On Your Mind is the Herald/Review’s telephone opinion line and is intended as a public forum for our readers. Comments represent the opinions of callers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper or any specific knowledge that we have. Readers may share their opinions by calling 458-0332, or by e-mail to svhoym@transedge.com or regular mail at 102 Fab Ave., Sierra Vista AZ 85635. Due to the volume of submissions, comments will be limited to 150 words or fewer. Comments are edited. On Your Mind comments regarding the general election will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Oct. 22 and printed on Oct. 27.
Sept. 26
|
|
Re: Proposition 200 Ballot Initiative. The high-sounding official title of this proposition is “An Initiative Measure Payday Loan Reform Act” is deliberately not what it seems. When a reader strips away the window dressing, there is one key provision that the payday lending industry wants by passage of this proposition; that is, your “yes” vote on this proposition. That passage in the bill is “Section 6-1263., Arizona Revised Statutes is hereby repealed.” When the original payday lender bill was passed in 2000, the Arizona Legislature gave the payday lending industry a 10-year waiver on Arizona’s 36 percent annual interest rate which is the usury cap in Arizona. That 10-year waiver period expires on July 1, 2010. Passage of Proposition 200 via a majority of “yes” votes would remove the 10-year usury cap waiver indefinitely. A “no” vote majority on Proposition 200 will end the payday lending industry’s ability to charge annualized interest rates in the 400 percent range! A “no” vote will limit their annualized interest rates to the Arizona usury cap of 36 percent after July 2010. That’s something worth voting “no” for!
The financial crisis on Wall Street gave me more valuable insight into Barack Obama as a president. Obama called the financial crisis the worst since the Great Depression but still continued on with his campaign. After all, there are telephones, “If you need me, call me.” I saw Obama’s reaction as very unpresidential. I expect a president to place the nation first and want immediately to deal with a pressing financial crisis threatening the very survival of our economy. John McCain stopped his campaign and went immediately to Washington to deal with the crisis head-on. I found McCain’s immediate response to be very presidential. McCain was incisive; Obama appeared aloof and passive. McCain looked like a leader; Obama looked like a follower.
Would someone please tell me why Social Security can go broke, but not the Wall Street and financial CEOs.
I think it great to see more people using their own bags instead of the plastic bags. I think that maybe if the store offered a incentive that even more people would use them. (Like maybe 5 or 10 cents a bag, or may a discount on your total bill)
Before we execute Wall Street, let’s step back, take a deep breath and then remember that Wall Street provides our jobs, the house we live in, the two or three cars we may drive, the two or three TVs we listen to, the cell phones we provide for each member of the family, etc., etc. etc. The old adage, “don’t cut off the hand that feeds you,” may well apply. Of course, there is another alternative. We could settle for the simple life on a commune — Barack Obama style. The government would take care of us from the cradle to the grave. Who would finance the government is another question. However, don’t let that disturb you. We’ll just place that minuscule problem in the lap of change.
The number published in the classified ads does not work. Some of the numbers must be transposed. I called the SVH Classified section, and they were unable to provide another number. If you are still interested in selling the trailer, please ask that your ad be republished.
Obviously some of the story about the county fair was omitted. One sentence says, “Ken has served … enjoying the carnival and performers.” It doesn’t make sense. There’s another where Rebecca Orozco says, “The fair has been a big part of my life … Columbus booth.” That doesn’t make sense. Obviously some of the story has been left out. I know Dana Cole doesn’t write disjointed stories like this.
Editor’s note: We are embarrassed to say that, yes, the entire story didn’t appear in our print edition on Friday. A picture covered a portion of the story, creating gaps in the text. It was not the reporter’s fault. The story was republished in our Sept. 28 edition, and it was complete in the online version that was published on Sept. 26.
The monkeys in Washington, D.C., sure are swinging through the trees and doing some chattering, aren’t they? They’ll never figure out what they’re going to do because there are creatures like Reid and Pelosi there. Nothing’s going to get done. I hope everybody is happy about electing those creeps for the Senate and Congress. Maybe we can get rid of them next time. But I doubt it.
I’m concerned about the changes the county is making in allowing people to pick up cats or track cats that are nuisances. I’d like the Herald to have more details, more articles on what the rights of the cat owners are. As I understand it the county has microchip detectors but are they required to use them and how much effort are they going to take to find the owners? I’d really appreciate it if the Herald would write more about this issue and more about what the cat owners can do.
I got a kick out of Jennifer Thornton’s comments on the cleanup of the Fry Townsite and how beautiful things look. Of course. The vermin has now moved into my neighborhood as well as half a dozen others.
Sierra Vista is a very rude and arrogant town. I witnessed a funeral yesterday coming out of Hatfield’s and when the hearse turned onto Highway 92 to go to Foothills the traffic didn’t even have the common courtesy to stop. People did not stop. Those in the funeral procession had to hurry up to catch up to the hearse. You’re supposed to pull over and stop. That’s pure common sense and courtesy. People were very rude and discourteous.
I have a suggestion for the economic bailout. All the fat cats not only on Wall Street but all the executives of the companies involved who have paychecks in the multimillions, why don’t they have to return some of that back to the people? They don’t deserve that. While their companies were going under they were splurging in their luxurious lifestyles. They are 75 percent of the blame. The banks gave out loans to people they knew could not pay them back, I also think the people who take out loans knowing they can’t pay them back should be held responsible. Taxpayers should not have to pay for the big house you bought that you couldn’t afford. You should take responsibility for your own finances.
Why is it that the city wants property owners to cut all the weeks on their property and may cite owners if it’s not done, yet the weeds on city property are allowed to grow 3 or 4 feet high and no maintenance is done on it?
Recently a lady called into OYM to complain about the thrift store at Fort Huachuca and how trashy it looked. Has she not driven all the way into the base on that main road only to see all the USATB Housing area is so nasty, full of weeds, nobody cuts the grass, weeds growing in the front yards? What happened with that?
