Words of wisdom to ponder for Obama

This is in response to Barack Obama and the Democratic stance to raise taxes on the wealthy among us to provide for the less wealthy.

Checking back to my memoirs and to some old truisms, I can’t pinpoint who or where they came from, but, here they are:

• You cannot legislate the poor into independence by legislating the wealthy out of it

• You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it

• Government cannot give to people what it does not first take away from people

• That which one man receives without working for, another man must work for without receiving.

Chuck Wenstrom, Corvallis

‘Drill, baby, drill’ is a foolish policy

I don’t understand the slogan “Drill, baby, drill.”

The idea appears to be that we need to produce more oil and gas.

In the first place, no one produces oil or gas. They mine it. They extract it. And when we extract a barrel of crude oil or a cubic foot of natural gas and use it, it is gone forever. Our supplies of fossil energy are finite.

When we do not extract it, it is still there and we can use it at a future date. The oil and gas supplies we did not extract and use when prices were low are still available to us now with higher economic and strategic value.

Mining is not like farming where, with good practices, production can be maintained or even increased from year to year. Extracting and using oil and gas is like making withdrawals from an account into which no deposits will ever be made.

Not to use our supplies of fossil fuels would be foolish. To use them as fast as we can would be equally foolish. Surely the goal must be to make our fossil fuel resources last until we are able to complete the conversion to renewable resources.

So what does “Drill, baby, drill” mean?

Peter Bloome, Corvallis

America deserves better than McCain-Palin ticket

I believe either we are moving into a parallel universe or Americans just ignore facts. Vice-presidential candidate Palin is woefully inexperienced and lacks the historical and political wisdom to be a “heartbeat away from the presidency.”

She is a tax reformer? This year, she sent to Sen. Ted. Stevens, R-Alaska, proposals for 31 earmarks totaling $197 million — more, per person, than any other state in the country. The famous bridge to nowhere: just two years, she supported it. Do facts matter?

The likes of Carly Fiorina (ring a bell?) are now touted as “up and coming” powerhouses in the Republican Party. Forced out by HP’s board in 2005 after hurting profits and outsourcing jobs, she is now an agent of change? Was she punished? No, she got a $21 million golden parachute? On CNN she was defending McCain’s tax breaks for big oil. You believe Carly and John represent middle-America and blue-collar folks?

Where I grew up, if you mocked someone’s daughter or mother, prying into their private life, you got punched in the face. I agree, leave Palin’s daughter alone. Yet, when John McCain, at a Republican fundraiser stated, “Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father,” where was the outcry? The “liberal” press didn’t touch it. Imagine if Obama stated such a thing about a politician’s daughter. Shame on McCain.

Spying on Americans, torture, giant deficits, job losses, corporate welfare equal McCain/Palin 2008. America deserves better.

John F. Borowski, Philomath

GOP gathering shows ‘Big Oil’ fingerprints

True, we expected little to come out of the Republican convention in St. Paul and we were not disappointed on that account.

This time around, instead of the spectacle of “Swift-boating” delegates sporting Purple Heart “band-aids,” we were entertained by a nitwit proudly advertising her “Shut up and Drill,” T-shirt, obviously courtesy of Big Oil.

The publicity surrounding the printing of this “Newsmaking” photograph not surprisingly coincided with the White House occupant’s (George whats-his-name) unsubtle warning to Congress to approve the offshore drilling on the double or face the voter’s backlash in November.

Thankfully enough sane people will vote in November and we will thwart the Oil Interest’s blatant power play to impose its will and damn the concerns of “We the People.”

Our Founding Fathers would be appalled at the present state of affairs where our elected officials are handing the controls over to the oil companies. The nightmare predicted in Upton Sinclair’s “Oil!” has come true with a vengeance.

Leo de Vogel, Corvallis

Bulldog with lipstick: A scary presidential image

Sarah Palin refers to herself as a hockey mom. She explained that the difference between a hockey mom and a bulldog is lipstick.

It is a scary image for president of the United States.

