Unanimity At A Great Cost

Dear editor:

There is nothing like unanimity. You know the old saying, “Either we hang together or we will surely hang separately.” Evidently the U.S. House GOP has taken this as a mantra in their stand against President Obama’s stimulus package and voted 100% against the bill that was passed to help our economy get going again. Not one Republican Representative voted for the bill. Their leader has stated that it truly isn’t a stimulus package and won’t work unless there is more “fast tax relief” for individuals and business. They also want smaller government and more bi-partisanship. The pot has truly called the kettle black (no pun intended.)

This is the very same group of gentlemen and ladies, who for the first six years of the Bush presidency, unanimously (or almost unanimously) voted for all the administration’s initiatives that put us into the position we are in today, and broke the bank with their spending habits. In 2001 and 2003 the Republican controlled White House and Congress passed tax breaks for the wealthy that supposedly would help our economy grow. They were not interested, except in meaningless statements, in bi-partisanship and all those tax breaks for the rich did was help to put us further into the financial straits we are in today. And let’s not forget the emergency rush put on by President Bush and Treasury Sect. Paulson to enact TARP ($700 billion) to open up our credit markets and save people’s homes that was a complete flop. Wall Street and the banks loved it, paid huge bonuses to its executives, helped their financial statements and allowed them to buy other companies. The credit markets, the economy, job losses and people’s homes are still hurting. Thank you Mr. Bush and Mr. Paulson, who never allowed the word “recession” to be used but now claim it started in the previous administration.

The GOP also talks about the need for a smaller stimulus because the present bill passed by the house would put the country further into major debt. This from the political party that brought us a nine trillion dollar debt, an unjustified war that we continue to pay for with money we don’t have and the largest federal government in our history. It also brought us a reduction in oversight of the financial community that brought recession and financial chaos not only to the United States but to the entire world.

For eight years the Republican Party has been saying to the Democrats, “You lost the election of 2000, now get over it.” Might I advise these very same people, who stand together against the president and his party that was asked (elected) by the citizens of this country to turn things around and make changes, that they “lost the elections of 2006 and 2008, now get over it.”

Instead of thinking what is best for the country and not a political party they are standing united against the change that the nation has called for and needs. They do so at their own peril. Being the loyal opposition is one thing. But having a House Minority Leader who is detrimental to the bi-partisanship that is necessary for our recovery, and a radio mouthpiece that says of President Obama, “I hope he fails” is not the way. Don’t they realize that if he fails, we all fail? Unanimity in belief is one thing, but being united against our country is another.

Rush Limbaugh Supports Failure

Dear editor:

Rush Limbaugh, the over-ripe mouthpiece of the extreme Republican right wing, has shown his true feeling about America and the future of our country. To quote him, in his statement about President Obama’s (and our) hopes and plans to save our country from the economic mess Mr. Bush left us in, he said, “I want him to fail.” Unbelievable.

That’s right, he and the political party he espouses opinion for evidently want America to fail, for that is the cost of an Obama failure.

Limbaugh must think it is OK that millions of Americans are losing their jobs. He must think it is OK for millions of Americans to be losing their homes to foreclosure. He must think that it is OK for millions of Americans to be losing their incomes, their savings and their retirements. He thinks, and said that he is against our government from becoming involved with ownership and investment in private companies, even though this may be the only avenue to help save our financial system and those huge employment entities. You know, just like the Bush administration started.

After badly losing two national elections in a row (2006, 08) it is time for the Republican Party to decide if they want to help the new administration correct all that has financially gone wrong in the past eight years or fight the bad fight and destroy all they believe in. Republicans have a decision to make that will affect all they want to do in the future and keep their party a viable national political contender. Either they fight for America or embrace Rush Limbaugh and his “I want him to fail” destructive attitude.

Change In My Lifetime

Dear editor:

A number of years ago a story in the news told of a lady, for her 100th birthday, celebrated her special day by flying on a large, commercial jet liner from Los Angeles to New York. What made this everyday flight so special? As a very young child this lady had travelled out West with her family on a Conestoga wagon. Wagon one way, and jet plane on return. Just think of the changes this centenarian had seen during her lifetime. There is no way to count all the changes of the 20th century that were witnessed by her.

