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This letter was published in the Independence Examiner on October 25, 2005.
Nearly every time I pick up a paper, I read of more malfeasance in this Republican administration and its allies in Congress.
It is ironic that Republican Rep. Newt Gingrich, after Bill Clinton became president, painted the Democrats as being crooked, and he was instrumental in drumming out of Congress in 1989 Democratic Rep. Jim Wright of Texas, the speaker of the House, because of a book deal - which Gingrich later did because he helped Rupert Murdock, a citizen of Australia, acquire TV stations like Fox Network. Now Rep. Tom DeLay, who just stepped aside as majority leader in the House, has been indicted by a grand jury in Texas.
Newt and his Republicans took back Congress in 1995, trumpeting their fiscal conservatism. Look at us now, laboring under a national debt of $7.6 trillion. The interest on the debt is $335 billion a year. When asked recently how he would pay for hurricane damage, Bush replied, "We'll just borrow the money." And yet Bush and his Republican Congress consider tax cuts for the wealthy sacrosanct.
U.S. News & World Report years ago reported that when Dubya was a board member at Harken Energy Corp., he discovered the corporation was losing a prodigious amount of money and sold all of his stock, for $845,560, weeks before that stock plunged in value.
This was insider trading, violating two SEC regulations. A member of a company board who liquidates his stock must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission within days. Dubya filed eight months later.
Of course, "Daddy" was president then, running interference for Dubya, who was not charged with a crime. This makes Martha Stewart look like a piker.
And now we have Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader in the Senate, selling his HCA stock in his blind trust weeks before it fell in value. He's being investigated for insider trading. Several years ago, the HCA hospital chain, owned by Frist's family, paid a $631 million fine for Medicare and Medicaid fraud.
On the front page of the Sept. 27 Joplin Globe, Republican Congressman Roy Blunt of Springfield, Mo. - now majority leader in the House and Gov. Matt Blunt's dad - was rated by 'CREW," Citizens for Responsibility in Washington, D.C., as one of the 13 most corrupt politicians in Washington.
Bush got into a bogged-down war in Iraq on the basis of lies, and he and his allies in Congress have sold out the country to corporate America, more especially the oil and prescription drug companies.
Bush and his Republicans in Congress have us living on a national credit card, which they have no intention of paying off, and they are driving our nation into insolvency.
Democrats,
Today yet another article appeared in the mainstream media, this time on yahoo, opening the door to further confirmation that the evidence used to take this nation to war was deceptive and possibly “intentionally misleading” according to newly declassified reports.
This, just days, after allegations by Colin Powell’s former Chief of Staff Col. Lawrence Wilkerson in a speech claimed that Vice President Cheney and others “hijacked American foreign policy,” and his Chief of Staff was indicted on the outing of an intelligence officer who specialized in WMD’s in the Middle-East, and who’s husband came back from Niger and reported to the Vice President what now appears to be the truth.
These are trying and sad times for American Government both at home and abroad. However in the midst of this growing cloud of sadness and frustration are our men and women of the military.
For those of you, who may not know, I have had several very close friends- who I consider family- fight long and multiple tours in Iraq. One of my closest friends, who lives is Lee’s Summit will be going back to Afghanistan the week after Thanksgiving, and that is why I am addressing this issue.
He asked me awhile back, “Chris, how can I tell myself the service I have done in this war was worthwhile and honorable?” So as any brother would do, I looked him straight in the eyes and began to tell him that they are “America’s Firefighters,” and that their job is to go into the fire and save as many people’s lives as possible. It doesn’t matter, on their end, why this fire happened and the reasoning behind it. In the end whether they give the ultimate sacrifice or come back alive, they served with bravery, honor and dignity. Then I gave him a hug.
In these tough times it is important that we fight to get to the bottom of the many issues tarnishing this great nation. Above all of the culture of corruption and greed that has now proved the lack of leadership by the Republican Party, our duty as citizens, classmates, neighbors, friends, and family members is to demand above all else that this nation never sends our brave soldiers to war without complete justification.
