GOP is way out of touch

2/20/2010

This month, when a discussion turned to President Obama's plan to let Bush tax cuts expire for families making more than $250,000 a year, Republican National Chairman Michael Steele said that “a million dollars is not a lot of money.”

It is to average Americans. Millions of working families are struggling in a depressed economy. If our family did not spend one dime, it would take us about 14 years to save $1 million.

Mr. Steele's comment is another clear sign that his party is out of touch with average working families. The GOP supported tax cuts for the rich while opposing the Recovery Act that saved and created jobs.

While families are drowning in health-care costs, they've opposed health-care reform. Republicans are lining up to oppose regulating Wall Street, even after greed and excess nearly brought down our economy. They oppose getting taxpayer bailout money back from banks.

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the leading Republican on the House Budget Committee, has proposed privatizing Social Security and shredding Medicare. Doesn't that sound familiar?

How much is enough for the greedy? When are politicians going to do what they promised for us rather than for their special interests, the deep-pocket corporations?

Cathy and Phil LaCourse

Sylvania

A different view of torture now?

Now that we have captured the Taliban's top military commander in Pakistan (“Secret operation: U.S., Pakistan seize Taliban military chief,” Feb. 16), do you favor talking with him or a little waterboarding?

TOM GEIGER

West Lincolnshire Boulevard

Next president could be a joke

Sarah Palin. Mickey Mouse. The Pied Piper.

If the unemployment rate doesn't soon drop dramatically, or if Americans soon begin to feel the economic impact of new debt in their wallets, any one of the aforementioned characters could be our next president.

Joe Imhof

Elmore

Palin sets back women, nation

Sarah Palin is not a catalyst for change. There is no difference between her, the Tea Party, and the pro-gun, pro-war, pro-business, anti-labor, anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-everything Obama far-right platform of the Republican Party.

They are not patriots. They are charlatans and religious fundamentalists who are willing to usurp and rewrite the Constitution to discriminate against gays and to strip women of their rights to privacy, sovereignty, dignity, and self-determination.

Ms. Palin would push American progress back before Ronald Reagan, the McCarthy era, and women's suffrage, and into the Dark Ages of Europe. Science, logic, and reason would give way to paranoia, fear, and superstition.

Sally J. Keller

Sabra Road

Tell Cheney he's no longer the V.P.

Somebody ought to explain to Dick Cheney that he isn't the vice president anymore (“Biden spars with Cheney on terrorism,” Feb. 15).

David Coehrs

Napoleon

Examples of evolution's failure

Three cheers for op-ed columnist Jack Kelly (“The truth about ‘globull' warming,” Feb. 16) and the alert writer of the Feb. 16 letter “Beware enviros' dire claims.”

The petrochemical industry did God's work when industry lobbyists spared no expense in their efforts to silence Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring.

When the industry found it could not attack the science (too solid), paid pundits dismissed her as a flighty female most likely suffering from “female problems.” When that failed, slurs were bandied about that the unmarried Ms. Carson was a lesbian.

After reading the uninformed diatribes of the letter writer and Mr. Kelly, I would like to congratulate them for debunking another specious theory: human evolution.

Richard Mosey

Bretton Place

Oil profits are also obscene

Your Feb. 12 story “Health-care study: 5 largest insurance firms show big profits” had me shaking my head in wonderment. Why is it that five health-insurance companies' profits of $12 billion is a story of outrage, but Exxon Mobil's almost $40 billion in profits the same year is acceptable?

Jason Wilbarger

Oregon

Natural or not, drugs are drugs

The Feb. 13 letter “Vaccine-autism link is real” reflects the poor health-care image propagated by those with little health-care education.

Public health officials are regular citizens with limited resources to correct every false or exaggerated health-care message on Internet blogs. If you want to repeat the most recent outbreak of mumps in New York City, then don't vaccinate your child.

Don't be fooled into buying “natural” or “herbal” remedies. Many prescription drugs are just as “natural” as these unproven, unregulated medications.

A drug is a drug, natural or man-made. Drugs either have side effects or no effect at all. For more drug information, ask your pharmacist.

Greg Kramp

Lambertville

Local GOP, stop the infighting

Whoever the Lucas County Republican Party is, stop. Get over it. Fix it. Make peace with each other (“GOP rivals plead case over party control again,” Feb. 18).

I am a lifelong Republican and have missed only one special election since 1968. You have my vote, but not my money, because I have never been in a position to offer much. So I assume my membership in your party is not important enough for my opinion to be heard.

I worked at the Board of Elections for 12 years in the late 1960s and '70s. Not once did I observe or hear rumors about dissension. Perhaps “good old boys” ran the party then, but at least we were united in our efforts to win elections.

You waste time infighting, and it's embarrassing to a lot of us to be on the losing team for so long. Move on and challenge the other party instead of each other.

Judy Thomsen

Bellevue Road

Unfair raises, national debt

The raises given by Toledo Mayor Mike Bell to his staff are insulting. Why such big amounts? Why now?

Elected officials are all for me and other average taxpayers tightening our belts, but Congress won't take even a minimal pay-and-benefits cut. Why don't politicians step up and lead by example instead of just take, take, take?

I guess if I were voting on my own pay and benefits, the answer would be easy.

Joseph Hamernik

Nebraska Avenue

Refuse cans don't belong out front

We just received our new garbage and recyclable containers. The problem is that most people put them in their front yards.

Keeping Toledo beautiful isn't happening. These containers belong in alleys. Because refuse collectors pick up garbage in front of our homes, Toledo now looks like the city dump.

I hope Mayor Mike Bell will reconsider returning garbage pickup to the alleys where it belongs.

Charlotte Filka

Norwalk Street