I remember growing up in a small town in Missouri. It was before the days of TV and computers. We didn’t miss a chance at any type of entertainment. There was what were called vaudeville shows and circuses that came around. They had comedians, clowns, magicians and strange animals. Well, I never thought I’d see those things again in another vaudeville show. But all you have to do now is turn on your TV and there it is — our D.C. idiots putting on the same type of show. When in trouble, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.
Sept. 26
Recently I got a letter from Jack Blair, the chief member services officer for Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative and a “101 low-cost/no-cost home energy-saving measures.” Forty-four ways to save. However, he told us in the letter that there is an increasing demand for electricity in the county. Mr. Blair, please step up and tell the people why you need this money “so they then can build 2,000 to 4,000 more homes in the county and Sierra Vista.” The city will now raise our taxes to pay their light bill. Food will go up to help Safeway pay their bill, etc. They don’t read the newspaper or watch the news on TV. I wonder how the people are doing these days. I guess Mr. Blair we all don’t make the money you do on Social Security’s $800 a month here, sir. Also, sir, write to City Hall on all the new homes going up in the city and county.
I see so many negatives in some of the comments that I wanted to give credit to the promptness/efficient manner that our Sierra Vista Police Department personnel jumped up to the task of directing traffic in all the major intersections of the city during our recent citywide power outage. This was during rush hour, and I am sure their performance lessened the occurrence of many traffic accidents. It was also heartwarming to see many motorists showing courtesy to others. The other positive I wanted to mention was that I am now seeing many more groups of prisoners mowing down weeds along a lot of Sierra Vista streets. We need this as the rains have caused the weeds/grasses to grow knee-high. Why not let the prisoners do useful work? Better for them and for us.
Is bankruptcy fair? When an individual wants to declare bankruptcy, he is prohibited from selling off assets within three years of declaring bankruptcy. Why are not stock holders subject to the same kind of punishment or “fair” treatment? That is if the company they invested in goes bankrupt?
I’m strongly against Prop. 300 that would allow elected officials to get a $6,000 pay increase. The country is just about bankrupt. No, I don’t think elected officials should get this pay raise because the economy can’t make ends meet and we don’t get that kind of a pay raise. Every time there is an election they want a pay raise of that magnitude. We can’t squeeze blood out of the taxpayers anymore.
When a military officer receives a commission his is declared an officer and a gentleman. John McCain may be an officer, but he has not yet earned the right to be called a gentleman. During the presidential debate he refused to look at Barack Obama. He talked down to Obama. McCain made faces, sneered, scowled and was sarcastic to his fellow senator. He obviously showed personal contempt for Obama. We need a president who can reach across the aisle and compliment another’s good work, as did Obama. John McCain operates on obvious value judgments. He cannot rise to the occasion.
Sept. 27
I find it interesting that the same week McCain put his campaign on hold the Herald managed letters to the editor on the subject when I’ve seen it take two or more weeks to get a letter in if it makes it at all. It’s become pathetically apparent the bias the Herald has in all matters political. Media is granted special privilege under the First Amendment so as to be “The most expeditious messengers to the most remote corners of the nation.” But with those rights come certain inherent responsibilities. It’s a sad thing to watch the Herald fall in line with so many of the liberal media today failing not only to live up to their responsibility but to serve the public interest.
With this school override coming up again I would like to know why if the override is not approved by the voters why they would have to cut art and music for our kids? Why don’t they cut back a few assistant principals and other administration positions that clearly aren’t needed? Is that your answer to being “for the kids” by cutting programs for them but keeping high paid do-nothing administrators? If you could promise that then you’d have my vote and I’m sure that of others. If the new superintendent wants to improve this school district he needs to start at the top.
Thank God for the House Republicans for being the only ones to stand up for the taxpayers. Ask the Democrats what ACORN is.
Who do the Democrats think they’re fooling anyway? Do they think we’re all a bunch of idiots out here? They have enough votes to pass that bailout. If they think it’s so great why don’t they just go ahead and pass it? I’ll tell you why they don’t; they don’t want to own it. They want to get enough Republicans to vote for it so when it fails and doesn’t do well they can say the Republicans voted for it, too. They’re a bunch of hypocrites. They could pass it today if they wanted to. They are politically posturing. They should quit the partisan stuff and do what they’re elected to do.
I watched the McCain-Obama first debate and I think I heard Obama right. Even with a $700 billion Wall Street bailout, Obama would still raise taxes of the top 2 percent, those people earning over $250,000, and give 95 percent of Americans a tax break (including those who don’t pay any taxes). Let’s analyze all this. First, the top 2 percent already pay 40 percent of all taxes. Second, Obama calls for a redistribution of wealth, a socialist principle. Third, Obama creates class warfare. Fourth, Obama shows little respect for hard work/risk taking of the top 2 percent and kills people’s incentive to be successful and advance their earning power. Fifth, the top 2 percent provides the lion’s share of investment needed to produce our jobs. Sixth, small businesses which hire most workers and comprise the heart of the top 2 percent are forced to lay off workers to reduce high overhead caused by higher taxes.
After reading the lead article in the Herald this morning (Sept. 27), I have decided that I cannot put off expressing my opinion concerning the Sierra Vista public schools budget override question. If I were balancing on the fence because of the current economic uncertainty, after finding out that Tony Wenc and Ron Murray are once again suing Trudy Berry and the school district, I would march straight to the “yes” box on the ballot and vote for the new override. These two men are causing more expense to the school district by their actions as they did several years ago, trying to get the first override struck down. In spite of all the facts and reasons why we must pass this override, they cannot let it go and continue to be a source of misinformation. Go to www.svcec.org for the truth about the override.
I watched the debates Friday night with Jim Lehrer trying in vain to get McCain and Obama to “talk to each other, not to me or to the camera.” After saying that twice (or was it three times?), he gave up in despair. Both contenders ignored him and continued to demean the opponent with McCain’s repetitious “he doesn’t understand” and Obama’s repeated “That’s not what I said at all and he knows it. Look at the original.” One of those two is going to make a conciliatory speech, standing red-faced and still angry, stating in a low voice, “I wholeheartedly support ___ (fill in the blank) and I ask my legions of supporters to do the same.”