However in these tough times it is our men and women, their family and friends that suffer the most. While fighting to demand the truth from here on out by those at the top who chose not to serve when called on, we must take the high ground and stand strong in these times for our men and women of the armed forces. It is in these times of confusion, and frustration that we let them know of their honor and courage.
Spread the word, they deserve nothing less.
This letter was published in the Kansas City Star on Sept. 18, 2005.
This is intended for all those who have written or called the Star to say that this is not the time to place blame, or who believe the local officials are at fault, or who blame the victims themselves. Instead we all need to assess just exactly how safe we are.
This whole episode has made one thing perfectly clear. Despite the creation of a new Cabinet department, the shuffling of existing agencies into that department, and billions of dollars being spent, this country is not ready to handle any kind of large-scale terrorist attack. We are woefully unprepared.
This time is was an act of nature. But it could just have easily been a terrorist attack on the dams and levees, and with no warning at all, the federal government would have been paralyzed. This is exactly the time to hold accountable those responsible over the last four years for homeland security.
When will the lying stop? Once again, President Bush has attempted to connect Iraq to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Yes, in his weekly radio address of August 20, 2005 trying to justify the deaths of American troops who have died fighting in Iraq.
In an Associated Press report read, “’Our troops know that they're fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to protect their fellow Americans from a savage enemy,’ the president said in the recorded broadcast.” That quote raises the question, “How many Iraqis attacked the United States on 9/11?” The answer is none. How many Iraqis attacked the Cole, or were involved in 1993 bombing of the Trade Center, or in the 1996 bombing or the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia? How many Iraqis were involved in other attacks against United States citizens or our allies? I think some research would show that there were no Iraqis involved.
Has the President found the Iraqi WMD? Were they under his desk, behind the White House drapes, or in Iraq? No. But nevertheless, Bush continues to paint our attack on and occupation of Iraq as a defense of the our country and our citizens. This old tactic is getting stale and far too overworked.
In his book, Against All Enemies, Richard Clarke paints a picture of the Bush administration as one that was either not aware of, or not concerned about al Qaeda, a group that had been involved in attacks against the U.S. While, during the Clinton administration, Clarke and other career officials had worked hard to protect the U.S. and our citizens from the al Qaeda terrorists, but they found the new administration to be totally focused on going after Iraq. Because of their frustrations, some of them resigned from the government; their warnings had been ignored.
John O’Neal, a former FBI counter terrorism expert, had quit the agency in August of 2001, took a job as head of security for the Trade Towers. O’Neal quit “in disgust over repeated obstruction to his investigations” of al Qaeda. His dedication to stopping al Qaeda was documented in Clarke’s book and in the January 14, 2002 edition of the New Yorker. O’Neal died on September 11, a victim of the Trade Center attacks.
Where were the Iraqis? Saddam Hussein was a dangerous man, dangerous to his own people, but he posed no threat to the United States, none that President has been able to prove, so why are our troops dying and suffering horrible disabilities in that far away country? How are they protecting “their fellow Americans from a savage enemy”?
Now, after W’s invasion, Iraqis are killing and maiming Americans; they are fighting our troops who have invaded and are occupying their country. Support Cindy Sheehan’s efforts to end this. We need to bring our troops home.
This letter was printed in the Kansas City Star on July 6, 2005.
Apparently President Bush feels he can continue to hoodwink the American people. On June 28, in a throwback to the “Mission Accomplished” speech of 2003 on an aircraft carrier, the President gave his televised talk about Iraq at Fort Bragg, surrounded by a captive, agreeable audience (June 29, pg. A1). Why don’t the relatives of these military personnel express outrage at the blatant exploitation of their family members?
