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—Letters To The Editor—
GOP Sleaze Machine Is Firing Up Again
To The Record-Courier:
If you remember the old comic strip “Lil’ Abner” you will recall a miserable character by the name of Joe Btfsplk. He was a sad fellow, like the Republican party, who had his own rainy dirty black cloud, a cloud that followed him always and everywhere. We the people of the United States, suffer the same kind of fate as Mr. Btfsplk, only our curse is not the rain cloud, but no less a cross to bear, the GOP, and I hope, with all my heart we will shake it as soon as the election results are known.
You know, it’s a weird thing, but I really felt bad for the Republican machine going into this election. I couldn’t imagine, in view of their outrageous assault on this magnificent country and we the people who live in it, that GWB’s party would glean hardly a vote in November, but lo and behold they’re still with us and like the bad habit they are, very hard to shake. Now I know the party of Lincoln is far from a forgiving group, that’s more a liberal thing than conservative, as a matter of fact that was one of Jesus’s main themes, along with love, altruism, benevolence, etc. No the GOP is the party of the great scam hurried along in their dirty work such as is contained in the 35 articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. Kucinich.
All legitimate, all true, all impeachable, but nothing’s happened! Why not? I can’t believe they impeached Clinton on one unbelievably stupid act, that had nothing to do with the business of the nation, and here are 35 articles such as lying to the country about bogus charges of MWD in Iraq, providing immunity from criminal prosecution, reckless waste of U.S. tax dollars, illegal detention, torture, rendition, spying on US citizens, creating secret laws, invading Iraq, creating a secret task force, and many more for a total of 35.
In the face of all this the GOP sleaze machine is firing up again to do what they do best, misrepresent and lie about Obama. I have an intense dislike for Bush and his party for the terrible damage they have inflicted on my great-grandchildren, and I will be forever grateful if we can just get out from under this malevolent plague.
Gene Wall
Baker City
Investigate Your Candidate
To The Record-Courier:
I agree with Ms. Urey’s recent letter. To a point. Her first two paragraphs are accurate; however, the last omits an action, which is implied by franchise. A voter is assumed to have analyzed the issues and candidates in an election prior to casting a vote.
Before people give their votes to the “gifted scholar” she refers to, they should vet him by investigating the following:
1. His association with the political action group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) as their lawyer and corporate trainer.
2. His association with Bill Ayers.
3. His association with Saul Alinsky.
4. His association with Tony Rezko, currently under indictment, whose wife coincidentally purchased the lot next to the million dollar house he bought so that he could afford the purchase.
5. His association of 20 years with Black Liberation Theology and one of its proponents, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
6. His association with Father Flager for whom he appropriated at least one earmark for funds.
7. His association with Robin Hood. In a capitalistic system, is wealth redistribution possible? (Robin Hood was an improbable character with an impractical idea.)
8. And now, a new association with billionaire speculator, George Soros.
Put on your skeptic’s hat. Look at the record, read major newspaper articles, investigate thoroughly. Then vote your enlightened conscience. If you don’t, our nation may be in for more troubled times. Refuse the kool-aid.
Robert Heriza
Baker City
Kerns For Local Control
To The Record-Courier:
The Oregonian on Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, had this to say in an article, “Land Use Claim? Hurry and Wait,” “Nearly a year after passage of Measure 49 gave property owners the right to build homes in rural areas, the state has evaluated only 3 percent of the 4,536 applicants, the department in charge has asked for more money and the director says his staff won’t finish the job until 2010. And that is just the first stage involvement. For each application, preliminary approval is followed by a 28 day comment period, during which neighboring property owners are mailed the six and seven page state findings and invited to comment...”
After that there is the usual building permit process and permits and a long wait. Good luck on getting the right to build a house on your property by 2011. This is the LCDC bureaucracy that we now have. The state has total control of every aspect of your life when it comes to property rights. Oregon is the only state in the union that has this system. If it really is so good why has no other state found us?
The Big Look task force is charged with taking a Big Look at Oregon’s land use system and reporting to the 2009 legislature and one of their recommendations is to return land use decisions to the counties. Our local commissioners signed on to that idea in a letter to the state. All of them, including Tim Kerns signed it. Randy Joseph on the other hand is a strong believer in state control, being the chair of the planning commission. In public forums he confirms his position and even says “we have a lot of flexibility” in our land use decisions.” That’s not true. The state has absolute veto power over everything concerning land. Vote Tim Kerns. It is essential to have strong county commissioners during the legislature as we fight to regain our lost rights.
Steve Culley
Baker City
Kerns Understands Renewable Resources
To The Record-Courier:
I like the way the Baker County Court works together. Arguments are debated and settled without fanfare or hostility. We don’t hear a lot of dissension among county employees. Business is accomplished within the amount of dollars provided. It is a big and very important business with a multitude of departments. Of course everyone would like more for their particular interest, but the court tends to keep it fair and balanced within the resources available.
All the commissioners are Baker County natives and natural resource oriented. The Kerns family came to the Haines area prior to World War II and have maintained a diversified and successful agriculture business ever since. Renewable natural resources are the mainstay of this county and no one understands that better than Tim Kerns and the rest of the court. Federal timber harvest is the main natural resource item that needs attention. Our local County Court is working hard to promote action on this resource with other public officials.
I urge everyone to keep Tim Kerns as a member of our County Commission.
Dan Warnock
Baker City
Major Differences In Presidential Candidates
To The Record-Courier:
Barack Obama is the most inexperienced and mysterious candidate for President in our history. His national experience comprises four years in the U.S. Senate. John McCain has 26 years in Congress.
