YOUR OPINIONS

"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." - Reinhold Niebuhr

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The Negative Impact of Bringing a Super Wal-Mart into American Canyon

The Devil’s Work

If one believed in the Devil he would certainly deserve credit for his work in the present world situation, to say nothing of sowing divisiveness into our election campaign. John Thune, in South Dakota wants to make gay marriage a major election issue. As Cynthia Tucker has pointed out, marriage in the U.S. has been troubled by a high divorce rate for years. The troubles with marriage and family values are certainly not due to the granting of various rights for gays, but politicians have found that by focusing the public’s general anxieties on such fanciful issues, attention can be diverted from difficult problems of greater import. (continued)

STEALTH WEALTH

The late President Reagan made the most out of one of the most effective political phrases of recent times: "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"
As we approach this year's Presidential elections chances are we will hear the same or an equivalent question and, as a corollary to the above, we will most assuredly also hear from pundits and politicians that our economy continues to grow and our country remains the wealthiest Nation on earth. Most of us take it from granted; yet I believe we are all being lulled, or lulling ourselves, into the falsehood of what I've come to call stealth wealth. Let me explain. (continued)

REGARDING PROPERTY TAXES

There are perhaps, historical arguments for the use of property taxes to support public projects, such as public schools, which do not have the validity they once had. Property taxes date from a time when a large percentage of the population lived on farms. Farm property was roughly equivalent to income.
The property tax was essentially an income tax , and a relatively equitable one since it was hard to cheat when one's income was out in the open. Arguably, if one had income one could afford to pay taxes. More...

REGARDING ABORTION

Any rational discussion of family planning, of birth control, of population control, of abortion and even of considerations of stem cell research will have to address the difficult problem of when a fertilized egg, or embryo, or fetus becomes a human being. Arguably the value of human life should take precedence over most arguments of the pro-choice coalition, but pro-life arguments are, I believe, based on a subtle error. Opposition to abortion is probably due, at least in part, to ancient instincts to protect our children. When we think of conception and pregnancy we picture babies in our imagination. In human beings, as in many species, the picture of an infant's face awakens these ancient instincts, and in fact releases increased amounts of hormones like oxytocin in the brain, which make us feel that babies are cute and lovable, and deserve protection. These are very old and powerful survival instincts. Perhaps they even underlie some of our more laudable feelings, such as altruism, empathy and compassion, and form a basis for some of our better laws. More...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM JERRY GIORGI

I was 10 years old when WWII started, and I can still remember the fear I had about the uncertainties for the future of our country. It was comforting in knowing our cause was just, and that right was on our side. More...

HEALTH CARE AND "MARKET ECONOMICS"

In recent years consumers and a number of industries have experienced difficulties because of problems with regulation. Deregulation of electrical power suppliers has proved disastrous in California, and supplying adequate health care to U.S. citizens has proved to be quite difficult. A number of politicians, and suppliers of services have argued that "market economics", "free enterprise" and "the power of the market", would automatically lead to optimal self-regulation in such industries. More...

"ON TAXES."

David Broder’s article "Making taxes a good issue for Democrats", which appeared in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Sunday July 27, 2003, ended with, "The conventional wisdom is that taxes are a loser for Democrats, a subject they should avoid. Someone may decide it's time to challenge the theory". No one likes to be taxed, but perhaps Americans, or the Press should promote a more objective view of taxation. President Bush says that tax refunds "give people back their own money". The implication is, that the more money they have, the better their lives will be. If life were only that simple. If only for the sake of argument, to clarify issues, there should be a change of emphasis. More...

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A REPUBLICAN

1. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our
highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
2. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're
a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our
prayers for your recovery. More...

LETTER TO THE COMMITTEE FOR A DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY

SECURITY AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

A country needs a strong and intelligent defense strategy to guarantee the security of its citizens, and a prosperous economy to reward them with social programs that substantially improve their standard of living. Unfortunately, today our defense strategy and our economy are both dependent on a commodity that is under the control of others and is rapidly going toward empty: Oil. More...

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