There is always the hope that truth will win out but the steady stream of “factual” nonsense that fills this section of the newspaper would tend to negate that maxim.
On my short list we have a flagrant rewriting of American history, a contempt for science and a pompous attitude that God is only found in conservative households.
During the ratification of the Constitution, a few state delegates wanted to insert into it the statement that this is a Christian Nation. Such amendments were voted down. The Constitution is a secular document for a secular government and that suits this Christian quite well.
Every year we dump billions of tons of pollutants into the earth’s atmosphere as well as onto Mother Earth. Are we so ignorant of science not to think that it has an effect?
The “cleaned-up” oil in the Gulf suddenly reappeared when Hurricane Isaac churned up the water. Would you feed your children gulf shrimp on a regular basis?
Would you fry up two-headed trout caught downstream from a copper mine in Montana? Would you trust a Chicago meat-packer to market its product without inspection? Why do the Koch brothers want to abolish the EPA?
Why after a century do we still propel ourselves with gasoline engines and why have oil companies bought and trashed patents that could have made a difference?
In church on Sunday, count the number of seniors. Could your congregation meet their basic needs for food, shelter and medical care? No! And it couldn’t in the 1930s when Social Security was established to make sure every American can have some dignity in their retirement years.
Prefer the private market? Better get to work. At a modest pace you should have the equivalent of a year’s salary parked in a retirement fund by age 35 and triple that by age 45. I wonder how low-wage workers are doing with that guideline.
Don’t believe in government involvement in health care? For those lucky to have employer-based insurance, the average premium for a family of four is $16,000.
Maybe the single mom with two children could barter with a doctor or hospital like a Republican senate candidate once suggested. Maybe it’s OK that an 80-year-old man gets knee replacement surgery but not an uninsured father of two who can’t work without it.
Why ration care when you can just shut 47 million Americans out of its reach. Why are private equity czars like Bain Capital buying up hundreds of hospitals? Must be gold in them thar hills.
We are the biggest consumers on planet earth. Other countries salivate over the prospect of selling their goods here. So why do we allow our own companies to give the shaft to American workers, set up shop in China and then sell the goods here.
It’s our country, not Apple’s or General Electric’s. We set the rules. Oh! But that would require we the people, government, telling the “job creators” how to manage their business. A big no in tea party circles.
The far right wants to make the federal government so small that you can drown it in a bathtub.
If they achieve that get prepared to see the privatization of everything: private toll roads, schools, parks and recreation, access to drinking water, retirement if you can afford it, healthcare if you can pay for it, the whole nine yards.
Remember: Romney and Ryan will have your back on Nov. 6 and will be standing on it the day after.
William Tunney
Grantsville
Opinion
Would you really want to eat these things?
- Opinion
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Why have the media been silent all this time?
When I read the Cumberland Times-News Editorial this morning, Friday, May 17, entitled, “Outrageous,” I laughed like a kid at a birthday party!
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What are chances this much money will be spent on road?
I was intrigued by cost data summarized in reporter Kathy Mellott’s recent article, “Completing southern link of U.S. Route 219 said to be best use of highway funds,” which appeared in the Cumberland Times-News on Tuesday May 14 (Page 1A).
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School board should be doing better job with less money
The Allegany County Teachers Association (ACTA) board of directors recently submitted a letter to the editor asking the Allegany County commissioners to fully fund the Board of Education’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year (“Commissioners should fund school board request,” April 29 Times-News).
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Better ‘Click It’
If you notice more police on the highway this week, it’s for a couple of reasons.
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Were they really good old days? You decide
When a fellow gets old, it’s not unusual for his mind to wander back to the days of his youth. He may forget where he laid his glasses five minutes ago, yet he can remember events that took place a half a century ago. This is one of the interesting things of old age.
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Wearing the poppy tells others people that you remember
On May 25, members of Farrady Unit 24 American Legion Auxiliary, Frostburg, will once again ask the citizens of the community to remember the sacrifices our veterans have made.
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Donating your old bike will help someone who really needs it
Once again Bikes for the World is collecting used bicycles at Canal Place, May 25 from 10 a.m. to noon,
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Hosting Fresh Air Children can be a memorable experience
I got a phone call, and a little voice said, “Hi Miss Linda, I’m calling to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day.”
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Stop buying licenses; let them find the money somewhere else
A few months ago, I received two cards from the National Rifle Association. These were dealing with a legislative alert.
They asked that I should contact Sen. George Edwards and Delegate Kevin Kelly concerning the anti-gun legislation. -
Strength of gun laws is not reflected in grisly statistics
According to the FBI’s uniform crime reports, California had the highest number of gun murders in 2011 with 1,220, which makes up 68 percent of all murders in the state that year and equates to 3.25 murders per 100,000 people.
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Why have the media been silent all this time?
