bil canfield editorial cartoon


Gun lobbyist ready to quit

No one can deny that an unfathomable tragedy took place in Connecticut last week; little children murdered.  For years, the media has been on a campaign to take God out of America, yet the two things we hear most often after the recent horror is sending out our prayers(?) and needing to ban guns.  Some of you may favor gun bans, for your own personal reasons; I do not for my own very personal reasons.  Be that as it may, you should question the media, and their motives; they must be held to a high standard.  I ask you to read the somewhat lengthy letter below; please read it all and give it some independent thought. 

Neither my comments nor the contents of the letter may sway you one way or the other.  That’s okay too.  Just as long as you begin to see how American society is being manipulated, and not just on the topic of guns.  If independent ‘news’ reporting and investigative journalism are still alive, it is a bitch to find them.

John Traynor
Carefree


Gun lobbyist ready to give up
A gun lobbyist, traumatized by the evil in Newton, Conn., under pressure by reporters for an interview, asked me desperately for help. What is he supposed to say? How can he respond to such slaughter, how can he defend guns in the light of this massacre? He is at his wit's end, ready to give up, throw in the towel. Help me please, he implores. What can he say in the face of such an abomination? There are no words. And there aren't any.

Why does the media only cover guns in the face of such tragedy? Why don't they discuss it when we can examine the subject coolly and rationally, and maybe get somewhere?

Because then we might learn something. Because then the public could become educated, and the media does not really want this to happen. Because then you might learn that guns have social utility, and are indispensable – that guns serve good purposes – instead of being pounded with the hopelessly false idea that arms are bad.

If the media covered guns without tragedy as a background, you would learn that guns save lives, which is why we want our police heavily armed, with high-capacity magazines, and high-powered rifles, and all the ammunition they can carry. You would learn that you need guns and ammo and full-capacity magazines – for the exact same reason.

You would learn that your need is even greater, because YOU are the first responders, and police are always second. You face the criminals first, in every event. Police, with all their deadly bullets only show up later. Police are the second responders. Media stories are always wrong about that. That's what you say.

People would learn that guns are for stopping crime. Guns protect you. Guns are good. Guns keep you safe, and help you sleep quietly at night. Guns are why America is still free. And the media doesn't want that message to get out. That's why they only haul out the subject with horror as a backdrop. That's what you say.

Thirteen scholarly studies show that guns are used to prevent crimes and save lives between 700,000 and 2.5 million times each year (depending on study size, time frame and other factors). You could get the book entitled "Armed," by Kleck and Kates, and read the studies yourself. Why doesn't the media ferret out those stories and put them on the front page? That's what you say.

Even the FBI says justifiable homicide happens every day, and they're only counting the cases that go all the way through court. Most armed self defense is so clean it never even makes it to court -- or the gun isn't even fired. Why isn't that in the national news every day?

Because you, Mr. and Ms. Reporter, don't want the public educated about guns. Because you want the public ignorant, misinformed and terrified of guns, just like you are. Because you are pushing an agenda to vilify and ban fundamental rights we hold dear, that have helped make America great. Because you want people to have a lopsided unbalanced distorted view, and you're doing a great job of that.

That's what you say. And let them try to deny it.

Because so-called "news" media gun stories are not news, they are propaganda. Showing the image of a mass murderer 100 times a day isn't news, it is propaganda. Because staying on the same single event for a week or more isn't news – even reporters would call it old news, or yesterday's news, or yellow journalism, if they were being honest – a trait many have long since lost the ability to exercise. It is propaganda by every definition of that term.

It is designed to disgust, and cause revulsion, and motivate mob mentality. It serves no news purpose other than to induce fear and cause terror. In five minutes you have told the story, nothing new is added, yet it rolls on with images on endless loop. It promotes evil, encourages copycats,  with zero redeeming news value. It violates every rule of ethical news behavior there is. That's what you say.

Showing the grief and tears day after day as you are doing, dear reporter, is not news, it is manipulation of we the people. It is an effort to turn people against something you as a reporter personally detest, because you are as poorly educated on the subject as many of your viewers and readers. You are so poorly informed on this subject you need counseling.

That's what you say. Tell reporters they are acting like hoplophobes. Let them look it up.

When eighty people died that day, with their bloodied bodies strewn all over the place, they didn't care. When children were torn from their parents, and parents never came home, they didn't care. When people left home and said, "See you later honey," and were never heard from again, they didn't care, and I didn't care, and they never even mentioned it, because those people died in their cars.

