Speakout 1/31

I would like to SpeakOut about Missouri courts. I guess you could call it a kangaroo court, nothing but mockery and shame.

If our state raises more taxes on cigarettes and casinos, they can jump in the lake. I will quit paying for either one. I have had it with our state picking on certain groups to raise taxes. Our state is walking over us. The schools can tighten their belts and wasting money, too. Our government is out of control. Charge 3 percent sales tax on everyone, including the enemy. Then it is fair.

Hey, Mike. Fed Up Ed here. I want to extend my congratulations to the Board of Municipal Utilities for wanting to oppose the PILOT system. The BMU is more capable of making this kind of decision than an uninformed city council. That could mean breaking contracts and being sued by our customers for the good of the city - it can't. It's a shot in the dark. Whoever says that, Mike? How about one for you? The paper plainly says in the article of the City Council, several profound statements such as, "Don't they care about their safety?" from council person Rodgers. Give me a break. The power plant can't be used as a cash cow at the expense of the citizenry of Sikeston. It's a shot in the dark to try to get more funds for more businesses and jobs that we're not getting. Give the people a break. Don't try to rob us. That's one good thing we have in Sikeston.

I am totally offended by Hollywood and networks. When our network announced Hollywood at the awards to talk about one-sided politics, we as a nation are going down the wrong road. The network has the obligation to stop it in its tracks. This does damage to our nation and the world. Dan Rather did this when Clinton was president. If networks can't be neutral when reporting politics, then the networks should be forced out of business. Hollywood and networks are pushing one-sided politics against the rest of the nation.

I am calling about the house for rent that has three bedrooms for $500 a month. I have a friend who lived there and that house is completely covered with mold and mildew. It is so bad that it almost killed one of their children. The owners moved and all they did was painted over it. Beware. The house isn't worth it.

As a member of that co-op, which is supposed to be member-owned, I would like to know why management salaries need to be kept confidential. It also seems that the trip expenses incurred by board members are quite excessive.

I'm calling concerning the article concerning the electrical co-op. Why have they hired a lawyer in Springfield? Are there not any local lawyers who are qualified to represent our local electrical co-op?

I read in the Jan. 22 SpeakOut about the cost of opening graves here in Sikeston. I buried a couple of my loved ones in the past few years and the cost was very, very reasonable. I couldn't believe the high cost that it takes to open a grave, especially on the weekends. This is ridiculous. People who haven't bought a cemetery plot here in Sikeston should boycott these cemeteries. You can just drive 20 miles to Dexter and get a cemetery plot for approximately $175 and to open a grave much, much cheaper. We had Shepherd's Rods here in Sikeston at Garden of Memories and the cemetery took the rods up and just threw them away. They shouldn't have had that authority. They shouldn't have had the right to do so.

Here we have JoAnn (NAFTA) Emerson telling us that we have a problem with malpractice insurance in America, and the solution to this problem is to penalize the patients who are mutilated by the doctors who - do what? - mal-practice. When the doctors start policing their own actions and taking care of their business, then the malpractice insurance will go down. Don't penalize the patients for doctors who butcher them.