Published: July 08, 2008 04:37 pm            

In Your View — 07/09/08

McCain is clearly the better choice

Rational, responsible Democrats — the few who are still out there — should heed people like Lois Jackson, who proclaimed in her July 2 letter that, even as a 40-year Democrat, she’ll consider the future of America when casting her presidential vote in November for John McCain.

As a staunch Republican, I’ve watched with astonishment Barack Obama strut his stuff on the campaign trail and view the whole thing as a surrealistic experience. Like Ms. Jackson, I find it difficult to understand how a major political party could knowingly nominate such a naive, inexperienced and unvetted rookie.

As time has passed, however, Obama has been clearly exposed as a black separatist radical who holds contempt for a large percentage of our population and whose inadequacies have become increasingly more obvious for all to see and evaluate. Anyone paying the least bit of attention must realize by now that this guy's entire history is America hating — from his church, his friends, his private comments, even his choice of a wife.

Despite smooth speeches, Obama is a blunderer who would be nowhere if the Chicago machine hadn’t practically assured him of victories in Illinois and who has been placed on the presidential fast-track by power-hungry Democrats. As a result, the man’s arrogance and ignorance show every single day.

For Republicans, McCain may not be our first choice, but, as Rush Limbaugh was quoted as saying, “It's like the Super Bowl. If your team isn’t in it, you root for the team you hate less. That’s McCain.”

When the voting booth curtain is finally pulled shut, I join those who pray that in this dangerous moment in our history, America will decide that experience and competence trump fancy-footwork and slick oratory.

Randy Webb, Ashland



McCain is right on offshore drilling

I’m in total agreement with Senator McCain’s energy plan to promote drilling for oil off the shores of the U.S. There are numerous oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and in offshore waters around the world that have not caused environmental problems. It is estimated we have over 20 billion barrels of oil reserves off our coastlines, and at least another 30 billion barrels of untapped oil reserves in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, and the oil companies say it is light, sweet crude, which is low in sulfur and easy to refine into gasoline.

The U.S. needs a comprehensive long-term and short-term energy program which will free us from foreign oil, reduce dependence on oil and promote cleaning up the environment. Long term we need to increase domestic oil production, increase domestic refining capacity, build nuclear power plants and develop technology to recycle nuclear waste, and expand mass transit systems. In the short term, we should continue to reduce gasoline consumption by driving smaller cars, buying flex-fuel cars, driving less, car pooling and utilizing existing mass transit systems, conserving energy, and installing solar power and wind power systems.

Barack Obama and his cronies oppose offshore and Alaska oil drilling and are downplaying nuclear power. They continue to have their heads stuck in the oil sands of the Middle East, and their policies will ensure we continue to pay high gasoline and fuel oil prices.

Donald A. Moskowitz, Londonderry, N.H.



Sister was pillar of the community

My 13-year-old granddaughter asked me to write a letter in memory of her Aunt Bea.

My sister, Bea Grizzle May, was laid to rest on July 4. She was rightly called an icon and a pillar of the community and of her church, the Pentecostal Holiness Tabernacle.

Bea was 87, and a lot of those years were pretty rough for her and the rest of us kids growing up during the Depression. My mother died at an early age, and Dad opted to keep us together and take care of us. That left Bea, then 12 or 13, to take care of my 9-month-old sister and me, then 5.

A special bond was formed between and sisters and me during those hard times, and that bond has never faltered through the years. I often referred to sister Bea as my second mother.

As her pastor, Lloyd Bailey, said, Bea let her light shine in this life as a beacon to show people the way to the Christian life. She would enjoy the services so much that she would start waving her arms and praising the Lord. Bea called her church and the people who attended there “my family.” I believe she was a blessing to a lot of people.

Some might think that July 4th is a bad time for a funeral, but the way I see it, it was a celebration to our country and to Bea.

Although I knew she could not hear me, I whispered to Bea as I stood by her casket, “Sister Bea, we will see you when we get there.”

Leonard M. Grizzle, Ashland

        

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