Eighty people. Entire families. Moms and dads, infants, teenagers, all across this great land, not just in one town. That grief was every bit as tragic. And eighty more the next day. And today. And reporters didn't even mention it. Because reporters don't care about human tragedy. They just want to use their favorite tragedy, a maniac's evil, now days old, to promote a terrible agenda they and their bosses and their political puppet masters want them to promote. And that's the abomination. They should be ashamed of themselves. They are a disgrace. That's what you say.

Even though cars are involved in virtually the same number of deaths as firearms, and typically used by all the murderers, we don't call for their elimination, because cars serve a purpose greater than the harm they cause. Doctors kill between ten- and one-hundred-thousand people every year through "medical misadventures," a sugarcoated term for mistakes (the actual number is hotly disputed). We don't call for doctors' elimination, because doctors serve a greater purpose than the harm they cause too.

Guns are precisely the same, but you wouldn't know it watching the so-called "news." Think of all the lives guns save and crimes they prevent. We should call for education and training – and the pro-rights side does, constantly, to the media's deaf ears. Right now, schools and the media are a black hole of ignorance on the subject. Half of all American homes have guns – how is it possible to get a high-school diploma without one-credit in gun safety and marksmanship? How can you honestly argue for ignorance instead of education and live with yourself? That's what you say.

The greater part of this great nation is on to you. We hold our rights dear. We hold the Bill of Rights in highest regard, while you spit on it with your unethical and vile effort to destroy it from your high and mighty seat. You believe you are protected by the very thing you would use to demolish it. Your use of propaganda, every time a tragedy occurs, to deny us our rights is the highest form of treason, a fifth-column effort, an enemy both foreign and domestic of which we are keenly aware. You will reap what you sow. That's what you say.

The media says it wants more laws but we already know that everything about every one of these tragedies is already a gross violation of every law on the books, many times over. You media types would outlaw all guns, as many of you are calling for. We all know it would be as effective as the cocaine ban – a product many of you enjoy in the privacy of ... Hollywood and Wall Street and Occupy rallies and your upscale parties and across America. And if you like the war on some drugs, you're going to love the war on guns. That's what you say.

And if you think the rule of law is the solution – like for people on Prozac and Ritalin suddenly going berserk -- remember that, at least for tomorrow, if the man next to you is going to suddenly crack, you really do need a gun.

Ask yourself why people in greater numbers are suddenly cracking up and taking up the devil's cause, to speak metaphorically. So many reporters have obviously given up on religion and the morality it used to exert, the binding social effect it had on people. Are you a religious person? Ask them. People typically never ask the reporters questions. Reporters don't know how to handle that. Try it. That's what you say.

Do films like American Psycho, where scriptwriters invent characters who enjoy killing and go around gleefully murdering people, and financiers who put millions behind such projects, and which the entertainment industry put in our faces on a constant basis – does that have any effect? Would you argue it has no effect? Hundreds of films like that, filling our TV's daily – doesn't that do something to people? Dexter, a mass murderer disguised as a cop who is the hero of the series, does that shift people's thinking, their sense of balance? How do you justify supporting such things instead of shunning and casting such perverts and miscreants from the industry? That's what you say.

But here's the bottom line as far as I'm concerned. Here's the Pulitzer Prize, waiting for you if you want one. Should people who put scores of guns into the hands of drug lords get one-month sentences – like we saw the very day before this massacre – is that right? If you get the laws you're shouting for, would it matter if that's what the Justice Dept. does with them?

Why isn't THAT discussed? How did you let that skate by? Don't tell me you covered that story, if you simply reported the government handout, that Fast and Furious smugglers Avila and Carillo were sentenced. That's not reporting, that's reading.

That's the ugly underbelly of this "gun problem" we have. There are the laws for real crimes, and the feckless government role, letting slaughter continue unabated, even abetted. There's the solution you say you seek, squandered.

Were the hundreds murdered that way less important? Is it a racist thing – because they were brown-skinned Mexicans and not little White children, is that it? How could Eric Holder's Justice Dept. – and you – let those perps off so easy? Why isn't that the headline? It was the biggest gun scandal in U.S. history – your own words. One-month sentences? Not even a trial? And you bought into this? That's what you say.

