Letters to the Editor - 2/22/2008
By: Readers of the North County Times and Californian - | ∞
Government cuts budget on backs of poor
Our president is running all over the world giving away massive amounts of our taxpayer money to foreign governments, little of which will actually get past the politicians for the purpose it is supposedly for. Meanwhile, he is cutting benefits to our own people.
I am as compassionate as anyone, and people everywhere need help, but let's take care of our own first. His reputation with the world is beyond repair.
Our governor has made massive cuts to state expenditures to meet our budget, and where are the cuts going to be made? From the people who can least afford them, of course, as usual. Schools, health and welfare and anything benefiting low-income residents will take the brunt of the cuts. All this while costs are going up. How many cuts affect the people at the top? My bet is few to none.
Those of us who received our massive $20 monthly increase to our Social IN-Security checks (in many cases more than offset by increases in increased deductions for medical coverage, leaving us with a net loss) will suffer the most from the cuts to any benefits that we may be receiving. Our living standard will drop even lower.
William Eade
San Marcos
Address the true facts on crime
If Doug Bell and Raoul Contreras would address a racial issue in actual published facts and not use portions of anything to project their point of view, they could be believed in. If both would pull up the 2005 California Department of Corrections data tables and go to charts No. 30, No. 31 and No. 33 they both will be able to correct themselves to the true facts on this issue.
From the latest published 2005 charts, chart No. 31 states "violent" crimes committed by race. It showed whites did 37.5 percent, Hispanics did 39.7 percent, blacks did 29.1 percent, others did 7.9 percent. But you have to throw in the percentage of the population of each race and then match them with the above percentages. Then you can determine which race is the most violent. But for the picture to be clearer, studying will show that each race is predominately violent against their own race. But keep in mind that, regardless of what race, the victims all hurt and the judiciary must be held accountable.
The real issue here is not racial but the crime. Facts will display that if the punishment is strong enough and done in an expedient legal manner by the judiciary, these violent crimes will be held at their lowest level.
George Cullins
Carlsbad
Liberty, not equality, is the American dream
It is the "but what you can do for your country" that counts, not what (more) this country can do for you that is important. It is pandering season again or, as they like to say, election time. The candidates are long on vague and empty hopes to fill our numbed minds about what is in it for us when we select them as our kind and loving Mommy/Daddy. It is a junior high school popularity contest, with little or no reality attached.
The reality is that the American dream we have all heard of is not what they can do for us, but what we can do for ourselves. Our independence and our constitutional documents are based on what we can do as citizens, not what those we elect can do to us. It has been turned around by these would-be tyrants over the last 232 years, making some of us think we are beholden to the government.
Reality is that they are supposed to guard our rights under the Constitution so we are free to have our life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is liberty, not equality, that is the American promise.
Fred Schuster
Vista
Vote for anyone except a Republican
There comes a time in everyone's life that we have to reassess our position on issues of importance. Finding ourselves putting our children on the school bus where the bus driver has had numerous accidents is a case where we have to think the future of our kids is at risk! This is the position that many Republicans now find themselves in. The GOP under the "leadership" of Reagan and both Bushes has borrowed so much money to pay for outright pocket-stuffing that our nation is now bankrupt. The graft and collusion apparently have no end, and our constitutional rights have been sharply curtailed by the same bunch.
Now, our children's future is at grave risk, and any thinking, concerned American will have to deal with this question before the November elections.
Good people, we have been putting our kids on the wrong bus! The GOP, or Republicans, or conservatives, or whatever they call themselves these days, are not the Republicans that our parents chose to lead the nation. They are everything America is not -- liars, thieves and fascists. Take the kids off the bus of no future. Do the right thing and vote for anyone except a Republican.
Dave Patterson
Ramona
Marine Corps is a bureaucracy
The recent story concerning gross mismanagement in the Marine Corps further illustrates the problem that seems to plague all of the military services ("Study says lack of MRAPs cost Marine lives," Feb. 16). First there are the honorable men who risk their lives to protect this country. Then there are some military leaders who can't seem to make up their minds on whether they want to be commanders of our noble fighting forces or worthless federal bureaucrats whose personal agenda exceeds their oath of duty.
The Marine Corps' refusal to provide blast-resistant vehicles to our men in Iraq can probably be traced back to backroom deals with civilian contractors to send substandard vehicles to our men. In return for their criminal negligent behavior some of these Marine Corps officials may have received generous kickbacks or promises of future employment. ...
The Marine Corps officials who obstructed the delivery of blast-resistant vehicles to our Marines in Iraq should be prosecuted for their actions, then sent to prison for a very long time.
Frank Kliner
Oceanside
Democrats keep hands off the porn industry
After listening to the many debates and stump speeches, I can't think of any industry or corporation that Hillary or Hussein Obama has decided not to attack, except the billion-dollar porn industry. They have promised to attack your employers in the oil industry, the drug industry, the health care industry, the automobile industry, Wall Street, the banks, the credit card companies, the aerospace companies, the trucking companies, the farmers, etc., etc. So, I guess we know where their priorities are, don't we?
But don't feel bad, they will provide you with a newly socialized health care system, free to us all, and run by the same cabal of bureaucrats that run the bankrupt Social Security system. These people have already stopped America from drilling for the necessary oil that would stabilize world prices and possibly prevent a recession, and now they want to punish those evil corporate employers who sign our paychecks and pay for our pensions and benefits. But, it will be business as usual -- hands off the underground porn industry.
Charles Bondy
Encinitas
Think about the advantages of nuclear energy
On Sunday, Feb. 17, the front page of your paper published an article, "Cutting carbon: State refining strategy for slashing power plant emissions," Feb. 17. It concentrated on emissions by utilities. The state wants to "regulate" the emissions by edict. In other words, just pass a law. If, on the other hand, the utilities actually try to reduce undesirable emissions by practical means, say, by tapping into sources over in the Imperial Valley, they are impeded by those who wish not to utilize the transmission lines necessary to accomplish this. That is certainly understandable but of no help in solving the problem.
The real way to reduce unwanted emissions is to encourage nuclear power generation. Yes, I understand the waste products involved there. The resulting electrical energy may then be ultimately applied to practically power automobiles as well.
Again, this is where politicians and regulators make themselves feel good by passing a law or regulation to establish unrealistic gas mileage objectives. Another very practical result of nuclear energy will be to allow us to reduce or eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. Think about all of these advantages.
