common sense.

Outstanding shot putter

I NEVER met George Woods, though to me he was a legend. Woods graduated from Sikeston High School in the early 1960s. While there, he won the state shot-put title on one or more occasions. Later, Woods won at least two, maybe three, Olympic medals in the same sport. To have left him off your list of great Southeast Missouri athletes is shocking beyond belief. I have no alternative but to formally request that the apparently sordid process of selection be investigated by an independent counsel.

Support for charter schools

I'D JUST Like to respond to the comment on "No charter schools wanted." The caller says there are no SEMO administrators who want charter schools. They may not come out and speak in grandiose plans, because they don't want to offend the Democrat- and union-controlled Congress that Missouri labors under. But there are many people who would love the option. Many parents of school-age children would love the option. They are tired of the pathetic, meaningless attempts at education the public school system provide. Instead of providing education, they just provide a baby-sitting service for those delinquents such as the ones in Decatur who are making such a valiant attempt to get back to school when they never went to school before. Instead of taking time to teach children, they have to deal with delinquents such as that. There are many people in this town who would like to see charter schools, and there is much support at the university. Those people understand how important education is and how far public education needs to go before it can actually be called education.

Where are the jobs.

I SEE where the Social Security age will be climbing to age 67. What about the younger generation? Where are they going to find jobs if the older ones cannot retire until age 67? Or is that just a way of phasing out Social Security.

Bible says who's in charge

TO THE person who commented on "Who's in charge now?" Well, if he'd stop being mad and read his Bible, he'd figure out that God is in charge no matter what happens. Because if he isn't, we are all in trouble. So read your Bible.

Rights for the unborn

A QUESTION to the pro-choice advocates who want a choice for the mother but no choice for the infant. When a baby dies in the womb before being born, the infant has to be taken so the mother will live. The doctor reports the baby is dead in the womb. It's alive, a human life before, so how can you legally terminate a life with abortion? If this isn't murder, I don't know what is. The baby has to be alive to die in the womb. The pro-choice people talk of rights for the mother. What about the rights of the unborn? Don't they have any rights.

Build interchange to the south

I WAS just sitting at the Scott City interchange and thinking. As you can imagine, I was thinking for a very, very long time. And this thought occurred to me: What if there was another way out of Scott City, another interchange that led to Highway 55, like, I don't know, towards Kelso. Then they wouldn't have to worry about the Diversion Channel bridge. What if we built an interchange south of Scott City for I-55 and maybe Kelso? Think about it. It's a great idea.

Give in memory of pet

I'M NOT connected with the Humane Society in any way, but we lost our little pet last July. She was a wonderful little companion. It occurred to me today to send a check to the Humane Society in her memory. Maybe there are others out there who would like to do the same thing and just haven't thought of it, whether they lost their pet or still have one or just love pets. I know the Humane Society is always short of money.

Message for the wealthy

THE GREAT American president, John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country." He did not mean people that in need of health care, the working poor. He meant the wealthy who want tax breaks and special privileges. He did not mean someone who was sick but cannot afford health insurance or making a low wages. He did not mean them at all.

Too busy with helmets

I HAVE a comment in reply to the call about the policemen not writing tickets for motorists going through stop signs. The reason that they're not writing tickets is because they're too busy at the Christmas parade harassing the motorcycle riders, making sure they all have their helmets and their bikes are all street legal. That's the reason they're not writing tickets for the people running stop signs.

Getting stabbed in the back

I WOULD like to make a comment about the protesting and violence in Seattle. Well, here he goes again. Clinton's going to sign something. It's going to trigger these people, and it will probably be the last people he stabs in the back because he has stabbed everyone that has supported him in the back so far. You people who want to ban the handguns and stuff, where are you? The cops could probably use you up there in Seattle because they have declared martial law. When the year 2000 comes, these people who get welfare checks at the beginning of the month aren't going to want to hear anything about a computer messing up. They're going to want to their checks in their hands, and they're not going to sit peacefully. They're going to be just like these people up in Seattle. Before that started, the National Guard should have already been called.

Liberal message is clear

I'M SURPRISED that a caller recently expressed shock that nobody cares or is concerned about hate crimes against white people or straight people or Christians. This has always been the case. If you take the time to examine liberal calls to Speak Out on a regular basis and actually examine the logic they attempt to use, you cannot help but notice that the underlying theme of all liberal arguments is hatred. They claim that Republicans hate this group and hate that group. But the bottom line of all liberal arguments is this: Liberals hate. That's what drives them. That's what motivates them. Liberals hate.