Speakout 4/18

Sunday, April 18, 2004

This is response to the April 11 SpeakOut where a caller spoke about the city enforcing the no tolerance law. It's time for the city to do that. I live by people who have junk vehicles in their yard, they don't care. They keep getting a slap on the wrist. I'm glad the city is finally standing up and saying "enough is enough." It's time we cleaned this town up and take a step in the right direction. Those people who don't like it, maybe they need to move out of town. That's where they should be anyway, the ones who want to keep their yards junked up.

I agree with the person who called about personal hygiene. I am tired of going to a place to eat and see the workers preparing food with their bare hands instead of using gloves. They touch your food and then touch other things. They need to handle food properly.

Mike Jensen, this is for you. I know you want Sikeston to be cleaned up, but to almost come right out and say, "Please, please, we don't want your kind here," that is so trashy. Please think about what you're saying to people.

I want to SpeakOut about the cheerleading tryouts. I know there was something in Friday's paper, but I agree that something needs to be done. There needs to be a change in the way the girls are selected. It's not fair the way they choose them. Some girls who can't even do a flip get to be picked for cheerleading. Cheerleading is now considered to be a sport and there are competitions on the national level. It should not be a popularity contest.

I understand now under the Patriot Act (which is actually the fascist act) U.S. scientific societies are being threatened with million dollar fines and 10 years in prison of editors of their journals make it easier for scientific papers from Cuba, Iran, Libya and Sudan to be published in American publications in their journals. Here we go. Apparently, there is very useful information coming from Iran concerning battlefield medicine and transplant surgery; parasitic diseases and fungal diseases from Sudan and Libya; and other information on vaccines, antibiotics and biotechnology coming out of Cuba that Americans will not have access to. Don't you think it's time that Sikeston joined several hundred other communities in the country, including New York City, that have voted as a community to denounce the Patriot Act?

This message is for you farmers and people who like to plant gardens out there. You're going to have a mixed up bag of weather at least through May. I don't think it will get hot and stay hot until June, then it's going to burn us good. You farmers will need to have your irrigation stuff handy. But for now, I think it's going to be up and down through the month of day with cold spells, hot spells, just enough to give you all kinds of spells. It's coming. We haven't had anything like this for years and it's due us.