The Arizona Republic, the capital newspaper, is going to print in bold typeface on a narrower page in the very near future, and the comments from readers is positive. The babe they chose to illustrate the new size is a poor choice. She is far from good looking, has stringy blond hair with black roots, holds the new sized paper but is not looking at it. She stares off above it into space. Her legs are 5 feet long and her feet are in spike-heeled pointed toe shoes that are sure to hurt like hellfire and brimstone. The pictured new sizing looks promising for an easier read. If and when the Herald prints a smaller newspaper, the publisher will have plenty of beautiful and/or handsome people to select for an advance notice ad.
Last night during the presidential debate, Barack Obama said Henry Kissinger backed his position for direct negotiations between a U.S. president and the president of Iran without any pre-conditions. John McCain said that was not true and that Kissinger called first for negotiations at a lower level. Once some sort of agreement had been reached, only then should the president enter into direct negotiations. Otherwise the president, without any pre-conditions, automatically gives worldwide legitimacy to a tyrant like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once he sits down with him. Ahmadinejad is a tyrant who often has called for the destruction of Israel and the United States and caused the deaths of many American troops in Iraq. He also funds the spread of terrorism in the Middle East. Obama insisted his version was correct and McCain’s was wrong. Today, on Fox News, Henry Kissinger confirmed he had never called for direct negotiations at the presidential level without pre-conditions.
Sept. 28
My family has been going to the Cochise County Fair for 15 years and it’s terrible the state is cutting their budget. Some people at the fair told me that they might not be here next year. It’s very important to support our rural heritage. It gives great support to young people and the programs in the schools. I was wondering who we could contact in the state to write an e-mail to, to try to get the funding back. The fair is important to the community. It’s also a lot of fun.
The article today written by the Cochise County Juvenile Court Judge Ann Littrell regarding responsibilities and day-to-day work of that court was very informative. For sure to deal with our troubled youth and the adults around them takes a lot of knowledge, persistence, hard work and wisdom to the max.
McCain was extremely mediocre in the debate last Friday. The smirk, the inability to look at Obama. No substance. And the polls are reflecting it. The next thing we are probably going to hear from his campaign is that he won the debate handily. Spin, propaganda, lies whatever. He looked bad on his own. He is impatient, impetuous, and impulsive. Not presidential qualities. But the single stupidest thing he has done is choose Sarah Palin. Her speaking and thinking skills are right up there with GWB. (Just take a look at the Couric interview — she is nearly incoherent) It is becoming patently clear that she is completely out of her league. McCain has not done one smart thing in his campaign for president of the United States. So hope springs eternal. His great strategy has been to lie about Obama. People are getting really sick of this.
It should be no surprise that the latest Defense bill coming out of Congress has $6.6 billion of earmarks attached to it. Earmarks are pet projects that are nothing more than pork spending, hidden corruption in Congress that continually bilks American taxpayers. Democrats promised in 2006 to eliminate earmarks, but once in control of Congress they found them too good to give up. Is it any wonder that this Democrat-controlled Congress has an all time low public approval rating of only 9 percent? Democrat Gabrielle Giffords is a stalwart member of the Nancy Pelosi liberals who promised us the elimination of earmarks that never happened.
Strange, but true, there is a college conference named the Big Ten, but has 11 schools. I guess they think one of their members is little.
I agree with much of the Sept. 28 letter, “If bailout occurs, the U.S. Treasury should see profit.” I would like to add one qualification to the letter. Those individual citizens who speculated and tried to turn a fast buck by using the low variable mortgage rate to buy a house and hold it for a short spell to unload it for a fat profit — if they were burned in the process — deserve no pity and should not reap any relief from the $700 billion bailout. Taxpayers should not be required to reward them for rolling the dice, Las Vegas style.
This is directed to whoever is in charge of the appearance of Fort Huachuca. I cannot believe how the military personnel are allowed to reside in government housing and not care for the outside of their homes. The government has spent a huge amount of money to remove grass and weeds and replace them with rock landscaping attempting to make the area pleasantly appearing. The appearance of these yards has become a disaster. This goes for officers as well as enlisted. I am retired Army and have lived in government housing at several army posts. We were always required to maintain our yards and failure to do so would result in a DR from the military police on post. People were proud of their yards when the garrison CSM drove through the housing areas and placed a sign in the yard proclaiming it to be the yard of the month.
Iraq has been pretty much a total failure. It is still costing us $10 billion a month. (And the Iraqis have $80 billion in surplus). Now the economy has finally caught up to the ignorance and the idiocy of George W. Bush. A lot of bipartisan Republicans claim it was really Bill Clinton’s fault. Clinton caused all the buyouts and the Wall Street lunacy. Clinton was a liar and is an idiot, but he left our country in the best financial shape that it has ever been in modern times. He doesn’t hold a candle to GWB as far as lying goes. Bush should be thrown in prison. He should be impeached. What a legacy. So should we really continue the lunacy with John McCain and Sarah Palin? Ninety percent of the time McCain has lined up with George W. Bush, and Palin is totally clueless. How in the world could you vote for them?
Sept. 29
There is a gross misrepresentation being parroted concerning the school district override. By voting against the override you are not, I repeat are not, voting against art/music. What you are voting against is the school district sucking more money out of your wallet for the next seven years. It is the school board who decides where the cuts will be made when it fails. Last time they did cut music/art that was to put a guilt trip on us. Regardless of what you have read or heard this vote is not about music/art. It is up to the school board to review the budget line by line without the override tax and make cuts. If they chose to cut art/music that is on them not the voter. Other districts have reduced their administrative staff, assistant principals, and other non-teaching positions like the public information officer.
