Stadium in Cape

HOLY COW! I can't believe I thought of this. I read where Jefferson County is interested in financing a new stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals. Why not Cape Girardeau County? Here's the deal. Ask Cape native and billionaire Richard D. Kinder to bankroll the financing of the stadium. In exchange, give him the green light on construction of a power plant. Cape County is a perfect location halfway between Memphis and St. Louis. We would pack the stadium. If the Cape County commissioners would quit squabbling among themselves, I truly believe they could sell the proposal.

Dereliction of duty

KUDOS TO SEMO Board of Regents member Kim Mothershead for having the courage to point out the state's ongoing dereliction of its constitutional duty in adequately funding public education in Missouri. The criticisms of her in Speak Out were illustrative of the fact that she told the truth and hit the nail too hard on the head for defenders of state government to take.

Full disclosure

FOR YEARS, we have been led to believe that if the Cardinals baseball team did not get a new stadium in downtown St. Louis, they would move out of Missouri. Now I read that several St. Louis-area towns have an interest in a new ballpark for the Cardinals. The Cardinal management and state Sen. Peter Kinder, however, still want to ram this down our throats and still insist on building the stadium downtown with taxpayer funds. Whatever happened to full disclosure and plain old honesty?

Bureaucratic mess

I WAS taught that the United States is a republic. Most folks today believe we live in a democracy. Both are wrong. We live in a dictatorship of bureaucracy. "War and Peace" contains 660,000 words. The Bible contains 774,746 words. The IRS tax code contains 2.8 million words. Bureaucrats have produced 2.8 million unintelligible, incomprehensible words. A solution would be a law requiring every U.S. representative and senator to sit down before each session of Congress and read the tax code. Changes would be made for brevity and clarity.

Choice on spending

AS A county resident who commutes to Cape Girardeau to work, it disturbs me to read about the mayor's idea of a tax on commuters. I pay taxes just like the citizens of Cape Girardeau and often pay additional fees to use certain facilities or programs. I pay to use the city library and a fee for parks and recreation programs. I do most of my shopping, dining and entertaining in the city. I could just as easily take my business to Jackson. I think Cape should think twice about taxing commuters. I don't have a vote on this issue, but I do have a choice as to where I spend my money.

Children need museum

REGENTS, I want the children's museum. Thank you for thinking of my children. You have a chance to make an awesome impression on our youths. The arts and the museum can complement each other. Visit the St. Louis Children's Museum or the Indianapolis Children's Museum for inspiration. Build it and we will come. Don't forget the picnic area with a view of the river. Imagination doesn't need to cost a lot.

No sugar coating

WHEN THERE is a decrease in funding from the state, eventually the money gap has to be filled somewhere. When the state starts cutting spending for education, our children are the first to feel the sting. The cuts in funding for our schools is just the start on the state's budget butcher block. Look at the roads. The university needs to keep improving. We would complain about that too if it didn't. Unfortunately, improvements cost money. Kim Mothershead just spoke what she believes is the truth and didn't sugar-coat it.

Looking for new taxes

OUR NEW mayor has only been in office a matter of days, and he's already looking at new ways to put taxes on people.