I thought I'd start this thread as a call to arms
for those of us who just can't seem to stay quiet while our
country gets dismantled by those who talk the talk, but don't
walk the walk. I'm not willing to accept the "sale of America"
without raising at least my voice... here is the letter I emailed
this morning...
(BTW- anything posted here is public domain...anyone
wanting to use it can...be my guest.)

Dear Editor:

The talking points are out. Karl Rove is looking to his old arsenal of “The Global War on Terror” to gain traction in this year’s mid-term Congressional elections. However, it will be what is done, not what is said that will be the true test.

And, there will be several tests prior to the November elections. First and foremost we will see which Republicans join with Democrats in Congress to stop the Bush Administration’s approval of the sale of six major U.S. Port operations to Dubai Ports World. DP-World is a privately owned company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is scheduled to take over operations in the ports of New Orleans, Miami, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Jersey and New York.

We cannot forget that money for the Sept. 11 attacks was wired through the UAE's banking system, according to U.S. officials. Two of the Sept. 11 hijackers were UAE citizens. Allowing the UAE to run operations of ports handling millions of cargo containers annually, of which only five percent are checked, is allowing the fox to run the henhouse.

Secondly, we will see how the administration handles the illegal immigration problem that has millions of unknown people swarming across the U.S.-Mexico border. If we cannot control our Southern border we cannot protect our nation. Any terrorist can simply walk into the U.S. as long as we are more interested in giving illegal immigrants amnesty to stay here, rather than enforcing immigration laws already on the books.

It took The Minutemen, a volunteer non-governmental group to bring attention to the problem by setting up civilian patrols along the Arizona and New Mexico borders.

Third, the Bush administration just got a reprimand from the Republican dominated House of Representatives Commission that reviewed the Department of Homeland Security’s handling of the Katrina disaster. A scathing Congress report said Wednesday that “bureaucratic inertia” during Hurricane Katrina caused unnecessary deaths while a top US administration official admitted the government had been overwhelmed by the disaster.

The House of Representatives report said the fault went from President George W Bush downwards over the “dismal” response to the August 29 storm that killed more than 1,300 people and destroyed 300,000 homes as it trashed the New Orleans region. At a hearing in the Senate, DHS Director Michael Chertoff acknowledged the lapses and told incredulous senators that when he went to bed on the night of the storm, he did not believe that Katrina had been as bad as many people had predicted. If we can’t react to a storm predicted to hit the coast a week before it did, how could we deal with a terrorist strike?

National security is a valid issue in elections, but just talking about it while doing little or nothing will not do. Phrases like “pre-9/11 mindset” and “post-9/11 mindset” are just talk if not backed up by action.

"Indianhead"

This ran Monday in our local paper:

Dear Editor:

When I was a kid my dad asked me: “If your friends jump off a bridge will you
jump too?” The lesson was - don’t follow those you used to trust when they go
nuts.

That’s what neo-con Republicans are asking us to do now: Jump from the Bridge,
because they are.

I read my favorite antagonist’s editorial page comments Friday that a Zogby
Poll said 58 percent of Democrats are unhappy with their Congressional
leadership. What he didn’t say is that a recent Zoby poll showed:

That 72 percent of U.S. forces fighting the war in Iraq think the U.S. should
get out within the next year. And 29 percent say the pullout should happen
immediately.

Of course that didn’t stop him from using his tired and true sign-off comment: “
God bless America and our military forces”. But, I was taught God helps those
who help themselves. And, if 72 percent of the military forces in Iraq think it’
s time to end the war - well, then bless them, and listen to them.

Incompetancy is the hallmark of this federal administration. Katrina, Iraq, the
Arab ports deal, Republican Rep. “Duke” Cunningham’s eight-year sentenance for
taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors…I could go one forever…”
Scotter” Libby’s
exposure of a CIA agent…and on and on.

Our local Congressman and our Republican Senator have decided that the ports
deal was not properly investigated, they know when enough is enough. There are
two major “sucking sounds” (as Ross Periot said) going on. The sale of America
to the detriment of the middle-class and the cost of the War in Iraq. Medicare,
Medicaid, federal grants to law enforcement are all suffering because of the
$400 billion price tag for the war without WMDs…with no end in sight.

If Americans can not admit mistakes, and change course, then we are damned to
wobble through the spin of apologists, who find no problem with the disasterous
mistakes of the past five years.

