Beware the traitor in your midst
To the editor:
In the Durango Herald on Feb. 26, a confessed cycling cheat, Floyd Landis, is going to receive about $25 million for a whistleblower fee if our federal government wins a substantial judgment from another cheat, Lance Armstrong.
To the editor:
In the Durango Herald on Feb. 26, a confessed cycling cheat, Floyd Landis, is going to receive about $25 million for a whistleblower fee if our federal government wins a substantial judgment from another cheat, Lance Armstrong.
An annual $100 million U.S. military fund supported the Tour de France bike races and NASCAR races. One can only imagine what kind of thrills and perks that massive amount of money does for the person(s) giving it all away. I truly hope that this $100 million expenditure is part of the “sequester package” or is thrown out along with other hidden programs for the elite.
Most of us can only dream of partying with celebrity race figures or collecting $25 million as a good guy or bad guy whistleblower. The government protected bad-boy cyclist is an eye-opener and will probably convince a once good cash-strapped citizen to make an attempt to set someone up with financial means. A few times, I have been set up, such as a pushy request to invest a sum in the six figures at a bogus Mexican resort. Fortunately, I did not go running to borrow and was later told to dare not mention the predator’s name.
This world is turning more wild West that ever. A friend turned Jesus in for silver. The interpretation of the Scriptures about Jesus nailed on the cross is that he died for our sins. My take on his death is, watch your back at all times so you won’t get nailed. You never know if the person pretending to be a friend at your dining table will turn on you.
– Sally Florence, Durango
Fair Tax Act worth another look
To the editor,
Congress and the President Obama continue to disagree on ways to fix our economy while avoiding the real solution. The income tax is the real culprit. It is driving business overseas to avoid its penalizing effects. HR25 The Fair Tax Act will change that. Every worker will receive their full paycheck without payroll taxes or income taxes deducted. Every business will not have to pay income tax or report any activities to the IRS. Imagine the effect of a consumption tax that will allow that to happen. The economy is expected to grow by 10.5 percent the first year HR25 is enacted. Exports are predicted to grow by 35 percent the first year. How is that for stimulus?
To the editor,
Congress and the President Obama continue to disagree on ways to fix our economy while avoiding the real solution. The income tax is the real culprit. It is driving business overseas to avoid its penalizing effects. HR25 The Fair Tax Act will change that. Every worker will receive their full paycheck without payroll taxes or income taxes deducted. Every business will not have to pay income tax or report any activities to the IRS. Imagine the effect of a consumption tax that will allow that to happen. The economy is expected to grow by 10.5 percent the first year HR25 is enacted. Exports are predicted to grow by 35 percent the first year. How is that for stimulus?
HR25 has been shelved within the House Ways and Means Committee for many years. Dave Camp, the chairman of W&M has indicated they will be considering alternative tax proposals this year. He has assigned committees to study them.
The Income Tax lobby is the largest lobby in Washington, D.C. Congressional members use it to buy votes and paybacks. It will take a grassroots movement to overcome that. Call your congressperson and demand they support the fair tax. See fairtax.org for more information.
– Roy T Newsom, Granbury, Texas
Recall effort dirty politics
To the editor,
The recall of State Rep. Mike McLachlan currently being pushed by a Front Range group and funded by out-of-state money is not only ridiculous, it is a terrible precedent. Recalls should be reserved for egregious violations of ethics or illegal activity. McLachlan has done nothing wrong. He simply voted on proposed legislation which, I believe, is his job as a legislator. He didn’t even write or sponsor the bills. If you disagree with his position, don’t vote for him in two years when he is up for re-election. If you think the proposed bills are unconstitutional, challenge them in court. That is how our democracy works.
To the editor,
The recall of State Rep. Mike McLachlan currently being pushed by a Front Range group and funded by out-of-state money is not only ridiculous, it is a terrible precedent. Recalls should be reserved for egregious violations of ethics or illegal activity. McLachlan has done nothing wrong. He simply voted on proposed legislation which, I believe, is his job as a legislator. He didn’t even write or sponsor the bills. If you disagree with his position, don’t vote for him in two years when he is up for re-election. If you think the proposed bills are unconstitutional, challenge them in court. That is how our democracy works.
This contrived outrage is nothing but a blatant power grab by Republicans and a transparent effort to backdoor their way into a majority in the State House of Representatives. Thirty-six Democrats voted for H.B. 1224, yet this group is only challenging vulnerable Democratic reps in Durango, Greeley, Steamboat Springs and Colorado Springs.If Democrats lose these four seats, Republicans conveniently regain a 33-32 House majority. All four of these representatives won fair elections in November. Election losers such as J. Paul Brown shouldn’t get a “do-over” four months later based only on legislative votes. Policy disagreements should not be a basis for recall elections. These recalls are the worst kind of politics and a slap in the face of democracy.
Regardless of your political affiliation or your opinions on these gun control bills, please do not sign this ridiculous recall petition.
– John Wickersham, Durango
Put needs of children before guns
To the editor,
It’s nice to see Democrats and Republicans agree on something: guns are the most important thing on our nation’s agenda. The problem is, no matter where one stands on the gun control issue, it is unconscionable that this topic has become the priority. What about our children? In the conversations around background checks, owner registration and numbers of bullets, we have strayed far from an original discourse centered around our children and their well being. We have lost our sense of the pertinent, and it is our children who suffer the neglect of our attention.
Consider these national statistics:
To the editor,
It’s nice to see Democrats and Republicans agree on something: guns are the most important thing on our nation’s agenda. The problem is, no matter where one stands on the gun control issue, it is unconscionable that this topic has become the priority. What about our children? In the conversations around background checks, owner registration and numbers of bullets, we have strayed far from an original discourse centered around our children and their well being. We have lost our sense of the pertinent, and it is our children who suffer the neglect of our attention.
Consider these national statistics:
- Sixteen million children (22 percent) live in poverty. Adjust for cost of living, and 45 percent of all children live in true poverty.
- One child dies from guns every three hours, eight every day, 55 every week.
- Six million children annually experience abuse, including 80,000 or more instances of sexual abuse. The United States has the worst record in the industrialized nation – losing five children daily to abuse-related deaths.
- One in 10 youth has serious mental health problems; yet less than 20 percent of these youth receive needed mental health services.
Every day we have a choice. We have a choice as individuals and politicians to speak out on the issues we feel are of primary importance. We have a choice as newspaper editors to print headlines that tell the truth of our nation’s need. We have a choice to raise our voices on behalf of our children rather than on behalf of our guns.
No matter your stance on guns, if you believe the 4 million children born in the United States annually take priority over the more than 5 million guns manufactured, please make your voice heard on ANY topic that impacts our children … to your legislators, to your schools, to your newspapers. And keep on speaking … for our children must be the priority of our hearts, our minds, our actions, and our decisions. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “there can be no keener revelation of society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.
– Jennifer Turner, Durango