| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
07 Mar 2006 06:37:49 AM |
| Object: |
Letter: A sorry state |
Letter: A sorry state
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=393&ArticleID=31600&TM=5810.836
The Daily Astorian - Astoria,OR,USA
Friday, March 03, 2006
I listened to the president?s 2006 State of the Union speech in which he
asserted that the state of the union is ?strong.? I respectfully disagree.
The current state of our union is scarcely short of disastrous.
Although Democrats bear some responsibility for the deplorable condition of
our republic, the primary blame lies with Republicans who support the
agenda of this embarrassing administration. I?m hoping that some of my
thoughtful Republican friends will agree that we need a return to
thoughtfulness throughout the national government and that this is unlikely
to happen unless we have some return to power of the loyal opposition. That
means at least the Senate or the House under opposition leadership.
Here is a brief catalogue of some of the calamities we are currently
suffering.
1. The war in Iraq. We began this war under false pretenses and need to
begin extricating ourselves without delay. We?ll need to continue to pay
for the reconstruction of this country, since we destroyed it, but our
troops need to come home with all due haste. Their presence fuels the
insurgency.
2. The rapidly-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. With the
largest wealth gap of any developed country, we need to enact laws limiting
how much a CEO can be paid to no more than, say, 100 times the average
worker in that company. The current multiple is about 1,000 times. Plus, we
obviously need to rescind the unwise tax cuts for the rich which were
recently passed.
3. The health insurance mess. We are the only developed country without
some kind of universal health care. We have to bite the bullet and do it.
If we quit waging unprovoked wars, we could afford it.
4. The dismantling of the wall of separation between church and state. As
products of the Enlightenment, our country?s founders wisely made sure that
there would be no tax monies supporting anybody?s religion. That policy has
served us well. Anyone should be able to see that theocracy is a slippery
slope. We don?t need an Ayatollah Jerry Falwell telling us what is
acceptable behavior.
5. Campaign finance chicanery. A new bill being created by Reps. Dave Obey
and Barney Frank would virtually eliminate egregious campaign finance
practices, making it impossible to throw money around in the current
manner. Everyone benefits if something like this plan is enacted. It will
take real political guts.
6. Social Security tax inequality. The politically difficult, but eminently
fair, fix for Social Security is to totally remove the cap on FICA. Why
should most of us pay FICA on every dollar we make while multi-millionaires
pay only on the first $90,000?
7. Global warming crisis. We need federal incentives to begin developing
viable plug-in hybrid vehicles, with engines to run on E85 fuel. We would
very quickly end our dependence on OPEC oil. Other alternative energy
sources need supporting as well.
The state of the union is in need of serious attention by thoughtful
patriots.
JOHN COMPERE
Astoria
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
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