Don't pick politicians on slogans

5/15/2010

I am glad to know that the writer of the May 7 letter "Obama's rhetoric is poisonous" has awakened from an 18-year sleep.

He obviously missed President Clinton's approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the outsourcing of millions of American jobs and decimation of our manufacturing sector.

He slept through the market crash of 2000, when most financial "experts" claimed there was no end to the market's rise in the new economy.

The poor fellow must have slept through the 2008 financial catastrophe that left us on the brink of a depression.

These economic events, which seriously threatened our freedom, prosperity, and greatness, were brought to us by the titans of capitalism - American bankers, brokers, and businessmen, not socialists.

I suggest we choose politicians based not on slogans but on their commitment to break the stranglehold of special interests in Washington.

Larry Koosed

Perrysburg

"Socialism" in letters to the Readers' Forum means robbing the haves to give to the have-nots. No one seems to have read even an introductory essay on socialism.

For a half century, nearly half of the planet's population developed under one or another form to challenge us. Because of socialism, China is now our major challenge.

We would still own slaves if socialism's central ideas were not incorporated in our Constitution.

Adam Smith, the Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economics, said that "civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all."

Vadaken Krishnan

Bowling Green

Six months ago, Maj. Nidal Hasan went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas ("12 slain at Fort Hood," Nov. 6, 2009). Now it is Faisal Shahzad ("Papers say bomb suspect trained in Taliban area," May 5). He apparently wanted to commemorate his first anniversary of American citizenship by blowing up innocents in Time Square.

Terrorism is slowly but definitely taking root in America. The manner is simple: Get a student visa, complete your education, marry an American citizen, get a well-paid job, acquire a posh home in an upscale neighborhood, and lie in wait to strike the unsuspecting homeland that sheltered, fed, and nursed you with generosity and kindness.

The time to demand and offer condemnation of these acts is over. This is our homeland as much as anyone else's. Muslim-Americans are religiously bound to protect its borders from external and internal threats.

To ensure security, America must refuse entry to people from rogue lands where hatred is bred and transported via confused minds. It does not bode well that a generation with that mindset quietly became large in the United States.

Abdul-Majeed Azad

Perrysburg

This month, I heard Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rob Portman speak in Toledo about his job plans for Ohio ("Senate hopeful pushes help for small firms," May 7).

Mr. Portman took the time to talk to each person at the session, and also listened to other Ohioans to come up with a common-sense plan to create jobs.

The plan is based on the assumption that government shouldn't create jobs, but should create an environment that would allow individuals and companies in the private sector to grow.

Stephen Imes

Waterville

Anyone who has seen empty or nearly empty buses cruising the streets of Toledo knows that mass transit has never been and never will be a reality in this community ("Lucas County seeks TARTA funding shift," May 12).

The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority is used by few and paid for by many. A sales tax to float TARTA is not a great idea. The Oregon business district will not improve with bus service to Oregon.

TARTA is a huge waste of tax money. It deserves no support in the state it has put itself into.

David Sansing

Oregon

I have been reading in The Blade about the shooting of Kent State University students in 1970 ("Tragedy at war protest," May 4). Much of the story seems to have been left out.

Why was there no mention that students burned down the campus ROTC building before the shooting, or that students were taunting the National Guardsmen and throwing containers of urine and excrement at them?

What about the nearly 100 people killed by the Clinton administration at Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho? Most of them were innocent women and children who were not demonstrating or destroying property.

The media seem to blame Americans' mistrust of government on people such as Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly. Most of my mistrust started at Waco and Ruby Ridge, and is compounded by politicians who seem to ignore the will of American taxpayers.

George E. Sailer

Temperance

The Great Lakes suffer from sewage overflows from outdated municipal systems every time it rains hard, leading to E. coli contamination. Rains also bring agricultural runoff, including phosphorous and nitrogen, encouraging toxic algae blooms.

We have well-publicized real or imminent threats of invasive species such as round gobies, zebra and quagga mussels, and Asian carp.

We continue to see heavy metals and industrial waste such as PCB's in areas near industrial sites, such as the Tittabawassee River basin.

In recent years, environmental advocates would grovel before Congress each year to secure funding to deal with some of these problems. Happily, those days may soon be over.

In March, Congress introduced on a bipartisan basis legislation known as the Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act. The act would consolidate various Great Lakes programs under one funding umbrella.

It would yield roughly $700 million a year to treat toxic hot spots and invasive species. The funding would last five years.

Robert Gordon

Ann Arbor

I am a dog lover who appreciates The Blade's dog stories, as well as stories about other animals. The coverage has influenced change in leadership at the dog warden's office, because the humane treatment of animals is a must.

I am so glad to see that innocent "pit bulls" are being given a chance at life. All dogs deserve a good home, regardless of breed.

I was once biased by the media and ignorant about them. Then one came into my life.

To Blade sports columnist Dave Hackenberg, thank you for sharing your tribute to your best friend ("Fond farewell to this man's very best friend," May 2). It takes a real man to write something so personal and share it with the world.

Denise N. Rehfuss

Overland Parkway