And good riddance, August! After today, we're done with ye till next year.
Very simple
As citizens, we all abide by the rules of our country; so will any individuals who wish to be a part of the system. If you love our country, you take the oath.
As for the illegal immigrants, I ask authorities to take names, round them up and ship them home.
DAVID HATCHER
Winston-Salem
Voting on the amendment
This vote does not mean that marriage will be defined as between a man and a woman in the constitution. It only allows the people to vote on whether they want their legislators to vote for the bill because it gives citizens the opportunity to decide for themselves what they believe is the definition of marriage. This is democracy in action and this is why all are Americans — to have the right to vote and participate in democracy.
ELIZABETH S. SMITH
Lewisville
Character
GREGG VOGELSMEIER
Winston-Salem
Buffett's intent
JOANNE COGGINS
King
In response to your article "Young immigrants plan steps" (Aug. 24), the way to help them afford the rights of full-blown citizens is very, very simple: They become citizens of the United States of America.
This way the issues of taxes, education, tuition and living status become their privilege and duty. No protest, no rally, no sit-in required.As citizens, we all abide by the rules of our country; so will any individuals who wish to be a part of the system. If you love our country, you take the oath.
As for the illegal immigrants, I ask authorities to take names, round them up and ship them home.
DAVID HATCHER
Winston-Salem
Voting on the amendment
For the past eight years, a bill has been filed to let the people of North Carolina vote on a marriage amendment. For the first time, the leadership in the House and the Senate are going to push the power away from themselves and down to the people by allowing this amendment to be voted on by the House and the Senate.
The constitution gains its power from the people — there is no better way to give power to the constitution than to let the people vote. Please publish this letter — so my fellow Forsyth County residents can know the true facts concerning the marriage amendment, vs. volatile and emotionally laden rhetoric as others would convey.
ELIZABETH S. SMITH
Lewisville
Character
I found it refreshing to read how Mark LeGree was willing to take a job doing construction while waiting for the end of the NFL lockout ("LeGree willing to do hard work," Aug. 19). It speaks volumes to his character and is an excellent example of someone who is willing to work instead of waiting for something to be handed to him. As an elementary school teacher, I plan to share his story with my incoming students. I wish LeGree much success in his NFL career. He certainly deserves it.
GREGG VOGELSMEIER
Winston-Salem
Buffett's intent
Thanks to the letter writer ("Voluntary contributions," Aug. 24) who provided an address for Americans to send more of their money to the U.S. Treasury if they feel the need to do so. I'm sure it will help.
Warren Buffett's intent is simply to create more revenue now and begin, finally, to tackle the enormous U.S. debt problem. All of Buffett's money won't fix it!
JOANNE COGGINS
King
LTE1: OK, let's see . . . what is the passenger capacity of an intercity bus? Greyhound's D4505, seats 50 people. All right, assuming we pack the buses full, 12MM illegals will require 240,000 bus trips, some as long as 2K miles, simply to take them to the border and drop 'em off.
ReplyDeleteSo, we must house, feed, care for the illegals en route, along with a support infrastructure of staff and facilities for the citizens involved in this diaspora. Hmmm, it looks as if the LTE writer may have hit on a solution to unemployment, though not the national debt.
LTE2: LTE2: OK, we're going to vote on something that allows our job-creating legislators to vote on something. It isn't exactly the same thing, but why do I detect an aroma similar to deeming that an unvoted HCR bill has passed. Oh, about those jobs that are supposed to be created?
LTE3: I'm not familiar with this, but on the face of it, commendable.
LTE4: We do ultimately need to pay as we go, but as others have noted, our most pressing problem now is a jobs problem. Addressing that will in part address the debt problem. Perhaps for the moment, instead of sending money to retire the national debt, it might be more prudent, amazingly, to consume.
Stab...I'm with you on August! In my family, August is a dreaded month. Besides, Elvis died in August.
