published: Friday, November 30, 2012

Letters

You can't get a straight answer from government

Please let me state unequivocally that I love our country and desire that our leaders and citizens feel as deeply as I do about its well being.

This election year has brought me to the point that I feel I cannot tolerate the misinformation foisted on our people again.

We have a long history of administrations evading the truth, of course, but this is just one of the fallacious techniques used to sway most Americans.

From my own history, I recall attending propaganda warfare school in Sasebo, Japan, on the way to landing in Korea.

Propaganda, to be effective, must be at least 90 percent true and preferably, 95 to 98 percent true.

For instance, we dropped leaflets after battles encouraging the North Korean or Chinese (as the case may be) soldiers to surrender. The text was: "You suffered 120 casualties on hill "Pork Chop." At the same time, we neglected to tell the enemy that we had 240 casualties.

An enterprising reporter totaled the number of enemies killed according to the battlefield casualties of the Vietcong and he discovered that the total was more than the entire population of Vietnam. And so it goes -- war after war.

Americans cannot get a straight answer about the economy, Social Security, Medicare, etc. So many of us are comfortable with the blatant lies and rhetorical tricks.

Donald Baron | Leesburg

Cut waste before cutting Medicare, Social Security

Whenever the government says it wants to make cuts to get its spending down, it always wants to start with cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

I think I can speak for most of us saying that we would like to start at the bottom and work up. When they run out of places to cut, like $325,000 to make a robotic squirrel, $700,000 to make a musical about global warming, sending food stamps to 2,000 dead people, and hundreds of other stupid things it is doing with our money, then I think all of us will agree that Social Security and Medicare need to be looked at.

Just remember folks, whatever happens to our country does not affect them. They get an automatic pay raise they give themselves every year, plus free medical care. If things really get bad, they can move to another country and live like kings and queens.

Our president is investing billions of dollars of our money in private business green energy of which 14 went belly up. He is not supposed to do that but does it anyway.

Here is a good question, and the answer may be a real eye opener for us.

How much money did the CEOs of those 14 companies have in their personal bank accounts before our president gave them a whole bunch of our money, and how much is in their personal bank accounts now?

Quite a few companies want to lay people off but decided to wait until after the election so the president wouldn't look bad. Pretty cool, huh?

If the government didn't put it hands into every cookie jar we had, we would not be in this financial mess today.

Hillary Clinton on TV said she was helping entrepreneurs start up their business in other countries. Remember the saying that you should take care of your own first, then if you have any left try to help your neighbors? I think our government has it all backwards.

Did you see the robotic squirrel on TV? It was ridiculous. I could have made one just as good for around $50. Who's brother-in-law got that grant money? Who gave the go ahead on that money?

These are the people we need to tell, "Pack your bags and go home, you are fired."

Here is a good question: Do you have your own business? Did the government help you?

Thomas H. Abrehamsen | Eustis

Halt development on barrier islands

Now that "Megastorm Sandy" has done all her damage to the barrier islands along the Atlantic Coast destroying homes, piers, boardwalks and other metal and concrete structures made by man, have the government agencies come to their senses?

Have they realized what the purpose was that Mother Nature had in designing the barrier islands? Have they come to realize that the people who live inland should not be the ones to pay to rebuild someone's home at the shore because they can't get, or afford, the insurance but just want to live there?

The solution? Pay them a fair value for their loss and forbid anymore from building on barrier islands, leaving the islands as protection for the mainland when major storms and hurricanes hit. Let states, if they wish, provide ferry or bridge access for recreation with unimproved roads and rustic rest and recreation areas requiring limited maintenance.

A few years ago when a big hurri-cane hit Daytona and south Day-tona, many old homes, apartments and businesses were destroyed; so in their place, they put up high-rise condos.

Brilliant!

Last, but not least, I have no idea how many hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent each year replacing sand along the barrier islands and beaches from Florida to Maine but it should tell somebody in charge, "You can't fool with Mother Nature.

Cornelius A. Kelly | Leesburg