Ray Boettger
Escondido
Off the couch and outdoors
I am writing in response to the recent article "Message to parents: Get the kids exercising, for their own sake" published on Feb. 9. I agree with the author, and I am very pleased that this article was published to encourage parents and teachers to implement exercise back into children's lives. I have seen far too many children sitting and passing the hours playing video games and watching television instead of playing or actively engaging their creativity and intellect.
With today's fast-paced schedules, it is a challenge for anyone to find time to exercise unless a conscious effort is made. Outdoor activity is especially difficult due to the fact that many parents work full time and cannot guarantee a safe outdoor environment for children.
As a student nurse and dancer, I feel it is important to promote physical fitness and creative play in our children. ... Exercise will not only keep children physically healthy, but can also raise self-esteem and sponsor positive social interactions. I wholeheartedly support any school programs that get children to play, compete or create every day. Encouraging these types of programs can ensure parents that their children are safe, as well as getting them the exercise they need.
Colleen Parnell
student, University of San Diego School of Nursing
San Diego
I want a president who keeps it simple
We don't have money, we don't spend it. We have support from a foreign country to stop terrorism or we don't give it billions in aid. We know a dictator is suppressing all civil rights, and butchering, we stop all trade. We stop pouring money into education and tear down the real failure, the certification system. The teacher's certificate fills teachers heads with silly, meaningless puff hours of dull education courses, instead of critical studies, statistics, math and testing, which would weed out the less-qualified.
We simplify the welfare budget by 50 percent to 70 percent in administration by simplifying the rules (anyone could do it). We reform health care where the big cost is -- not as easy -- at the insurance companies. They control the entire health system, including the doctors, because the insurance companies are illegally practicing medicine. The doctors cannot even do what is medically necessary.
Keep it simple, stupid, and kisses to the president who understands that throwing money at a problem doesn't solve it, or that we can't solve a problem without it, or sometimes withdrawing money actually does. How we have complicated things into chaos.
Noel Spaid
Del Mar
Shame on rusty elbows on court
To this unreconstructed nonpartisan citizen, any one of the presidential wannabes except, perhaps, Mike Huckabee would represent immeasurable improvement over our current president, who has messed over the vast majority of his policies, decisions and alibis.
I do have a problem with John McCain's promise to nominate constitutional constructionist court justices like Alito and Roberts, however. Constitutional constructionists are generally desirable, but the pair that McCain admires seem unable to understand our Constitution's preamble, let alone its provisions. Alito and Roberts consistently misread, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union" as "We the corporations of the United States, in order to form a more profitable hegemony."
Shame upon those rusty elbows in the plumbing of our republic, Alito, Roberts, Scalia, et al. (And also, may plague be upon those who so greatly admire them.)
Dick West
Encinitas
Our system is a republic, not a democracy
There is an inherit danger in democracy, majority rule, and inherit good in a republic, the rule of law. The Pledge of Allegiance states "to the republic, for which it stands." There are some things that the people should never be allowed to vote on. These are matters that affect the lives (and abridge the God-given rights) of our citizens and constitute power far beyond what you as an individual have a right to do.
The people established our government and cannot delegate any power or right to the government they do not have in and of themselves. If we are trying to impose democracy on the world, then that is the same objective of Karl Marx in the 1848 "Communist Manifesto."
Our forefathers (e.g., Edmund Randolph, Samuel Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and George Washington) have said about democracy that it was the worst form of government man had ever devised because of where it ultimately led: slavery and the road to that destination a violent and turbulent one. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government -- U.S. Constitution, Article 4, Section 4.
Mark Corcoran
Fallbrook
Words vs. experience
Both McCain and Hillary are downplaying the inspiring message of Barack Obama. Hope and wishful thinking do not get the job done, only their proven records count, they say. Excuse me. So why then do we use words to pray? Are the words of the Ten Commandments irrelevant? How about our Constitution? If words are not important, then why are the Republicans trying to change the words of the Constitution to fit the narrow evangelical view of life?
Words are important and Barack Obama's words are what we are thirsty for, to see ourselves as equals and that each living individual is important. Whether we are rich or poor, Democrat or Republican, handicapped or genius, native-born or immigrant, heterosexual or homosexual, peace lover or militant, we all want a peaceful, prosperous life with good jobs, education and health care. We hear in that singular voice of Barack what we all desire, the possibility that the world can be changed, not by him alone, but in the collective belief that the fears and negative thinking gripping us in these last eight years can be diminished.
We can have a prosperous country and at the same time keep our country secure. His words are clear and Barack's image of America is at hand.
Peggy Hart
Carlsbad
It's time to vote your conscience
My favorite quote from previous presidential election campaigns is, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" No one I know, including ardent Republican supporters of the Bush administration, can answer yes, including my die-hard Republican brother.
The worst president in the history of the United States has made it abundantly clear to every critically thinking person that the state of our nation is worse now than it was in 2004, and much worse than it was in 2000. President Bush himself is directly responsible and accountable for the state of our nation today.
The Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, and the Republican members of Congress bear special responsibility for enabling this ne'er-do-well to squander this nation's treasure and to shed the blood of its youth for no good reason. Their economic ignorance has put the United States into an unnecessary recession. Their foreign policy blunders have cost us almost five years of unnecessary war and almost 4,000 American lives lost in Iraq, a place we never needed to occupy. My adult children know this. My young grandchildren will hear this from me. I will urge them to vote when they first become eligible, and to say, "Never again."
Is the country better off now? Absolutely not. I know why. You know why. Vote your conscience in November.
Kenneth Leon
Temecula
Writer wrongly blames liberals for too much
Dan Perkins' Feb. 13 letter "This is where liberals have got us so far" is an example of the uninformed citizen that Thomas Jefferson ---- a liberal ---- warned us against.
Mr. Perkins' characterization of Korea, Vietnam and J.F.K's Cuban policy is so inaccurate and oversimplified I would need a book to correct his mistakes. However, I will address a few. Calling Korea "a failure" is inaccurate. Our armed forces were sent over there to defend South Korea from being over run by North Korea, not to reunite the two. Also, saying that the "liberals stopped us from winning" is absurd. With the horrors of World War II still fresh in our memory, fighting a prolonged and bloody war against the massive Chinese army in order to win would have been morally reprehensible and politically impossible.
Finally, his claim that liberal ideology has caused "pain," "suffering," "death to innocents," and "costs lots of money" is illogical.
Liberals freed the slaves, ended apartheid, passed civil rights laws, ended child labor, gave women the right to vote, ended abusive working conditions, made our food safer, our air cleaner and our lives better. Conservatives tried to stop all of those things. As for liberal ideology costing "lots of money," some things are worth paying for.
