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Letters to the Editor

Many newspapers recognize the absurdity that seniors are being forced to pay penalties for late enrollment under the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan; however, there is another similar and even larger issue no one seems to acknowledge or address.

Every year thousands of senior Americans are charged LIFETIME penalties for "late" enrollment into the Medicare system. Why? Because it's another special interest issue that charges seniors a lifetime penalty of 10 percent for EACH year after their eligibility date that they didn't sign up for their benefits.

So, if someone opts NOT to sign up, or forgets to sign up, during their eligibility year, but decides to do so—say—after four years, they are charged a total penalty of 40 percent EVERY year for the rest of their lives!

Does THAT make any sense?

These are people who have paid into the Medicare system their whole lives. Shouldn't it be their right to sign up at ANY TIME they wish? After all, it doesn't add additional taxpayer costs for them to do so, does it?

The LIFETIME Medicare "late" enrollment penalty TAX is another special interest manipulation of the Medicare system that must go the way of the Wooly Mammoth. Legislators need to get rid of it!

I had to watch the YouTube video to believe Senator John McCain actually said this. n his recent response to the Russia-Georgia conflict, McCain claimed: "In the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations." Has he already forgotten his own support for President Bush's invasion of Iraq? A needless invasion that cost over 4,100 of our troops their lives? Now, that is a true death tax. The invasion of Iraq, which McCain still supports, has also claimed the lives of at least tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Are we surprised that Iraqis and the Iraq government are so fed up with our lingering occupation of their country that they want us to get out? How would we feel toward a country if they killed our loved ones, as Bush and McCain have done in Iraq?

Now McCain thinks other nations will take him seriously when he tells them not to invade each other.

The invasion of Iraq was a major event. If McCain can't even remember the most deadly Bush blunder of the 21st century, what other things is he going to forget?

We all know that America is addicted to oil. This addiction plagues our health, our environment, and our security. Given that two thirds of our oil comes from foreign nations leaves us open to the whims of potentially hostile foreign governments, and the combustion of oil in our vehicle chokes our skies with smog and contributes greatly to global warming.

It's not enough to get off of foreign oil—we need to get off of oil altogether. If we are to successfully accomplish this, we need better funding for public transportation, strong conservation measures, higher fuel efficiency standards, and more funding for alternative energy sources. Opening up Virginia and more of Alaska to oil drilling will not solve the problem.

These are common sense solutions, and are well within our grasp—I only hope our elected officials have the wisdom to enact them.

In case you missed it, Homeland Security, Border, and Customs officials now have the right to seize laptop computers, cellphones, iPods, books, and videotapes from American travellers. There is no requirement that they have a warrant or probable cause. And, not too long ago, the government gave phone and cable companies immunity for monitoring our phone calls after 9/11.

I am all for punishing those who were responsible for 9/11, but when did all American citizens become perpetrators and '' persons of interest ''? Big Brotherism is here and we have to fight it before it is too late.

The threat of climate change does surpass the threat of rising gas prices, and the idea of drilling for more oil offshore in order to bring down gas prices is not a good one ["We're a Nation of Lemmings," 7/24/2008]. Even the Bush administration's Energy Information Administration says that drilling off our coasts would have "no significant" impact on gasoline prices, due to the small percentage of oil in the US and the fact that gas prices are determined in the global market. But let us focus on the issue of Global Warming.

Yes, individuals do need to take action to reduce carbon emissions, even if this means making a great personal sacrifice. But individuals aren't the only people who need to take action. Our government is letting us slip through the cracks. We need a national plan that can bring together our individual efforts and push us in the right direction.

Congress has not yet passed global warming legislation that would reduce our national carbon footprint. Our elected officials need to step up to the plate. Achieving meaningful reductions in our carbon footprint requires immediate and significant action.

As individual Americans we need to put in our all; but Congress needs to meet us halfway, by passing strong global warming legislation to send to the new president within months of his taking office.

Quarter after quarter, and year after year, the oil companies post record profits that are even higher than ever before. If they were just passing the high cost of crude oil on to the consumer, their profits would be constant. No, they are squeezing us for excessive profits simply because they can.

Sure, this hurts us consumers. It is also wreaking havoc on our country's economy. And still, they receive billions in tax breaks. These must stop. Instead, the oil companies should pay a windfall-profits tax. Let's use their profits to fund solar and wind energy alternatives. Then we could drive plug-in electric cars with no carbon footprint on the environment.

Karl Rove is a symptom of long-time corruption and manipulation in Washington, DC.

He's a symbol of what's bad in our administration and within our Congress. Both parties are guilty of special-interest catering.

A House panel Wednesday voted to cite former top White House aide Karl Rove for contempt of Congress as its Senate counterpart explored punishment for alleged Bush administration misdeeds.

Voting 20-14 along party lines, the House Judiciary Committee said that Rove had broken the law by failing to appear at a July 10 hearing on allegations of White House influence over the Justice Department, including whether Rove encouraged prosecutions against Democrats such as former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

The committee decision is only a recommendation, and a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she would not decide until September whether to bring it to a final vote.

While the symbolic "gesture" of the panel was a Democratic push, our Congress needs to "clean-up its act" and hold more officials of both parties accountable.