Obama has no executive experience. McCain has 22 years of executive experience in the Navy.
Obama denigrates citizenry, and described people in Pennsylvania as bitter, gun carrying, religious people. McCain supports all Americans.
Obama’s teenage mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, was identified by the Commission on Subversive Activities to the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii as a member of the Communist Party. Obama’s mentor and pastor of 20 years, Reverend Wright, dislikes America. William Ayers, the Weather Underground anarchist, was a campaign supporter for Obama’s run for the Illinois Senate. Tony Rezko, a felon, promoted a real estate transaction for Obama. McCain’s background is impeccable.
Obama will entertain the world’s tyrants, and appease them. McCain’s staff will meet with counterparts and arrange for presidential discussions.
Obama is hiding many of his funding sources. McCain has divulged his sources.
Obama believes in sex education for kindergarteners. McCain does not.
Do we take a chance on a very risky, clandestine Obama, or do we elect McCain, a proven leader and patriot?
Donald A. Moskowitz
(political Independent)
Londonderry, NH
Qualified Citizens Running For City Council
To The Record-Courier:
Thank you for your excellent article Oct. 2 of interviews with local county and city candidates for public office.
Aletha Bonebrake would be an outstanding member of Baker City Council. Thanks to Aletha we have one of the most outstanding rural libraries in the state. I worked with Aletha on the establishment of a library district and also the organization of the Baker County Library Foundation. She is a dynamic leader, energetic, well qualified and very orderly.
Gail Duman has been a voice of reason on the council. She is fiscally responsible and being a business owner knows the importance of maintaining our small town atmosphere.
Clair Button would place the interest of the city and public above any personal agenda and would cultivate public trust.
It is encouraging to see so many qualified citizens running for the City Council. We are all so fortunate to live in Baker County.
Frances Burgess
Baker City
State Treasurer’s Letter To Legislators And Governor On Oregon’s Financial Condition
SALEM – State Treasurer Randall Edwards sent a letter to state legislators and to the Governor informing them of the State’s financial status following the recent downturn on Wall Street. The text of the letter to legislators follows:
Dear Legislative Members,
It has been an extraordinary last few weeks and months in the financial markets, and most recently, in Washington, D.C., as the federal government addresses the markets’ mounting problems. The magnitude of the financial crisis is touching everyone – Wall Street, Main Street, government, and ordinary citizens. I’d like to take this opportunity to give you an update on how this crisis is affecting Oregon’s finances and the operations that I oversee.
The primary cause of this financial crisis is excess leverage and a failing banking system, which started with problems in the housing and mortgage markets. Last week’s Congressional action was of critical importance to begin putting money back in the market to free up capital.
Last week’s fall of more than 800 points in the U.S. stock market put pressure on falling international markets. Their slide continues to affect our markets, which we are feeling this week in our markets. To give you some perspective, the broad U.S. stock market is down 28 percent so far this year. International stock markets are down 38 percent year to date. The financial world is flat!
Like institutional investors everywhere, the huge drops in the markets have reduced the value of the Oregon funds that I manage. However, you should be comforted to know that we have been outperforming the market and our benchmarks in this down market because we have very diversified portfolios and investment strategies. For example, for the first eight months of this year, the PERS fund was down 6.5 percent versus the stock market at about 20 percent. Over the last 10 years, the PERS fund has returned 8.4 percent (versus a portfolio benchmark of 7.4 percent), a period that includes the big dot-com bust of 2000 and the market crashes following 9/11. Another positive note is that PERS entered into these current troubled markets as the best-funded pension plan in the country at 113% and therefore is better positioned to absorb the downturn.
The spill-over of the banking system’s troubles is a general reluctance in the market to lend money. This credit crunch is affecting businesses large and small who need to borrow operating cash to meet their needs. This situation has also hit some governments. California and Massachusetts have indicated that they cannot borrow money right now to meet cash needs. I want you to know that Oregon does not have a cash problem. At the end of June, we sold $741 million in Tax Anticipation Notes (TANs) for our cash needs to cover our budgeted expenditures at the end of June. We therefore have reserves on hand to meet agencies’ cash needs.
The municipal bond market is also troubled right now. I held back an Oregon Department of Energy bond sale for $21 million a couple of weeks ago because of the lack of a market. We have other bond sales coming up in December for the OWIN project and for Housing. Issuances for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and ODOT are coming up in early spring. However, the municipal bond markets have changed, bringing limited and more skeptical buyers, and therefore we will likely be paying higher interest rates than we did in the past. This condition is likely to continue for some time, and consequently the next legislature should budget for higher debt service payments on future bond sales. Oregon’s solid bond rating is helping to keep those costs lower than they might otherwise be.
Last, the plummeting stock market has had a negative impact on investments in the college savings plans we offer. As a personal investor in the Oregon College Savings Plan, I too am experiencing the hit this quarter along with other investors. I am proud to say that our call center and my office have not been flooded with calls of concern, nor have investors pulled their money from their accounts. In fact, we are seeing both continued investments and new investors in the plans.
I understand the implication the financial crisis is having on the national, state, and local economies. We are into a recession, and any lengthening or deepening of it will create significant budget pressures. I do want to note, however, that we are in a much better situation than we were coming into the last recession. You prudently left a cushion in this biennium’s budget that softens this downturn. Further, the reserves provided by the two rainy day funds not only moved our credit rating to a more favorable level, but they also will provide you more tools to tackle the difficult job you face in balancing the budget next biennium.
I hope that this information is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if there is something I can do for you.
Sincerely,
Randall Edwards
State Treasurer
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