Louise Ferrell, Corvallis

McCain’s a proven and experienced leader

I had intended to write a letter about the lack of Sen. Barack Obama’s experience to make him a viable candidate for the presidency. It was pretty well laid out at the Republican National Convention, noting that he has no business experience, no military experience and no real leadership experience.

While he was elected as a senator, he did not draft any legislation for change and only followed the liberal party line on his votes. His record is that of the most liberal voting senator. The changes we would get if he is elected would be higher taxes, less spending on security spending, and more of the Democratic main theme, “Take money from those who earned it and give it to those who have not, in exchange for their votes.”

What is really scary about Obama is his distain for the flag, the national anthem and the military.

I am voting for John McCain, a proven leader, one who has and will work for change, and one who respects our flag, our national anthem and our military.

Herb Hansen, Corvallis

Who will lead us into the future?

The world is changing. As seen with economic growth in China and India as well as Brazil and Dubai, the United States is quickly becoming just one of the economic players, not the sole player anymore.

Who will lead us into this new reality? Who has a vision to acknowledge these changes? In his nomination speech, McCain focused on his past without giving any road map toward the future.

Sen. Barack Obama has stated he will focus on building new green industries and rebuilding infrastructure in the United States. It’s time to move the United States into the 21st century, prepare our students for the global economy and put behind the horrendous economic and political blunders of the last eight years.

Joseph Hoff, Corvallis

Electing McCain could crush America’s true spirit

I used to think there couldn’t be anyone worse than George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in terms of the erosion of civil rights, the destruction of the commons, the decimation of the middle class, the massive transfer of public wealth via “bailouts” and continuous imperial wars. But now I know it can get much worse after watching the thoroughly divisive and fear-mongering speeches of the vice presidential and presidential nominees at the Republican convention.

This is one of the scariest times in my life in terms of the internal threats from the far right to our country, our freedom and our economy. As Sinclair Lewis said in 1935: “Fascism will come to this country wrapped in a flag and carrying a Bible.”

Barack Obama may or may not be a progressive who believes in working for the common good rather than the select few and only his successful election and time will tell. But as inconceivable as it may seem, there could be worse presidents than G.W. Bush. I know that if John McCain and Sarah Palin get elected, our country will never be the same and we will have irrevocably lost the true spirit of the greater common good and civil rights upon which our constitution and country are founded.

Fred Hughes, Corvallis

Israeli Navy harassing McCain’s policies better than Obama’s

This is in response to the Sept. 9 letter from J.K. McGonagill:

The fact that there are differences between the major presidential candidates in five major areas particularly is the only part of the letter where I would agree. The reasons given in the letter are basically incorrect so far as Sen. John McCain is concerned, and somewhat factual so far as Sen. Barack Obama is concerned.

Economy: McCain knows that times are tough and that there are many problems that need fixing. Obama is loud and clear about the faults, misdeeds and other things done by America and how we need to be more like our European friends.

Energy: McCain’s solutions will help us become energy-independent while Obama’s broad plan will never solve the problem and offers no short-term improvement.

Health care: All it takes is a little reading and listening to be aware of McCain’s health plan. Who will pay for Obama’s government-run debacle?

Taxes: McCain will help the economy and leave the present cuts in effect and not involve any spread-the-wealth (socialistic) programs as Obama proposes.

Foreign policy: McCain’s policy is so different from the current policy that it’s hard to understand why they are felt to be the same. Obama’s ideas are frightening, to say the least. In the meantime he can go ahead with his campaigning, which is all he’s done for the last two years. If he gets elected, he will probably start campaigning immediately for 2012 and leave governing to Joe Biden.

Ted Langton Sr., Corvallis

McCain’s VP pick wants more of the same

Sen. John McCain says he will bring change to the White House. His running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, suggests otherwise. Like Bush, she seems to believe in making up statements. Palin says she said “no” to the “Bridge to Nowhere,” except she supported it 100 percent until it turned into a national embarrassment, and she (and Alaska) kept the money.