ReplyDeleteLTE #2... we don't live in a democracy. The US has democratic institutions that are checked by the restraints of republican form of government. In fact the founders warned against the "excesses of democracy" Benjamin Franklin: "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."
ReplyDeleteTJ “Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.” OW.
Democracy is majority rule and in the US, the majority governs, the laws rule.
Stab et al: I really have to re-visit a post by Anthony Vrsecky yesterday in the Journal's LTE's re a speech by Marco Rubio at the Ronald Reagan library. I know Anthony referred to it for his own reasons but after viewing the speech myself I find that this man is profusely passionate and charmingly articulate. IMO, he should seriously consider a run for presidency, hopefully in the near future. Tell me what y'all think.
ReplyDeleteLaSombra..not having seen the speech in question, but having heard a few of Rubio's speeches before, I share your enthusiasm. Rubio handles himself well. He may have a future in higher office.
ReplyDeleteGood AM, LaSombra, Bob, WW!
ReplyDeleteLaSombra, I don't know much about Rubio except that he is indeed passionate and articulate. He also appears to be paying his dues, and if not staying under the radar, at least he is staying out of the current electoral rumble.
I do know he has said a few times that he is not interested in running for Prez at this time. That is good. FL voters elected him to be one of their Senators, not to vote Present and run for President. This means he needs to learn his job, represent his state while legislating for the general welfare. In so doing, he will establish a track record/paper trail and become somewhat acclimated and seasoned.
We Americans, and perhaps people in general, tend to look for a hero who is going repair the economy, or win the Cold War, or boost us from our national malaise. We gravitate to the polished, eloquent, quick-witted speakers. Rhetorical fluency makes good copy, but whether it makes good leaders is debatable. There is Winston Churchill on one hand, Monica under the desk on the other.
All that said, Rubio is indeed worth watching.
whitewall: Run your cursor over his name (in my previous post) and click to follow the link to the speech I refer to. So much of what he said in the speech is profoundly thought provoking. I've not listened to any of his speeches prior to this one but I have heard of him as a phenom in the political arena. FWIW, I've also heard the same of Rick Perry.
ReplyDeleteHey Stab...Rubio might even be an appealing person to the post boomer group that is not believing in the old systems that their parents and grandparents were wedded to. Unless the under 50 population buys in, the old Entitlement state will end. So far, these folks ain't buying.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Stab.
ReplyDeleteLaSombra, Perry is indeed a phenom: he called Social Security, the so-called "third rail of American politics," a Ponzi scheme. While it is similar in effect, as money paid in goes immediately back out, but the allusion may not sell with older voters, as any aspersion cast on Social Security implies a possible change.
ReplyDeleteYounger voters may be more receptive to Perry's comment, but older voters, um, vote. And they vote in higher proportions than younger voters. Perry may have been unwise in his comment.
lol, yes, let Perry campaign in Florida a while with his Ponzi scheme talk. Perry is a dime store conservative.
ReplyDeleteHowever, to his credit, He did sign a bill in Texas which allows illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition, worked for Al Gore, and praised former first lady Hillary Clinton's health care inititiative. :)
ReplyDeleteLaSombra...I did as you said and enjoyed his speech. He is saying much of what I have been writing here and on the Journal forum for 2 years, much to the annoyance of legions of people who are not yet on my side. Ie..do we make the necessary changes ourselves or do we make them because we have no choice left to us because of financial reality brought upon us by the worldwide owners of our debt.
ReplyDeleteStab: I'm a native Texan and voted for Perry in his early years.
ReplyDeleteRubio, IMO, has alluded to the same thing re SS in the speech I linked to in my previous post here; I tend to agree with him. We as a country decided we didn't have to save for our golden years because we knew the government has a "savings account" (so to speak) in "our" SS "payments", and that Medicare (the "government") would take care of us in our old age. And I kid you not, any career politician knows they would be committing political suicide in cutting those two programs because next election cycle older voters would cast their votes of dissatisfaction.