He also is now using a circular argument as to why we are there and must stay the course. We all know that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks on 9/11. However, President Bush states that the war on terror is taking place on the ground in Iraq because of the insurgents that are attacking us and the Iraqis. However, there would not be an insurgency if we hadn’t gone to war there in the first place.
The American people are beginning to see the light about the callous use of manpower and money to further some unknown agenda of this administration. And we have squandered the goodwill of the world for many years to come.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “You can’t escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” Many good citizens here in Missouri would say the same thing to the Republican majority in Jefferson City today. The Missouri General Assembly’s session is thankfully over, but as the doors closed on the Capitol, they closed on the hopes and dreams of many Missourians as well. Republican Sen. Chris Koster admits that the Republican Party in Missouri is "forced" to pass at least 25 percent of pro-big corporation legislation presented to them. And Republican Rep. Bob Johnson, in a Kansas City Star article titled “Big Business Got a Lot of What It Wanted in Jefferson City,” acknowledged the real figure was 50 percent. Whatever the exact percentage, it is clear that Republicans have sacrificed what’s best for their Missouri constituents and instead passed laws that put big business first.
Luxurious, all-expenses-paid trips to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and other gifts from corporate contributors don't come free for the Republicans in Jefferson City these days. In the last legislative session, Republicans maintained corporate loopholes and weakened workers' rights. They falsely claimed that doctors are fleeing in masses from Missouri (their numbers have actually risen 5 percent over the last four years) to pass open court reduction that prevents violated workers and consumers from having a fair day in court. Their payback to insurance companies was to give them the right to withhold information when being sued. Utilities Companies are now free to overcharge Missouri residents for basic necessities. The “Average Joe” and small business owners still have to pay taxes, but cell phone companies no longer have to pay the back taxes they owe, a loss of up to $300 million for the state.
After these corporate giveaways were enacted, Republicans cited lack of funds as a justification for betraying Missouri residents. Thanks to them, 100,000 people in Missouri will lose their health insurance, making the “Show Me State” 48th out of 50 in the nation for health care coverage. Approximately 800,000 citizens will be uninsured after these measures go into effect. New legislation will harm the most vulnerable in society -- the elderly, mentally handicapped, single mothers and kids -- with cuts to Medicaid, the closing of facilities for the handicapped and other key funding. Adding insult to injury, Republicans on the House floor made animal noises, gave high fives and laughed during debates on these cuts. Education was only given $2 million at the state level. Continuing to attack education, they created and passed a new 7-year education formula that will hurt urban and suburban schools, and worst of all, they didn't even allocate money to fund the seriously flawed formula.
Abraham Lincoln also said, “The real test of man is when he is given power.” Fast-forward to the new Republican Party, one state west of Lincoln’s home state of Illinois, and apply his "test of man." Sen. Matt Bartle said in the above-mentioned article, “The reality is you have to stand up and say no to people.” Yet all of these members of the majority party in Jefferson City, including Bartle, were given the chance to pass Lincoln’s “Test of Man” by choosing the good of the people (education and health care) over the pocketbooks of a few CEOs who don’t even live in this state. They failed.
What do towels, table cloths, napkins, blouses, shorts and citronella candles all have in common? Well, I have seen them all in recent days with the stars and stripes of our flag on them.
The table cloth no doubt wound up with garbage on it. The towels dry people from head to toe and everywhere in between. Shorts are obviously used to cover the back side of people who think they are honoring their nation's flag. The napkins will be used to wipe garbage from faces and mouths. The citronella candles are meant to be burned to keep insects from yards and patios. All of these products can be bought and used in this country, but no one talks of banning those uses of our flag.
Now tell me, why is it that the flag can be used for all of those things, but must not be burned to protest the actions of the Bush administration. When the Bush administration lied to us about WMD and committed our country to an illegal war in Iraq, no one burned the flag, but maybe they should have. Had they, they may have gotten television and newspaper coverage. However, if the flag amendment goes through and it becomes illegal to burn the flag, protestors will certainly get all the publicity that they want. They will get headlines and they will be shown on television. They will be martyrs to their cause. Protestors could not afford to buy that kind of publicity.
