Foreclosures are big money
(Re: “Foreclosures hit home in Colorado,” news, Nov. 18.) Yes, we in California are facing the same types of things by all banks. I’m filing a complaint on Monday against four different institutions and individuals. I have MERS [Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems] in my contract, and we have a lot of good case history already on our side. All I can say to you is keep up the fight because none of the banks have any legal standing or interest to foreclose.
Steven Lucore Sr./via Internet
Re-legalize cannabis
I’m writing about the thoughtful column by Paul Danish, “Who killed Proposition 19?” (Danish Plan, Nov. 18). Probably parents and grandparents mistakenly think that there is a gateway between cannabis use and hard drugs. There is not. The possible gateway is caused by cannabis prohibition.
Have the readers ever been offered a free bottle of whiskey, rum or vodka when legally buying beer or wine? Probably not. Have their adult children ever been offered a free sample of meth or cocaine when illegally buying cannabis? Probably yes.
In a regulated and controlled market this would not happen. Re-legalize cannabis, and we close the gateway.
For the sake of your children and grandchildren — re-legalize cannabis.
Kirk Muse/Mesa, Ariz.
Palin 2012
(Re: “Politics, like rust, never sleeps,” Danish Plan, Nov. 4.) I saw your article on Palin through a friend’s blog. I wanted to write and say I think you are 100 percent correct. Palin ’08 and Palin now are totally different people. She is working out the kinks to make sure she won’t have the same “gotcha” media moments she had with McCain. Great article.
Tim Adams/Missoula, Mont.
Save the Arctic
As the new Congress begins action in January, we will once again deal with the desire by some forces to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for oil. Time and time again this issue has come before us.
Time and time again enough members of the public have insisted that no such drilling be allowed. And each time the question has arisen, the drilling has been blocked by this public demand.
There
is a possibility of a permanent rejection of drilling in this refuge.
President Obama could establish the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as
our newest national monument. This would keep all the natural resources
of the area maintained permanently in their natural state, thus
protecting all the animal life and indigenous human cultures that depend
upon the refuge.
The
Alaska Wilderness League says this about the refuge: “Big mammals, such
as the iconic polar bear, still roam freely in America’s Arctic, and
millions of the world’s birds feed and nest on its plains. They come
here each year, seeking refuge from a world of encroaching hazards to
receive their most sacred needs: sustenance and safe harbor for bearing their young. The Arctic Refuge remains wild, so the cycle of life continues.”
I
agree with those who see it to be our moral and civic duty to preserve
this cycle. So, I call upon President Obama to declare the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge a national monument and hope that many of you
who see this letter will do the same.
LaRoy Seaver/Estes Park
Learn to save a life
More
than 3 million Americans have epilepsy or a seizure disorder. November
is National Epilepsy Awareness Month, and I am one of thousands of
volunteers working to raise awareness of this terrible condition.
Epilepsy
is common, but many people know little about it or what to do when
someone is having a seizure. That’s why the Epilepsy Foundation is
asking everyone to take the Get Seizure Smart! quiz in November.
A copy of the quiz is available at www.GetSeizureSmart.org.
As someone affected by epilepsy, I strongly encourage everyone to take
the quiz. My life, or that of a loved one, may depend upon it.
Kristieann Dischler/via Internet
Israel, not Palestine
Time
and time again, I hear the nation of Israel being called Palestine.
Check your history folks, and you’ll see that this is a made-up name.
Nowhere in the Bible is it called this, so why do we insist on renaming
Israel? Is it people’s hate for the Jews? Hmmm … Imagine calling the
United States of America “the Republic of Europe.” Get real.
God
knows the heart of every man, so quit trying to please those who wish
to destroy Israel. You’re on the losing side if you think God will just
stand by and let Israel be eliminated. Genesis 12:3.
Chris Crumrine/Arvada
Equal pay for equal work
Lame ducks and lame beliefs allow prejudice to hold back the country!
On
Nov. 17, the Senate failed to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. Sixty
votes were needed to pass the bill, but the vote fell two votes short at
58-41. This bill would have taken a giant step in the right direction
to level the compensatory playing field in the workplace. According to
an article published by The Hill titled “Democrats criticize Republicans
for voting against pay-fairness bill” and written by Vicki Needham, “as
it stands right now, women who do the same jobs as men earn $.78 for
every $1.00 earned by men.” The article further states that Sen. Kirsten
Gillibrand, D-N.Y., called the failure of the Senate to end debate on
the Paycheck Fairness Act on a 58-41 vote “outrageous” and “egregious.”
Sen. Gillibrand noted that the bill was defeated almost 100 percent
along party lines with one Democrat voting against it.