Congress has failed Americans and it needs somehow to modify its lack of appropriate decision-making and refraining from providing ongoing profits and perks to special interests.of both parties It's time to move quickly to offer relief to struggling Americans under the crushing weight of economic hardships and general miscalculations regarding many issues, including that of our "free" trade agreements.of both parties.

Apparently, there is a public finance loophole that candidate McCain created to allow him to raise a substantial $62.5 MILLION in private funds.

According to FEC reports that were analyzed by JedReports, a blogger contributing to the Daily Kos, McCain can use the funds for his general election campaign at the same time he uses public financing.

"So not only is John McCain blatantly violating his public financing pledge, but he's doing it in grand style, raising money in increments of up to $70,000 per donor --- more than 30 times the amount a donor can give to [Senator] Barack Obama's general election campaign."

Americans just can't seem to find an abundance of ethical officials at national or state/local levels.

This is another case in point of the American 2-party political system failing the voters and taxpayers in favor of their special interests.

What is happening with John McCain? Recently when he was asked if Barack Obama is a socialist, he said, "I don't know." If Obama is a socialist, that would come as quite a surprise to his many business supporters. But that's not the only thing McCain seems confused about. When asked recently if insurance companies should cover birth control, as some do for Viagra, McCain hedged with, "It's something that I had not thought much about." Apparently he forgot that he'd voted against legislation calling for insurance coverage of birth control.

McCain sometimes seems bewildered when trying to answer questions. He acted surprised this month that Social Security payments come partly from money paid by young workers. Then again, he has admitted he doesn't know as much about our economy as he should. But such knowledge is crucial to us, given the latest Republican recession. And while we're mired in Iraq, he sometimes confuses Sunnis with Shiites and says he wouldn't mind if our troops stayed there for a hundred years.

It's all adding up to a disturbing pattern. Please take care of yourself, Senator McCain. Because I don't think you can take care of us.

There is a lot of blame being thrown around about the high costs and prices of gasoline.

Apparently, nothing will stop Democrats from pointing their fingers at the GOP and vice-versa, blaming each other for all our woes regarding gasoline usage and high costs.

Many people point their fingers at oil companies as the source of the problem, stating that these companies are pushing prices up for profiteering motives.

Others look at OPEC, condemning it for exploiting its "power & control" over the world's oil supply and its desire to increase profits.

Certain people point to consumers as a major source of the problem, since gas and oil usage continues to escalate throughout the world. Emerging nations during the next decade, e.g., China, will increase energy usage dramatically and add to the problem of increasing gas prices.

It is a good bet that many people also view the lack of more U.S. oil drilling and refining along with the need to provide incentives for more research and development of realistic alternative energy as two additional causes for our current oil and gas problems.

In reviewing the above issues, we may draw the conclusion that each of these is an ongoing problem and together they are causing high gasoline prices here at home and abroad.

The sooner we stop trying to assign the blame and start to develop resolutions for all these issues, the sooner we will become a nation more independent in its own energy usage and better able to control its energy costs.

High energy costs are a global issue, not just here at home.

Former Senator Jesse Helms is dead and gone. Many conservatives will call him a patriot [just like Strom Thurmond] and try to moderate some of views. They will point out that he was friends with Bono. We must never forget that he never supported civil rights. Just like Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms was a racist when he was a Democrat, and he was a racist when he was a Republican.

I am writing to inform you that some of Mr. Brasch's assertions are incorrect. In particular, the statement ..."Once he said he would pull the U.S. out of Iraq. End that war. Now, he’s calling for a phased withdrawal." This is incorrect. Barack Obama's position has always been to leave Iraq carefully but steadily, with the goal to be out in 16 months. His statement Friday was a restatement of that policy with specific reference to speaking to the generals on the ground. In fact, he reiterated his commitment to end the war!

Please ask Mr Brasch to more thoroughly research his subject matter before publishing his material.

Some members of the Bush administration are upset about the sham elections in Zimbabwe, and are calling for sanctions. I don't think that Saudi Arabia has ever had national elections [sham or otherwise]. How about sanctions against the Saudi dictatorship?

Communist China spies on our government, forces women to have abortions, executes political prisoners, controls Tibet, and supports Zimbabwe. How about sanctions against against the Chinese dictatorship? How about sanctions against North Korea?

For some reason ''our'' federal government has a hypocritical foreign policy that is full of double standards. Our country should have a standardized foreign policy that opposes all dictatorships, and supports democracy in all countries.

Five members of the Supreme Court recently made the right decision by stating that foreign prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detentions in federal civilian courts. Any person imprisoned, held, or detained by the U.S. government should have some Constitutional rights.

There are some supporters of the Bush administration that are for torture and executions, and against Miranda rights, habeas corpus, the right to an attorney, and the idea of innocent until proven guilty. Even foreigners accused of terrorist acts against innocent Americans should have some minimum amount of human rights and civil liberties.

My husband and I want to add our voices of thanks to your gift of light in the prevailing darkness of regular media, through publishing Dennis Kucinich's filing of 35 articles of Impeachment.

This is an extraordinary event in extraordinary times, and should be on the front page of every newspaper in the country and elsewhere.

We are from Canada and are equally concerned about the prevailing trends with the liaison between PM Stephen Harper and your President—and the third Amigo, the president of Mexico.

So Thank You from all of us who seek truth and justice and reality out of the miasma of selective "messages."

The U.S. economy is in danger of sinking like a stone.

"Is the glass half full"? While a few hold up the glass for observation, it is doubtful.

