Letters From Our Readers 9-8-10

We're all in this together In response to Ken Goble's recent letter to the editor wanting county government to do something to force homeowners to upgrade this or that and to enforce regulations for sewers and housing I say, "Bull hockey!" One should never make a neighbor do something he or she may not have the money to do unless of course it is an immediate health hazard and then we, as neighbors, should help out with the situation. You know - be neighborly! Remember we are all in this together. Patrick Blunt, Aitkin People can and do change It seems nowadays people have lost faith in one another. They've lost the ability to look past the bad and see the good. Everybody makes mistakes. If they say they do not, they are lying. Why is it that once a person makes a mistake, they are said to be a "threat" or are put in some category? It seems like everything has to have a label. Whatever happened to forgiveness and faith? My whole life I was told to believe in something worth believing in and to never back down. If someone is making an effort to fix things then have faith in them. Give them your support and the benefit of a doubt. People CAN and DO change. Ashley Morris, Aitkin Let's all just let men govern Ever imagine we could have a woman president? To enlighten myself, I picked up a history book and read about prominent women in high places. The first I came to was Marie Antoinette. What a dame! To think she ruled France seems almost absurd. How could this Austrian power-seeker hope to rule and satisfy the sophisticated and stylish French people? As it turned out, the French hated to take orders from her. If they (the French) had to take orders, let them come from a French female, not this interloper from another country. In short, Marie was hated - by the mobs, the middle classes and even some nobility. At the time when Marie ruled, France was in a state of economic chaos. The streets were lined with starving homeless people who knew nothing about state affairs, except something was causing them discomfort and offering nothing for the future. They were the illiterate, the under-classes who had no voice, no vote, nothing! These were the people Louis counted on to remain peaceful since they needed a strategist (lawyer) to outline a revolution and how to organize all people, including the street mobs. But Louis lied, deceived himself. The street people did organize and as a preamble to events they stormed the Bastille and released hundreds of prisoners whose only crimes had been protestations against the crown - Marie especially - since she was always seen as the instigator of everything ugly. The French Revolution failed. Yet, as always, it accomplished something. The royal family was guillotined, along with Dr. Guillotine whose "humane" instrument had killed thousands and, except for reprisals (and they were cruel and many) France settled into a peaceful existence. The royal crown is in the archives - a symbol of power gone mad - with excesses and human failures. Well, care to have a woman president who resembles Marie? The idea must appeal only to the insane. Give me a representative government, full of faults yet at times mindful of my hardship and trials, and I say: let men govern and if a woman steps in, let her at least be sane. And benevolent. Ailie Jensen, McGregor Twenty years more After serving 20 months, a mother of two and school teacher who spent her first 175 days in solitary confinement, has been sentenced to 20 more years! Six more prominent members of the Baha'i community have also been sentenced for this long. Many are older and will surely die before the end. "The seven were charged with, among other things, espionage, propaganda against the Islamic Republic, the establishment of an illegal administration - charges that were all rejected completely and catagorically denied by the defendents." Religious persecution is alive and well in many places. Our hearts are connected to our religious community in Iran. We think of them often and pray for their steadfastness. When one speaks out, all become more aware of how we need to act for unity and love throughout the world. Norman Ellig, Aitkin Polarization is killing U.S.A. Reading the letters to the editor in the Age can be one of the entertainment hightlights of the week, at least in the view of one reader. Specifically, observing the "I'm sure I'm always right" left-wingers, aka "Progressives," "Liberals," etc., parlay back and forth with the pig-headed right-wingers, aka "Conservatives," "Patriots," "Tea-Partyers," etc.  At least it used to be entertaining to this reader until a realization came of the sad truth; this is a microcosm of the national political scene and readily explains why ostensibly nothing of value gets accomplished in Washington. The polarity is surely a great hurdle for this country and the large majority of us closer to the political center who just want a life where the bills get paid, we can enjoy a respectable amount of quality time with our family, one where we can hope our children have a better life than we have had, and as a country founded on Christian values, one hopes it remains a country where the truly downtrodden are given the respect and uplifting support they deserve. To use a sports analogy, the best major league baseball teams in history lose at least 45 or 50 ballgames a year. There are few, if any, absolutes in life. It's very unlikely every single thing President Obama proposes, or any president before him for that matter, was - or will be - a good idea or a bad idea. What is very, very likely in the current climate is that no matter what the White House proposes, the opposing party will attempt to blast it out of the water. Perhaps it's time to take the third party candidates more seriously. Science teachers everywhere are welcome to interject, but technically three-way polarization is physically impossible - recent experience tells us at least in terms of American politics, two-way polarity is not only possible, but highly, highly probable. Brian Simonson, Malmo Federal land grab at its worst America's Commitment to Clean Water Act, otherwise known as ACCWA, is Congressman Jim Oberstar's latest attempt to wrest away Minnesota's control of its waters and hand it over to the federal government, thumbing his nose at members of his own party and the Minnesota Constitution to do so. Currently, the federal government has jurisdiction over "navigable" waterways that go between states, but not water that stays within the state. Mississippi River - federal; Chester Creek - state. Why does Mr. Oberstar want to usurp state control in favor of the federal government? This would be all