To
think that our legislators had the opportunity to right a wrong that
has existed in our country for so long and turned their backs on that
opportunity is demoralizing at best. What lack of common sense and logic
brings people to think that the same job, done equally well by women,
is only worth 78 percent of the pay given to men? How is it that the
Republicans in the Senate fail to remember the statement, “We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”? Can it be
that just over 40 percent of the men and women of the Senate really
believe that this statement refers to gender rather than species? Good
heavens, people, I was taught that this referral in the Declaration of
Independence specified species, not gender, in grade school. How can it
be that so many of our elected officials have reached such rarified
heights while remaining so ignorant?
Some
believe the defeat of this bill was due to the fact that this vote was
handed down by a lame-duck Congress. In my opinion, that belief is lame.
This decision is the result of prejudice and nothing else! The stance
that males should be either the sole or the primary provider is
antiquated, chauvinistic and foolish. Ever-increasing prices and taxes
have seen to the demise of that belief.
The
fact that this bill was defeated along party lines tells another story.
It implies that the General Election of Nov. 2 simply replaced one
foolish party agenda with another foolish party agenda. The Republican
Party has developed a reputation of being extremely pro big business at
the expense of the average citizen. To me, the defeat of this bill does
not just hint of that reputation being true … it screams it! It
appears that the Republican Party believes
the results of the recent General Election vilify the Democratic Party
rather than an untimely agenda, excessive spending and poor decisions.
If that is truly the case, the Republican Party will learn that
replacing an untimely agenda, excessive spending and one set of poor
decisions with more poor decisions based on prejudice (sexual or
otherwise) will likely bring them defeat in 2012. They will learn that
the majority of U.S. citizens believe the Declaration of Independence
and our Constitution. We believe that compensation should be given
equally based on performance … not gender, race, religion or country
of national origin. We the people are making a list, ladies and
gentlemen of the Senate, and you can bet that we will be checking it
twice just before the 2012 election. It is not about political party,
folks …it is about what we stand for as a people.
Robert M. Collinsworth/Harrisville, N.H.
We need a fair tax
I
want to introduce to the public a new concept for funding the federal
government. A new efficient tax system that is completely voluntary. The
FairTax.
Imagine
keeping every dime of your paycheck. No federal income tax taken out, no
Social Security or Medicare tax taken out, no taxes on business and no
taxes on investment income.
In
addition, you would get a monthly payment to cover taxes on
necessities, up to the poverty level. All of this replaced with a
consumption tax of 23 percent on new purchases only. No, the cost of
everything you buy will not necessarily go up 23 percent under this
plan. While the cost of new products would go up, many of the costs to
produce products would be eliminated, reducing retail prices.
How
could this be? All taxes and tax compliance costs, like tax preparation
and accounting fees on production of a product, are passed on through
each process and then eventually passed on to you, the consumer. These
are called embedded costs. Economists estimate that there is roughly a
22 percent increase in the cost of merchandise due to embedded costs.
The FairTax would remove these costs.
Now
imagine how businesses based overseas would react to a country that
does not punish them for creating jobs. A country that says, “Hey, if
you come here and open a business, we will not tax you.” Business from
all countries would flood into the U.S. to base their operations. One
would literally have to hide under a rock in order to avoid getting a
job.
The
underground economy will be taxed at last. Illegal businesses such as
drug dealing, prostitution, as well as legitimate cash-only businesses
that are evading taxes will finally be contributing to the federal
government when they make purchases.
See the tax code in black and white with this new inclusive tax. When you see a
product at the store for $100, it would be marked at $100 and your
receipt will read $77 retailer, $23 tax. No more accountants,
special-interest groups and politicians helping some become exempt from
paying their fair share.
The
FairTax would change the way we fund Social Security and Medicare.
Instead of taxing only 158 million workers, over 300 million citizens
plus 50 million tourists who come from abroad will be funding our
entitlement costs.
No more IRS. No more tax forms, no more tax filing. April 15th will be just an ordinary day. No fumbling around finding all your
tax documents, then paying to have them prepared, and then hoping that
everything is done right so as to avoid the dreaded audit. A consumption
tax is a less burdensome tax since it is paid by individuals both
willing and able to pay it. It is not a penalty for productivity like
the current income tax.
The
FairTax would encourage citizenship for illegal aliens since
citizenship is required to qualify for the tax prebate included in this
tax plan.
Our
current tax code is like throwing sand into the engine of the economy.
It’s time for a tax code that’s fair, transparent and understandable. We
need to end the increasingly
complex tax code that is dividing our great nation and start a tax
system that promotes innovation and inspires new hope for a more
thriving and prosperous America for all. Let’s eliminate the
special-interest groups in Washington and return the power of government
back to its people. You can help be part of a movement that will
forever change the direction of our country.
Please check out more at fairtax.org, or read The FairTax Book by Neal Boortz. If this sounds like a good idea to you, tell your representatives that you want the FairTax.
Ken Becker/St. Louis, Mo.