There is a high probability that Perry will be our next president if he doesn't stumble along the way.
ReplyDeleteThe news media will do their best to stop him, but I think people have had enough of Obama and his twinkie butted wife.
If he should, let's hope he doesn't invite Ted Nugent to play at his inaugural ball again:
ReplyDeleteAUSTIN, Texas — Hours after Texas Gov. Rick Perry kicked off his second full term in office, Ted Nugent helped him celebrate at a black-tie gala, but not all attendees were pleased by the rock guitarist's performance.
Using machine guns as props, Nugent, 58, appeared onstage as the final act of the inaugural ball wearing a cutoff T-shirt emblazoned with the Confederate flag and shouting offensive remarks about non-English speakers, according to people who were in attendance.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,244661,00.html#ixzz1WcvbpBYI
Good afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: As I recall, they tried to renew their visa, but were turned down. There is no viable solution for identifying, detaining, processing, then deporting ~13M people.
LTE 2: Wasn't this same LTE published just the other day only from a different author and slightly reworded? There appears to be a group of people out there who are clueless about our govt. Again, it is NOT a democracy. The FF's did not trust the masses to make wise decisions. They did not want the majority to pass laws that curtailed a minority's rights. Having 90 - 95% of the people passing an amendment that targets 5-10% of the people is another form of bullying and has no place in our state constitution.
LTE 3: Don't recall the article, but I think it would behoove Mr. LeGree to have done something that would keep him in top condition while the lockout was in place. You earn your spot on the roster with your preseason performance.
LTE 4: Buffett would make a much greater impact on the debt by investing money in businesses to retain or increase the number of jobs. Take care of the UR and the economy, and the debt will take care of itself.
No worse or better than some of the rap artists that endorsed Obama. At least Nugent is not his preacher like Rev. Wright was for Obama.
ReplyDeleteChaz Bono is going to be on DWTS. Oh goodie. I guess we can only hope his/her/its air pump doesn't go on accidently during all of the excitement of dancing with a woman.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but one does not get to choose one's endorsements, but one does get to choose who plays at one's inauguration.
ReplyDeleteTed and Rick are hunt'n buddies
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there will be a repeat of the 1992 Republican convention where Patrick Buchannon gave a fire and brimstone speech in prime time that some have credited with tipping the election to Clinton. There are no shortage of prominent TB's in the Republican party who would scare off the centrists given the chance to vent in prime time.
ReplyDeleteI am not familiar with Rubio, but I wonder how being a Latino would affect his chances in the primaries where a lot of TB's see Latino = illegal if comments on the Journal site are any indicator.
DWTS?
ReplyDeleteRubio is very well spoken, graduate of U of Miami Law School, his parents came here from Cuba. I don't know much about him other than that and he is a favorite of the Tea Party. I think he may have been T Party before it was hijacked by the social conservatives.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the Nuge...racist asshole extrodinaire.
ReplyDeleteHi dotnet, Arthur, and Bucky!
ReplyDeleteBob: DWTS = Dancing with the Stars. That is the extent of my association with the program. I also have no idea who Chaz Bono is. Cultural ignorance is bliss.
I think Rugio's Cuban origins will play well with conservatives, anti-Communist, y'know. I will have to see what the guy is about, can't discuss except in vague general terms.
ReplyDeleteah, never watched it. Chaz Bono is Sonny and Cher Bono's transexual son.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know: Rubio, not Rugio.
ReplyDeleteOh. Well, if it works for him, 'taint none of my biz. None of my biz if it doesn't, come to think of it. And I don't watch the show. As you reminded Mrs. Stab one night, I have 2 right feet :)
ReplyDeleteTake a look at these pix of Ricky from the Texas A&M yearbook, then tell me you're going to vote for him.
ReplyDeletehttp://yfrog.com/h21zacoj
As my policeman friend likes to say, the bigger the gun (knife, sword), the smaller the you-know-what.