The stock market does NOT think so.

The people who are losing jobs do NOT think so.

And finally, President Bush (though still in partial denial) does NOT think so.

The main reason that the U.S. economy is in crisis is that our leaders have had blinders on. They and their special interest constituents have made BILLIONS in profiteering while the majority of Americans have been left in financial "dust".

These issues were foreseen. Many writers and political observers (including myself) forewarned of the hard times ahead, yet few listened to the warnings. Americans are paying now for that lack of attention—literally.

Now that we have the attention of the President, his administration and our congress, perhaps we may move on towards some expeditious resolutions to our urgent economic, political and social issues.

As proud graduates throughout Maryland bid farewell to their classmates and prepare to embark the next chapter of their lives, our State colleges and universities anxiously await the next generation of students.

It is our goal at the Higher Education Commission and throughout the O’Malley-Brown administration to open the doors of educational opportunity to more Marylanders. After seeing college tuition increase 42% during the previous administration, we’ve held the line on tuition with no increase for three years in a row.

For parents and students who are concerned about the affordability and accessibility of higher education, there is good news: help is available.

One of the Maryland Higher Education Commission’s major responsibilities is administering nearly $110 million in scholarships and grants to students seeking degrees in higher education. These financial assistance programs are diverse, including need-based, legislative-based, merit-based, career-based and unique population-based scholarships.

To determine a grant or scholarship for which students may be qualified, they can access our website: www.MDgo4it.org and click on the Student Financial Assistance link. Students can search for scholarships or grants, and download the applications. MHEC administers 22 scholarship and grant programs.

The O’Malley-Brown administration is committed to making sure that college education is accessible to more Marylanders, rather than fewer.

Don't under-estimate what "new blood" can do in the White House after 8 years of lies, reckless expenditures (you call this fiscal conservatism?), tax cuts, abuse of presidential powers, a.k.a., "spying on Americans", etc., etc.

I may not be "in love" with the Obama-train, but he sure does look a lot better than Bush and his brigands, and also John "the fence-sitter" McCain—even his own party at first did NOT support him.

Now that all other options have been erased for the GOP, everyone has jumped on the McCain bandwagon.

In the pathetic Democrat camp, the "dueling banjos" continue to pick-out the miserable primary campaign tune.

Even members of the GOP (me included) do NOT want another 4 years of overseas war and lost domestic objectives.

We all know on some levels it won't matter who wins the presidency because wealthy and powerful individuals and corporate america will continue to manage this nation's economic, social and political direction.

However, a president who listens to the people and who wants to create at least SOME positive changes for the community good, would be a refreshing change.

Unfortunately, Americans need to select one of these 3 Stooges in November.

"New blood" might not be so bad.

I am sure that you have seen the most recent video of police brutality. This one shows up to 15 Philadelphia police officers beating and kicking 3 unarmed men. It reminded me of the Rodney King beating. All the cops in that video should be fired. Some of them have been ''taken off the streets," but they are still being paid. This comes after the 3 New York police officers who shot unarmed Sean Bell in a hail of 50 bullets were wrongly freed by state supreme court justice Arthur Cooperman. Mr. Cooperman should be impeached, disbarred, and/or recalled.

Police officers have stressful jobs, but that doesn't mean that they should be above, or exempt from, the law. We need cops who are willing ''to serve and protect'' all the people. We need police officers who believe in human rights and civil liberties. Police brutality, abuse, and corruption must be punished unless we want to live in a police state.

The 2007 U.S. Farm Bill currently being considered by the United States Congress is a multi-billion dollar, farm subsidy bill renewed every five years. It is a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill.

The bill first became law in 1933 as a means of preventing farmers from taking a loss on their annual production of crops {corn, wheat, cotton, rice and soybeans}. The government paid farmers the difference between what they sold and what it cost to produce. At the time it was a brilliant means of "priming the pump" so that farmers could be temporarily shielded from the effects of the Great Depression on their industry.

Today's Farm Bill is a clear example of a government program being continued way beyond its original intention. Essentially, the government now pays farmers to under-produce crops in order to charge higher prices. Adding to the controversy is that it gives two-thirds of the subsidy to the top 10 percent of farmers. As with most government programs, bureaucratic self-perpetuation has allowed for this subsidy to become corrupted.

Not surprisingly, the government has it backwards. Why not let the farmers produce as much crops as possible, sell what they can on the world market and give their surplus to the poor? The government should pay them for their surplus (whatever they don't sell) and distribute it among those in poverty. In a world facing a food crisis never before seen in the history of humankind, we should never halt the production of food under any circumstances.

Even if Reverend Wright had been reading a phone book from the pulpit instead of making remarks about American foreign policy, we would’ve been offended by him anyway. Why? It’s the tone. It’s that slightly unhinged fanatical-sounding preacher-style, one that favors soliloquisms (“I’m not divisive, I’m descriptive”) one that favors simple moral equivocation (My church fought against slavery, the other church held slaves). In modern times, we find that style itself too divisive, too much in love with the sound of its own voice. It makes us suspicious. Today, if you want to carry on with poetic, over-the-top bravado, you have to rap, not preach.

What we prefer is the more muted, kid-driven, ironic tones of YouTube videos, a self-depreciating, self-mocking voice that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Watching one, we ask, “Is the video being sarcastic? Is it sentimental? Is it a big joke?” The answer is: all three.