John Sweet
Menifee
U.S. should take neutral stance in Mideast
Mr. Stephen Katz (Letters, Feb. 17) recently defended Israel by declaring that the Israelis do not send men, women and children to slaughter civilian children, women and men.
He obviously denies how the state of Israel was created ---- through the use of terrorist acts against the British and the Palestinians.
He also fails to acknowledge the hundreds of billions of dollars given to the Israelis by the United States since their state was carved out of Palestine lands by the United Nations in 1948.
He also fails to mention that (many believe) the Israelis clandestinely developed a nuclear weapon and have a stockpile of them. An offense that mistakenly cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis during the last six years.
He also fails to mention the numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions that Israel has thumbed its collective nose at over the last 30 years ---- again, an egregious act of defiance that cost Iraq dearly.
I would like to see our government be far more neutral in Middle Eastern affairs. As long as our government is influenced so heavily by the Zionists and arms dealers, it never will be. I am neither anti-Jewish nor anti-Semitic, but I certainly am pro-American and anti-Zionist.
Michael Haslam
Carlsbad
Council's decision won't solve problem
That's nice that the Murrieta City Council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance making banks responsible for maintenance on foreclosed properties.
However, that's not going to produce any dramatic results! With those subprime loans being bundled and sold on Wall Street, it's a nightmare for institutions to know who owns what. Violations and fines won't matter to those international banks or hedge funds that own those loan portfolios. The Murrieta City Council's idea is a good one, but it won't make a dent in the visual blight.
Christi White
Murrieta
WEB COMMENTS
Stuck cat rescued from power pole
An article Thursday on how a sheriff's deputy and neighbor helped rescue a cat stuck on power pole generated some comments:
Playing hero
Zygo: ... How many skeletons of dead cats are found on top of poles? Answer ---- none. So, I gather from the article, Aguanga was denied the services of a patrol deputy so that he could "play hero" for several hours, ... placing his person in danger rescuing a cat from a pole. I sure hope there was no "real" emergency in Aguanga that day. ...
Hawks around town
Oh my goodness: To Zygo: It doesn't sound as if the officer was actually there that long. Why such a sourpuss? Also, how do you know there are no skeletons of dead cats on poles? Maybe once they die, they are then taken by ... hawks. ...
Wasted resources
Crazy: ... This cat wasted how much in resources to get it down? Unbelievable. ... Saving a flea-ridden feline qualifies as a "hero"? Absolutely slow news day, wasn't it?
Where's firefighters?
Wondering: I am wondering why the fire department refused to remove the cat. ... I guess the firemen where to busy cleaning or eating to help out the community when needed. ...
Deeds appreciated
Whatever: To Zygo, Mark and Crazy. May you find yourself up a pole! ... "Simple Good Deeds" are appreciated by those with kind hearts.
Escondido upbeat about possible day-labor restrictions
City officials said Tuesday they have been impressed by the early success of new day-laborer restrictions in the city of Orange, but they also warned that those laws might not be a perfect fit in Escondido if the city decides to adopt similar legislation. City Attorney Jeff Epp said that he and his staff have spent two months studying the laws passed by Orange, which is about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles. They began that research at the request of Councilman Ed Gallo, who contends that Escondido should adopt similar laws.
Applying a Band-Aid
anotherview: Another Band-Aid. If truly serious about ending the presence of illegal aliens who affect public safety, then the elected city officials would mandate the cooperation of city police officers with federal authorities to identify and detain illegal aliens for their due deportation. After all, illegal aliens have no right to live and work in America. By enforcement of the law, America can free itself of illegal aliens, and will prosper all the more.
Just say no
Concerned-1: Here's an idea: Don't hire day laborers unless they prove they are legal. But, I guess for some that is like just saying no to drugs.
Bank robbers have families too
Jesse: I'd like to know why I can't rob a bank, as long as I don't physically hurt anyone, and then have the cops just look the other way? Because it's illegal? I could use the excuse that I'm just trying to improve my living conditions --- or feed my family. So why can't I?
It won't work
MAX: You can bet your bottom dollar that the ACLU is monitoring this silly grandstanding by the little, local politicos. Escondido and Vista have been spanked before by the ACLU for illegally usurping federal authority and both cities pulled in their horns and slipped away into the night. Now we have more of the same popping up. It won't work now any more than it did before. Mark my words.
State's deficit worries echoed in North County
Across California and North County, leaders of agencies and institutions that rely on state funding fretted that a $16 billion budget shortfall predicted by the state's independent Legislative Analyst's Office on Wednesday would make difficult times even worse. Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed about $2 billion in spending into the next fiscal year. On Tuesday, he issued an executive order Tuesday that the he said would save an additional $100 million through hiring freezes and travel reductions.
The party is over
MJ: I have yet to read an honest analysis or explanation of how we got into this pickle. My general observation is that our society has increasingly become accustomed to having their cake and eating it too. It looks like the party is over for a while.
The issue is who pays
Escondeeter: While Gehring's right that the Community Clinic program is a far better use of our limited resources than treating those patients in ERs, let's be clear what we're talking about here. The issue isn't access to medical care, the issue is access to medical care by those who want someone else to pay for it. Specialists who don't accept MediCal are perfectly willing to accept the old form of compensation for care, that almost forgotten commodity called "cash."
Cut spending
Jet: Sacramento just continues to spend too much with a budget that grows every year. Raising taxes when housing values are in decline and real wages are falling will only make matters worse and leave less for investment. More registration fees and higher gasoline taxes will just sap more from the consumer and, in the end, CA sales tax receipts will fall. The solution is to cut nonessential government spending dramatically, eliminate benefits to illegals and cut taxes --- particularly payroll, gas and lower-income brackets. Of course, none of that will happen and tax hikes combined with lowering physician reimbursements will make the need even greater. Maybe that is the real agenda --- government dependency, not freedom.
Cost of owning a home increases
Interest rates on mortgages have increased dramatically over the last few weeks, preventing homeowners from refinancing and making it more expensive to buy a home. The average interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages last week was 6.09 percent, up more than a quarter of a percentage point in just one week and about one-half a percentage point in four weeks, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association, a national group.
Another scam?
wait a minute: It's been a while since I took Econ 101, but I don't get it. When the Fed raises interest rates, mortgage rates rise because banks have to pay more to get money to lend. When the Fed lowers interest rates, banks have to raise mortgage rates in order to entice investors. (Sounds a lot like oil company rationales for higher prices.) So what makes mortgage rates drop?
