Speak Out 12/29/02

Proud of heritageMY ANCESTORS walked the Trail of Tears. Some of my ancestors died along the way. My people went through this area. Cherokee Park was named for my people. I am a Native American, and I am proud of it.

Republican insuranceNOW'S A good time to ponder our nation's claim to be Christian. This is a nation with a Republican president and Republican control of the Congress. Republicans are against a national health-insurance program. They call it socialism. What we have is Republican Christian health insurance.

Bingo etiquetteTHIS IS to all bingo players in Missouri. When playing bingo, please keep your talking and giggling down. It disturbs nearby players. Do your carrying on during intermission or before or after bingo. It would sure help.

Wrong forecastTHE WEATHER forecast right before Christmas threw everybody into a frenzy as they tried to get their last-minute shopping and grocery shopping done. But there wasn't much snow in Cape Girardeau after all. I'd like to congratulate the weather forecasters for one of the biggest screw ups that I've ever seen. Maybe they'll do better next time.

Bizarre youthsWE CAN'T just blame the children for their bizarre clothes and behavior when parents allow this and have no cultural direction over their children. What else can you expect? I see youths with blue hair, shaved heads, body art, pierced body parts, tattoos, weird clothing and no manners, trying to imitate rap and rock stars who howl out filthy lyrics as music. These kids mostly come from troubled families, single parents and broken parents who lack Christian values. But many are from a home life of no control. If this is the generation that will take over our country's future shortly, we're in deep trouble.

Costly Santa funEVERYONE SEEMS to think it's real cute with NORAD spending money to make a fake Santa Claus and track him across the United States on a special Web site. It's really nice for the kids, but who's paying for that? Taxpayers. Let's get some road work done instead of wasting our money on that.

Thanks to road crewsA BIG thank you to the road crews for getting the roads cleared off so quickly Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thank you for taking time away from your families so that we could spend time with ours and get to where we need to be going. A big thank you, and God bless.

Plenty of deadbeatsMY BROTHER and I didn't have a good Christmas because we have a deadbeat mom who doesn't pay child support. So don't talk about deadbeat dads. There are deadbeat judges too.

Heartwarming storyTHANK YOU for the wonderful article about Peyton Young. There's so much bad news today that it was heartwarming to read about little Peyton. Please continue to update us on his progress.

Can't control parentsSOMEBODY ASKED why the public schools don't take a few lessons from the private schools regarding parental behavior. How are those of us who work in the public schools supposed to change the public's treatment of us? How are we supposed to change parents to make sure they support us better? How are we supposed to do all these things? We can't make parents do their job. We can't make parents support us when we discipline their child for breaking rules.

Real role model

IT'S A shame when someone gets a doll removed from the store shelves that comes with a wedding ring and a baby. One of the complainers was a 29-year-old mom. I just wonder what kind of real role model this mother is for her son. She'd do well to take care of her son and let mothers of daughters decide what their daughters will and will not play with.