The ring leaders in the biggest gun-running death-dealing high-powered so-called "assault-weapon" scandal in U.S. history were caught red-handed giving guns to murderers, but they got a plea deal from the administration, not even a trial, and the media had nothing to say.

The media that has so much to say about guns – or so they would have us falsely believe – are shills for the Justice Dept. that perpetrated this travesty, and now would use their bully pulpit to attack our rights, in the name of little children, day after day. Journalists have become a travesty, that's what you say.

More than 90 of these fearsome guns were delivered by our very government to the worst murderers on the planet. And now, thanks to double-jeopardy protection, we won't have a trial so we can't even find out who in our government gave the orders. And now we have nothing to say.

The event in a small Connecticut town has opened the gun issue again.

And that's what you say.

Alan Korwin, Publisher, Bloomfield Press
The Uninvited Ombudsman

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The failure of gun control

The nation was almost catatonic in reaction to the mass murder of 27 people at Sandy Hook Elementary, Newtown, Connecticut.  The first reaction now wearing off, we are hearing calls from all quarters for “meaningful action” (Obama), and for “Immediate action” (Bloomberg). 
The nation is unaware of a potential mass murder in Clackamas, Oregon, at the Town Center Mall, where a gunman killed two people, was confronted by an armed civilian with a pistol, and promptly turned the rifle on himself and committed suicide.

In the meantime, no children were murdered in any of the schools of Israel, where teachers and assisting parents are armed to the teeth.

The problem is not the ready availability of guns, any more than an abundance of water is claimed to be the leading cause of drowning.  The problem is stupidity.

In every single case of firearms, whether they are obtained legally or illegally, numerous laws are broken in the illegal use of those firearms.  In the Sandy Hook shooting, gun control laws at the municipal, the state and the federal level were broken.  To say that these gun-control laws were ineffectual is to state the obvious. 

What the nation’s media and politicians can’t seem to fathom is that MORE gun-control laws will simply result in an environment where more sick and evil people will pull these crimes off with maximum effect before being stopped.

Gun control laws cause mass murders!

Passing laws against drowning will not reduce the numbers of drowning each year.  Educating people will.  In the case of guns, educating and arming teachers and college students will reduce the ability of every gunman to kill large numbers of innocent victims.

The time has come to return to common sense – let’s repeal most (if not all) gun control laws, and instead let’s do the following:
•  make firearm safety education mandatory, from K-12 in our schools;
• train our children to shoot safely, in voluntary programs, starting in grade one (using cork guns);
• set up marksmanship teams for students in high school, who compete with other schools in tournaments, leading up to state championships, just like we do with football and basketball;
• give bonuses to teachers willing to be armed and proficient in the use of their weapons, including contingency training on what to do when a mad man enters their school building or classroom;
• deputize hundreds, if not thousands of citizens in every county to carry, everywhere, at all times;  (These will be responsible citizens with a good record, having passed safety and proficiency tests, and may well require testing every few years to upgrade skills, check etc.)

Will all this prevent more shootings?  No, probably not.  Will it reduce the damage that a single crazy person can inflict?  Without a doubt.

So, how about a War on Stupidity – one the government is not allowed to manage, please!  After the War on Poverty and the War on Terror, we know that government is not qualified to make any project turn out right.

With the restoration of what our Founding Fathers considered a right against which no restrictions should be placed (“unalienable”), notably the right to keep and bear arms, responsible and sensible men and women are capable of protecting the children who are under their care.

In other words, a return to Constitutional Law will solve this problem, and the hysteria can begin to subside.  More government is not the answer – government is the problem.

Daniel D. New
Iredell, Texas

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Regarding the mass murders in Newtown, Connecticut

While the recent killings in Newtown Connecticut are horrific I am amazed at the profound level of shock and bewilderment from people around the globe. Many of these same people - especially politicians and members of the mass media (who are gleefully beating this story to death) - openly approve of and in some cases even partake in the mass slaughter of innocent children through abortion. How many of these people, for example, have actually had an abortion themselves to advance their own careers? Indeed, over 1 million children are murdered through abortion each year in the good ol’ U.S. of A. So why all the shock and awe at something comparatively smaller? Do these people really think that all the state sanctioned and media supported violence we see in sports, movies, video games, abortion etc. would lead to peace?

As Christmas approaches let us recall how our Saviour came to save us from the shackles of sin and the dominion of darkness.