Palin says that her children should be off-limits, so I’ll stick to the hypocrisy in her own statements. She is against abortion even in the case of rape, yet she states her daughter made the decision to keep her baby. Generous of Palin to give her daughter a choice she doesn’t think other women deserve. Both the current administration and McCain/Palin seem to believe in changing positions to fit the question.

McCain says he is a maverick — who votes the party line 88.3 percent during the current Congress, January 2007 to now. Pretty high, considering he’s missed 63.8 percent (407) of the votes! In the previous Congress, from January 2005 to January 2007, he only voted the party line 79.4 percent. (So, is that stealing — accepting full pay for part-time work?)

There is one other consistency with the current administration, besides McCain’s voting record — Bush says he is doing God’s work. Palin says Operation Iraqi Freedom is “a task that is from God“. (The word war is usually associated with the military operation in Iraq; however, it was never declared a war by Bush and as such results in fewer benefits for our servicemen and women.)

Joy Linn, Corvallis

An imperfect McCain still best for the job

“They broke me.” So said John McCain in his Republican nomination acceptance speech regarding his experience as a prisoner of war. Mr. McCain’s wartime experiences are well-documented.

Some recent letter writers have criticized Mr. McCain for divorcing his first wife, Carol, seven years after returning from prison camp. When he returned, he found that she, too, had been physcially broken by a terrible auto accident. Perhaps he was indeed broken at that time. In the service of his country he had been treated brutally. One can still see a result of that treatment because he is unable to raise his arms above his shoulders.

What the letter writers haven’t written is that Mr. McCain agreed to pay for Carol’s medical costs for life. They also haven’t written that Carol has recently said she wants to publicize her support for her ex-husband. They haven’t written that she asserts that John McCain is a “good guy,” and they haven’t written that she says he is the best man for president.

Mr. McCain also said in his speech last night that he has been “... an imperfect servant.” I believe that we are all broken in some way, and we are certainly all imperfect. I am comfortable with the idea that Mr. McCain should be our next president, even in the face of his imperfection. Because on the merits, as his first wife Carol says, he is the best person for the job.

Vern McDonald, Corvallis

Don’t pressure teen Palin into marriage

Thank you for the excellent article Sept. 8 by Gail Rosenblum of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “Most teen mothers lack the support net Palin’s daughter has.”

Movies and personalities have done enough to trivialize the tragedy of teen-age pregnancy without adding a vice president to the endorsers.

I am a practicing Catholic who for 15 years served my diocese as a counselor to people under 20 who wished to get married. The first question in the official questionnaire was: Are you pregnant? We were to deny all requests by pregnant applicants because such people were considered to be getting married under pressure.

Almost inevitably I and the other counselors found these kids to be incredibly immature and not ready for marriage. At that time, the percentage of failed marriages was much higher than the current 50 percent probably because “shotgun” marriages were more common.

The Palin family could well manage to help their daughter raise her child while concentrating on her education. To pressure her into marriage or even to allow her to marry serves only to make the family look better. It seems to me the mother is so power-hungry, she does not stop for a minute to consider the best interest of her daughter and grandchild.

Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht, Corvallis

U.S. can’t afford McCain-Palin ticket

This country cannot afford to elect the oldest first-term president in history with a VP absolutely unqualified to take on the presidency.

Palin is unqualified (e.g., no international experience, months on the job as governor of a state with under 1 million residents and oil revenue that lets it send checks to its residents rather than collect taxes, and mayorship of a village). Compound this with her beliefs which are inconsistent with reality as we know it (e.g., not believing in biological evolution, and a belief that global climate change is not caused by human activity) make her a danger to the world.

We face grave threats to our nation and the sustenance of humanity. We cannot afford another administration making pivotal decisions based on ignorance, dogma and ideology.

The choice of Palin reveals McCain’s willingness to put our nation at risk for perceived near-term political advantage. America deserves so much better, and fortunately for us all, Sen. Barack Obama is.

John Selker, Corvallis