Why this preference? In America, we believe that everything we’re told about the important issues is manipulated dishonestly, slanted towards a hidden agenda. Therefore, if anyone talks with hubris, using a loud, strident tone, we don’t listen. We assume we’re being sold swampland.

For these reasons, it makes us nervous that Mr. Obama would sit at the knee of someone so brash and one-sided in his rhetoric. However, what should be clear by now is that Obama, a younger man, realizes the limits, not only of that style of communicating, but also, of a fundamentally one-sided view of life. My guess is that he’s tried to sit down with Rev. Wright and point out that you can’t go through life as if there are still Whites-only signs in storefronts. But how to make that point without disrespecting the sacrifices of his pastor’s generation? That’s Obama’s dilemma.

Obama’s choice of church has value. It’s great to go to a church with dynamism, with palpable vibrancy. It’s good to go through life “all fired up,” as he says. But Obama is not a rote follower. He’s perfectly capable of listening respectfully to the voice of a trusted elder, while not swallowing whole everything he hears. If a church is emotion-driven, you’ll often hear an us-against-them attitude in many of the sermons. And like many intelligent leaders of his generation, Obama has sifted through the voice of those more experienced, taken what’s good, and left behind what no longer works. This is a skill that will serve him well as President: No sacred cows. Let’s see what gets the job done.

This letter is in response to the articles covering the controversy surrounding the Michigan and Florida democratic primaries.

Michigan and Florida defied the Democratic Party's rules by moving their primaries to January in an attempt to leap-frog other states' primaries. As a result, the Democratic National Committee is planning to deny seats to the delegates from these two states at the Democratic National Convention. In spite of all this, a legally binding primary was held in these two states. It is only a matter of time before someone who voted in these primaries will file a lawsuit because their vote must be honored.

Nobody in this country can be told that their legally cast vote does not count because leaders of a state and national party made a mistake. Before those primaries were held, the DNC and the Michigan/Florida Democratic Committees should have realized that you cannot simply disregard a vote {once it is cast} just because they could not come to an agreement. And you cannot just "re-do" an election to fix a mistake. If anything, the DNC and the Michigan/Florida Democratic Committees should have learned this from the 2000 Presidential Election.

You must count every vote that is cast on the day, place and time that it is legally cast. Otherwise we run the risk of putting in jeopardy the very foundation of our nation. Unfortunately, this issue will once again have to be resolved by the courts, because the so-called party leaders tried to get cute with the process.

As it turns out, Rev. Wright is a brilliant thinker and compassionate pastor, and a fiery prophet... watch the Bill Moyers interview—pretty impressive.

I am usually not a fan of the U.S. Senate. I think that this Congressional house should be abolished, or at least cut in half. But this ''special club'' recently did a good thing. A few days ago 95 members of the Senate did the right thing and passed a bill against genetic discrimination.

Genetic discrimination is wrong. We individuals shouldn't be punished because of the genes that we inherited from our ancestors. Hopefully the President and House of Representatives will support this bill and make sure that it becomes law.

"Brilliant Disguise: Bush Torture, Obama and The Boss" is an excellent piece and very thought-provoking. To me, at least, it seems to confirm that there is very little hope in the two major parties. The boldness is not there. Democrats shrink before the obvious evil embodied in Republican rule. They are guilty by association in voting for the despicable legislation of the past seven years. Not bringing an impeachment resolution to the floor is being complicit in the crimes of this administration. For Obama not to renounce the Bush administration in the strongest terms that it deserves seems to be an acceptance that no matter how bad the record of the opposition, they must be placated in order to have some semblance of order, decorum, and cooperation in the next presidential term.

It is, perhaps, an acceptance of the evil that lurks in all our souls. After all, the people could have taken to the streets in the millions to protest this administration, and they didn’t. Protests tended to be relegated to the internet. Read Tom Hayden’s book Ending the War in Iraq. In fact, even now, the polls show McCain with a real chance to win the Presidency for Republicans, a man who is pledged to follow the Bush doctrines.

I truly believe it will take a strong third party candidate to be able to speak the truth to the American people. In some ways this will be the truth about themselves that they may not want to hear. There are a dozen or so progressive people in Congress that should give up on the major parties and seek a clean break from the politics of the lesser evil. Cynthia McKinney is one of the first to do this and will likely be the Green Party candidate for President this year; not that many will notice, as there is likely to be a complete mainstream press blackout of what they will deem a non-event.

So, hope is minimal, but it is not extinguished.

Big businesses continue to reap huge profits while most Americans are having a tough time putting food on their tables and paying their astronomical daily living expenses. Consider these facts:

Exxon is the leading American company in profits and market value!

On the world market, China owns 5 of the top 10 companies with the most market value.

According to Fortune Magazine, Exxon is the world leader of profits, boasting a hefty $40,610,000,000 in profits.

Also in the Fortune Top 20 are 4 oil companies, so Americans should stop "buying into" the myth that gas and oil companies have raised our pump cost so dramatically due to an overall oil shortage and/or manipulation by the OPEC nations and the laws of supply and demand.

The gas & oil companies in the top Fortune Top 20 are: Exxon, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips and Valero Energy. These gas and oil companies are "milking" consumers and are reaping huge profits.