With respectful and cordial best wishes, I remain,
Sincerely yours,

Paul Kokoski
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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As expected

There it is: NBC just referred to the rifle used in Connecticut as – what else? – an "assault" rifle. The baseball bats used by seven Philly teen and pre-teen bandits to bash twelve year-old Eddie Polec to death in Feb 1995 and the 16# bowling ball dropped that very same month by three teen hoods from a NJ state highway overpass, killing a baby girl are, consequently, "assault" sports items.

Will politicos Nadler, Schumer, Feinstein, Menino, Bloomberg, et al. plus the Bolshy media ever come to the realization that it is the CRIMINAL?

Name withheld by request

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SCOTUS should reverse Abington School Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)

What a tragic sight and sound as we see another act of "craziness" by an individual who goes on a shooting spree killing innocent men, women, and even young children.

The solution to prevent this type of terror is not to ban guns.  It is not the NRA.  It is not about guns at all.  Gun "rights" were protected by our Founding Fathers in the Second Amendment to protect Americans against an aggressive and mutinous government.

The problem is the "craziness" of mankind.  The "craziness" in America is creating selfish, evil, and criminal activity since SCOTUS "banned" the "Holy Bible" and its' teachings from our "public schools"; a ban of the "Biblical" teachings as proposed, presented, and installed in our Constitution based on Christian values.

Before the 1963 SCOTUS decision, all children heard a daily devotion in "public schools."  With these "public schools" daily devotions, almost everyone in (y)our communities attended a "House of Worship."  Yes, there was some minor mischievousness; however, seeing and/or hearing of the "craziness" in killing massive numbers of individuals in America was almost
never heard of.  Massive killings of today are becoming an unacceptable norm.

As SCOTUS "banned" the Holy Bible teachings "Abington School Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)" from the "public schools," illegal drugs, guns, evil mindsets, and other threatening actions "entered" the humans' criminal ideas that destroy peoples souls.

The SCOTUS decision removed our Constitutional freedoms based on Christian values.  Today and since the 1963 SCOTUS decision, many Americans, and specifically parents, almost never attend any House of Worship, read their Bible, and/or teach their children the word of "God", the "wisdom" that is a "guidance of conscience"; the "wisdoms" that could and would prevent and/or stop most of this "craziness".

The end results of not hearing and/or reading the "Holy Bible" teachings leads many of (y)our children to reject the, otherwise, unknown Biblical instructions' "guidance of conscience".  This backslide leads them into illegal drugs, guns, gangs, and other illegal activity.  Without the "Holy Bible" experiences, America is fighting an internal war in our own communities.

Our US Constitution is/was based on Christian values.  If you read the Founding Fathers' authors and their writings, you will corroborate the Christian values are established by these creators.  Many Capitol Hill and other unbelievers have infiltrated our political system by penetrating and damaging our Constitutional Christian values.  As one separates his/her own life morals from Christian values, his/her wisdoms also breaks away.  At those breaks, the saboteur becomes an obstructionist to our extended Christian values.

The common-sense cure is here right now for all of us.  SCOTUS should reopen, reevaluate, and reverse ABINGTON SCHOOL DIST. v. SCHEMPP, 374 U.S. 203 (1963).  Our Constitution is/was based on Christian values and these principles should be taught to all.  Those values are treasured and should be restored.  SCOTUS can "right the wrong" to present a "peace" that can bring more "comfort with civility" to our families, our communities, and our nation.
"The foundation of national morality must be laid in private families." - John Adams

John 16:33 (KJV) These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Oscar Y. Harward
Monroe, North Carolina

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One thing we can agree on about government

We are locked in a seemingly permanent debate over the proper size and scope of government that I don’t expect to end anytime soon. After all, it’s been a feature of political life for as long as any of us can remember. But no matter how we view the role of government, there’s one thing most of us do agree on: whatever government does, it should do it well.

Recently, I read a compelling speech by a prominent corporate CEO who criticized the federal government for creating an environment of uncertainty and stifling the engines of market growth — and then went on to lay out plans for economic renewal that all involved the government: a revamped education policy, more investment in infrastructure and in basic research, changes to the tax code to reward innovation. His speech underscores a basic truth about American life: we can argue about the fine points of its reach, but the importance of government’s role in our lives is inescapable.

This does not mean that government is the answer to everything — far from it. Nor, however, does the anti-government rhetoric that so often marks our politics show much sign of being rooted in reality. When we want to build roads and bridges, create conditions under which businesses can thrive, or respond to natural disasters, we turn to government at some level. And we expect the people who run it to be good at what they do. None of us wants to live with a government that is incompetent in the exercise of its important functions.