And now, at the age of 71, I am observing what I consider to be a similar experience.

In 1954 (I was just 17) I migrated from the Northeast to Atlanta, GA to start my college education at Georgia Tech. Arriving at tiny Atlanta airport, not the behemoth it is today, I entered the terminal building and a world I heard about but had never experienced….segregation. Staring me in the face were separate bathrooms, “colored men” and “white men,” water fountains separated by race, a waiting room for “coloreds” and one for “whites.” To make a point of being part of the old South, there was a bale of cotton in the center of the terminal. Of course it didn’t end there.

I had no idea, and didn’t even think about it in advance, but Georgia Tech, one of the finest and world renowned technical universities in the United States, did not have any black students, as specified by state law. Movie theaters were segregated even to the point that the Fox Theater on Peachtree Street, the second largest movie house in America, had separate entrances for white and “colored” patrons. Blacks were only allowed to sit in the top balcony, commonly called the “nose-bleed” section. Schools, public pools, restaurants, buses, stores were all separate. Black police officers, of which there were only a few, could only patrol and arrest black citizens. Even the governor of the State of Georgia tried to stop Georgia Tech from playing the University of Pittsburgh in the Sugar Bowl because the other school had a “colored” player on the team. My school and the Board of Regents opposed the governor and Tech went on to New Orleans and won the game.

Atlanta became my home for many years after school and I was proud in the way it approached desegregation and became known as “the city too busy to hate.” Georgia Tech integrated on its own, without court orders. Of course Lester Maddox and his ax handles didn’t help, but that’s another story.

And now, as that 100 year old woman who went West on a wagon and East on a jet plane, we have come full circle. An African-American has been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. What a change for me and all America. I never thought I would live to see it. What a great time for America. It’s bigger than John Kennedy being the first Catholic president, which in its time was a huge event. With all its faults and problems America has reason to be proud and I am glad that I’ve been around during these years to see this change. Hope I’ll see a few more.

What Does "proportional response" Mean?

Dear editor:

Over time nothing changes when it comes to condemning the State of Israel for defending itself. All you have to do is pick up a newspaper, listen to the TV news, or read the latest on the internet to find out how the world, especially the Arab world, blames that tiny, but effective state for doing what any country would or should do. It is so easy to pick on the Jewish state, which from its very first day of existence has faced oppression and attacks not only from Palestinians but also from many of its Arab neighboring countries, who have sworn to destroy Israel and “drive the Jews into the sea.” The Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip is not interested in a peaceful two state solution as envisioned by the world and the United Nations 60 years ago. Their only interest, with the support of Iran and Syria, is to destroy Israel, the only operating democracy and true friend the United States has in the region.

The key words that these quick critics use today are “disproportional response.” In other words, Israel is over-reacting and using its developed military superiority against a terrorist regime (Hamas) that weekly “only” sends hundreds of missiles into southern regions and cities of Israel. Only? When it is your home, your city or your loved one being killed, the word “only” doesn’t come into play. If someone is beating you over the head with a stick day after day for years and you warn them that if they don’t stop you will take whatever means necessary to make sure they don’t do it again, the word “only” is meaningless. What “proportional response” should Israel take? Should it stop destroying military targets, which sadly also injure and kill a percentage of civilians, or lob missiles that target only civilian centers without targeting as Hamas does? Is that the “proportional response” that the world is speaking about?

Let’s face facts. If Cuba started hurling small missiles at American population centers, or if Iran did the same to Russia, or North Korea started doing it to China, how proportional do you think the response would be? It would be absolutely and justifiably devastating. Would they do all in their power to destroy the foolish country that started the conflict? Would they close their border with them for purely defensive purposes? You better believe it. This is called defending oneself with all of your ability. It is not a game.

It is time for Hamas to realize this and find a way to live in peace with their neighbor (not an occupier for years.) And it is time for the rest of the world, including the Arab world, to stop the criticism and try to help find a solution to this long standing problem. Half a loaf is better than none and a two state solution living in peace is much better than death and destruction.