John McCain is more frightening now than he was a few weeks ago. We’ve known for a long time that McCain doesn’t know much about economics — he’s said so himself, although he’s also denied having said it. That wouldn’t matter too much if he had good taste in advisers — but he doesn’t. Remember, his chief mentor on economics is Phil Gramm, the arch-deregulator, who took special care in his Senate days to prevent oversight of financial derivatives — the very instruments that sank Lehman and A.I.G., and brought the credit markets to the edge of collapse. On Sept. 15 McCain declared “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” This was the day after Lehman failed and Merrill Lynch was taken over. Three days later he declared America’s financial markets have become a “casino,” and said he’d fire the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. And someone has the unmitigated gall to say that Obama appears confused.
We keep hearing from Barack Obama that he would reduce the taxes of 95 percent of Americans. It turns out, however, Obama isn’t offering a permanent reduction of the tax rate for the middle class but only a one-time tax credit that is nothing more than a one-time welfare check, not only for the middle class but even for those people who don’t pay any taxes. This amounts to deception which the mainline media hasn’t exposed because Obama is their man. Moreover, Obama’s plan to raise taxes only on those people who earn more than $250,000 actually hurts the middle class. How? Because those people who earn more than $250,000 provide the greatest share of investment that turns the wheels of our economy and produces jobs for the middle class. Higher taxes cause reduced investment causing the loss of jobs causing a shrunken economy.
Regarding comments Sen. Obama made during the presidential debate that are disconcerting. 1) I was amazed that he would make the comment that “we have not captured and killed Osama bin Laden.” As Americans, I’m sure we would all like to see Bin Laden rot in Hell, however, for a presidential contender to become judge, jury, and executioner is appalling. 2) Obama made the statement “Your president has made things worse” in response to one of Sen. McCain’s comments. Whether you like him or not, President Bush is the president of the United States, which makes him everyone’s president, and 3) every time the subject of how to deal with our situation in Iraq came up all he could do is tell the American public how we messed up and shouldn’t be there in the first place. Old news, get over it, come up with an answer, not just the Monday morning quarterback party line.
Barack Obama has recently put out an ad that simple-minded John McCain cannot use a computer. Well guess what: Barack cannot land a jet plane on an aircraft carrier at night.
The post office at Hereford is in bad shape it needs a good cleaning. To begin with, weed are growing up all around and it is infested with bugs inside and out close to 1,000 bugs are over the outside walls and all over the inside floor. This is a federal building. The postmaster should see that it is kept clean inside and outside.
I find it amazing that all these politicians can stand up on TV and claim “I don’t know how this happened” when they’ve all been in office for 20 years. I think the American people better wake up. If he’s an incumbent and been in office you better vote him out.
I was reading the Pegasus newspaper from the high school the other day and I noticed they are advertising tattoo and piercing in a newspaper that kids read. I think this is appalling.
Now the Sierra Vista school district is running a TV ad saying that 56 teaching positions will be lost if the override is not passed. They have yet to lose one administrative or non-teaching position. They have done nothing to help stay within their budget. They also go on to say this is not a tax increase. Yet looking at my property taxes, it sure looks like a tax to me. Vote “no” on the override. Force the school district to stay within its means and to get rid of wasteful, non-teaching positions.
Subject: Social Security’s designers at work. Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) program. He promised: 1.) That participation in the program would be completely voluntary. 2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1 percent of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the program. 3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year. 4.) That the money the participants put into the independent “trust fund” rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security retirement program, and no other government program, and, 5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.
I am disheartened by the obscene, and sometimes hateful, vehicle graphics some people have. But today I was shocked by one in particular. This vehicle had an image of a woman in a provocative pose. I will not repeat, nor would this paper print, what the words were next to the image. It was the ultimate in depravity and horribly disrespectful toward women. Did this driver think of their mother or grandmother that way? How can people drive around and advertise their filthy and crass “opinions” like this? Everything is fair game, from images of cartoon characters urinating on whatever that driver doesn’t like to blatant foul language. Are your parents or grandparents happy with your expressions? Are your spouses or children proud to ride in your vehicle with the garbage on the bumper or window? Please think of a young child reading what you have on your vehicle and either don’t get it or remove it.
I am so sick and tired of the obvious bias that the national “mainstream” media has for the Democratic Party. All I see is the media trying to play “gotcha” with Sarah Palin while they say nothing about gaffe machine Joe Biden. This week as the media was obsessing about Palin’s comments about Alaska and Russia, Biden was telling us that President Franklin Roosevelt was on TV during the 1929 market crash reassuring American citizens. FYI, U.S. homes did not have television in 1929 and Roosevelt wouldn’t be president for another three years. Because most of them are cheerleading for Obama, the media ignored this stupidest of all political comments.
It’s interesting to note in today’s OYM section the rather coordinated responses about Gov. Palin. Unfortunately, their coordination shows in their citing an 80 percent approval rating. That is not correct and has not been since January of this year. It’s in fact 68 percent and dropping like a rock in the middle of a pond.
Last week gave us Republican stalwarts like George Will telling us McCain in unfit to be president, Republican commentators in the most right-wing media calling for Palin to get off the ticket, and Republican John McCain himself pulling one of the biggest political farces in history. In spite of that the right-wing organized militia in our town continues to write their letters to the editor trying to find excuses for their team. There are none.
The bailout failed 228-205. Looks like we still have 228 congressmen who have some sense and listen to the people’s will.
People who do not subscribe to the Herald as we have been for years do get their freebie on Tuesday with the supermarket fliers. Mr. Vega, why can’t we who have been paying for our newspaper get the fliers in our Tuesday paper as well? Aren’t we more deserving?
This is for the person who called in about the blue recycling bins being too large to fill. These sized bins have been provide with future recycling of other items such as cardboard, plastics, etc. so bigger bins don’t have to be purchased then. Recycling pickup is once a month. It’s simple. You put out your bin on your pick up date and whatever is in it will be picked up. Who says you have to fill it up?
You’ve got to hand it to the Democrats. They hold out 93 or 94 of their members from voting on the bailout then they act all disappointed when they don’t get enough Republicans to pass it. Then they blame it on the Republicans. By the way, Grijalva and Giffords voted against it, too, and I believe they are Democrats.