Constructive criticism is always appropriate, but the anti-government language that so often gets bandied about creates distrust of the very institution we rely on to meet the challenges and solve the problems that confront us as a nation. I sometimes find myself wondering how far we can erode confidence in our officials and our government and still have a country that works.

My sense is that the public is demanding more from government, not in size, but in performance. Americans want government to work better for less, and the only way to achieve this is for government to become more effective and productive in dealing with the challenges before us.

Lee Hamilton
Director of the Center on Congress
Indiana University

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Long row to hoe – A parable

When Cotton was King, supervisors would give the strongest workers the longest rows to hoe, knowing the row would be free of weeds and debris so precious rain could get to the young cotton plants.  Shorter rows were given to the lesser workers.  When some workers dropped out due to blisters, sprained ankles, hurting backs, etc., the supervisor had them sit under the shade tree until the work was done.  The supervisor withheld a share of the "working workers" wages doling it to the “shade tree workers.”  The next day more workers "had injuries" forcing them under the tree.  The supervisor withheld more wages from the “working workers” so the "shade tree" workers wouldn't starve.   The next day, the "working workers" didn't work quite as diligently;  disgruntled with their wages.  Yes, more "shade tree workers" appeared.  Fields that could have been completed in days now took weeks.  You get the picture; a simple depiction of Socialism and sharing the wealth. 

Our Founders had in mind….  Supervisors would tell workers, "We have this field to hoe.  Here are the wages.  Complete it in days and we’ll receive a bonus."  All the workers did their best.  Several dropped out for valid reasons.  Rather than the supervisor taking wages from the "working workers" to give to the "shade tree workers", he pays the wages promised.  The "working workers" from the goodness of their hearts share with coworkers thus having the satisfaction of "sharing their bounty.”  The receivers are honored knowing they were so loved by the "working workers."  You get the picture; a simple depiction of Capitalism and caring for your fellowman. 

In which picture would you rather see your children and grandchildren? 

Deanna Drab
Payne Springs, Texas

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Remember Brian Terry

It has been two years since the death of United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
For us, Brian will forever live on in our hearts as the energetic, kind-hearted, life-loving young man who grew up determined to be “one of the good guys.” Brian served as a U.S. Marine and a local law enforcement officer before deciding to defend our borders – but in every position, his driving passion was protecting his neighbors and his fellow Americans from harm.

That’s just the kind of person he was. To lose someone like that is a deep tragedy, and not just for those of us in his family, but for everyone whose life he touched.

Today, our pain is still mixed with outrage and anger.

After two years, we still haven’t seen much true accountability from those responsible for the failed “Operation Fast and Furious” that claimed Brian’s life while the President and Attorney General Eric Holder are still dodging Congress’s questions and requests for documents related to the incident.

This Administration’s lack of respect for the sacrifice and loss of one of their agents is staggering. Brian and his team were outgunned and disadvantaged, and bravely stood their ground in attempts to apprehend a Mexican drug cartel “rip-crew” operating in the Arizona desert. As we all know by this point, the gunfire that ended Brian’s life came from weapons that the Department of Justice willingly let fall into the hands of dangerous criminals.

While we’re glad to see some lower level participants involved in “Operation Fast and Furious” brought to justice in recent days, it isn’t enough. The risk is real that other families may have to go through the same loss as we have, but without support. Too many unanswered questions remain held up by the obstruction of Eric Holder and his office. And too many people still don’t know the depths of the incompetence that led to Brian’s death.

That’s why we started the Brian Terry Foundation – to stand for those U.S. Border Patrol Agents and their families who don’t have the support they need and to educate the American people about the many challenges these agents face in their primary mission of protecting our borders.
We’ve done what we know Brian would’ve done if he were still with us. We’ve spent our time and every penny that comes into the Foundation on taking on the hard fights, and standing up for those who need the support the most. Today, I hope you’ll join us in giving of yourself to fight for the truth and to provide for the families of Border Agents who are suffering and in need.

Please donate what you can to continue Brian’s legacy of service. You may donate online at http://honorbrianterry.com/ or by mail: The Brian Terry Foundation, 2575 E Camelback Road, Dept#3 Phoenix, AZ 85016

Kent and Josephine Terry
Proud parents of Brian Terry
The Brian Terry Foundation

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Will good triumph over evil?  So far it hasn't!

