Speakout 8/21

This is in regards to the cemetery situation here in Sikeston. While the city may not have any control over the monument situation, they do have control over how it looks. If this was a home-owner's property, they would be threatening to have it condemned. How sad to have to bury a loved one in a place that looks like this with all the weeds. Some of the weeds on the southside of memorial park are over waist high. Come on city management, it is time to get something done.

For everyone of you parents who has ever had a divorce you need to watch Dr. Phil today then you would have understood the way we kids felt when you got married. When you moved another woman into our house or you moved in with another woman, she was not our mom. Yet you pushed us on her. You let her start to make the decisions for us. You let her correct us. She was not our parent. Make no mistake. We needed a stable dad who would stand up for us when he wasn't around. And she would lie to you and say we did or said things that we didn't. But no you never would listen. When you were sitting there with that other child, letting that other child call you their dad, you were wrong. It was not your child. He had a mother and he had a daddy and he was not child. You were the stepparent, we were the children. Yet, you let us be pushed around. You put us back in the corner. You didn't divorce us, OK? You divorced our mom and we felt guilty. All of our lives, we are adults now, but we felt guilty. We felt like it was our fault. You never had time for us. You always said you were going out to make a living. Don't you understand? We were children, we were hurt. We were scared, we were afraid. We just wanted somebody to love us. We didn't need her to be our mom, we had a mom at home. We didn't need her kids to be our siblings, we were siblings. To all you adult parents, you need to try to get a copy of Dr. Phil's show because that is what you did to us. That is why we feel inadequate today.

For the 2008 election they are already talking about the next presidential candidates. They are already talking about vote for Christians that vote pro-

life. Let me remind you of something. Some people that vote pro-life took away from the low-income working people, the handicapped and the elderly. Lot of these people were Republicans and they voted for these people. They took away from them and kept the welfare, so you remember that when you go to the election. Just because they say they are against abortion doesn't mean they are really against abortion because Bush has been in for five years and the man has not done nothing about abortion yet. He is not going to and it will never be. They use Christian to get your vote. So don't be fooled next time when the election comes around. Use your head. Think about how the Republicans really done people. They are for the rich they are not for the poor, low-income working people. Whether you are Republican or Democrat, they are not for you.

I don't know if you will put this in Speakout but I just saw on CNN where the white, female teacher who had sex with the 13-year-old got nine months. My cousin, he is black, he had sex with a 14-year-old girl. He got three years. Now, can you explain to me why a white, pretty school teacher that had sex with a 13-year-old only got nine months and my cousin got three years. It is wrong. I think females should get the same as males when they have sex with underage kids.

This is to the person who was wondering why Oprah Winfrey was having reruns on her show. When did you think she was going to be able to take a vacation? I'm sure she can take a much longer vacation than most working people. If you notice all shows are reruns during the summer.