Some of you undecided people need to ask yourselves if Obama’s elected he brings socialism into the top part of our government even though it has failed in other parts of the world. Sooner or later it becomes communism as it did in Russia. Capitalism and freedom in this country have made it the richest country in the world and the most benevolent. Our Constitution protects us from dictators and tyrants. But charm and smooth talkers have often deceived us as history discloses. Words alone should not be weight enough that carries us to a wrong conclusion. Personality and enthusiasm is exciting to see but the greatest asset we need is wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to discern. Please, Americans, have wisdom.
If Congress really wants to stimulate the economy why not just forgive all outstanding mortgages. That would really stimulate the economy. Thank goodness we had 90-some Democrats and 120-some Republicans that had the sense to vote the will of the people. We don’t need to bail out these fat cats.
On the Palominas High School proposal: The citizen’s committee did not mention that 10 or so years ago when it came up for a high school in Palominas that the state said that if it was voted on and people wanted it but it wasn’t built in two years that Buena could refuse to accept the kids from Palominas even if they offered to pay the tuition to Buena. The committee said they don’t have to build it right away. So when did the state change the rules?
It’s very infuriating to listen to the news media referring to the election and the blue states and the red states. Likewise, the Democrats and Republicans. Right now the way Wall Street and the whole country is we should eliminate this party garbage and refer to elected officials as public servants or elected officials. We should do away with this party system. That is what has brought about the destruction of this country. The strong Republican and Democratic party system: Both are equally to blame for how they have destroyed this country not to mention Bush and Cheney. It’s about time the American people demanded a change and that we are referred to as Americans and stop all this party garbage.
To Mrs. Wagner: Barack Obama is not confused. You need only to look at John McCain’s ridiculous running all over regarding the bailout package and his premature victory party today before the vote was taken. That was confusion. Moreover, Obama is not a Muslim. He attended a religious primary school in Indonesia as a little child. He is a devout Christian. Senator Obama has a doctorate degree in jurisprudence from Harvard University. Both Mrs. Obama and he were constitutional law professors. He has a genius IQ. He is an eloquent speaker and writes many of his own speeches, as do all lawyers. Both candidates have changed their minds on issues as new information arises. Check your facts.
Sept. 30
School funding in Arizona is a disaster. I believe that it takes all of us to be involved in whatever small ways we can to raise the children of our community to be productive citizens. Much will be lost to our kids if we do not pass the override. I hope all voters will go to www.svcec.org which will give you the information you need to make your decision when you vote. Spend 10 minutes sometime in the next week and read the facts and try to understand what is at stake in the lives of our children. It’s a bargain at the price we will be asked to pay. If passed, this override will buy us the same benefits for only 9 percent instead of 10 percent and your taxes will go down. Believe in the future. So much can be gained by contributing so little.
If you want to find a company’s phone number that is not in the latest local directory, don’t even think of 1-800 free-411. It no longer gives personal service, and the impossible automated line gives no option for actually finding any number. The “free” directory spiels ads from a law firm, McDonald’s millionaire, Jingleworks and customer service, which leads you right back to pressing numbers from 1 to 9, none of which has anything but more ads. So I’ll go to the librarian. They know or can find everything, in or outside this world. Tomorrow. I needed it yesterday.
Who is responsible for this financial mess? Democrats: Jimmy Carter, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Bill Clinton, Franklin Raines, and Jim Johnson. That’s just for starters. Do a web search of Community Reinvestment Act or better yet see the 10 minute video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap1DPBg4jzY and get an eye-full of their outrageous dealings over the years. There must be hearings, these so-called public servants interrogated under oath and, if guilty of crimes, prosecuted.
The 228-205 vote soundly defeated the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill in a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. This astounding vote clearly demonstrated there never was any bipartisan support for the bailout. Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid conveyed a false perception to the American people that there was bipartisan support, as did the mainline media. The opposite was true, as indicated by the small group who finally crafted the bill (Nine Democrats and two Republicans) and the heavy bipartisan opposition in the final House vote, with an eye-popping 95 Democrats who opposed it. Even more startling were the five Democrat committee chairpersons and 10 Democrat members of the Democrat-controlled House finance committee who opposed the bill. A stunning defeat for Nancy Pelosi who couldn’t muster the needed support from her own Party in a Democrat dominated House.
My polling place keeps changing. Is it possible for the Herald to let us know where we need to go to vote?
Editor’s note: Yes, we will be running a list of polling places. But since we don’t know your address, we suggest that you call the Cochise County Elections Office at 432-8970 and they can tell you the specific location.
This is in response to the person who commented on Sept. 18 regarding state representative candidate David Stevens, Republican District 25. This individual uses the fact Stevens is working in Kuwait as some sort of comic relief. What they fail to point out is that Stevens is working there in support of this country’s military men and women. They also fail to point out that Stevens will have concluded his support mission and have returned to Arizona to begin his term in office representing and working for people such as the League of Women Voters.
When conservatives see an image of Sarah Palin with her baby they see a mother holding a beautiful child. Liberals see a fanatic who chose an imperfect inconvenience. That’s the difference and it will never be solved.
Liberals say Sarah Palin is stupid. However, it’s Joe Biden who thinks FDR was president in 1929 and that there was TV at that time. If Sarah Palin had said it Democrats would be screaming for her citizenship to be revoked. Where’s the fairness?
Regarding the Sierra Vista school override: We should look back to May of last year when all of the middle school students were on the front page of the paper demonstrating and holding signs where they didn’t want to spend five minutes a day for a week in school because they had other things to do. But the art teachers were the ones who made their signs. Now they say that art is the most important subject, higher that math or science. I think if some kids try to make an effort in math, English, reading, and writing they could have made their own signs. But these are children in seventh and eighth grade who are protesting because they have five minutes more a day for about a week. These are the kind of children their parents are raising. Absolutely “no” on the override.
To help understand what a community organizer does: Community organizing is a type of social work done by a college graduate social worker. One brings people together to clean up neighborhoods, plant trees and shrubs, support law enforcement, drive out drug houses, counsel in legal affairs, find jobs for people, etc. Barack Obama, because there was no war when he graduated from law school, chose community organizing in a Chicago slum for four years as his service to his country. He worked through local Christian churches.
