November 2 Letters to the Editor 10/31/2008 4:11 PM Congress should ...
I am continually amazed at the apparent self-centeredness of the United States Congress. It seems that every action taken is to garner votes for their next election. They write law to bestow the government's benevolence on those who will donate the most money to their re-election campaigns to help produce the most votes on Election Day. It doesn't matter that the government's benevolence is actually money taken from some taxpayers and given to other citizens who may or may not pay taxes, or might not even need a helping hand.
If every member of both houses of Congress supported only half of the following concepts, all Americans would be better off and this country wouldn't be in the situation it is today!.
* Provide funding for and require the enforcement of existing laws and the effective punishment and rehabilitation of criminals.
* Operate the U.S. government with fiscal prudence
* Institute the line item veto for the president
* Establish independent congressional ethics oversight with prosecution authority
* Discontinue congressional retirement benefits; assign to Social Security system
* Limit congressional terms to no more than 12 years
* Require a recorded vote in each house of Congress for any law requiring the expenditure of taxpayer funds
* Institute a Fair Tax based on consumption to replace the income tax
* Prosecute election fraud as treason. It is an attempt to illegally overthrow the U.S. government
* Withhold voting privileges from able bodied persons receiving more than 50 percent of their sustenance from tax funded relief for longer than two years
* Facilitate energy independence
* Maintain military and defense preparedness
* Withdraw funding to the United Nations and remove its headquarters from American soil
* Restrict government involvement to activities specifically described in the Constitution
* Institute a sunset provision on all laws committing the transfer of funds from taxpayers to entitlement programs that benefit certain persons but not all persons
* Collect and hold Social Security and Medicare funds separately from the general funds of the government
* Require verifiable goals for granting foreign aid and establish independent audit procedures to verify the attainment of the goals intended
* Institute tort reform to eliminate the allure of filing frivolous lawsuits and institute limits of payment to victims that are based on actual damages
* Eliminate punitive damage awards in lawsuits, civil and criminal fines shall be payable to the victim or the court
Charles Eubank
Johnston
Not Obama
Mr. Obama constantly states he will cut taxes for 95 percent of the taxpayers in this country. Assuming by taxpayers he means filers with the IRS, this is patently untrue because 40 percent do not pay any taxes. Also, with a budget of multiple trillions, a deficit of near a trillion, and Obama's proposed new spending measures, it will not be possible to cut any taxes without massive and momentous cuts in federal expenditures. So this is clearly a lie to get votes.
Mr. Obama has stated repeatedly that Mr. McCain voted with the president 90 percent of the time. Mr. McCain's votes are in the U.S. Senate, of which Mr. Bush is not a member and cannot cast a vote. So this is also a lie designed to link Bush and McCain in the minds of stupid voters, which I assume Obama considers includes everybody.
Mr. Obama claims he intends to help small businesses by eliminating capital gains taxes. But businesses do not pay capital gains taxes; most businesses write off capital expenditures already by means of depreciation allowances. Perhaps that is what Obama really intends to cut.
Mr. Obama claims he has been warning us for years about the problems with Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, now that it is apparent that they have screwed up the mortgage market by encouraging bad loans to deadbeats. But Obama's ACORN lobbying group has been pushing these bad loans ever since Obama trained them how to do it, and Fannie and Freddy have shoveled more money towards Obama than anyone else in Congress except for Senator Dodd. Now some of that money has been given back to ACORN to go out and commit election fraud.
I suppose I will be called a racist because I have stated negatives about Obama. That is the current strategy of the democrats, learned at the knee of Reverends Jackson and Sharpton. I don't believe the candidate is behind this, but his operatives certainly are. We have been informed by the likes of the New York Times, Time, the Huffington Post, and others that it is racist to point out Obama's associations with a white terrorist, an anti-american preacher, or a white convicted ward-heeler who got him started in Chicago politics. It is racist to compare him to two vapid white women who became celebrities for no apparent reason. It is racist to call him a socialist, even after he revealed his plan to "spread the wealth around". It is racist even to refer to him by his complete given name.
Victor Fricke
Aiken
How about McCain?
