Speak out 5/6/02

Why punish them?

IT SEEMS to me these right-wingers want to punish the people that weren't able to save money in their younger, working days. But people fail to realize that those people who weren't able to save still worked, and paid taxes, voted, and laid the groundwork for those people who don't have much compassion. A lot of these older people have to choose between food and their prescription medications. We need a good national health care program to pay for prescription drugs. Forget about what people "should" have done. What's the point in punishing these unfortunate people?

Unfriendly security

IF YOU want to bring concerts to the area and want the public to come support them, then security at the concerts should be less intrusive to the audience. There was one blonde security lady that many people in our area found offensive. A woman tried to pass her binoculars to her child, and this blonde security woman comes running demanding to know what's in her hands. Since when can't you pass an object at a concert? It wasn't a terrorist act to pass your binoculars. It made enjoying the concert very difficult for those of us in her area. The Show Me Center needs to talk to their security staff. Look out for the well-being of the audience, but don't interfere with their lawful enjoyment of the concerts.

Thank unions

TO YOU people who are anti-union and anti-liberal: Your unemployment insurance is the result of unions. And you work only eight hours a day thanks to unions. You older people who bash the Democratic party -- you can thank the labor unions and the Democrat party for your Medicare card. And you can thank the conservatives for killing Clinton's national health care bill that would have helped every senior citizen pay for health care. And you can thank the right-wing conservatives like the Grahams, the Armeys and President Bush for their service to the medical insurance companies.

Terrible roads

TEN YEARS ago, we had roads in very decent condition. Now they're all torn up, potholes everywhere, and they're in very bad condition. Our governor says he has to raise taxes to bring the roads up to standard. Does that mean the previous governor did a terrible job on maintaining what we already had in decent shape?

Not for a minute

YESTERDAY, I dropped my daughter off at her day care center here in Cape Girardeau. I was out of my car maybe four or five minutes. When I returned, someone had stolen my purse out of my car. My car was parked right in front of the entrance to the center. What I have to say to that person is: I hope you really needed the contents of my purse. You stole them from a single mom who struggles from paycheck to paycheck to pay her bills and keep food on the table for her children. You should be ashamed of yourself. What I had in my purse was, for the most part, of little value to you, but those things were very valuable to me, especially the pictures of my children. I hope you see their faces every day when you think of what you did. Here's a warning to other parents: Always lock your doors even if you're only going to be gone for a minute.

Here's the answer

YOU ASKED why striking Cairo teachers got into the profession in the first place. It was because they wanted to dedicate their lives to the task of educating the young while at the same time preserving their dignity by not being reduced to the status of wage slaves.

Why do that?

HOW CAN you editorialize that school funding is good government when there's never been any proven correlation between spending on schools and school performance?