The silver lining may be in the next election
Dear Editor:
Irving Kristol, an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, died Sept. 18.
Among his essays was one titled “Symbolic Politics and Liberal Reform,” which said, “ All bad poetry springs from genuine feelings,” wrote Oscar Wilde, and I would like to suggest that the same thing can be said for bad politics.
“It seems to me that the politics of liberal reform, in recent years, shows many of the same characteristics as amateur poetry.
“It has been more concerned with the kind of symbolic action that satisfies the passions of the reformer rather than with the efficacy of the reforms themselves.
“Indeed the outstanding characteristics of what we call the ‘New Politics’ is precisely its insistence on the overwhelming importance of revealing, in the public realm, one’s intense feelings — we must ‘care,’ we must ‘be concerned,’ we must ‘be committed.’
“Unsurprisingly this goes along with an immense indifference to consequences, to positive results or the lack thereof.”
A more accurate description of Obama’s “reform” could hardly be penned today.
We are going into debt at a faster rate than any other time of our existence.
Peter Bernholtz, a professor at Basel University states that you will get hyperinflation anytime time a government spends 166 percent more than it receives.
America is spending 170 percent more than it receives now, and if Obama and Congress get their way, we may make it up to 200 percent before the 2010 election.
The only positive thing historically is that when this happens, there is usually a major political crisis.
Then maybe we can fill Congress with true conservatives rather than “tax and spend” liberal Democrats.
That will hardly help those of us who are on fixed incomes who will be devastated by an all enveloping inflation.
But perhaps our progeny will be able to dig their way out, if we can accomplish government change quickly enough.
Today the media is trumpeting that the major recipients of TARP funds will have their management‘s salaries cut by 90 percent.
That might affect their payroll a bit, but when Goldman Sachs allocated $527,000 in compensation per employee for 22,425 employees the first nine months of this year, you still have a problem in excessive pay.
The companies claim that reducing the pay level will not allow them the opportunity to retain the best employees in their field.
Why do they want to retain the very people who ran them into the ground?
Sort of like America keeping the same Congress who is going to reduce us to third-world status shortly.
Question: Why is it so important to Obama to get health care reform through so quickly since it doesn’t take effect until 2013?
It is all about control.
The government has taken over banks, corporations, the auto industry, and the postal service, Amtrak and Medicare, and they are all failing.
And now they are attempting to gain control of energy and health care. It is simply an attempt to convert America to a socialist-communist country and destroy our Constitutional government.
If you want to be merely a serf for the government, that is your prerogative. I would rather continue living in the relatively free world I have known my entire life.
I recently watched a section of one of Obama’s pre-election speeches, which is now history.
In a two minute segment he lied seven times.
It is unbelievable that this excuse for a man can actually be our president.
Never forget, it was the liberals who wanted the change we are experiencing now and in the future.
Vote them out or suffer the results.
W.V. Bonds
Cleburne
We need change we really can believe in
Dear Editor:
My grandson has a heart condition he was born with.
His parents are small business owners and cannot get insurance due to the pre-existing condition.
With a trigger connected to the public option, they’ll probably never get health insurance.
Please help give us change we can believe in.
Mrs. Barbara Armstrong
Burleson
Is our country a non-Christian nation?
Dear Editor:
I was perturbed when I read that our president, Obama, had told the Muslim nations that America was not a Christian nation.
His curt pronouncement was not popular with me nor any people with whom I am closely acquainted, even though I realize that we speak only for ourselves, whereas his word is taken to represent all of us lower class citizens.
My whole life has been partially structured around Christ and the feeling that God has blessed this country and its citizens as long as we live within his parameters and give credit to him for all things.
The story of Obama spending 20 years asleep in a hate-filled church, not recognizing the true nature of his pastor, dumping his affiliation with that church and man only when it was politically favorable for him, his associating with undesirables — this all came back through my mind in analyzing the nature and character of our sitting president.
The optimistic part concerning this piece of our history is that this brainy, but juvenile in common sense humanity, person and his congressional cronies will, hopefully, soon lose their majority clout.
Let his electors pay attention to the results of his and his czars’ works and use good judgment at the next balloting when there could be a solid all-American common sense candidate.
Let’s just hope that we don’t eventually lose our God-blessed rating by turning away to some extent, as a nation, from his strongly suggested rules and regulations.