Time to contact our congressional officials and tell them we're wise to their tricks. It's time to stop ever-escalating gas prices. We need to regulate gasoline costs.

We need change and I hope it is not to late. I’m honest, I’m bitter, and hurt. I know I don’t have much more time here, but faith in God is all I have, and I am old enough to know that guns are a sign of freedom.

I read your article on Obama’s statement concerning the people are bitter against the government leaving the medium income citizens out of the loop of tax cuts and other benefits. Of course the government’s controlled news stations (FCC) are letting the people of Pennsylvania think everyone is offended. I live in the Southwest, and when I heard the statement from Senator Obama I said "right on!" We the people of this great nation are standing up and being counted. We are tired of the propaganda telling us we need to crush anyone or anything that stands in the way of the government’s agenda to have us pay all our neighbors' reconstruction, and economic growth while our country’s people are losing their homes, jobs, and future. Charity begins at Home in the USA.

The USA’s Government is no longer Of the People, By the People, For the People. Our elected officials have let us down and we are at the threshold of being put under a dictatorship. Blame it on President Bush if it fits, but our Congress passed these laws to sell out our jobs and our future. We are in a position that at any time the President can set up a dictatorship. He has the laws backing him, approved in the name of National Security, which is something that most people aren’t concerned about as much as where am I going to lay my head after the uncontrolled banking industry gets through with my family and me.

My family fought for this great nation and I am a proud to be American, but all of us, including the poor and destitute of this land, can see the loss of freedom with every law passed to control the citizens. Where are the laws to control the rich from unfair practices of fees and charges?

I stood on the Embarcadero for four hours, immersed in a crowd of Chinese Americans waiving flags of China as we waited for the Olympic torch. My "Free and Independent Tibet" sign jostled with their flags as we tried to position ourselves for maximum media exposure when the torch would pass us by.

After half an hour of this low grade competition, we started to talk, and more importantly, to listen to each other. I learned they felt "Tibetan independence" was an insult to China's national pride. Several people told me stories they believed about Tibetan slavery, ignorance and poverty. I told them the stories I've heard from my Tibetan friends, stories of Chinese oppression, repression, and brutality. We agreed that most news outlets were untrustworthy.

We didn't change each other's minds, but we did hear each other, respect each other, and we did deeply appreciate this country, in which people with opposing politics can stand peacefully alongside one another.

Was I disappointed that the torch was rerouted? Not really. It was four hours well spent. The way I see it, the torch ran away from the people who were all gathered at the appointed place. The Chinese government wants everyone to follow the Olympics, but today, the Olympics evaded the people.

Michigan and Florida defied the Democratic Party's rules by moving their primaries to January in an attempt to leap-frog other states' primaries. As a result, the Democratic National Committee is planning to deny seats to the delegates from these two states at the Democratic National Convention. In spite of all this, a legally binding primary was held in these two states. It is only a matter of time before someone who voted in these primaries will file a lawsuit because his or her vote must be honored. Nobody in this country can be told that their legally cast vote does not count because leaders of a state and national party made a mistake. Before those primaries were held the DNC and the Michigan/Florida Democratic Committees should have realized that you cannot simply disregard a vote—once it is cast—just because they could not come to an agreement. And you cannot just "re-do" an election to fix a mistake. If anything, the DNC and the Michigan/Florida Democratic Committees should have learned this from the 2000 Presidential Election. You must count every vote that is cast on the day, place and time that it is legally cast. Otherwise we run the risk of putting in jeopardy the very foundation of our nation. Unfortunately, this issue will once again have to be resolved by the courts, because the so-called party leaders tried to get cute with the process.

The eight warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998, and we are seeing the early signs of global warming worldwide. In Maryland, global warming threatens to raise sea levels 17 to 19 inches above their current level, continuing the trend of over a foot increase in sea levels in the last 100 years. The effects of this increase in water level will be to inundate all areas close to the bay. The water will spread an estimated three to six miles inland, destroying coastal developments. In Baltimore, city officials predict that over 860 buildings will be flooded, causing an estimated $420 million in damage.

To protect future generations from the worst effects of global warming, our leaders in Congress must act boldly and decisively to reduce global warming pollution from cars, coal-fired power plants, and other sources, while jumpstarting the transition to a clean energy economy.

This spring, the Senate is slated to consider the Climate Security Act, a global warming bill introduced by Senators Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and John Warner of Virginia. Senator Mikulski should support strengthening the bill so that it cuts pollution at the pace that the science says is necessary—reducing emissions by at least 80% by 2050—and invests in the clean energy economy rather than lavishing billions on polluting industries.

I have always heard that we [ the people ] own the airwaves. The federal government recently auctioned off some of our public airwaves for $19 billion. When do we get our cut? If we do own [or used to own ] the airwaves, then shouldn't we receive some commissions, residuals, or user fees ?

