Support has been lost

THE SKY is falling! The sky is falling! State Sen. Peter Kinder says that without the Cardinals St. Louis will die. In the last year I've made several trips to St. Louis, which included doctor visits, the Fox theater, a Rams football game, shopping at the Galleria and the St. Louis Zoo. Trips to see Cardinals play baseball? Zero. Kinder has truly lost my support, especially when I see the story that says Missouri's budget is in crisis and Gov. Bob Holden will seek money from Rainy Day Fund. Schmooze with the big shots in St. Louis and Kansas City. Kinder certainly doesn't belong with his constituents in Southeast Missouri.

Speaking out

A GOOD friend and a longtime member of Cape's establishment recently told me one of the major things wrong with Cape Girardeau is the Speak Out forum. When it comes to Speak Out, I consider it second only to the ancient Athenian public square where citizens gathered daily to debate and discuss important issues. I think my view is widely shared by the readership of the Southeast Missourian even though a hard-core group of people continues to indignantly insist they don't read it. Speak Out should win an award for spurring movers and shakers into getting things done that would never been addressed had it not been for Speak Out.

Guns under control

IT NEVER ceases to amaze me what kind of people we have in this area. A Speak Out caller complained about guns in "Annie Get Your Gun." This is a controlled situation, not like a kid bringing a gun to school to do who knows what.

Locking up Americans

DONN MILLER'S calling President Bush a fascist was a joke. The current administration has only locked up known criminals and terrorists. FDR locked up thousands of innocent Americans of Japanese descent.

It's the wrong time

I THINK things like building ballparks and stadiums should be put off until this war is over. The governor seems to think by building sports arenas he will be re-elected.

Tired of bailouts

ACCORDING TO state Sen. Peter Kinder, St. Louis will collapse if the Cardinal baseball team moves. If this be true, and I doubt it is, then let it happen. It is time that the taxpayers of St. Louis and Kansas City supported themselves instead of looking to the state treasury every time they stub their toe. I am one taxpayer who did not contribute to either city's downfall and am tired of constantly bailing them out. There are a lot of projects much more worthy of our money than stadiums for the rich.

Real-world issues

BILL WEBER would be well-served doing what professors do best: writing abstract, arcane treatises about various computerized, theoretical economic models, making less murky the essence of neo-Malthusianism, searching for subtle nuances of disagreement between Friedrich n Hayek and Ludwig von Mises and elaborating on the socio-economic effects of wearing an Adam Smith tie on SEMO's campus. Who knows? He might win a Nobel Prize. However, when it comes to real-world issues like the River Campus, please, Professor Weber, give it a rest.

Never give in

CRITICISM OF the war on terrorism is currently considered unpatriotic. If the past is any guide, it won't be long before such criticism is considered fashionable, then becomes widespread and finally overwhelming. Whatever happens vis-a-vis public opinion, our leaders must stay the course and never give in. Never, never, never.

It was fabulous

AFTER A wonderful review in the paper of the dress rehearsal of "Annie Get Your Gun," I decided to go. Amen. You were right on. It was fabulous. Our high school students are so talented, especially Frank and Annie. Good going, guys.

Ugliest form of welfare

DEMOCRATIC GOV. Bob Holden and Republican state Sen. Peter Kinder are both pushing for state funding of the Cardinals stadium. The Cardinals' threat to move the ballclub is nothing less than extortion by a group of millionaire owners. Holden and Kinder both admit that the state is short of revenue, but they insist on this folly. This project is not economic development but corporate welfare in its ugliest form.

Partisan sniping

I WATCHED the Sunday-morning news shows recently as Tom Daschle, the Senate majority leader, questioned and condemned President Bush's handling of the war on terrorism. Winning a war is one enormous undertaking not only against a country, but against a world organization. We need to show unity in our country, not dissension. Where's the bipartisanship Daschle and the Democrats were promising? It's a political campaign in the midst of a war. It seems they don't imagine the danger. The pride and the safety of America isn't important to the wannabe candidate.

Shoot to kill

I JUST read that the Cape Girardeau Police Department officers are taught to shoot to stop, not shoot to kill. That is the most asinine thing I have ever heard. I have always been taught that if you must draw your gun, you should shoot to kill. Otherwise, don't draw it. If I have to draw my gun to protect myself, my family or my property, I won't be shooting just to stop someone. I think the police should be trained in the right manner or just carry billy sticks.

I BELIEVE that we should impeach state Sen. Peter Kinder and Gov. Bob Holden for going along with this ballpark for the St. Louis Cardinals or any other ballpark in Kansas City or anywhere in Missouri, due to the fact that the road conditions need more improvement than ballparks in St. Louis or in Kansas City.

Big Cardinal commitment

SO THE Cardinals are paying two-thirds of the cost of the new stadium. The Cardinals will be responsible for approximately two-thirds of the $646 million project with the city, county and state collectively investing the remaining third. The Cardinals' commitment is significantly higher than other major-league baseball teams. The average team commitment is 17 percent. Now you've got the facts. I think the state should support the Cardinals' new stadium.

Off-street parking

QUESTION: WHY have carports, driveways and garages if they're unused? There seems to be more and more people who are parking on the street, making passage almost impossible.

Glad to get keys back

I WOULD Like to thank the person at the mall who found my keys that were on a stretchy wrist coil and returned them to the customer-service desk there. You don't know how glad I was to get them.

Forget the victim

THESE LAWYERS who advertise trying to get more clients for damages from asbestos, smoking or whatever are not concerned about their clients. They're concerned they might be missing some legal fees. That is their big concern. Forget the victim.

A great musical

CENTRAL HIGH School did a wonderful job of putting on "Annie Get Your Gun." It is a wonderful play with lots of great music that you remember and you've heard before. I'm so glad the administration is willing to put on a play like that, even though it may not be completely politically correct in the way it treated Indians and guns. But it's a wonderful play with great music. Let's do it again someday.

Stronger penalties

I AGREE with the caller who says Morley Swingle is wrong for allowing child molesters to plea bargain to a lesser charge. Swingle seems to be allowing this kind of person back into society with a simple slap on the wrist. Child molesters should always have to spend time behind bars. Child molesters have no remorse for what they have done to destroy a childhood. They're only sorry that they got caught.