CORPORATE TAXES
No evidence to support anti-Obama sentiment
Re: Earl Benedict, Sept. 17 letter. Earl, have you been drinking the tea again? We have all heard about a “friend” that won’t do this or that because of Obama. Name names, Earl — feel free to mix in the occasional fact. That “friend” is in about every mass email from any disreputable sources you can find on your computer or in everyday conversation. But I have yet to meet said business person that will tell me Obama is his or her reason for not conducting business. If tax rates preclude Micron from new business under Obama, why did Micron open a plant in 2007 in China and not in America under the Bush administration? And you think the tax rate at 35 percent is what Micron or any other corporation actually paid? Indeed, Earl, have some more of that tea. Sorry, I'll stick with what I drink. Unfortunately I am sure you will do the same.
BOB HOPPIE, Boise
BETTER OFF?
Obama fails to live up to campaign promises
After reading Patricia Rich’s Sept. 7 letter to the editor, I got to thinking about whether we are better off and if Obama has kept his promises. Consider this: Obama stated that he would reduce the deficit by 50 percent in his first term — he increased it by $5 trillion. He said he would reduce the unemployment rate — he didn’t, it has been over 8.1 percent for the last 43 months. He said he would get out of Iraq — he did, but he increased the troops in Afghanistan, and as a result, there have been more soldiers killed just in his term than all the previous years combined. He was going to “reach across the aisle” and use C-SPAN and have an open Congress — not one Republican was consulted and not one minute of C-SPAN was aired to produce an Obamacare document that no one knows what’s in it. Read “The Amateur” and see the movie “2016,” then ask yourself if he is the warm and fuzzy feel-good leader, or if he personally polarized the Congress so he could lead by executive order. The answer will be obvious. Are we better off ... not.
DON NEWTON, Boise
America is worse off under Obama policies
Stop already! Patricia Rich has apparently been taking deep gulps of Obama Kool-Aid, a drink that suspends sense and obscures vision. This is a condition from which many are fortunately recovering after suffering four years.
People are not better off having to pay $2,000 more for their insurance to cover those who do not have any, including illegals, and having to buy insurance or face a fine. We are not better off paying for very expensive vacations for the White House occupants, while millions are out of work and on food stamps, more than ever before in history. Not to mention the huge deficit. We are not better off with an executive who bypasses Congress to change laws written by Congress and who sues states trying to protect themselves from illegals. We are at this point essentially lawless, and you think we’re better off?
This guy has virtually cut off all U.S. oil production — the Gulf, the proposed pipeline, closed refineries, thus killing jobs and doubling gas prices — is that better off? By the way, if Osama is dead, why are we still in Afghanistan?
MARTHA WENDT, Boise
THIRD PARTY
A vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for Obama
As a card-carrying Libertarian since 1992, I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Easterly and Mr. Killam (letters, Sept. 8) that this country is in dire need of a third party, and I certainly regard Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president, as preferable to Mitt Romney. However, the coming election is far too important to endorse splitting the vote away from Romney and possibly ensuring a win for Obama. Not since Reagan-Carter have the implications for a second term for the incumbent been so serious.
Obama is a failed president. Nice enough guy I suppose, articulate in the way Bill Clinton is, but an absolutely abominable choice to get this country back to work and out of debt. His first term is proof of this; the possibility of a second term is preposterous.
So please, for the sake of this country and its inhabitants, hold your nose and vote GOP. The time for a third party is certainly here, but the prospect of a second Obama term is far too serious to risk.
JAMES M. BROWN, Meridian
Two-party system produces disastrous consequences
It astounds me that the American sheeple continue to support the two political parties that have bankrupted America and brought this country to the brink of disaster.
America’s wealth has been shamefully redistributed to the top 1 percent. There are now 50 million Americans living below the poverty level. One out of eight Americans are on food stamps. Many millions are out of work, while countless jobs have been outsourced to other countries. Over a million immigrants are brought here yearly to compete with Americans for scarce jobs. Over 20 million middle class citizens have lost their homes. Perpetual war has become a drain on the national treasury. The Bank of China virtually owns America.
The Federal Elections Commission mandates that third-party presidential candidates cannot join in the televised debates unless they garner 15 percent of the vote in national polls. But former New Mexico governor and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson has been excluded from 15 of the 18 polling organizations. And the corporate news media excludes everyone but the Republicans. That’s not democracy.
I see economic collapse, civil unrest, martial law, widespread rebellion and potential class warfare in the near future, thanks to the treasonous blunders of the Republicrat plutocracy.
WOLF HOFFMAN, Boise
CONVENTIONS
It’s always easier to lash out
Several individuals have criticized the Republican National Convention. Yet when the Statesman ran an article on Sept. 8, page A5 — “The phantom peace dividend,” discussing many of the misleading statements by Obama and Biden during the Democratic National Convention — there was little comment. Both sides tell partial truths in every election, so why the emotional diatribes?
Unfortunately, a one-sided attack on the RNC makes individuals no better than the arguments coming out of the two conventions. Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of the mudslinging, individuals focused only on their platforms and the positive aspects each will bring to this country? But alas, it’s easier to lash out at the other party rather than put some substance in what can be accomplished for our nation to return it to the country it once was. Trust in God, consideration for our fellow man, helping people become self-supportive instead of sitting on their hind ends with their hands out, restoring pride in what our country is and can be!
Quit being part of the problem by pointing fingers and do something positive to help!
MICHAEL “MAGS” SHAW, Boise