Republicans have gone out of their way to malign Barack Obama through guilt by association, even though Obama has shown himself through his own actions to be a man of principle. They also tout themselves as the party of family values and morals. Well, let's look at their candidate, John McCain. His first wife, Carol, was a swimsuit model married to a former Naval Academy classmate of his when she and McCain resumed an old flirtation. Her marriage broke up, and she and McCain were married. Carol stuck by him during his years in Vietnam. When he returned home, however, he saw that she had been disfigured in a car accident, whereupon he began a series of affairs while still married, one of which was with a young multimillionaire named Cindy. McCain sued Carol for divorce and married Cindy five weeks later. Later on Cindy stole prescription narcotics from a medical charity she ran. Committing adultery and stealing do not represent the kind of family values or morals I want to see in a President and First Lady. Although they have apologized, the fact of their actions remains, reflecting much more on character than any "guilt by association" could
There are other, more current examples of poor moral and ethical values, such as McCain's canceling his appearance on David Letterman's show at the last minute, stating that he was leaving for Washington immediately in order to deal with the economic crisis, when actually he went to tape a show with Katie Couric at the very time he was to have appeared on Letterman. This is called lying. McCain also developed a very close relationship with a young telecommunications lobbyist named Vicki Iseman that sparked rumors in the late 1990's. Regardless of the nature of that relationship, he did perform favors for her clients, who, in turn, contributed tens of thousands of dollars to his campaigns. He even wrote letters pressuring the FCC on behalf of one of her clients, which was inappropriate since McCain headed the Senate Commerce Committee, which controls the FCC. This earned him a letter from the FCC Commissioner rebuking him for such action while he was campaigning on "ethics in government."
If Republicans want to be the party of family values and morals, in my opinion John McCain is a poor choice.
Sherry Norton
Aiken
Over the past months, weeks and days we continue to count down for the upcoming president of the United States. Who really knows who will be the best to hold office? No matter who gets elected he has a lot of work to do. If we get another one like the president we have now Lord have mercy on us. Everyone knows that people often make promises they can't keep. On the contrary, sometimes people make promises to get a position because of power and then they can't handle the responsibilities.
However, no matter who is elected someone will be unhappy. Of course, the Republicans want Senator John McCain, however the Democratic Party wants Senator Obama. Sen. McCain is not a young man any more and age does make a difference. God forbid if he's elected the next president and something happens to him. Can anyone imagine Governor Palin as president posing with her machine gun in front of the White House? Personally, I want the one who is most qualified to do the job according to the will of God. I heard many say Sen. McCain is the best candidate, but I've heard more say Sen. Obama is the better candidate.
Sen. Obama is about the economy and he focuses more on change for everyone. There are some who will never accept him because of his race no matter what changes he wants to make. Sadly, if we as a group of people continue to reject change in our lives or society, we will continue to perish. Suddenly, people are saying they're scared of Sen. Obama, because he is African American. However, this country was founded on Christian principles and the Bible states, so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27. God does not discriminate against anyone and He is not the author of confusion. "But if we hope for that we seen not, and then we with patience wait for it." The remarks of so many republicans remind me of how things were in the early sixties.
According to scripture, we were all created by God and when we pray the Lord's Prayer we begin with "our Father which art in heaven." If, He's everyone's Father, then we're all sisters and brothers in Christ. Dr. Martin Luther King died trying to make a difference in the lives of all mankind.
He had a dream that one day his four children will live in a nation where they are not judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. One day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. It's time to be realistic; everyone knows Sen. Obama will make the best candidate for President of the United States. He's young, has compassion for all people, educated, well spoken, energetic and willing to make changes. As far as him being experienced, Sen. Obama as well as everyone else knows that President Bush's plans are not working for the good of this nation. On the contrary, many of us have found out that most experience comes with on-the-job training. I feel sorry for whoever gets elected because he has a big task to try and resolve. We're in a situation that only God can bring us out. All believers say they want to go to heaven but who can say what color God is? It really doesn't matter if he's Caucasian, African American, etc. Our goal should be to strive to be with him forever. And we know that all things work good for them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose Romans 8:28. Go out and vote it's an opportunity of a lifetime. God bless America.
E. G. Moore
Aiken
Media and Obama
Most recent polls have found that a majority of Americans believe there is bias in political reporting by the media. Unfortunately that belief doesn't translate into caution on the part of the reader. The media's extensive efforts to go after Governor Palin and her family while almost completely ignoring Senator Biden's record and family have convinced Americans she's not up to the task, and Biden is a wholesome family oriented experienced politician.
The media's take on religion also bears scrutiny. Palin's strong Christianity could prove problematic should she ever assume the presidency, according to conclusions by the media after their extensive research.