Econ 101
tevee: To make mortgage rates drop, inflation has to be in check. If inflation is on the way down, long-term rates will decline. Mortgage rates will drop too. To make this happen: 1. Commodity prices decline due to an oversupply (global economic slowdown would be needed to cause this) 2. Commodity prices decline due to stronger dollar - the U.S. government has to stop deficit spending and some how the trade deficit is on a decline. 3. Fed increases short term interest rates reducing spending, which will cause prices to stop increasing. 4. Spending in the economy declined severely and borrowing stopped. Pls, correct me --- I'm still learning.
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OBSRVATION wrote on Feb 21, 2008 9:37 PM:Democrats keep hands off the porn industry
BY Charles Bondy. I observe that the same statements and conclusions have been written on this blog.
0412 wrote on Feb 21, 2008 9:44 PM:
Democrats keep hands off the porn industry
Gee. i ca not think of any of the political candidates criticize the Porn industry. Did GWB assail the porn industry when he was a candidate or as President? Bondy wants you to believe that the Democrats support the porn industry. How absurd. But, me and my five liberals sure do. Its profitable. Its all our faulit. LOL.
sdraoul wrote on Feb 21, 2008 11:28 PM:George Cullins writes from an almost all-white Carlsbad, but he thinks like a deep South old line racist. He suggests that Doug Bell and Contreras use his figures to correct themselves. He suggests that they look at some figures he claims are from the State of California. He claims the figures are race-based.
But, Hispanics are not a race, thus his stated figures are phony. Hispancis are an ethnic group that can be of any race.
Thus, his figures of 37 pecent of violent crimes by whites, 39 percent by "Hispanics" and 29 percent by blacks are not accurate.
His suggestion that a population template be placed over those phony figures will give Doug Bell and Contreras true racial facts of violent crime perpetrators is only put forward to show that blacks commit violent crimes at about 6 times their share of the state population.
Nice trick, but Cullins isn't gutsy enough to just come out and say it because he is trying not to show that he is a racist. In that he joins Doug Bell who blames all crime on Mexicans despite the fact that his charges are not true by any stretch of the imagination. The difference between these two men is only that Doug Bell manifests what he is directly by his own words while Cullins tries to be cute and hide behind phony numbers about races and ethnicities that do not compute.
Nick wrote on Feb 21, 2008 11:47 PM:Charles Bondy has me stumped. As much as I dislike Democrats, what's wrong with good porn?
Expat Doug wrote on Feb 22, 2008 3:20 AM:Silly Americans (including hyphenated Americans like Raoul)! Until you experience life outside the borders, while still being an unhyphenated American, regardless of your ethnic background, you will never understand the nature of the world or people.
Come experience life with me in Southeast Asia, and then see how much credence or silliness your petty comments have.
Life is short, enjoy and embrace the difference. If, in a group of two, we both agreed on everything...well, one of us would be unnecessary.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 3:59 AM:>>Democrats keep hands off the porn industry
BY Charles Bondy. I observe that the same statements and conclusions have been written on this blog>> I agree, but that gentleman says it in a much more civilized manner. You bloggers could learn from him
THE anti-liberal wrote on Feb 22, 2008 5:39 AM:SOLON ... wrote on Feb 21, 2008 11:41 AM:… Thank you for responding to my question about the ultra-left childish Keith Olbermann. Are you OK now, or are you still hyperventilating? How many times a day do you use the word racist, anyway? As I explained yesterday, I’m no fan of Bill O, but as I spend many hours a day on the road I’ve become a radio talk show junky. Yesterday I waited breathlessly to hear someone pickup Keith Olbermann’s ( Bill O’s a racist crap) ball and run with it; not a peep…….never all day. It’s obvious not only by your chosen name, but more apparently your self loathing liberal attitude, that you just parrot the filth you read on solon.com and the ludicrous diatribes of KO. I doubt you could pick Bill O out of a line-up. People like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are doing a stellar job of hindering the advancement of the black community; they don’t need the assistance of some white huckster like KO. Thanks again for sharing and demonstrating just how far out you guys are.
To OBSRVATION wrote on Feb 22, 2008 5:58 AM:"OBSRVATION wrote on Feb 21, 2008 9:37 PM:Democrats keep hands off the porn industry BY Charles Bondy. I observe that the same statements and conclusions have been written on this blog." I agree. I was surprised that he didn't mention SB777.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 6:03 AM:I see the NYTimes journalistic standards rival that of the Enquirer. And the liberals cheer the slander, because its what they crave. A terrorist will blow up an orphange in Iraq, and all the liberals will want to read about is Brittany, Lindsay and Paris. So, I dont blame the Sulzberger cabal for giving liberals what they want
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 6:06 AM:>>Both McCain and Hillary are downplaying the inspiring message of Barack Obama>>>What's inspiring about someone who wants to ensnare as many as possible into the realm of govt dependency? Is that inspiring to you. Its sickening to normal people
OBSERVATION wrote on Feb 22, 2008 6:11 AM:Liberty, not equality, is the American dream We neither have liberty or equality under the Constitution.
THE anti-liberal wrote on Feb 22, 2008 6:16 AM:To THE Anti-Liberal@6:21am wrote on Feb 21, 2008 9:13 AM: But he also has ultra-right Pat Buchanan and others. "Others"; what others, name one. Pat Buchanan is an MSNBC political analyst; KO probably has no choice but to speak with him occasionaly. The other night (when KO spent half the show trying to smear Juan McCain, the other half, Bill O)Pat Buchanan explained the vacuous New York Times Juan McCain smear article. It was a long and intelligent explanation; KO, being unarmed (with intelligence)had no other choice but to agree with him; however he continued his attempt to smear McCain in subsequent segments of the show, with other (liberal) guests.
Reason wrote on Feb 22, 2008 6:47 AM:Response to:'Democrats keep hands off the porn industry'
Republicans have made no stance on kitten abuse. So by your logic, they are in favor
of kitten abuse, damn them.
El Guero wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:11 AM:To OBSERVATION: You should know by now that you can't ask sdraoul an innocent question about anything. He simply won't take yes for an answer. Oh the deamons he must see under his bed. Anyway, his job here, it seems, is to try to convince everyone that illegal immigrants have an important purpose in our lives, are here to stay, no matter what, and that we must accept the fact (and be grateful). That and some inscrutable stuff about the Marines, John Kerry, Vietnam and other stuff that no one really cares about.
Ms M wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:33 AM:Nick wrote on Feb 21, 2008 11:47 PM:Charles Bondy has me stumped. As much as I dislike Democrats, what's wrong with good porn?
Nick, why do you dislike Democrats?