Project Humanbeingsfirst cannot humbly emphasize enough the first-order most crucial question that must concern all conscionable 'United States persons' today, including courageous genuinely patriotic whistleblowers. How do Sibel Edmonds' revelations of FBI recordings about supposedly 'treasonous' matters that are already fait accompli from ten years ago, and the incessant demands by Ms. Edmonds and her supporters to hold a (surely to be sensationalized) Congressional public inquiry to air them out, today deter Presidents Bush/Cheney or Israel from their devilishly crafted premeditated plans for launching nuclear attacks on Iran disguised as a "defensive U.S. military action" (Brzezinski)? There must be only one immediate near-term and long-term goal for the equitable security (and prosperity) of all peoples on the planet Earth so long as there remains an imbalance of power among us, so long as there remain 'hectoring hegemons' seeking "full spectrum dominance" among us, and so long as there remains an absence of "full spectrum deterrence" to "the pursuit of power," for indeed, "hegemony is as old as mankind": prevent new "defensive U.S. military action." Anything, including all acts, revelations, and magical mantras that distract from this goal, regardless of how compelling the reasons, must be treated by the unwary and gullible American public and its intellectual dissenting-chiefs as red herrings, pretexts, and deceptions for premeditated "imperial mobilization" by their nation's rulers.

A friend sent me this article you published by Greg Palast, called "Eliot's Mess." I thanked her, so I should thank you!

Palast is not only a brilliant writer, but he isn't afraid to call a hot steaming turd a hot steaming lie of a turd. I hope my admiration of his use of the T-word does not diminish my praise of his story and reporting. So here I go. This unflinching narrative about the incredible hypocrisy of these loans and the men behind them made me bounce and spin in my chair. This type of writing and reporting is sooooooooooooo rare in today's cowed media culture. I want action steps, I want Bush and his toadies called to the mat for what they are and what they have done, but I'm only left with my admiration of those smart enough to capture why I know our president is a bad stupid man.

Thanks!

The ethics enforcement process in Congress is clearly broken and has been for some time. If not for whistleblowers and the U.S. Justice Department, none of the scandals we have read about in the last few years would have come to light.

Those like Rep. Cummings, Rep. Ruppersberger, and Rep. Sarbanes deserve significant credit for taking a step none of their predecessors have dared to take.

Barak Obama's speech, "A More Perfect Union," recognized that many of us feel some degree of black anger and white resentment. He acknowledged these emotions while neither justifying them nor condemning them. While condemning their hateful expression, he conceded that these feelings exist. Admitting them is the first step to dissolving them and moving onward.

Obama spoke from the heart, from his true experience of living in both our black and our white cultures. His life, indeed his DNA, embodies our truly American experience.

Obama mapped out a vision for getting beyond the distractions of race and racism, toward solving the real problems we face: war, economy, health, education, and environment.

An imperfect man leading us toward a more perfect union, Obama is a mensch, a real human being, the real deal. After so very many years of lesser candidates and presidents, let us hope that the American people can tell the difference. Perhaps even some political pundits, nay-sayers, and fear-mongers will recognize his sensible hopefulness when they hear him.

It was a wonderful and brave speech Obama gave on religion and race, (except for the Israel-kow-towing, of course). But...

Right at the beginning, Obama could have pointed out that the Teachings of Jesus do NOT stop at the boundaries of THIS COUNTRY, or, for that matter, THIS Religion!

THAT, I believe, was the point the fiery Reverend Wright was making. God has already BLESSED this country so much—and look what we've done with it!

But of course, like the Dean Scream, the Zionazi Media has taken his "God Damn America" comment completely out of context and trumpets it ad Nauseum, propaganda-meisters that they are!

March 16 was the 40th anniversary of the My Lai Massacre. I am sure you have heard of this terrible war crime. Over 500 unarmed civilians [mostly women, children, and old people] were killed by American soldiers on the orders of William Calley. Many of the victims were raped before they were killed.

Of the 26 soldiers charged, only Lieutenant Calley was convicted. His conviction was later overturned by a federal court. This incident probably would have been covered up if it wasn't for a soldier named Ronald Ridenhour. It shows that many people are scared to question authority and will do terrible things just to conform and fit in with everyone else. The My Lai Massacre must not be forgotten.

The U.S. Senate has done a good thing and voted to apologize for some of the bad things that the federal government has done to American Indians over the years. Some of the bad things included in the apology are broken treaties, and the massacres at Wounded Knee and Sand Creek. For some reason the '' Trail of Tears '' isn't included.

Hopefully the House of Representatives and the President will endorse this apology. This apology should have come many years ago, but I guess it is '' better late than never."

I would also like to see the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court apologize for the enslavement of Africans. I think it is about time.

When responsible journalists report "facts," they also need to provide some background that edifies readers and gives them some perspective on the subject to balance the titillation of a media-fed controversy. The name Hussein, for example (also spelt Hussain, Husain, Hossein etc.), is about as ordinary and common overseas as the name Johnson or Jones is in North America. There are probably hundreds of millions of us "Husseins" out there across the globe, and many of us are right here in the good ol’ US of A—law-abiding, productive and patriotic US citizens working alongside our fellow Americans who do not see our name as “taboo” nor view us as potential “security threats." Our origins range from Africa to South Asia, from the Middle East to Malaysia. While most of us are Muslims, Shia and Sunni, many of us, like Barack “Hussein” Obama, happen to have inherited the name from our forefathers and may have no connection with anything Arab or Islamic. We share our name, which means good or handsome, with heroes like Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed who defied tyrannical rule and was martyred as a result, and the late King Hussein of Jordan, the best Arab ally the US ever had, to villains like Saddam, who was the antithesis of all that the name stands for. So let’s put things in perspective here, lest the scare tactics of the professional fear-mongers rule the day in this great nation of otherwise good, fair-minded and reasonable people!