But what of Senator Obama's religious affiliations? Has the media really gone into the background of his 20 year association with his Black liberation theology church? How about his association with Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam? Does the media understand how Obama's Church and the Nation of Islam feel about America? They haven't hidden their disgust for our Nation, its history and especially white Americans. We know all about Sarah Palin's beliefs on abortion because the media has delved into it extensively.
And the media is always concerned with associations and affiliations by the candidates. Well sort of. Why has the media given Obama a complete pass on his extensive relationship with William Ayers and Bernadine Dorn, both acknowledged domestic terrorists?
Senator McCain was thoroughly investigated by the news media for his friendship with Charles Keating, a friendship that resulted in a Senate finding of no impropriety on McCain's part. Yet in the media, you will continually read of McCain and Keating, but never of his exoneration. But when the media learned of Obama's relationship with Riala Odinga, the presses went silent. Oh, you don't know who Odinga is? Ah yes, you didn't see him mentioned in the media, I guess. Odinga is the Prime Minister of Kenya whom Obama campaigned for while in the Senate. Odinga is a corrupt, ruthless politician with known financial ties to terrorism and much blood on his hands. Perhaps between now and the election, the media will do as much investigative work as it has done on Joe the Plumber who made the mistake of bringing out Obama's socialist beliefs concerning the transfer of wealth in the US. "Joe" asked the question; Obama gave the wealth transfer answer. Yet the media went after "Joe", completely leaving Obama's socialist answer unchallenged.
OK, how has the media handled endorsements? John Hagee, a noted anti-Catholic endorsed John McCain. Hagee received far more media coverage than the Obama endorsement by Luis Farrakhan who praised Obama as hope for the entire world. They also missed such high level Obama endorsements as Kim Jong Il, Fidel Castro, Muammar Quddafi, Hamas, and the Communist Party of the U.S., which opined that Obama's campaign has the clearest message of unity and progressive change of any candidate.
But to be fair, the media also skipped the endorsements of 300 retired generals and admirals for John McCain.
So on Nov. 4, when Obama claims victory, he will owe much of his thanks to the mainstream media, the most consistent supporter he has had.
Michael Miller
LTC U.S. Army retired
Aiken
No to Barrett
I have been known as a social conservative, especially in this community, since the mid-1990s when I started our correspondence. In terms of Rep. Gresham Barrett, I was one of the many that supported him as he marketed himself as a Ronald Reagan conservative, principled American, supporter of free market forces and less government regulation in our lives. I supported him 100 percent.
The most recent Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (aka bailout plan) passed by Congress and supported by both Reps. Barrett (R-SC) and Wilson (R-SC) glaringly demonstrated to me that we have been mislead. You see, every election time, packaging and marketing of candidates takes place. It ALWAYS goes as follows:
Democrats are for tax and spend policies, pork barrel spending, economically damaging policies that support socialism. Democrats are inherently, un-American.
Republicans, on the other hand, they are predominantly conservative, support free market principles, forward American values in terms of the family, economics, and government intervention. Republicans are inherently, true Americans.
Now we come to the three weeks after the $700 billion bailout bill was passed by Congress, and republicans Gresham Barrett, Joe Wilson, and Lindsey Graham ALL voted in favor of that bill (Sen. DeMint didn't - many thanks to the only true representative left). But I wish to focus on Rep. Gresham Barrett.
Gresham ran always as a conservative with a solid understanding of the principles that made America...America and made America a great nation. He has held firm with those principles on 1000s of votes since becoming a House of Representatives member. Gresham Barrett also aspires to become a Governor of South Carolina in the future.
Even though Barrett has voted so well in the past on 1000s of issues, we must realize that the most recent vote, in Sen. DeMint's words, opened the door for socialism to enter our private markets. To infuse $700 billion (which has already become over a trillion dollars) into the private sector makes it, in essence, a public sector. Not only did Gresham Barrett sell out America and the 3rd Congressional district, he really does not understand the people of our district, the philosophy of American governance, the economic system, or the direction this country needs to go but has been taken off the pathway for so long. How can someone that has so little understanding of the limitations of government and the taxpayer dole be a representative or, later, one of 50 governors of this country?
As we now see, the bailout will be more costly, the Treasury has become a printing press to stave off the himeraging caused by government regulation in the form of the Community Re-investment Act. On top of that, now government is taking upon itself to own stakes in private banks and investment firms. This is, as Sen. DeMint said, a socialist intrusion in our economic markets.