This is regarding your story in Monday’s newspaper concerning the illegal who was killed by Officer Corbett. I guess we can see where your sympathies lie. Here this man is trying to defend our country and you’re telling people about this poor gangster illegal who’s running drugs; telling about his family and what a nice guy he is. Come on, give us a break. This man is an illegal running drugs.
Editor’s note: No facts have been produced the Mexican man was running drugs into the United States at the time he was shot and killed.
I’m tired of hearing Democrats blaming the Republicans for the failure of this bailout bill. The bottom line is they had the votes to pass it if they wanted to. They are the majority.
It seems many Democrats demean Gov. Palin as only a governor thus unfit to become president. She was a town mayor, a lieutenant governor and then a governor who cut taxes and stopped wasteful spending both state and federal. She was able to control oil companies and was the only governor to get a revenue sharing allowance for state residents. Some of our Democratic governors should have been so bad. Carter gave away the Panama Canal and allowed Iran to hold American citizens hostage for about two years. Bill Clinton’s Fannie and Freddie debacle richly rewarded some of our leading Democrats including Obama. Fannie and Freddie are now prominent in our financial debacle. He also refused to accept twice the gift of bin Laden and signed NAFTA our worse trade program ever. Last but not least our worst Republican governor, George Bush who couldn’t repeat his fine record in Texas.
I think that beginning with our upcoming election we should not re-elect anyone who has already served two terms in that office. I can’t think of anyone who has achieved anything significant to earn his or her tenure. The old hats that seem to have become chairmen of their imagined level of import are the worst. We need new people. Change, yes, but we must be alert to their past endeavors and performance. Don’t accept blank checks especially from politicians. This world is being corrupted by the new idea people. Look carefully from whence they came. We are very susceptible to being duped this time. Be alert; don’t get hurt.
I suspected that my ability to do your daily crossword and sudoku puzzles might one day come to an end because of decreased mental acuity. But overnight I’m suddenly struck disabled because of a shrinking format. Please restore puzzles to their former manageable and legible size.
Today’s newspaper is ridiculous. The size is ridiculous. It is too small. Are you going to buy us glasses to be able to see? We won’t even be able to do the puzzles; they’re too small. Please go back to your original size. This is terrible.
Editor’s note: The size of the type in the stories has not changed. We are looking at how to increase the size of the crossword puzzle, which several readers have called us about.
Gabrielle Giffords has an ad out stating that she’s the only member of Congress married to an active duty military member. This is true, however, it’s somewhat misleading because her husband is not engaged in active warfare or has much of a chance of becoming engaged in that. He’s an astronaut assigned to NASA. Of course, that has its dangers, too. But it’s somewhat misleading, as are most of her ads.
To everyone out there who has ever had to worry about losing his job, do you think it’s fair for the P.E., art and music teachers to be worried the rest of the year about losing their jobs because we won’t vote “yes” on the override? My husband and I are on a limited income but we will sacrifice to help these children. Our children graduated from Buena and our son took art in school. Although he was very talented his wonderful art teachers directed him in the right direction. After graduation he went to a trade school in Phoenix. The day he graduated a company hired him. He went to California. Today he has his own business. And yes, art is part of it all. Please vote “yes” on the override and let your children have a chance to grow with their accomplishments. And keep these wonderful teachers in the positions they all love.
After reading about our illustrious representative’s attitude, Manny Alvarez who said when asked about his feelings toward voting to stop Mexican illegal immigrants he says, “I can’t vote against my people.” How un-American can you get? And he’s currently holding office. The quicker we can get him out of office the better. You can bet your sweet bippy he ain’t gonna get my vote.
I’m not saying the people that publish OYM are Democrat or Republican but it seems awfully strange there are so many comments that are pro-Democrat yet I, myself, have placed many comments in favor of McCain/Palin that have not appeared and I know other people have, too. I’m not saying none of my comments have appeared because they have. I’m just saying that a lot of comments are for the Democratic Party and I don’t believe there are that many that are in favor as opposed to the Republican. I think it would be nice if some Republican comments got put in there. There were at least 10 pro-Democratic comments in today’s OYM.
Editor’s note: We can assure you we do not favor Democrat comments over Republican comments in OYM. If your observation about fewer Republican comments is correct, one explanation could be that fewer Republicans choose not to participate in an anonymous call-in forum.
What a mess we are in. Who do you suppose came up with the bailout figure of $700 billion? How could he possibly know if $700 billion is too much or too little or just right? The Congress just voted for a $670 billion package for military and multitudinous etceteras. Together these figures amount to $1,370 billion, give or take a billion. Also, our new secretary of the treasury is about to be given carte blanche powers with no accountability. What a mess we are in.
I agree with the person who called in about the decision to hold the holiday parade at night. I don’t think it’s a wise choice either. I’ve lived here for 32 years and I do go to the parade. So I’m very disappointed that it will be held at night because we have young children who come out and watch. I think it was very poor planning on the part of the Chamber of Commerce.
Our current Cochise County school superintendent has become infamous for her infantile behavior when dealing with matters involving our children. She has stormed out of meetings with voters. Schools in our county are in need of immediate assistance and the only response from the superintendent are blue signs with her name on them. If the same effort were made to improve ours schools as went into the sign project our schools wouldn’t be in such a mess. Let’s get a real school superintendent for our county.
I don’t know how the debate between Palin and Biden will end tomorrow night but I’m very optimistic. I think that if Palin will enumerate her accomplishments as an elected official in Alaska and compare her achievements to Biden’s 36 years in Washington he will think a blizzard hit him. She is a very intelligent lady with a terrific personality and an ability to express herself with style and charming enthusiasm. Biden is an over worn act who has accomplished very little only because of his longevity not performance. She is a gracious lady with the mannerisms and intelligence of Geraldine Ferraro, Laura Bush and Jackie Kennedy. I hope she does well on this debate and will end up in Washington someday as our president eventually.