Since the money to finance the Iraq War is largely being borrowed from other countries, with our children and their children scheduled to pay the bills, the Bush Administration seems to consider it free.

Apart from the apalling immorality of that position, there are at least two problems with the deferred payment plan. First, we may not be able to convince other countries (China, Japan, Saudi Arabia) to continue to hold our debt. And if they stop paying the bills, we are likely to suffer economic collapse.

The second problem is that we will need that money, and more, to retool our society for the end of cheap oil. For more on our situation, read Lester Brown's "Plan B 3.0". He believes our security going forward will depend upon investing to keep states from failing, promoting literacy, buying healthcare, planting trees, developing renewable energy, and getting to sustainable population.

Do we want to see “Keep Out – Contamination” signs when we visit Grand Canyon National Park? The U.S. Forest Service is being allowed to gamble with this national treasure, and future generations stand to lose. Americans must understand that Vane Minerals’ plan to drill for uranium three miles outside the park is just the beginning. In the past five years, more than 800 claims for uranium, gold and other minerals have been staked within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park. Now that the British-owned company has started to move on their claims, other companies will follow.

Grand Canyon National Park must remain open and protected for all Americans, not sacrificed to profit foreign companies. The House of Representatives passed the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 (H.R. 2262), which will protect all our national parks from toxic mining. Bottom line, the Senate must do the same, because too much is at stake!

Yes, words move people to action. In this, the pen is mightier than the sword, and what a great leader has to say can move people to move mountains. Teddy Roosevelt aptly described the presidency as a “bully pulpit.” With his “fireside chats,” FDR welded the people of this nation to the great purpose of climbing out of the Depression and winning World War II.

Theirs were the kind of words our nation needed then and needs now—not some words stuck in one of those little campaign books that professes to the candidates' “PLAN of all plans.” A supposed great plan that rolls off the tongue of a candidate that presents him- or herself as one who has all the answers. The folks standing up on the political platform are no smarter than most of the people in the audience, and a heck of a lot dumber than many.

This great nation of people needs a leader that can mobilize our greatest resource: the imagination and ingenuity of a free people. FDR assembled around himself a group of remarkable people that came up with solutions to real problems—these folks were known as FDR’s Brain Trust.

As some World War II words of commitment had it: “The difficult we do right now, the impossible may take a bit longer.” And the people of this nation need a leader that will call us to bend our minds and backs to the unfinished business of progress once again.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia should resign. Why? He recently stated that he sees no reason why torture shouldn't be constitutional. I guess he forgot about the Eighth Amendment, which talks about cruel and unusual punishment.

Unfortunately some of his fellow Justices may agree with him. After all, there have been times in our country when the Supreme Court said that slavery, child labor, and segregation were constitutional. Denying women equal rights and taking land away from American Indians [the ultimate in eminent domain] used to be constitutional.

Supreme Court Justices can serve for life, which gives them way too much power. I wish someone in the media would do a serious investigation of "the High Court." I want to know how many of them are millionaires, and where they got their money. I want to know how many of their relatives were appointed to government jobs after the Court appointed George W. Bush to the Presidency [I have heard of at least two]. I want to know why they refuse to televise their cases and hearings. (And did you know that they are exempt from some laws?)

Even if torture were "constitutional," that doesn't make it right. After all, slavery was wrong even when it was constitutional.

Representative Henry Waxman is leading a Congressional kerfuffel about lies and liars in the game of baseball. Either Roger Clemens or his ex-trainer are lying before Congress. Sure, lying about drug use is a terrible thing. But why is Congress spending so much time investigating baseball drug liars while failing to hold Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the Prevaricator-in-Chief accountable for the lies that have trapped us in Iraq's tar pit of debt, death, and disgrace? Their lies before Congress are far more grave, harming a generation of Americans.

It is not surprising that the Prevaricator-in-Chief and his Dark Lord would deny that waterboarding is torture, and now further assert that they have a legal right to order such practices. Neither Pol Pot, Slobodan Milosevic, Idi Amin, Agusto Pinochet, nor the rulers of Nazi Germany admitted that their actions were illegal torture. But it was not for them to say. The International Criminal Court has that authority, and obligation. Someday, the human rights abusers currently running our country will be taken to the bar of justice as well. Soon, I pray, very soon.

Where has American Culture and intelligence gone? You are going to completely toss aside someone as able, intelligent, and hard-working as Hillary Clinton because Obama has charisma (he does, loads of it)--but has an empty message?

There goes the position of power of the United States of America. To be more specific: down the drain.

Good luck with Barack Obama. It's going to be needed.

Will people vote for the candidate that is most qualified to lead this country and who has a good understanding of the inner workings of Washington?

This is a nation that thrives on instant gratification and it's also one that is easily swayed by the media, which continue to "create" stories rather than report them. This is a country that voted Bush into office TWICE; what does this have to say about the character and the intelligence of people who vote our elected officials into office? It's a downright embarrassment, and people need to wake up and start realizing that these elections are not a popularity contest; this is serious stuff. It shouldn't be based on race or gender; it should be based on the track record, experience, and the inner working knowledge of Washington.

I'm also surprised that Obama has become this phenomenon with the media when in fact he was just recently voted into the Senate and hasn't even had the time to prove himself; this is never a topic of discussion, though. Obama is an intelligent, eloquent man who definitely has leadership qualities, but now is not the time to vote an unproven politician into the most important office in our country. His message is clear and concise; he says all the right things, but how can he get things done in Washington when he doesn't have the experience? The mindset of some people is to latch onto catchphrases and slick media propaganda, but when it comes to research and educating themselves concerning the actual qualifications and experience of a candidate, it's a downright travesty.