Representative Gresham Barrett does not represent the people of the third district - he represents, by his own omission, the "business friends" that said they could not make upcoming payrolls without a loan "right now" - which they were unable to secure...supposedly. Since when do these few trump the 70 percent of the district that was against the bailout bill?
Gresham Barrett will never again receive an affirmative vote from me. After seeing what republicans have supported - especially when they held the Congress by majority - I would rather vote for an honest democrat that supports socialism than a dishonest, so-called conservative, republican that supports socialism as well when the chips are down. End of story.
Will Tinney
Aiken
King Obama?
As an independent voter observing McCain and Obama for the past several months I have come to a conclusion - Obama doesn't want to become the president of the United States; he wants to become king and rule the country as his kingdom.
I've drawn my conclusions after watching various television news clips such as children singing the praises of Obama as if he were a saint and clips from Fox News showing a group of black teenagers dressed in camouflage fatigues and black T-shirts doing a cadence exercise in Obama's name like a leftist terrorist group that you would see in Iran. The fact that Obama has this type of following is proof of his message of change. He may not have known about the above but his campaign message reeks of a dictatorial attitude bent on ruling the country not leading it.
As for his speeches on where he wants to take our country, he has told everyone what he intends to do but his followers seem to block out the fact that his plans will destroy this country.
Obama rhetoric has further hypnotized the masses into not questioning his affiliations with unsavory characters over the years. The fact that Obama is coming from one of the most corrupt places in the county should ring the proverbial ball in everyone's mind.
One of the mob's biggest and most notorious criminals was Chicago's Al Capone. It was commonplace to have cops and politicians do illegal business. Now look at the association between William Ayers, a known convicted unrepentant home grown terrorist, and Obama. Also add to the mix ACORN, another Obama connection which is also under investigation for numerous law violations and you can see a pattern that politicians and criminals are still doing business there. Not to forget Rev. Wright, Obama's mentor for 20 years who spews hate and contempt for his own county. Obama has pled ignorance to his past associations but if you lie with dogs you get up with fleas.
All in all, Obama can't be my president. I liken him to a high school student who didn't want to finish his studies and graduate. He wanted to jump right into college because he thinks he knows better than everyone else. He didn't take the time to come up through the ranks, learning what it would take to become a good leader. Putting that into context, Obama's statement that he would invade Pakistan to get Bin Laden shows that he hasn't learned diplomacy in foreign affairs. You do not threaten to invade a country with nuclear weapons unless you want to destroy the planet. To make such a statement is dangerous and reckless.
Gregory J. Topliff
Warrenville
Not the Democrat
A recent letter to the editor thanked President Bush for the "resurgence" of the Democrat party. His letter also made reference to John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as also contributing to the "rising from the dead" of the Democrat Party. Well, hip, hip, hooray for the Democrats!
Obama is quite the candidate. No "gaffes, blunders, half-truths or misguided ideas" have been committed by him during his 143 days of voting present in the Senate. Wow! How qualified can a candidate be? Let's see, Obama attended a church where anti-white and anti-American rhetoric prevail. Reverend Wright is applauded and encouraged by the congregation as he shouts that we deserve getting attacked on 9/11. No, no misguided-ideas ever entered the mind of Obama as he sat there for 20 years, was married by this same reverend, allowed this same reverend to baptize his children, borrowed a phrase from this reverend as his book title. Yes, the book about his life which has been proven to be filled with "half-truths" and those were the best parts.
Regarding the criticism of John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as VP, let's take a look at Obama's choices. I have already addressed Reverend Wright. There is William Ayers, the unrepentant American terrorist. Obama launched his political career in his living room. Let's not forget the convicted felon, Tony Rezko. What about the ACORN group for which Obama worked? It is now being investigated in many states for voter registration fraud. My mother always said, "Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you what you do."
Joe Biden, Obama's VP choice is known for his many gaffes. Even the bias in the media has not been able to hide them. But, oh, that dazzling, recently whitened smile, who cares who he insults and lies about? After all, he is the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and we all know how well we are doing in that area.
How many times have we, the ordinary citizens, wanted to look our leaders in the eyes and tell them what we think of what they are doing? No holding back, letting them know that we are beyond angry. Well, I believe that Sarah Palin will do just that. She may not have the credentials that the elitists think are requirements for dealing with the foreign countries that we Americans are supporting with our hard earned dollars. She might even tell them that the buck is finally stopping at our borders. How great would that be!