I agree with Peggy Hart wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:34 AM:If we can not believe in hope then why bother to have an election? The other night on television I heard that idiot McCain say " I am going to spend every day dispelling the theory of false hope from the minds of the American people." Holy crap you've got to be kidding me. I want some hope thank you very much!!! I want to believe their is a possiblity for change!!! I want to believe that better things are ahead for us. So I will vote for Obama because he dares to dream, he dares to hope, he dares to challenge us to be better.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:42 AM:>>>As much as I dislike Democrats, what's wrong with good porn?>> At least you are honest. You dont have to tell people you buy it for "the articles"
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:43 AM:>>>I was surprised that he didn't mention SB777. >> He was in a hurry & forgot
DD Wiz wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:50 AM: The post from "OBSERVATION" (6:11am) claims that "Liberty, not equality, is the American dream."
This is just another phony conservative FALSE DICHOTOMY.
Liberty is not incompatible with Equality (of opportunity, not outcomes).
Trying to say the American Dream embodies one but NOT the other seeks to fabricate a difference that is not inherent in these two dimensions.
He goes on to say: "We neither have liberty or equality under the Constitution."
Actually, we have both. There are Constitutional guarantees of both LIBERTY and EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW.
And, just wondering, but which letter or post was this supposed to be in response to?
porn industry wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:53 AM: What in the world is Charles Bondy's problem with pornography? It is free-enterprise capitalism at its finest. People pay money to watch people have sex, doesn't sound too painful, violent or harmful to me. Beats pouring billion$s into guns, soldiers, bullets and Iraq. By the way Mr. Bondy, the Republicans have been in power for the last 8 years. What have they done about the porn "problem"?
DD Wiz wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:54 AM: The post from "Chuck" (3:59am) praises the published letter from "Charles Bondy" which uses some of the exact same language that "Chuck" is notorious for, such as trying to describe liberal political figures in the most unflattering and out-of-context disrespectful manner possible (or just simply calling names, which conservatives seem to think is just so adorably funny), since they can't actually address a single issue of substance.
"Charles" and "Chuck" also seem to share the same perverse obsession with others' private lives. Hmmm.
Ron wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:09 AM:Maybe you've seen this TV ad, the guy is going through his day talking about allthese great things he has, big house, nice car, riding lawn mower, country club membership...
At the end he says: "I'm in debt, up to my eyeballs.. Somebody help me."
During the couse of the commercial you learn he has gained all these things by credit, he borrowed to maintain the lifestyle.
America has done exactly the same. If you look at all levels of goverment, they have done the exact same thing.
The red ink is running, yet the spending continues...
Which brings me to William Eade.
He says: "Government cuts budget on backs of poor."
I don't believe they are cutting on the back of the poor, but they must go where the money is, as John Dillinger used to say. That's where the money is.
Half our State budget is spent on education, most of the rest is spent on social welfare programs, he cites. That's where the money is, so when the bad times come, that is where the cuts will be made, regardless of the need, and out regard to who it will affect.
It's not as if they look to hurt someone personally, they have to go where the most money is, and roll it back.
Mr. Eade complains about the president giving away taxpayer money to foreign governments, and the governor making massive cuts {actually 10% proposed} to state expenditures.
Hardly massive cuts, and we hardly give away massive amounts to foreign governments.
But I want you to see the mind set. This dependence upon the good graces of the government for his personal well being. This is the liberal institutionalism I've been speaking about. According to Mr. Eade those on Social Security got a $20 increase.
It is obvious this is his only means of survival. After working his entire life {and I'm taking a little liberty here, cause I really know nothing about Mr. Eade}, he only has Social Security as income. Why? Because he sold his soul to the big lie, this idea that government will take care of me. How many times in our own life have we seen this dance by government, when times get hard, they cut programs? Yet, the dependence continues. And on top of that, they are borrowing the money from future liabilities, to spend today.
At the Federal level, we spend $962 billion every year on some 40 million seniors, folks that's 1/3 of our entire budget. According to Controller General David Walker, we spend 60% of our entire budget on these entitlements, and by the end of the next president, that number will be 70%. The amount of social welfare spending can not be continued, by we have a problem, we have people like Mr. Eade. They are people who have not saved a dime for themselves, because they bought the big lie, that government will always be there to save you.
Porn is capitalism working wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:17 AM:Porn is legal for adults. Is it not simply free-market capitalism in action? Aren't adult consumers free to buy what they wish with the fruits of their labor? I read somewhere that the porn industry out-grosses (no pun intended) Hollywood. That's the American people voting with their wallet. Surprises me to hear any conservatives complain about it. For that matter, I can't understand why conservatives complain or even "declare war" on drugs. Same reasons. I thought they were against governmental regulation. Isn't this hypocritical of their core principles? Isn't their mantra to the government "Leave me alone"?
Reardon wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:29 AM:Gosh, SDRAOUL, I don’t know, but the Sentencing Project, a liberal research and prison reform group funded by the Ford Foundation (among others), said, “In 2005, Hispanics comprised 20% of the state and federal prison population, a rise of 43% since 1990.5 As a result of these trends, one of every six Hispanic males and one of every 45 Hispanic females born today can expect to go to prison in his or her lifetime.6 These rates are more than double those for non-Hispanic whites.” (pp. 4, para. 1). Perhaps this is not PEER-REVIEWED!
Rick wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:32 AM:Hate to tell you this, but porn has not been underground since the 1950's.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:33 AM:>>>So I will vote for Obama because he dares to dream,>>> lol, I CHOKED ON MY COFFEE. You will vote for Obama because of the the freebees. How can soemone who's going to ensnare you into govt dependency, challenge you? How is someone who has promised to attack virtually every American business, the lifeblood of employment in America, going to give you hope-- All you'll be hoping for is a paycheck.
And of course, he's going to give you free healthcare, run by the same cabal who bankrupted Social Security. How many times have you said to yourself or others "Social Security wont be there when I retire"
OBSERVATION wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:47 AM:DD Wiz wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:50 AM: You misinterpret my statement. We do not have economic equality under the Constitution or the law. We have not had liberty under the Constitution since GWB became President. He has devalued and improvised the Constitution and the American people through his policies accepted by the Congress. We no longer have equality under the law anymore since anyone can be declared an enemy combatant and end up at Gitmo. DD, I am far from being from being a conservative. I used to be a centrist Democrat but now am an Independent leaning toward liberalism.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:47 AM:>>"Charles" and "Chuck" also seem to share the same perverse obsession with others' private lives. Hmmm>>> My obsession is to keep the perverts out of my life and stop them from jamming their agenda, and whatever else they like to jam, down other people's throats
Rick wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:54 AM:But, republican thought has been.