There are plenty of good things going on, but some of them are hidden from view by sleazy and unethical activities accomplished by sleazy and unethical people in all walks of life, including entertainment and government.
The president’s statement concerning this nation as a non-Christian one may have come from his wrong contexting the wording of the treaty of 1797 with Tripoli, which resulted because of the Muslim Barbary Coast pirates capturing American ships and crews.
Finally, U.S. Marines and a sea blockade of Tripoli cured that problem, and the treaty resulted.
The American consul knew that Muslims would never sign a treaty with a “Christian-governed” nation, such as they believed the U.S. was, so he worded it in a truthful way to allay their fears.
They had believed that such a Christian-governed country, as the U.S. was pictured, would be inclined to invade and kill all the country’s Muslim population as any Muslim governed country would be inclined to do against a nonbeliever country.
I’m afraid that Obama may want to believe what he said.
Others have taken out of context the Article 11 of that treaty, which stated “As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion — as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen — and as the said states never have entered into any war or act of hostlity against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”
This wording did not appear in later treaties, although it did not insinuate that the U.S. was a non-Christian nation as did Obama.
He should have said that this republic was founded on Christian principles although not ruled by the Christian religion but by democratic laws as formed by the people.
Let’s face it world, this is a Christian nation formed and supposedly operating on Christian principles while allowing freedom of religion within its borders.
I feel strongly that this means peaceful religions that have principles and modern practices that are amicable to the established American way of life which, as stated, has as its base Christian principles.
I heard there are fewer Christians around this nation. Don’t believe that.
Christians are everywhere as strong believers, doing well and doing good!.
Monte Swatzell
Cleburne
Thanks for the good work at Smith
Dear Editor:
I wanted to take a moment to thank and congratulate everyone who had anything to do with the incident that happened the other day at Smith Middle School.
First, I think we should all give thanks to God for protecting everyone and be grateful that no one was even hurt in what could have been a tragic incident.
Next, I think Principal Bill Allen and his fine staff should be commended for the great job they did in quickly responding and efficiently seeing all things through the ordeal.
The Cleburne Police Department deserves a thank you for how quickly and professionally they handled the incident.
And finally, the rest of the school district for how they too did an outstanding job in protecting our kids.
As a parent who has three students in the district, one of whom attends Smith, I am really grateful to the fine staffs we have at all the campuses and for the great work they do every day to educate and protect our kids.
So often we might run up to complain about an issue we might have with someone that might happen once or twice a year but forget to acknowledge that day after day the men and women who administrate, teach, assist, clean, fix and repair, serve meals, aid, drive buses, coach, volunteer, make copies, answer phones, etc., do a great job with our kids.
I appreciate all of you for what you do for ClSD and our kids. Again, thank you all.
Ron Russek II
Cleburne
Some progress seen on Texas 121
Dear Editor:
Occasionally, good news comes a little at a time.
As all of you probably know by now I have been working very hard to get our Chisholm Trail Parkway, or Texas 121, project back on track.
You may recall that a few months ago a group of local leaders and I traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with several congressional leaders after we heard that our project, which we have been anticipating for so long, was in jeopardy.
Through our efforts, and with help from U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, state Sen. Kip Averitt, and highway Commissioner Bill Meadows, we were able to get this project back on track.
Trouble is, it didn’t stay on track for very long.
We recently heard from the grapevine that our project was in trouble once again.
After talking with the staff at the Times-Review a very well done article was published that prompted Sen. Averitt to bring all the parties together for a meeting.
I wish I could say the meeting was pleasant. It wasn’t.
I made it very clear that I was not happy with the progress on the project and not happy with the lack of support for the project on the state level.
The meeting was largely an exercise in finger pointing, which after about 30 years, is not acceptable to me.
The good news is that, as a result of the meeting, there seems to be some movement towards a possible solution.
Please help us keep the momentum moving forward on the project.
It is important to remember that most of the key players on this project live outside of the Cleburne area and do not care nearly as much about it as we do.
I’m sure that when and if we finally get this project underway, we will have plenty of public officials bragging about how important their roles were.
In the interim period let’s all work together to make it happen.
It’s important to know that your city and county government as well as Sen. Averitt and local TxDOT officials are working on this project that is absolutely critical to the future of our community.
Ted Reynolds, mayor
Cleburne