Let's protect the flag by giving the American people something to be proud of, a government that we can trust and a Constitution unfettered by stupid amendments.
The Republicans are desperate. They know they have nothing of substance to offer to voters. They have sold our country out for tax cuts, and oil profits. They have cut benefits for poor Americans while sending billions of dollars a week to fight a murderous and unjust war against a country that never threatened us.
While Bush claims to want to spread democracy around the world, he cheapens democracy in the United States by stealing elections and denying Americans their right to vote. Still claiming to want to spread democracy, his actions have demonstrated that the world cannot trust us.
Clinton was impeached for lying about sex, Bush lies about everything from taxation to war, but the Republicans are willing to accept his lies for his empty promises and claims of morality.
Pardon me if I am angry with those idiots, but it is time that we all started to realize that the Bush administration is a criminal cabal that cannot be trusted to lead this country and conduct world affairs. It certainly cannot be trusted to set the moral standards that American should live by. The Downing Street memos prove that this administration lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction in order to convince us of the necessity to start a war with Iraq. What kind of morality is that? Tens of thousands of people have died, a majority of them were innocent civilians caught up in a war that should never have happened.
This letter was printed in the Kansas City Star on April 12, 2005.
Those of you who wondered about the sincerity of President Bush’s attempted intervention in the Terri Schiavo case might want to read Leonard Pitts Jr.’s column in the April 6 Star. Pitts tells us that as Bush was mouthing words about the sanctity of life, a 6-month-old infant in Texas was disconnected from a ventilator over his mother’s objections because doctors felt further treatment was futile. Bush signed the law that allowed this to happen when he was governor of Texas. This law allows doctors to make this decision when the state is paying for the treatment. The mother of the infant was unemployed. As I write this letter, President Bush is in Rome to attend Pope John Paul II’s funeral. I wonder if Bush, who presided over more executions than any other modern governor, will remember that the pope was adamantly opposed to the death penalty. I wonder if he will remember that Pope John Paul II made strong statements against the United States invading Iraq. I wonder if he will remember that Pope John Paul II was a champion for the poor.
I wonder if the citizens of our country remember.
This letter was printed in the Kansas City Star on May 12, 2005.
I was amazed when I saw the picture of President Bush holding hands with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (4/26, A-7). Not only is Prince Abdullah one of the 10 most despotic dictators of the world, according to Parade magazine, but 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists were from his country. However, Bush is willing to hold this dictator’s hand in hopes that Saudi Arabia will increase oil production, while at the same time he has sent more than 1,500 of our young soldiers to their deaths and spent more than $300 billion to depose a dictator who had nothing to do with Sept. 11 and had no weapons of mass destruction.
In the last four years, our national debt has grown by over 2 trillion dollars. Today the Senate voted to raise the debt limit to over 8 trillion dollars. Our trade deficits have ballooned to around 600 billion a year. Annual federal budget deficits have been around 600 Billion when Social Security surpluses are subtracted from the equation. Gasoline is at record highs. China has become our chief competitor in the market for oil suppliers. The situation in Iraq is continuing to indicate a failure of foreign policy. Jobs are being created, not in the United States, but in foreign countries. China is flexing its military muscle over Taiwan as it grows rich on sales to the United States. Wage discrepancies are growing with low income Americans seeing their paycheck shrink in relation to the huge salaries of corporate executives. More people are without medical care in the United States than ever before, and millions of low income Americans will lose health care provided by Medicaid. Daily, we see more homeless people at street corners begging for food and money. Meanwhile, our President travels the country to change the only part of government that is successful, Social Security. Welcome to Bush world.
For those who pray, you had better pray that Bush begins to address the real world problems that our country faces, leaves Social Security alone, and stops using hypocrisy and hate to sell his ideology in the name of Christianity.