OBSERVATION wrote on Feb 22, 2008 9:13 AM:porn industry wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:53 AM: Republicans are small business owners (distribution) as well as consumers.
Well, actually, Ron wrote on Feb 22, 2008 9:35 AM:While I agree with a lot of your post at 8:09, I disagree that when the government makes cuts in spending, it has to go where the money is. It should make cuts based on the actual needs of the people and the importance of the programs that are being cut. For example, even though military and related spending might not match education spending, I think the nation needs schools a whole lot more than it needs the size of the military that we have, the number and size of the bases all over the world that we have, the number of nuclear weapons that we have, etc etc. If you as a private individual go through some tough times, I bet you don't say that you'll make your spending cuts "where the money is", e.g., your mortgage. No, you look at your outlay and find the things you can best afford to be without. Government should do the same. Decreases in education, increases in poverty, run up costs for decades to come, reduce future tax revenues, and extend the current problem far into the future.
to Expat Doug wrote on Feb 22, 2008 9:38 AM:I appreciate your posting to us with your news from elsewhere. Please, contribute more about what you see there. What do you think the posters here (we are all regulars, and today's posts are interchangable with any other day's) need to learn? Anything other than the usual name-calling and frustrated efforts to educate would be refreshing. Thanks in advance.
EXCELLENT! wrote on Feb 22, 2008 9:53 AM:Great letter, Fred Schuster. Thanks
To Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 9:54 AM:Choke on your coffee, Laugh out Loud. I have never said to myself or anyone else their will not be any social security there when I retire because I invested wisely. I do not need any freebies. You say "he has promised to attack virtually every American business, the lifeblood of employment in America" Aren't you one of those people who are always ranting about how the government should go after businesses who hire illegal immigrants? Are those the companies you are now calling "the lifeblood". Well I am about to choke on my bagel something with a little more substance than coffee but substance is what we are talking about here, right....Go Obama!!!!!
Randy wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:00 AM:"Real News * Really Local"- I hope you didn't pay good money for that slogan!
DD Wiz wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:01 AM: The post from "OBSERVATION" (8:47am) "corrects" mine of 7:50am by changing the comment I was responding to.
I am all for editing and correcting one's work. God knows I've had to do it enough times myself -- in fact, my 7:50am comment contained an error by omission when I asked "which letter or post" "OBSERVATION" was responding to after I must have had an overactive down arrow and skipped over the published letter from Fred Schuster until I saw it in the actual newspaper (not sure if that means I have to follow my own past advice to "Karl" and wait until I've had that second cuppajoe, or follow his lead and switch to decaf to control that trigger-happy cursor finger -- or just blame it on being an uneducated, barely-literate 3rd-grade dropout -- excuses, excuses).
However, in the comment I responded to, "OBSERVATION" just said "Liberty, not equality, is the American dream," echoing the comments in Schuster's published letter.
He was talking about the DREAM, not the reality. He also went on to state: "We neither have liberty or equality under the Constitution."
I am glad he has a liberal outlook, or at least holds on to one that is "independent leaning toward liberalism."
But he cannot say I "misinterpreted" his comment when he now changes it to add the word "economic" liberty and to change it from the American DREAM to the American reality.
We can all agree that America has often fallen short of her ideals, and never more so than under the current administration of lying us into war, torture, corruption, outing CIA agents, holding people without charges (including American citizens arrested inside the country, such as Jose Padilla), domestic warrantless wiretapping, violations of civil liberties, and, yes, increasing the inequality (of opportunity, not outcomes, both economic and otherwise).
But the failures of reality are different that the promises of our ideals; America still holds ideals that we can and should aspire to. And while we agree that there is terrible inequality of both liberty AND equality (reiterating that the dichotomy between them is a false choice, as is the false dichotomy claimed in the published letter by Mark Corcoran between a republic and a democracy, in which representative government is by popular election to reflect the will of the majority within a framework of protective safeguard to protect the rights of the minority).
These failures are not violations of the American dream nor of the Constitution, but of the corrupt stewards who have abused their public trust.
Yokozuna to Ron wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:11 AM:Re: Social Security and seniors. The first day I went to the Social Security office to make arrangements for payments what I saw was not what I expected. I expected to see a bunch of gray haired (some blue haired also) old people there for service. Considerably more than half of the customers where young or middle aged. If social security benefits were only available to the retired community perhaps the system would be in better financial shape.
Ron wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:18 AM:Fred Schuster is onto something here. "Liberty, not equality, IS the American dream" as stated by our Founders. But, during the Franklin Roosevelt administration {and actually, a little bit before him} our country took an abrupt left turn toward socialism.
Fred talks about the current crop of liberal/progressive/whatever else they are calling themselves today.. mantra's of filling people's heart's with empty and vague hopes of what they can do for us, economically through the good graces of a Mommy/Daddy Government.
This is not a new idea, it actually was voiced by FDR in his idea of a "Second Bill of Rights."
What did FDR mean, and what did he promise? Roosevelt's remedy was to create an "economic bill of rights" which would guarantee:
A job with a living wage; Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies; Homeownership; Medical care; Education; and Recreation. And he stated them within the framework of being rights.
Sounds familiar, right? Sounds like someone we all know here, right?
Now, you can say: "Well, Ron, what's wrong with these ideas? I mean, all people deserve individual freedom, and individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. As FDR said: “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
The question is, how does FDR square with our Founders? What did they think of these good graces of Government?
Founder James Jackson said: "We must confine ourselves to the powers described in the Constitution, and the moment we pass it, we take an arbitrary stride towards a despotic Government."
In conjuction; Thomas Jefferson said: "the true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best . . . (for) when all government . . . shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another, and will become as . . . oppressive as the government from which we separated."
In other words, do we want to willingly exchange the chains we once had, for a new set? An economic set whereby the Government sets the rules? If FDR is correct, that hungry men can not be truly free, why would you exchange one dictator for another? If you are dependent upon the good graces of the ruling elite inside the government for your economic well being, you will not be free, you will not have liberty, and you will not have happiness. Your freedom, your liberty, and your happiness will rise & fall as the government rises and falls. As seen today by William Eade. Government can not provide any one with more liberty, without displacing liberty from another. If you listen closely to either Hillary or Obama, that is exactly what they are proposing, economically. They intend to take from some, and give to another. This is not our Founders thinking, or their wisdom.
What they are preaching is Marxism, socialism. The removing from some, to provide for others. "From each, according to his means, to each according to his needs."