The "yell leader" shot is merely icky (although I'm sure that Senor Buckman REALLY likes it), but the other looks like it might have been taken around 1937...trying to look like the fearless leader...sieg heil!
The reason Clinton won is because of Ross Perot. You're dreaming, as usual, about the speech.
ReplyDeleteUnless something dramatic happens in the next 18 months, Obama is done serving as the POTUS. That means 8 years of Republicans running the WH, and things will quickly get back to normal and our economy will boom again.
The freak show will be over.
Ross Perot voted for Clinton?
ReplyDeleteAs to Bob's 10:02, I've got a plan...a representational amendment.
ReplyDeleteLet's say that we actually have a referendum on this nonsense. And lets say that 55% vote in favor of an amendment and 45% vote against.
Now the legislature passes an amendment saying that 55% of marriages have to be between a man and a woman and 45% can be between anything else, including the three billy goats gruff if they so desire. That would be fair, wouldn't it.
the last time the Republicans held the WH were certainly stellar.
ReplyDeleteHello, OT!
ReplyDeleteAre you sure that righthand pic of Perry hasn't been photoshopped? All he needs is the toothbrush mustache.
I never realized what a good president Bush was until Obama got in.....
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Ross did vote for Clinton...he told me so himself.
ReplyDeleteAs he stepped into the voting booth, he realized that if he won he would have to spend four more years flipping through those stupid chart books, so he pulled Bubba's handle.
And since Clinton only won by one vote, Ross was personally responsible for putting him in.
I hope Hillary runs against Obama...that would be hilarious. I need to hear a few more..."Shame on you Barack Obama' screeches.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see Billy Clinton dancing with Chaz Bono....that'd cool his jets.
ReplyDeleteHillary running against President Obama would net her quite a few "Shame on you, Hillary" catcalls. That would probably ensure an R President on Inauguration Day, and seasoned Dem pols know it, you betcha.
ReplyDeleteBesides, between Bachmann, Perry, et all, the job crisis should be solved by early next year. The demand for comedians has increased astronomically.
ReplyDeleteNaaaaah.....Obama will screw it up. Anything he touches turns to uh....well...you know the rest.
ReplyDeleteI hope Huntsman can rise above his 1% polling now, but why did he say he would be open to running as Bachmann's VP?
ReplyDeletelol, he said "Call me crazy."
ReplyDeleteNo matter what one thinks of Maxine Waters, it would be nice to see other representatives on vacation out working as hard as she is bringing jobs to people all over the country.
ReplyDeleteBob, what is Maxine Waters (D-Riots) doing?
ReplyDeleteYeah....Maxine Waters is a wonderful congresswoman. I'd like to see her run for president. I like the fact that she doesn't bring race into every conversation.
ReplyDeleteThe CBC has been sponsoring Job Fairs all over the country. She is one of the leaders out walking the walk when it comes to jobs, jobs, jobs.
ReplyDeletehttp://newsone.com/nation/newsonestaff2/cbc-job-fair-black-unemployment/
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you don't bring gays and lesbians into every conversation, Bucky.
ReplyDeleteBob, I think that's fine. Perhaps she will take that up full time, leaving us to hope a more responsible legislator will take her place.
ReplyDeleteBobby....are you a little testy again today?
ReplyDeleteno
ReplyDeleteBobby...don't go wrong on me. You're the only one in here that goes tit for tat with me. Everybody else seems to go into emotional tirades when they try to engage me.
ReplyDeleteStab, re PhotoShop...my first thought, so did some research. The pix were originally published by the Texas Tribune, a very respectable site. From the 1969 Aggieland.
ReplyDeleteYou can find complete yearbooks from most NC colleges (NC State is notably missing...reason unknown)at http://digitalnc.org/
Free site...I found pix of all of the girls I dated in college except for the ones who went out of state...my friends got a big kick out of that.
Not I, Bucky. I've always enjoyed a bit of light reading.