Bob Johnson, state Representative from the 47th district, voted against every Demcoratic amendment that would have eased the damage done by Senate Bill 539. Johnson likes to portray himself as a "moderate" Republican. He voted for a bill that will deny tens of thousands of Missourians essential medical care and prescription drug benefits. This man is no moderate.
The Lee's Summit area has a Senator that would ban scientific work to do stem cell research. It has a Senator and Representatives Johnson and Yates who have put little value on the lives and health of low income Missouri residents. We should be ashamed of our Missouri legislature and those two elected officials. A pleasant surprise was Republican Will Kraus who voted with the Democrats to amend the Senate Bill and against its adoption.
Many of us are well aware of the negative effects of the President and Republicans elimination of Social Security plan. Dedicated Democrats such as Gene Devaux have worked endless hours researching, organizing, and speaking at events across the metropolitan area to educate those who do not know the realities behind this plan. Despite the best efforts of the talking heads on Fox News, and elsewhere to purposely, and falsely preach an artificial stance of former President FDR about this great policy he created, blatantly lie about the real effects on minorities this plan would have, and spit propaganda to the youth nationwide, the truth has prevailed. The Presidents approval rating is at the lowest of any second term president in history, and one of the lowest of any president in history at 43 percent this week. Congressional Republican's ratings have fallen even less, and little by little Americans are beginning to have enough of the "Agenda Politics" that has attempted to sweep this nation. However a not so known story has crept under the wires, and is beginning to blossom.
One of the Summit Democratic Club's very own Anthony Moreno is a student at Pittsburg State University, where he was recently elected to the Student Government Association. Just this week he drafted, and sponsored a bill in front of the governing body that called for Pittsburg State University to say NO to the "Privatization of Social Security." In a vote of 12-7 that bill was passed, and PSU became the first college in the nation to take a stance AGAINST this horrible attack on the lives of every average middle and lower class American. Thank you Anthony, and the PSU Student Government Association for taking a step to the forefront of this debate as true leaders in the State of Kansas.
Don't sign the petition or send money to the Seniors Coalition. This is a neo-con organization that parades around claiming that they want to help "save" Social Security. Don't send them a dime. The letter that I received is an attempt to make us think that the Seniors Coalition is on our side against paying benefits to Mexican workers. Paying benefits to Mexican workers was a plan that came out of the Bush administration. When the Seniors Coalition comes out against it, it is only a smoke screen to get people to send them money. They will turn that money into a campaign to get privatization.
I received mailings from them four years ago. They listed people on a mailing card who would support Social Security. Reading the list was like reading the roster of the neo-con wing of the Republican Party. The Seniors Coalition cannot be trusted. If you send them money, they will use it to run ads favoring privatization.
These folks had Grandma Green going around the country (in a luxury bus) talking up privatization and disguising herself as pro-Social Security. Don't believe it.
Pass this letter on to your mailing lists. Let's stop this bunch of wolves from digesting our Social Security program like the Big Bad Wolf digested Red Riding Hood's grandma. Grandma Green "ain't all she seems."
This letter was printed in the Kansas City Star on February 20th.
Many people who believed the U.S. invaded Iraq to protect us from weapons of mass destruction now seem to be satisfied that we went to war to depose a terrible dictator. I encourage these people to read "The World's 10 Worst Dictators" in Parade magazine (2/13)
The article states, "The past year was a good one for dictators . . . Competition for the Top 10 Worst of the Worst was so heated that two dictators who made last year's list were nudged off . . . even though their actions were as harsh as the year before."
Our country is not serious about ridding the world of dictators. This administration is quite cozy with two of them - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. We sell our debt to another, President Hu Jintao of China. President Teodoro obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea finances his dictatorship with U.S. oil money.