I love Thomas Paine. We need to hear from these candidates more Thomas Paine, and less Marx. Thomas Paine said: "We still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping at the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised to furnish new pretenses for revenue and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without a tribute." How come we don't hear that from these guy's? Because they don't believe in our Founders anymore, they believe in a Marxist equality, of course, by their good graces. That my friend, is Despotism by anyone's definition.
to to Chuck @ 954 wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:23 AM:In case you're new here, Chuck is our own conservative Don Quixote. We seems him as in the old cartoons, whzzing across the page, back and forth, all day long, lance in hand, whipping his broomstick, I mean mighty steed, battling the filth of the world. Imaginary gay mafioso, imaginary governmental sucklings, imaginary gender-benders, imaginary types of all sorts. Nothing to do about it but giggle whenever he rides by. "Onward, mighty steed! There's noble work to be done! Hey, Sancho, watch your hands, there, guy, and let me see your papers while you're at it."
Talk about activist judges! wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:41 AM:Where in the Constitution does it say that Corporations have the rights of people? Nowhere! In fact, "corporations" does not appear in the Constitution. Can a corporation own land? Does a corporation have freedom of speech? Not according to the Constitution, but according to our Supreme Court? Oh, yes, and more! If that's not judicial activism, I don't know what is.
SOCIALIST SECURITY wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:43 AM:Yeah, Yokozuna - you tell 'em!
I think it's just obscene how Social Security gives all our hard-earned tax dollars for survivor's benefits and that the Social Security Administration handles the management of SSI and SSDI (separate programs from SS) for the disabled.
They ought to have their own separate bureaucracies paid for by our tax dollars or, better yet, toss all those sick and handicapped people out in the street and decrease the surplus population.
What a bunch of bleeding-heart commies! Who needs a heart anyway?
DD Wiz wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:00 AM: The post from "Ron" (10:18am) descends even deeper into his pathetic habits of making stuff up, misrepresenting others' views, misrepresenting political ideologies, and lying about the proposals of candidates, all in one post!
"Ron" says: "'Liberty, not equality, IS the American dream" as stated by our Founders." He cites some Founders later in his post, but none of them -- NOT ONE -- makes this statement or anything that can be construed to be similar, or anything that even resembles the conclusions he ascribes to them.
"Ron" is a person that repeatedly objects to any PUBLIC POLICY effort to reign in the corporate excesses that hurt other people (workers, consumers, small business owners, and the shared environment/infrastructure), although the founder of Capitalism, Adam Smith, who I have quoted in the past and whose work "Wealth of Nations" is in the public domain and easily found on many websites, explicitly and repeatedly said that such public policy boundaries would be necessary to make Capitalism work. Would "Ron" call Adam Smith, founder of Capitalism, a Socialist?
None of the statements from the Founders that "Ron" cited would in any way limit or undermine appropriate public regulation, or protection for equality of OPPORTUNITY (not outcomes), which are essential for LIBERTY.
Equality of OPPORTUNITY is a liberal standard.
Equality of OUTCOMES is a socialist standard.
Keeping the masses unprotected in their lowly place as corporate peons (labor as ONLY a commodity) is a conservative standard.
"Ron," who repeatedly expresses support for government intrusion into private matters of religion, relationships, medical care (women's choices, medical marijuana and public access to care) but never seems to find a single corporate regulation he considers appropriate for PUBLIC POLICY protection of workers, consumers, small businesses and the environment/infrastructure, is either incapable of grasping the difference between selective regulation of private enterprise and actual government ownership and operation of productive resources, or else he is just spouting his usual conservative propaganda to benefit the corporatists who feed at the public trough of earmarks and corporate welfare.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:06 AM:>>Considerably more than half of the customers where young or middle aged>> Here's the latest scam. Have kids late in life, retire at 62 and the kiddies collect on daddy's social security until age 18. Oh, and dont think the teachers dont have it figured out. They all create a phoney small business and show a small profit for the required number of quarters and then double dip
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:09 AM:>>Hey, Sancho, watch your hands>> There are neighborhood watches, whats wrong with having a Pervert Watch and a Planned Parenthood Watch to that filth away from the kids. You libbies all want a military recruiter watch so your kids arent influenced to join the military. Why cant normal perople have watches, too??
Republicans: corruption you can xerox wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:10 AM:From the AP QUOTE: Republican Rep. Rick Renzi was indicted Friday on charges of extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other matters in an Arizona land swap scam that allegedly helped him collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs.ENDQUOTE I know, I know, Democrats do it too. Please, make a list of the Dems and Repubs indicted for such in the last 5-10 years and let us know which list is longer. Deal? LOL
Yokozuna to Socialist Security wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:10 AM:Thanks for agreeing with me. As a second grade dropout with tendencies towards being a hedonistic sociopath I seldom find someone who really understands me.
To Yokozuna wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:10 AM:It might be worth mentioning that many times it is the elderly's family members that are dealing with Social Security on the elderly's behalf. Many of their checks have to be arranged to go to a conservator because they no longer are able to handle their own finances.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:15 AM:The news is reporting Billary is just 'heartsick' over officer killed in crash accompanying her motorcade. Yea, right. It gives her a photo op where she can play the sympathy card, like her phoney tears in New Hampshire.
I hope Obama took notice, and put in an order for a kevlar vest
to anti-liberal wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:21 AM:Instead of listening to the rants and raves of the idiots from both political perspectives on talk radio, why don't you tune into NPR. There you will find intelligent discussions of many issues by actual experts in the subjects being discussed. I think you'll enjoy actually learning something. And your ears will thank you.
to Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:26 AM:Re your post at 11:15. Are you threatening the life of a candidate for the President of the United States?
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:28 AM: The news is reporting that bright hazes mysteriously appear and then disappear on Venus in a matter of days. Upon PEER REVIEW, it is the global warming boogey man. The peer reviewers says that it's likely much warmer on Venus than it is on earth
Ahh, freedom and equality wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:29 AM:yes, the Founders really had it all perfect, didn't they? Freedom and equality. Life, liberty and the freedom to pursue happiness. Uh, if you were male, white, and of sufficient means, that is. Funny how the people who quote the founders the most, especially showing how conservative they were, are almost always male, white and of sufficient means. O, how they hark back to those great days when the labor was done by people darker than themselves and a woman knew her place, and a man could live without having to bother with all those non-persons suffering.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:34 AM: >>>talk radio, why don't you tune into NPR.>> Why?? its 99.5 liberal propaganda
OBSERVATION wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:43 AM:OBSERVATON: Is any one wondering what GWB is planning to do about the invasion and burning of parts of our embassy?