As much as I have complete disdain for companies like Monsanto, those pushing mandatory vaccinations, and the Federal Reserve, I have not lost total faith that good can prevail over evil. I am reminded about the abortion issue where women object to being forced NOT to take the life of an unborn, even when the baby is half way out of the womb. Yet some of these same people think that we should all be forced to have vaccinations.

This Jim Jones, Jonestown mentality scares me. In fact, Obama was very, very close to calling for  mandatory Swine Flu vaccinations but the numbers did not support such measures despite his and the medias hysteria about it.

One day the real truth will come out about vaccinations.  If they are so good, why are they worried about those without vaccination giving an ailment to those who have taken them? I guess if I'm being forced to buy ObamaCare and pay for treatments and procedures I would not allow to happen, I should not be surprised when Obama has our local sheriffs hold us down to be inoculated against our will. In fact you might have to accept inoculations to be covered by ObamaCare anyway! Hopefully Good will eventually triumph over evil.

Sincerely,

Joseph DuPont
Towanda, Pennsylvania

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You’re not a welfare queen. It's a scam


President Obama and congressional Republicans want to cut your Social Security and treat you like a welfare queen

Social Security is NOT welfare; you earned it.

Social Security does NOT cause the deficit.

Congress DOES cause the deficit with Wasteful, Extravagant and Unnecessary Spending
Before they cut your Social Security, Demand that they cut their own salaries and perks and stop bailing out their banker buddies and corporate cronies.

Tell Congress: Don't Cut Social Security because If you do, I will not vote for you ever again, period.

Republicans are about to trade higher taxes for large cuts to Social Security.

It's your money; you earned it; and now Congress wants to steal it from you. That's shameful.

Voters 50 and older went solidly for Mitt Romney in this year's presidential election: 52 percent of voters between the age of 50 and 64 voted for Romney; 56 percent of voters 65 or older went for Romney.

And now Republicans are preparing to betray seniors, the only group that was loyal to them.
President Obama continues to tempt Republicans with a Grand Bargain on the deficit in which Republicans would concede tax increases on people earning more than $250,000 a year in exchange for which the president would agree to cut Social Security through so-called "reforms" that would cut inflation adjustments (COLAs) and transform the flat-rate payroll-tax pension contribution into a progressive income tax by raising or eliminating the annual cap on the amount of earnings on which the payroll tax must be paid.

The congressional Republican leadership is all charged up to cut Social Security in a Grand Bargain with President Obama.

From Mr. Obama's perspective it represents a great deal: With ObamaCare, the president already has demonstrated his callousness toward old people and a ruthless willingness to sacrifice senior citizens to achieve his political ends.

A substantial majority of seniors didn't vote for him, and now he won't be running again, anyway.

The so-called Social Security "reforms" being dangled before Republicans are a redistributionist's dream come true, which is just another demonstration – as if one is required – of why the Republican Party is the stupid party.

But now it's worse; if Republicans betray seniors and raise taxes and cut Social Security, it makes the GOP the evil party as well.

Republicans have become fixated on their mistaken notion that Social Security is responsible for the deficit. It is NOT.

Despite its flaws, and it has many, the Social Security payroll taxes are basically a pension contribution that workers make every payday in expectation of receiving retirement benefits in exchange when they retire. You kept your end of the bargain with every dollar you paid into Social Security, and now the Congress wants to renege on their end when it is time to pay up.
Social Security is not a handout; it is an earned benefit every bit as much as any other pension.

Republicans have lost their way and insist on treating Social Security like welfare. You need to set them straight. No Cuts, No Means Testing. Don't believe for a minute that means testing won't affect you. Just like "tax increases for the rich," which always end up hitting middle- and low-income people as well, means testing Social Security will be just another way to limit everyone's benefits. It's a scam, and its time we called them on it.

You know you were forced to pay into Social Security your entire working life. You earned your benefits.

The Republican Party has decided the best way to cut the deficit is to stigmatize retirees by treating them like welfare queens and making them feel responsible and ashamed for the fiscal mess Congress itself created. Worse than the stupid party; worse even than the evil party; the Republican Party has become the brain-dead, zombie party.
Defend America,

Lawrence A. Hunter, Ph.D.
Social Security Institute
4305 Fauquier Avenue, Suite A
PO Box 216
The Plains, Virginia 20198

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