More than two parties available (08/28/08)
To the editor: I wish the American people realized the options they had available to them. I don't like the candidates for the Republicans or Democrats either, but instead of voting for who I perceive to be the better of two poor choices, I intend to vote for the Constitution party candidate, Pastor Chuck Baldwin. You can find information about the campaign at http://baldwin08.com...

Speak Out 8/28/08 (08/28/08)
Pro-choice VP candidate MCCAIN WILL have my vote more than ever if he picks a pro-choice candidate. In fact, that's what I have against McCain now is his pro-life stand. I don't know if it's enough to keep me from voting for him but it certainly is a concern of mine. As a 50-year-old woman, I just want a pro-choice president but that won't be the only issue I vote on...

Union legislation raises questions (08/28/08)
To the editor: The article regarding the union official promoting legislation that would allow unions to side-step a worker's right for a free, democratic election to determine union representation raises a couple questions. First, the title "Employee Free Choice Act" seems like one of those misnomers that should immediately arouse suspicion. ...

Music makes the polls go round (08/28/08)
I signed up to vote at an Eddie Vedder concert. Since moving to Missouri I've made time for work, downtown concerts, art openings and golf. I hadn't, however, found the time to register to vote. The concert marked the end of Vedder's solo tour. Before it started, I was wandering around the lobby and was stopped by the dude at the Rock the Vote/HeadCount table. I asked him what he was doing there and what happened to Rock the Vote...

Green Bear program (08/28/08)
When Leasa Stone witnessed something horrible, she mourned. And then she acted. Stone, a foster mother, grieved the death of a 2-year-old in 2000, a child she had earlier cared for. The death was the result of alleged abuse by the child's father. Stone, also a pediatric nurse, said she did not want to see the child die in vain, so she started the Green Bear program, named after the child's favorite comfort toy...

We're all blest (08/28/08)
Aug. 28, 2008 Dear Patty, I don't find myself in church very often. Organized religion might tempt me more if it were more disorganized, welcomed the downtrodden and the mystical. If a service made you feel better rather than worse. Worst of all is to go to church and feel nothing at all...

Roads and sinkholes (08/27/08)
The emergence of more than 20 sinkholes in South Cape has been somewhat disconcerting, causing the closing of part of South Sprigg Street to through traffic since January. Last week, the road was reopened, and the city deserves plaudits for carefully taking care of the problem...

Show impresses with hard work, talent and support (08/27/08)
To the editor: Regarding Mike Dumey and his group of young singers and their presentation of "Sing, America, Sing," each and every time I attend Mike Dumey's presentations, I am so impressed with the high quality that I feel compelled to once again extend my praise and gratitude. ...

Governor sets record straight (08/27/08)
Missouri (let alone the U.S.) is shaping up to be a highly competitive, hard to predict political race leading up to the election Nov. 4 (11 weeks from now). Recent Missouri polls show McCain up over Obama by an average of 6 points (+11 in one instance). ...

Speak Out 8/27/08 (08/27/08)
Obama mudslings, too OBAMA'S RUNNING ads criticizing McCain for talking negative toward Obama but Obama, about all he's talking about is negative things against Bush. Now, where's the fair balance? If he can talk about people, why can't somebody else? All he's trying to do is gather votes...

Speak Out 8/26/08 (08/26/08)
Casino not good I want to comment on the "big casino" some in Cape are wanting to put in downtown Cape. I live on Main Street and this is the last thing that I want by my home. I do not want to raise my child by a casino. It won't bring in more money, but it will bring in more drunk drivers and thieves. ...

Future of energy is now (08/26/08)
The future of energy -- what form it might take or where it might come from -- is a hot issue in 2008. Fuel is fueling debate with idealists on both sides of the political aisle coming forward with plans. What should be our top priority as a state and nation? More nuclear plants? Solar energy? Wind energy? Off-shore drilling? All of the above?...

Alternative school (08/25/08)
The Cape Girardeau School District's alternative school found a permanent home last week, a new 16,681-square-foot, $1.57 million facility. The center, formerly in the old Schultz school building, is now at 330 N. Spring Ave. It is connected to the district's administrative building. The school has bounced around to five locations in the last 13 years, but it appears to have found a permanent home now...

Speak Out 8/26/08 (08/25/08)
Be smart, wait to drink ANYONE WHO lived in the 1970s and was on a college campus knows there was plenty of binge drinking around and they didn't call them keggers for nothing. I just kind of doubt there's more binge drinking today than there was in the 1970s. ...

Little acts can form important connections (08/25/08)
For a moment Friday, I wondered if we were in for a repeat of March's floods. It made me think of the March night Rudi Keller and I were out skulking around the flood wall, waiting to see if it would be closed for the first time in five years...

Business opens on Broadway (08/25/08)
Earlier this year I was doing a little spring cleaning and gave away, among other items, my Nintendo Entertainment System. That video game console was a large part of afterschool and Saturday morning entertainment during my elementary and middle school days. Though at times I regret my decision, I was pleased to discover one business near the Southeast Missourian office that could have the remedy in case I desire to purchase another Nintendo one day...

Junior high leadership (08/24/08)
If you can remember back to your junior high days, you may remember how tough it was. Your body is changing, you're starting to care more about what others think of you, bullying gets more noticeable, school work becomes much harder and you're trying to find ways to fit in and stand out at the same time...

Speak Out 8/24/08 (08/24/08)
Raise the drinking age The logiC behind the college presidents seems to be, lower the buying age so that the oldest students won't buy the younger one alcohol. I went to college in Kansas, where an 18 year old could purchase 3.2 percent beer, age 21 for all other liquor. ...

Focus on the Family: Adolescence can be hard for kids, parents (08/24/08)
Dear Dr. Dobson: My teenage son is becoming increasingly difficult to get along with. Isn't there some way to avoid this blackout period and the other stresses associated with the adolescent voyage? Dear Reader: Not with some teenagers, perhaps not with the majority. ...