The candidacy of Barack Obama has excited a whole new generation of previously disinterested young Americans. As stirring as this youthful involvement portends for the future, some older members of the Democratic Party seem averse to joining the movement and instead expect these young people to temper their idealism and switch allegiance to a candidate of their elders’ choosing.

This is not going to happen, and if the incipient enthusiasm of these young people is squelched, the bulk of the newly involved will drift into the dead center of an empathic public that has little faith in any political party’s capacity to set this nation on a path that bodes a more promising and inclusive future for working and middle class, and destitute Americans.

Before Democrats let this happen, best they remember John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural charge to the citizens of those times: “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.”

In 1976, Representative Ron Paul from Texas was one of only four members of Congress to endorse Ronald Reagan for President against eventual winner Gerald Ford. Reagan, who had become good friends with Paul, reciprocated by campaigning for Congressman Paul in his re-election bid in 1978. Dr. Paul, a former Air Force Flight Surgeon, became one of Ronald’s best allies in Congress for much of Reagan’s two terms, in an attempt to rein in government spending.

Years later, after Reagan's retirement, a proposal to award him the Congressional Gold Medal for service to his country came to a vote on the House floor. Because of their close working relationship, it amazed many observers to see that Ron Paul was one of only a few to vote against awarding the medal. Asked why, Paul simply stated that the money, which had to be appropriated from taxpayers, was not his to give. Instead, he invited each of his 435 Congressional colleagues to match his personal contribution of $100 to pay for the $30,000 gold medal. Not a single Congressperson took him up on his offer. It is very easy to be generous with other people’s money.

This is just one small example of the kind of principles that Ron Paul has stood for during his 10 terms in Congress. Millions of disgruntled voters, just like me, have been energized this election season to register and vote for the first time in many years because of the candidacy of Congress's most honest man.

As a final observation, for those that question Ron Paul’s foreign policy stance, it is worth noting that Ron Paul has received more campaign contributions from members of the Armed Forces than all other candidates in both parties combined. So if you want to support the troops, support Ron Paul, the overwhelming choice of our brave men and women overseas.

Dave Lindorf frames the issue very clearly. How can a member of Congress continue to sit in office having violated his or her oath of office? Do they agree with President Bush that our Constitution is nothing but a piece of paper?

This President has engineered a non-violent (well almost) and largely silent coup d’état. It is simply not enough to wait for the next election. The last two have been stolen, and we get to choose from among those selected by the power elite. Power is not particularly concerned about how democratic the process of attainment is.

The American people are simply going to have to take to the streets and emulate the courageous people in South America who are steadily bringing down their dictators and defying control of the multi-national financiers.

Perhaps a very serious recession will get the majority of the people to hit bottom and then begin the process of recovery. Short of risking jail (although they do this in South America all the time), the American people must refuse to cooperate.

All our four candidates for the Presidency are being financed by Citibank, Goldman Sachs and the rest of the robber baron industries, to a greater or lesser degree. They will collectively raise over a half-billion dollars, mostly bundled from corporations who will be seeking favors and who will write the legislation for the next four years through their extensive lobbying efforts.

When the candidates find out that the money they are getting is tainted by organized crime or serial corruptors, they turn it over to charities (who, I guess, don’t mind where the money comes from). Obama alone has renounced lobbying money, but he gets the most from Goldman Sachs (more than Hillary has taken), whose former CEO is the Bush appointee as Secretary of the Treasury. These sorts are not friends of the people—they are global capitalists who distribute the people's wealth to billionaire financial speculators.

So the picture is grim—and we don’t have a real populist running for office, only “change-artists” who know the platitudes to speak while they play the people for suckers. If we want release from the corporate-controlled oligarchy, we have to ignore the propaganda put out by the Democratic Party and vote for a real person of change like Ralph Nader, if we can never have a Dennis Kucinich.

Once again, the news reported that Exxon has "earned" record-breaking profits. Once again, its profits are higher than ever before, just as the profits last year, and the years before that broke those previous records. People are losing their homes and having to decide between food and fuel, while the richest of the rich are getting richer.

Our Senators and Representatives can reverse this malicious distribution of wealth—this ongoing theft—that is ripping our society apart. They can end the tax breaks for oil companies and the very, very rich. They can enact laws against oil and gas price-gouging. They can stop money being siphoned to off-shore hiding places like Dubai.

Our prosperous democracy is being broken up into a third-world oil plutocracy so long as Congress fails to act.

There is one major problem with Valerie Saturen's article, "What Does Mike Huckabee Have to do With the Apocalypse?" Huckabee is not a dispensationalist and has never held to the prophetic vision she seems to think he would be influenced by. In fact, Huckabee would likely be one of the last people on planet earth to be influenced by dispensational eschatology. Ministers like Huckabee usually disdain dispensational views and consider them dangerous, like secular leftist views. You ought to get your writers to do some actual research of what an individual believes before you start improper speculation about how such things would play out. In fact, Bill Clinton attended a dispensationalist church for 20 years in Little Rock and no one has ever written about how his pastor was one of the most pre-Israel guys on the planet.