Ron to Yokozuna wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:53 AM:I don't have heart burn over Social Security, and seniors. I think a rightly structured program, saving the principal/surpluses thus offseting any future liability, was the way it was intended to work. But, like all good things, this self-insurance program has been turned into the monster it is, instead of the solution it could have been. From day one, Social Security was pitched as 1/3 of your retirement goal. It is obvious to any clear thinking person, that too many of our citizens do not save for retirement, and "end up" on just Social Security. I believe we have an obligation to those who through no fault of their own to provide for them a safety net. I'm even soft enough to consider, that stupid people do stupid things in their lives, and they also end up on Social Security. We need to help those too, because we care for people, and we don't want to see them harmed. But I disagree with people that it must therefore be "the Government" to do it.
As we can see what they have done with the current $53 billion morass between SS & Medi-Care, they are very poorly equipped. In all of their pandering to one group or another, they have added so many others to this program, it is effectively sinking the entire ship. At this rate, it will sink all who have a vested interest in it succeeding.
So, what should we do?
I think we need to return to the original idea of SS being only 1/3. I believe over time, too many Americans have bought into this idea of the Government taking care of them, and have moved away from being self-sufficent. The other 2/3rd's should be coming from us. It has been the American tradition, since the founding of this country for us to take care of each other, without government. The charity of Americans to one another is what we need to return to. What we have now, is a forced system of government demanding charity, by forcably removing private property from one American to give to another. And while most on the left will continue to beat up on the Rich, they don't understand how much Rich people actually give to charitable causes, out of goodness and kindness.
When the government does this charitable work for people, people tend to lose sight of who these people are that actually need help. Only person on person can accomplish that, and that requires you get off your butt, and get to work. It's extra, over and above working, and family, and everything else you deal with. I find a lot of people who simply will say: Let the government do it. Too many, in fact. That is sad, and it is frankly, un-American. Because it requires nothing of them. And since most will say Let the Rich pay for it, it requires no money from them, no time, no effort. That is lazy, and that is truly a hard heart. What I recommend, and have always desired is a re-commitment to helping people, any way you can, privately. What I'm saying is: The other 2/3rd's of help needed by those who truly need it, need's to come from us. I think even wizz wrote about this at one time, and it's something I have believed most of my adult life. Governments can not know you, even though the current mantra is they can. They can not possibly know how you survive day to day, what your fears are, or be a shoulder to cry on. Only real people can do that. Government can only send a check. At one time in this country, we used to do just that, look out for each other. Somehow, today, we are to believe that our country, our society is soo complex that only the Governnment can do it. I think they are wrong, in fact, I know they are. There are just too many cases of success's from people helping people directly.
I'm not saying government can not be helpful, it can. But only to a certain point. And beyond that, it requires us to step up, and do the lifting. That way, we get the best of both worlds, we have the freedom to live our lives without an overly intrusive and opressive government, while using the largest of our work to help the less fortunate. That is a far better system, not perfect, but preferable, in my opinion.
to OBSERVATION wrote on Feb 22, 2008 12:03 PM:Shhh. He's in Africa being adored. No one has told him yet. (I hope this blog isn't being monitored!)
Karl wrote on Feb 22, 2008 12:27 PM:To "Yokozuna to Ron wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:11 AM" If all State workers, local government workers, teachers and railroad employees paid into Social Security it would solve a lot of problems. Reagan made the Feds start paying in the early 80's.
Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 12:31 PM:>>Shhh. He's in Africa being adored>>
Didn't I see him trying to dance the Limbaugh on stage? It certainly wasn't the Tango.
Karl wrote on Feb 22, 2008 12:38 PM:To "to to Chuck @ 954 wrote on Feb 22, 2008 10:23 AM:" Now there's a post I can enjoy. Very funny. Definitely put a smile on my face. Now that we have had 2 posters outed through the Letters section who's next?
Karl wrote on Feb 22, 2008 12:53 PM:To "Chuck wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:34 AM" I tried NPR and agree with Chuck.
Chris wrote on Feb 22, 2008 1:06 PM:Who care's if they burn down our embasy in Serbia. We deserve it. This is just another case of sticking our nose into what is none of our business. But of course people like Chuck, asteroid and esteban think that the whole damn planet is ours to do with as we want and no one has the right to question our hedgemony. I am just curious as to why we care so much about Kosovo.
theWolf wrote on Feb 22, 2008 1:17 PM:No matter how you parse it, equality and liberty are diametricaly opposed as government policies. Deficit thinking of this sort is as bsd as deficit spending.
theWolf wrote on Feb 22, 2008 1:19 PM:There can be no doubt that the public face of the Republican party is ruined from a conservative perspective. The Bush big government interventionist crowd has made all conservatives look bad. Question is, what will they do in November?
theWolf wrote on Feb 22, 2008 1:23 PM:In a letter today it was asserted that liberals freed the slaves. History records that conservative Christians in Britain and then the US ended the practice in the West. The Middle East still practices slavery as it is OK with Islam.
question for Ron wrote on Feb 22, 2008 1:40 PM:you've shared with us that the US government, directly or indirectly, is one of your customers. what percentage of your business goes to them? just curious.
OBSERVATION wrote on Feb 22, 2008 1:53 PM:Karl wrote on Feb 22, 2008 12:27 PM:T Wouldn't the Feds just steal their money too?
DD Wiz wrote on Feb 22, 2008 2:15 PM: The post from "theWolf" (1:17pm) whines about "deficit thinking" but shows himself to be intellectually bankrupt claiming that "equality and liberty are diametricaly opposed as government policies" without even the sliver of an attempt to justify this absurdity.
In reality, there can be no true LIBERTY, economic or otherwise, without EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY (not outcomes). No person can be FREE to acquire economic independence without the opportunity, guaranteed by equal protection of law, to do so.
As I noted earlier, our government and our Constitution ensure an ideal of protecting both, even if the implementation in the real world has not always lived up to that.
The idea that liberty (which many associated with democracy) and equality are incompatible is widely attributed to Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, an Austrian arch-conservative writer who generally wrote sympathetic articles during the early years of the Hitler administration. After the War, he spent several decades in this country as a conservative columnist for National Review, an extremely conservative publication. His best-known work, "Liberty or Equality," makes the case being argued by "theWolf," so you can see who "theWolf" aligns with, in which von Kuehnelt-Leddihn argued for the restoration of MONARCHIES! Monarchies, of course, are the antithesis of (small "d") democracy.
Again, I would argue that our government and Constitution not only do NOT see these values as being opposites, but enshrine both as ideals, and working (however imperfectly) towards that ideal is what has made America great.
"theWolf," as with many Neocons, wants our natio