ReplyDeleteThat's the spirit Bobby.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great site, O.T., thanks for the supplying the link
ReplyDeleteSenor Buckman...there is nothing about you to engage.
ReplyDeleteAll you do is make stupid statements...not worth arguing about.
Rep. Andre Carson (D) is trying to do something the Democrats have never done before. That is, bring race into the political conversation. He's says Tea Party members want to see blacks hanging from a tree.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that is for sure about Democrats, there's no level too low for them to stoop.
Buckmeister said: "Unless something dramatic happens in the next 18 months, Obama is done serving as the POTUS. That means 8 years of Republicans running the WH, and things will quickly get back to normal and our economy will boom again.The freak show will be over"
ReplyDeleteFreak show????? The only freak show playing will be the Republican debates. Talk about a bunch of freaks. One of you said Rubio is passionate and articulate. So was Hitler but his world view sucked. Rubio and Elmer Gantry from Texas and Crazy-Eyes Bachmann. I wouldn't be counting my White House chickens quite yet. Despite the dumbing down of america, I think most are still smart enough to tell that these charlatans don't pass the sniff test.
Conversely, you guys are stuck with a president that has been a complete loser for the last 2 1/2 years. We need to get some fresh meat into the Oval. Nobody likes a losing team, so Obama and his freak show team need to go.
ReplyDeleteLike I've said before, even rats are smart enough to jump off of a sinking ship. Get real!
I do like your photo though, and I like the fact you had balls enough to put on. So you and I might agree on a few things in the future, just not this one.
We have a President whose experience is far less than the members of the R freak show, arriving in the office after a few tours of being a part-time legislator. His agenda after taking office was to focus on HCR while the economy was struggling and to empower economy-sapping unions. But, take heart, now, after over 2 1/2 years in office, he is going to give a jobs speech next week, conveniently scheduled to overlap a long-planned opposition party debate. Classy.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, the House R's tie up legislation wrangling over the national debt, when the issue is jobs. Some cynical pols on both sides know that there is a clock ticking: the economy will eventually recover, in spite of the neglect and mismanagement by pols. Then, all the borrowing and QE is going to catch up with us, and we'll inflate and bracket creep our way out of the debt crisis.
Oh yeah, there is a clown show, all right. And it is bipartisan.
Stab...Then all the borrowing and QE will catch up with us.....Big Time! It may be bone jarring.
ReplyDeleteHey WW!
ReplyDeleteOops, forgot manners, earlier: Hi AJV!
Might well be, WW, but what the hey, you and I will escape most of the consequences. Sorry about Miss Stepstab et al.
Looking at our likely choices for 2012, and some less likely ones, like Hillary, I will tell you that a committee formed out of the regulars here, left/right/center could make better policy than we've seen in DC for well over a decade.
You know that bumper sticker with G. W. Bush's photo and the cutline, "Miss me, yet?"? The answer is, "No, not at all, but we miss your daddy."
You are right about the consequences and who will suffer.
ReplyDeleteI confess that, if it didn't shoe-horn a republican into office, I would love to see a Dem primary challenge. As in Hillary. I know it won't happen. I wish I had known that she had a bigger set of cojones than Obama. Everyone said that she was way too divisive and could never get anything done on the Hill. But at least she would have looked good kicking some Repub ass. For that matter, could she have been any less effective from a progressive viewpint? I doubt it. Obama is far too mainstream/right for my taste. Almost a Bush II. Despite all of his shortcomings, he's still worth voting for, if for no other reason than he pisses republicans off and makes them so crazy that they don't see that he is farther right of center than most progressives and liberals would like.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cojones. Obama has agreed to President Boehner's demand that he reschedule his jobs speech. I ask you: Would Hillary have been stupid enough to schedule the conflict and then back down? I think not. Maybe you rethuglicans are right for all of the wrong reasons.
ReplyDeleteajv...if you are online sept1 am, Hillary would not have been so sophmoric and let her people talk her into pulling this stunt in the first place. It was a no win.
ReplyDelete