So if it was not to protect us against unspeakable weapons or to rid the world of a dictator, why did we invade Iraq? Why have we lost more than 1,400 young Americans there? Why are we going deeper and deeper in debt to finance this war?
The Bush election (not re-election, I refuse to accept that he was elected in 2000) has opened the door for attacks against seniors, the working class and the poor. Bush has made Social Security a program targeted for drastic changes. Now he and Republican governors around the country are targeting the nation's most vulnerable, those who need Medicaid for their health care. Bush has no compassion for ordinary Americans, neither does he behave as the Christian that he pretends to be.
For the next four years, Democrats must stand firm against these assaults on the American people, and resist trying to become a refection of the Republican Party. I have never wanted to be a "me-too" kind of guy. We must stand up and speak out for what we know is the truth, and for what is best for America.
We can do our bit by writing and calling our Representatives and Senators to tell them not to privatize Social Security, a program that has been a lifeline for millions of Americans. Write letters to the editor, make phone calls. Request, no, demand a response from our Senators from Missouri and Kansas. Write to Kit Bond and Jim Talent and tell them to leave Social Security alone. Ask them how they will vote on privatization, and don't accept boiler plate responses from them. If you get boiler plate letters, call their offices and demand a real answer. Millions of our children and grandchildren will need our support to protect their future benefits. Let's not let them down.
This letter was printed in the Kansas City Star on January 27th. The next day Governor Blunt announced his recommendation to cut Medicaid to poor Missourians.
Perhaps the citizens of Missouri need to pay less attention to Melanie Blunt's peculiar inauguration garb and more attention to the actions of her husband, our governor.
In less than a week, he voided bargaining rights for our undercompensated state employees, launched an attack on workers' compensation benefits and appointed a head to the Department of Economic Development who understands the challenges facing Missouri employers - not a word said about employees (1/19, Mid America digest).
Then we learned in Thursday's Star, Page B-8 that Gov. Matt Blunt was the beneficiary of almost $200,000 from an out-of-state political action committee dedicated to passing legislation to use public tax dollars for private school education. Missouri schools need to beware.
I wonder what Gov. Blunt will do if a bill to reduce medical benefits for poor children in the state crosses his desk. Will he think of his newborn child, covered by generous medical benefits paid for by our taxes? I wonder.
Star letters hammer the Social Security trust fund and the non-marketable securities that it holds. Writers claim that the securities are worthless IOUs. They claim that taxes will have to be raised to repay the fund. If taxes are raised, they will be raised to pay for current and passed federal deficits.
Of all the federal trust funds, only Social Security faces such attacks. While other accounts hold the same type of securities, no one calls them “worthless IOUs.” What makes those securities different? They aren’t held by Social Security, a program that is hated by neo-conservatives.
The myth of “worthless IOUs” has been around since the beginning of Social Security. During the 1950s, the Trustees’ Report carried a refutation of that and other claims. The report, “The Reality of the Trust Fund,” can still be read at the ssa.gov Web site. That document reads like a refutation of current opinion commentary.
This letter was printed in the Kansas City Star in January.
In his January 1 editorial, George Will seems bewildered that many people who have left welfare for regular work are not becoming organized and forward looking. Indeed according to him and the author of a book he recommends, the basic lifestyle of these people has not changed.
Mr. Will notes in his article that one of the former welfare recipients studied in the book makes $10.50 an hour after nine years in the work force. After nine years she must work 40 hours every week of the year to make just $3000 above the poverty level for an adult with three children.
I suggest that Mr. Will might better understand the working poor if he read a second book, “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America” by Barbara Ehrenreich. Ms. Ehrenreich researched her book by working at low paying jobs in several cities in the US and trying to live on her earnings. She documents the demeaning and oppressing realities of attempting to live on low wages in America.
If we seriously want those who have been dependent on welfare to aspire to our middle class life values then we need to seriously seek ways for them to make middle class wages. Working is great, but making enough money to live comfortably is even better.