waters, potentially even the rain that runs off your property. Could it have something to do with the massive debt Obama, Oberstar, Pelosi and Reid (and Bush) have amassed over the last two years? Could it be the massive accumulation of power this administration and its congressional cohorts, like Oberstar, are smothering "we the people" with? Could it be both? Follow the money, and the motivation, and it leads to one destination - the end of freedom as we have come to know it, and Mr. Oberstar is a leader in this war on our liberty. Let's begin the discussion of this crushing of liberty at the hands of a man who has spent his entire life in government. Let's take a good look at ACCWA and let's vote for "real change" in November! Scott Martin, Hinckley Why am I a little uneasy? Let me get this straight. We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't... Written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president who also  smokes ... With funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese ... And financed by a country that's broke. What the hell could possibly go wrong? Maxine Gunderson, Lard Lake Comments on propane pricing I really enjoy reading the Aitkin Independent Age news every week. However, I will admit, I'm getting a little tired of reading letters to the editor which either constantly blame the Democrats or Republicans for all our problems! So I've decided to write and hopefully get some area residents a little fired up on something that affects all of us and that is the current price of propane. I recently got a notice from a local propane company regarding my pre-buy option at the price of $1.799 per gallon. I was a little curious on the price so I decided to call around and was shocked by the difference of prices. I called three companies; the first quoted me $1.649, the second was $1.689 and the third was $1.499. I can't understand why the local company is charging 30 cents more per gallon for propane so I decided to call and ask some questions. I spoke with a gentleman from the company who says they are higher because of the customer service they provide. He also tried to say they have a lot more equipment to maintain than the "ma and pa outfits." He wasn't aware that I knew the cost of a gallon of propane is already inflated 40-50 cents per gallon just for maintenance! So why is the local company charging 30 cents more per gallon? They stated they sell approximately 30 million gallons of propane every year. So I've calculated 30,000,000 times 30 cents equals an extra $9 million dollars that they are making over their competitors. I don't mind businesses making a profit - but, seriously, we are paying the local business way to much money for a gallon of propane! So, what can we do? First, everyone should call and ask why they are charging so much more for their propane than other companies (I believe they all buy it from the same distributor). We should demand that they lower their prices. Second, you should look into buying your own propane tank. At the current price of propane, you will pay for your own tank in three to four years and then you can shop around for the lowest price. A 500-gallon tank filled 80 percent at $1.79 will cost you $716 at the higher propane price, where the same tank of propane from a competitor will cost $596 - a savings of $120 each fueling! Charlie Christensen, Aitkin Are we better off than we were $4 trillion ago? If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. Does the Obama administration recognize the public's growing rejection of government growth? Can we trust the President, Congress or the Supreme Court to support the Bill of Rights? Is the government the Country? Will America survive Obama? Or will he be our ruin? Does "Yes We Can" refer to bankrupting America? Is Obama a communist, soft on terrorists and/or the biggest threat to our way of life? Are there any of Obama's socialist policies that Democrats won't support? Should we buy from Obama Motors when almost all of the GM and Chrysler dealerships that were closed were owned by contributors to the Republican Party? Are we better off than we were $4 trillion ago? Should Obama be impeached? Are there any incumbent politicians we should re-elect on Nov. 2? Capitalism is not just corporations; it also includes companies, partnerships, families and individuals. What fetters, i.e. government regulations, should be placed on capitalism? When President G.W.B. signed TARP, it opened the door for massive interference, just like Hoover opened the door for Roosevelt. If G.W.B. had kept a "hands off" approach, the economy would have recovered quickly, as it did under President Coolidge in 1920. But, like almost all politicians, G.W.B. couldn't resist meddling where he had no constitutional authority. The notion that it takes many years to recover from an economic collapse is based on the example of the Hoover-Roosevelt massive obstruction of the market's ability to correct itself. Most of the bailout and stimulus money went to Wall Street and unions, big donors to the Democrat Party. A corporation that lies loses reputation. Would you rather make up your own mind about whether to buy from or sell to a company based on your experience and its reputation, or rely on the government to tell you which companies you can buy from or sell to? The unfettered free market is relatively stable. It only becomes a roller-coaster every time the government throws a monkey-wrench into it. The consumer has total control over corporate policy, it's called: "buy from someone else." Where did the DNR get the money to buy the rice farm at Big Sandy Lake? Since the State of Minnesota is in debt, did it borrow more money? If we see something we'd like to have, do we buy it on credit when we can't make the credit payment already? Bill Maxfield, Aitkin Tea Party organizer Two more weeks to 'round up' The "Round Up 4 Rippleside Elementary" program is two weeks into the fundraiser and the generosity has been amazing. "Round Up 4 Rippleside" is a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) fundraiser that allows customers at Paulbeck's County Market to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar. The proceeds will then be used by the Rippleside Elementary PTO to fund many school programs throughout the year. With the current deficit school budget, it is imperative that these programs receive outside funding in order to continue. The last day to give is Sept. 21 and we are almost half way to reaching our goal, so please continue to "round up" your purchases at Paulbeck's. A little change from your pocket can make a great change in our children's education. Maria Orlowski, Aitkin Wednesday, September 08, 2010