This election should not be about George Bush. Those of us who voted for him are more than disappointed in these last four years, but McCain is not George Bush. We must not punish the Republican party for the many things they did not control. We must remember that John McCain in 2005 tried to convince the Senate that there was a problem with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He tried to get legislation passed but it was blocked by the Democrats. In 2007, Barney Frank (Democrat), the Chairman of the Finance Committee in the House, assured everyone that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were solid. No problem existed. Chris Dodd (Democrat), the Chairman of the Finance Committee in the Senate, also concurred. Chris Dodd received a sweet mortgage deal from Countrywide Mortgage which later filed for bankruptcy. He claimed that he thought it was a perk. How sweet is that? Senator Dodd over the years was the highest recipient of money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac only to be followed in second place by Barack Obama in just 143 days in the Senate.
Be an informed citizen and vote carefully on Nov. 4. Let's not vote for a tax and spend, far-left, socialist leaning Democrat.
Annette Loflin
Aiken
Go Palin!
Would you please remind these dems who are saying that Sarah Palin has only been Gov. of Alaska, so she isn't capable of being V.P. of the U.S., that they elected Jimmy Carter, Gov. of Ga., and Bill Clinton, Gov. of Arkansas, to the office of President, not V.P. Why is it ok for dems to elect state Govs. as Presidents, but it's not OK for Republicans to elect a state Gov. as V.P.?
Could it possibly be because their choices were men, not women? It looks that way to me. It's obvious the dems do not believe that a woman ( a state Gov.), is qualified to be V.P. There is no other "truthful" reason. Oh, the dems will run in circles shouting their lies, but that's all it will be. Lies! The dems are a pathetic bunch.
They chose a candidate for President who knows absolutely nothing about the reality of how our country runs. He seems to think that we Americans, and the rest of the world, can all hold hands and sing Kumbayah, and everything will be "wonderful"! It's a nice "dream". But that's all it is, is a dream. I'm sure he's a nice guy, and means well, but he's clueless. He needs to be President of Fantasyland, not America.
We have real enemies who hate us, and would kill us all if they could. He doesn't get it. Sarah Palin does get it, but that's right, she's only been the Gov. of Alaska, and she's unqualified to be V.P. of the U.S., according to the dems. Alaska is in way better shape than Jimmy left Ga. in, or Bill left Arkansas in, and the dems elected them both Presidents of the U.S., but I forgot - they are men! She's not! I hope you all can see the hippocracy the democrat party wallows in, and won't support them.
Look what the DNC did to Hillary! I would never vote for her, but as far as politics go, she should have been their choice. Instead they chose a man. A man with a grand total of 143 days in the senate. Are you catching on? You female voters should be irate about this! But remember, to the DNC, Hillary is not qualified! After all - she's just a girl.
We absolutely can not let the inmates run the asylum. I hope you will vote for the only "clear thinking grown-ups" in this election...John McCain & Sarah Palin.
And they all said in unison - amen.
Mike Smith
Aiken
Spreading fear
"Why waste time trying to discover the truth, when you can so easily create it?"
These words, spoken by an evil antagonist in David Baldacci's novel, "The Whole Truth," took on more significance after I read my e-mail this weekend. One e-mail, entitled "Letter from 2012 in Obama's America" and produced by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family (FOTF) Action, 'forecasts' a future where "terrorists strike four American cities; Russia rolls into Eastern Europe; Israel is hit by a nuclear bomb; gay marriage exists in every state; Boy Scouts as we know it is destroyed." False and ridiculous? Yes! Obviously these 'predictions' are absurd. But what I find extremely troubling is that a religious group like FOTF Action has chosen to lend its powerful voice to a heinous, spurious plot of fear-mongering in today's extremely dangerous and divided world. Fear is often used at the conclusion of a political campaign, but the tone in this election year is sharper than usual and the volume has been turned up as November 4th nears. What a shame that FOTF's rhetoric, which is fear-based and states opinion as fact, polarizes rather than furthers the informed, balanced discussion that voters are seeking.
To me, this latest attempt by FOTF Action group (remember FOTF Action's Stuart Shepard asking people to pray for rain during Senator Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention) makes me speculate if the last letter in this group's acronym might really stand for "Fears," "Falsehoods," "Fibs," "Foul," "Far Fetched," or "Filth."
I have a bracelet with the letters "W.W.J.D." embroidered on the band. As I read through this 16-page 'letter', I can't help but wonder, "What would Jesus do" in response to this hate-filled epistle. I can only imagine!
Laurel Sherwood
Aiken
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