I read in OYM today an absolutely brilliant idea concerning trash collection. Why do we need to have the trucks go up and down the streets twice when it takes such little effort for everyone to place the trash on one side of the street so the trucks only have to come down once? Also, I only put my trash out about every three weeks because that’s all that’s necessary. Do we really need twice a week pick up? How about people that have a lot of trash put down a small deposit and get more than one can? We could lessen the fuel consumption paid for by the city by having a pick up only once a week.
Does anyone know what happened to the nice Sierra Vista library employee named Carla? She was always wonderful, smiling and very, very helpful. Several of us library patrons miss her. Would you please find out what happened to her?
What is the primary function of a shepherd? What is the primary function of a flock of sheep?
Oct. 1
Mary Pickford, of silent screen fame in the 1910s and ’20s, said, “Adding sound to movies (making them talkies) is like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo.” The term “movies” originated in 1911, and many old timers thought that word was thought up in the 1930s. That lipstick thing is now getting another look by a certain politician who shall remain named in infamy. Ain’t life funny?
How come Bisbee is staying in the 1880s? They will not approve wind generators to help people go green. They just want pollution only.
When will people learn to drive in Bisbee? The roundabout circle is two lanes. Quit being a hog and driving in the middle of the two lanes. Learn to drive.
I think it was highly dishonest of Gwen Ifill not to reveal to the presidential commission on vice presidential debates that she has written a book and has included Barack Obama in a portion of that book and is a total supporter of him. Yet she is moderating the event for the two VP candidates. She should recuse herself. She should be taken out. She should have also made it clear to the VP commission when she sent in her resume to be the moderator that she had written this book. I saw today they would not have chosen her if they had known that. It just shows the left wing will do anything to try to defeat Palin/McCain, but they are really out to get Palin.
The Democrats and Obama are now calling for more regulation on the lending institutions. Pelosi’s speech regarding the Republicans lack of regulations was the height of hypocrisy. In the past, the Republicans presented bills to regulate the out-of-control Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, but the Democratic Congress killed them. No surprise since they were receiving big contributions at the time. President Bush asked about 12 times to regulate these two out-of-control institutions, and Democrats looked the other way. This whole mess started way before President Bush, when Janet Reno demanded they give loans to people who would not be able to pay for them. So, now the Democrats cry for regulations and they want to do the regulating. Like sending the fox to guard the chickens.
I urge everyone in the Palominas-Miracle Valley area to vote Pat Call out of office as a county supervisor. In my opinion, this man cares little about the poor, elderly or disabled persons. The roads in Miracle Valley are almost impossible to drive on. Vote this man out of office.
Oct. 2
McCain claims Sarah Palin has “had more experience in leadership than Senator Obama and Senator Biden put together. She’s been a mayor, she’s been a governor, she knows energy issues. … I’m very confident about her credentials and her vision and her strength for America. So, I’m very proud of her.” I don’t know what McCain is smoking but he is not in touch with reality. He is in complete and total denial. His claim of the day is “that life isn’t fair”. Boy that tugs at my heart strings. Actually, life is more fair than McCain would like it to be. People see him behaving like an erratic, hot-headed flip-flopper, and they start to think of him as just that. As it turns out, one cannot get away with lying, just because one insists over and over again that one is not lying. That is fair, even though it does not benefit him.
What were you thinking of, chamber of commerce? There had to be alternatives to having the Giffords/Bee debate on the same evening of the Obama/McCain debate. They are both too important for you to have done that.
In the V.P. debate, Gov. Sarah Palin hit it out of the park. She easily put to rest the question everyone was asking, how she would stand up to Sen. Joe Biden in a debate. She dispelled the media’s deviously edited sound bites attempting to depict her as a know-nothing. She intelligently and comfortably spoke directly to the American people. She was genuine and real as she identified with the common folk of America and promised, together with John McCain as mavericks, to bring much needed reform to clean up corruption on Wall Street and in Washington as she did in Alaska. She demonstrated why she is an accomplished governor with an 80 percent approval rating among the people of Alaska. In fact, in a post-debate TV interview, her opponent in the last Alaska governor’s race hailed her accomplishments as governor of Alaska as nothing short of phenomenal.
The veep debaters are the usual political non-responders. Neither one can pronounce Ahmadinejad and Palin said “nuculur” more often than Dubya ever has in a single paragraph. She is an expert at evading the question. Count the “and I respect that” comments. In case anyone missed the fiasco and reads it in the papers, count the number of times the Dem repeats “the president of the United States of America” in each of his answers. And the number of times the religious fanatic brags about her past — true or self-perceived — accomplishments when asked for specific plans for future contingencies. Gwen Ifill has the patience of Job to tolerate their dumb replies to her pointed questions.
I thought the debate went well for both participants but, I did note Senator Biden does need a small rug for the back of his head.
Sarah killed, except she lied quite a lot.
Guess what? Sarah and John are going to fight for the middle class. Is that true? Are John and Sarah really green? Are they the great warriors against all injustice? Are they going to stifle the rich and promote goodness and justice and righteousness? Huh uh.
Wasn’t Sarah great? Actually she did very well. Except for all the lies. Tabula Rasa. Boy was she programmed, and well. Thank God, Biden is experienced and way beyond adequate. Bush, McCain, Palin very, very close. Bush, McCain, Palin very, very close. I say we go with deregulation, war, war, war. Who cares about the economy? And the rest of it. I can’t believe Sarah was so moderate about gays. As an apocalyptist (way beyond fundamentalism), I can’t believe she was so moderate about the Mideast. That is a complete and total lie. She is waiting with bated breath for World War III just like George W. Bush. She lied about everything she believes. The sad state of affairs is she is more honest than John McCain. And that is really, really sad. The conventional wisdom vote for McCain-Palin. Liars rule. At least for 26 years.