My dad also told me: “A man admits his mistakes and changes ”. It is time
America changes course –or else spin into oblivion - and jump from the bridge.
It is time to change. George W. Bush has failed us – ‘nuff said.

Indianhead

(I had two people tell me today...my first day at work this week
they enjoyed the letter)

Before anyone else tells you (don't want to be accused of following others ): Great job IH! Keep on writing!

Do you submit your work to local papers, or do you submit them nationwide too?
http://www.democrats.org/page/speakout/letterstoeditors

Here's the one I wrote that ran today...

Dear Editor:
I am hearing more and more conservatives speaking out
against the Bush
Administration. For instance:
- "If I had a choice and Bush were running today against
(Democratic President) Bill Clinton, I'd vote for Bill Clinton," said Bruce
Bartlett, a former Reagan administration Treasury Department official.
- "Bush's compassionate conservatism has morphed into big government
conservatism, and that isn't what the base is looking for," said David Keene,
chairman of the American Conservative Union.
- "The president could instruct the federal agencies
tomorrow not to fund any of them (earmarks)," Rep. Jeff Flake, R-AZ said. "The
president has a lot more authority and control than he's willing to admit right
now, and we wish he'd use it.” The Congressional Research Service counted
15,877 earmarks in 2005, almost four times as many as in 1994, when Democrats
last held a House majority. A Congressional Research Service report requested
by Flake, and Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., found that most earmarks are slipped
into committee reports but are not part of the legislation and not legally
binding.
- "The one big strategic error -- which was a political error and an economic
error of grand proportions -- was the prescription drug bill," Keene said. Many
conservatives remain furious over the new prescription drug benefit in Medicare
passed in 2003, the biggest entitlement expansion since Johnson created
Medicare in 1965. Its cost is-- more than a trillion dollars over 10 years and
more than the entire un-funded liability in Social Security.
- "There's a sense that Republicans are not the party of reforming government
and ending big spending," said Manuel Miranda, head of the conservative Third
Branch Conference. "Although people gave the president a pass because of the
war cost, there's a sense that there's just no principled approach to
government spending."
The above quotes were gathered by a reporter from the Washington, D.C. Bureau
of The San Francisco Chronicle, but I’ve heard people on our streets saying the
same things. Is it possible that conservatives are returning to their roots?
Will they throw these rascals out? I certainly hope so, because despite what
neo-conservatives want you to believe, conservative Democrats are alive and
well: I’m one. My conservatism includes the environment, and we have real
problems to face. If we ignore Global Warming like some are ignoring this
spending spree - we had better build 300-foot-tall levees.

"Indianhead"

---------------------------------
Somebody stop me!

Great job, IH ! Keep up the good work.

IH and everyone else wanting to do an LTE. We should take a cue from someone who actually got one published: Noonan.

I want to say that everything written above is thought-provoking and quite well written, but tends to be op/ed pieces. Unless you're a columnist or college professor, op/ed pieces don't make it into the LTE columns.

Look at Noonan's letter. It's short. Limits itself to one topic. Uses short concise paragraphs. Not much on detail or reasoning, but does get the point across. Allows the reader to understand your point of view by referencing an op/ed or story in the paper a day or two before.

Just a thought, and hope no one takes it personal.

And, another reason for my success is bouncing my writing off of those that do it much better than I.

Here's my latest (thanks WS):
Liberals are increasingly drawing fire in the media. While the opposite of “Liberal” is “Conservative”, there really are no true Conservatives in Washington these days, so let’s examine this alternative:

Republicans stand for fiscal conservatism; yet produce record deficits and constant needs to raise the debt ceiling, with our major creditor being Communist China.

Republicans preach national security; yet do nothing to help secure our borders or inspect goods coming into our country.

Republicans run on moral values; yet are linked so tightly to corruption, malfeasance and irregularity.

Republicans purport to support the military; yet sends our troops to war without the needed supplies, under-funds veterans’ hospitals, and decreases conditions eligible for care.

Republicans promise help for those on Social Security; yet they deliver confusing programs that enrich companies instead of saving money.

Republicans believe in small government; yet new programs and agencies are created, increasing spending and waste at the expense of the taxpayer.

Short n' sweet!

I guess I've got two local papers running this LTE. Haven't seen them yet, but my wife got the calls asking for permission to run them.

OUR HERO!