Salem-News.com Comments Feed http://salem-news.com 2008 To all: Re polls --even very best, with unquestionable method and same for interpretation-- fail to give us workable guide(s) for what is right-to-do, based on true American values and undistorted understandings. I seem to recall similar poll-results highly prominent prior to our surely-now very erroneous preemptive attack on Iraq, set up that way via very clear "imperial presidency" now very deep in doo-doo and desperate consequence. SO Iran seeks nuclear-club membership; neither U.S. nor Israel can deny or defeat that without revealing own despair for honest, democratic further effort; i.e., surrender to the force uber alles principle for own survival. IF we at that last stage, then little we can think, write, do or conceive, except to pray and seek shelter from inevitable ashes-and-radiation soon over so much of the world that it might as well be global... Are you willing to settle for that ? Many millions worldwide believe we can still, somehow, work to bring rationality and honest, cooperative reason into play around a table open to widespread public understanding, and seeking something other than Mutual Atomic Destruction --such a flawed policy that even the Reagan-reactionaries had to abandon it. Even strongest advocates of democracy will admit that on occasion the majority may be out of joint with realities, and that wise participants in any governing system will need to make sensible, common sense provision to provide for that, and perhaps prevent disaster due to human errors in both communications and the resulting understandings. Indeed, every modern religion is built on a foundation of such principle. http://salem-news.com/articles/july172008/honorable_men_7-17-08.php http://salem-news.com/articles/july172008/honorable_men_7-17-08.php Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:02:03 PDT Friend Telford et al: On nearly all your points, no disagreement...ours only on how to get the job done, long neglected from all sides, while still honoring embedded Constitutional principles for all here and due that regard. Re jobless rate, do believe it is much higher in reality and should include some millions who have simply given up, hanging on any way they can, sometimes via questionable activities. Re "bad form", that's always stupid-action, even when done by careless or irresponsible editor/or/journalist as well as by others. Re clean-slate, new-start, how-proceed, still intently feel we must impeach and deny further precedent for deeply damaging prior actions; and include in remediation every possible way we can impose same clean up on Congress,as well as both true-and-pretend pundits; and ALL complicit cooperators in actions which got us to this absolutely devastating current situation. But first cometh clean-up and clear-out at comprehensive levels, in D.C., state capitols and throughout the msmedia, chiefly responsible (in my view, at least) for ever allowing competent citizens who can read English to get to devastating depths of misunderstanding and policy manipulative reaction which clearly undermines what we had done for two centuries, via prescient means left us by our Founders. http://salem-news.com/articles/july182008/immig_reform_7-18-08.php http://salem-news.com/articles/july182008/immig_reform_7-18-08.php Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:46:46 PDT It appears that as per the below Rasmussen poll, considered one of the most accurate posters, many are in a 12% minority: Nearly eight out of 10 Americans (78%) think Iran is likely to soon develop nuclear weapons, and over half say the Iranians will not halt their program no matter who is elected president, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Forty-three percent (43%) of Likely Voters think it is possible to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but 52% believe Iran is not likely to stop if McCain is elected to the White House. Even more (61%) say the same if Obama becomes president. Sixty-three percent (63%) say the goal of Iran’s uranium enrichment program is to develop nuclear weapons, as opposed to 12% who believe the Iranian government’s claim that it is for energy purposes alone. It seems pretty likely that when the House and Senate dop their offshore drilling obstruction, then if Iran does not allow UN inspectors in, then hold on, the and^%and will hit the fan. No amount of debate, reasoned or otherwise, will halt an attack on Iran's nuke facilities, the underground ones will be taken out by our bunker buster bombs. That is what they were developed for. http://salem-news.com/articles/july172008/honorable_men_7-17-08.php http://salem-news.com/articles/july172008/honorable_men_7-17-08.php Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:35:51 PDT Requiring all employers to verify/match social security numbers (or employment ID numbers) is benefical in so many ways. We make sure all taxes are being collected from/for the right person, we minimize idenity fraud, catch criminals, identify those who owe child support, and of course we make sure someone is authorized to work, etc. . I see Oregon is requiring formal identification for one to get a driver's license and I heard you have a vote by mail and people register to vote while getting their licences, so this should reduce voter fraud. As many of you know, picture ID is being required in more states to be able to vote. So all these programs to verify that a person is who they say they are is a good thing. Henry I am not challenging Dr. Jaegers methodology (though I have not seen his research design), I just disagree with his conclusions. Which is my opinion. When a job is available, and the pay is fair for what that job entails, generally you will find people to fill it. We have an approximate 5.5% unemployment rate (actually that's historically low), so there are people out there who need work. As far as border fences, well, we need security, and if the border cannot be controlled, which it hasn't been, then having a system to ID people is the way to go. We are running out of room in America, and with projected birthrates, we will be in a real mess in the not too distant future, in my opinion. Henry I don't believe all those people who want to control the border are zealots, for example, I belong to the American Legion, and our national policy is to enforce the border and all immigration laws. So it would be bad form to call millions of veterans of all races/ethnic backgrounds and different political ideologies zealots, would you not agree? http://salem-news.com/articles/july182008/immig_reform_7-18-08.php http://salem-news.com/articles/july182008/immig_reform_7-18-08.php Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:55:35 PDT To all: Writers keep working files to prove up any statement made, only serious way to preserve, protect and pay off on allathat research required. You CAN get sued, as I have reason to know; always welcome, and on only-two/ever (so far !) I collected rather than lost... SO checked mine re last comment here, to find that I have on file TWO "insider" statements, from-then-employed staff, attesting to fact of actual destruction of one of my major dissent Letters to Editor, rather than any use of it or response to it. In fact, at time I wrote the original note (June '03) re the situation on the record to the Forum group, the two essential proof-papers were posted right over my computer. SO if "intensity" rings true here from both me and Tim, there is good, solid, provable reason, in depth, further documented by the detailed reference to CHAIN GANG --and all completely relevant to the original story and its most revealing consequences in how the reporter was treated --all these years later !! http://salem-news.com/articles/july112008/salem_flights_7-11-08.php http://salem-news.com/articles/july112008/salem_flights_7-11-08.php Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:16:09 PDT