This common-sense approach would save taxpayers from footing the gigantic $700 billion Wall Street bailout. 1. Insure the subprime/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. 2. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6 percent fixed rate mortgage. 3. Cancel all golden parachutes of present and future CEOs of companies holding these government-insured bonds/mortgages. 4. This FHA-type insurance would cost government less than $50 billion. 5. Install market to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages, keeping companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the real value of underlying mortgages and real estate, which would cost taxpayers nothing. 6. Remove the capital gains tax completely and investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits. 7. This move will be perceived politically as benefiting the rich but it will be their money, not taxpayers’ money.
Poor old John McCain, you have to feel sorry for him. He can’t remember names, geography, allies, or even his words the day before on bailing out those huge corporations who have contributed so heavily to his campaign. And he just can’t seem to untie those adult apron strings. First and ever since, there has been Cindy, providing all the money for him to carpetbag into Phoenix to snatch up a congressional seat. Then more of her dough to get a senate seat and more to get re-elected. And then of course he dipped into her till for the big bucks for his current ego-driven run for the presidency. Then when he was floundering and campaign nosediving, he snatched onto Sarah Palin’s apron strings. Wherever she goes, there trails John clutching those strings. Without those women’s apron strings we wouldn’t even know this guy. President material he is not.
When the initial request for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout was submitted to Congress, it comprised three pages. When the U.S. Senate passed the $700 billion bailout, it ballooned to 450 pages. About 100 pages deal with the bailout and much of the rest deals with added pork. Once again, our elected politicians in Washington are trying to hoodwink us taxpayers, even in a dire financial crisis.
I must refute the ignorant statements of the person bragging that we had only “39 combat-related killings in Iraq in January.” Only 39? Well, tell that to the families. And how many Iraqis? Oh, I forgot, they don’t count. As to our previous wars, FDR did not lead us into World War II. Japan attacked us and shortly thereafter Germany declared war on us. Look it up if you can read. No, North Korea did not attack us but we had a treaty with South Korea. And by the way, when did Iraq attack us? I must have missed that. You are so gullible as to believe the on-going Bush cartel propaganda that Iraq was responsible for Sept. 11th. And finally, JFK did not start the Vietnam War. Eisenhower sent the first so-called “military advisers” to Vietnam late in his second term. As long as you spout lies some of us will try to rebut them with the facts.
I note reading OYM the Cochise County chapter of Karl Rove’s smear/fear/jeer/tear campaign is up and running again. The chapter obviously has to do this since there’s nothing positive that can be said about the “borrow and spend, party on, crash and burn socialist party” that Karl Rove (the Great Divider) represents.
Some Bisbee folks I know have outdoor clotheslines. Hoorah! for them in this sunshine state to have the job done free instead of paying for a dryer.
Brainwashing. This newest ploy being utilized is one of the oldest, most devious of all. Politicians who later become the worst dictators in history refined the procedure. I’m referring to the use of children performing chorale-type endorsements and basic introductory performances. Hitler also employed health, sports, and military events all directed toward formulating their lives and political futures. Fidel Castro was one of the more recent practitioners of these youth training programs. Now we have Barack Obama doing so in his political campaign. Any of us in our 70s and 80s should recall these events as shameful and dangerous. History is one of the most enlightening subjects taught in schools. The teachers themselves suffer from a dearth of historical knowledge and thus are incapable of teaching it to their pupils. This is tragic and portends ominously for our future. Open your mind and eyes and think about it.
Oct. 3
I just purchased today’s edition of the Herald. You have four good stories on the front page, things we need to know about, some local, some national and the debate from last evening. But I just can’t understand why you would put a photo of a bonfire with a young lady with her mouth open on the front page. It amazes me that somebody made a decision to put that story on the front page of the newspaper. I respect the newspaper; you’re doing a good job. But I question some of these decisions. I think it could have been in the Sports section, somewhere on the inside. It’s local news and people are interested in it. I just don’t understand why it would be on the front page. I suppose editors have reasons for doing it. Thank you and continue the good work.
Editor’s note: The decision to run the homecoming story on the front page, which included a picture of cheerleaders at the Buena High School bonfire event, was part of our coverage of the overall celebration of homecoming at local high schools. Also, the bonfire tradition had been missing from Buena’s activities for several years, which we thought made more newsworthy story.
Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the multibillion-dollar legislation to hopefully resolve the current Wall Street financial crisis. When will justice prevail regarding those who walked away from failed entities with multimillion-dollar settlements after foreclosing on hard working American’s mortgages? They must be brought to justice or else another such tragedy will fall upon our people like this one and that of the late 1800s.
The great VP debate. I was reading the AP news story and, as usual, it was biased in a subliminal way against the conservative. The AP is a liberal source and, unfortunately, it’s one source for news. In the debate, Gov. Palin’s big mistake or confusion was the mispronunciation of the name of the general in Afghanistan who’s leading our troops. Biden’s overlooked mistake was not knowing that Iran is on a course to have nuclear weapons within two years. I think that is potentially a greater problem.
After meeting an old friend at the post office today and hearing his stories about one pal’s losing a job due to the tanked economy and another friend’s work week being shortened to two days instead of five, I got my checking account report. Oops! E-yoooh. >From now on, my savings account will be used, meaning used up — to pay monthly necessities like food, rent, utilities, and gasoline for the little old car used only in town and seldom if ever on Sunday. Bye-bye, contributions, including to churches. Adios, restaurants on coupon ganga days mit der senior discount. Too bad, city donations of any kind. I have unwillingly joined the milling throngs. Signed, Joe no-pack.
The SV override itself should be voted down. The board promised this was to be a one time “fix” in 2004 yet here we are already asked for another override. Is there any credibility with the board? The current override already brings in more than $3 million well above the $2.6 million we were told in 2004. Where has some of the money gone? Well some waste went for a public information officer immediately hired after the 2004 override and some went to raise the last superintendent’s salary from $98,000 to $120,000. Does this look like a district being frugal with the taxpayer’s budget?
I thought both Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin gave smooth presentations in their debate last night. However, I was surprised to hear Biden speaking, on at least 10 occasions, factually inaccurate statements about his own, John McCain’s, and Barack Obama’s voting records, plus denials of actual statements Obama is on record as having said. Amazingly Biden did all this with a straight face