Remember, Democrats, be careful what you wish for

Remember, Democrats,be careful what you wish for
EDITOR:
As the presidential campaign gathers momentum, I am reminded of the adage "be careful what you wish for." This is especially true for Democrats.
What is it that Democrats wish for the most? Fairness! Fairness is why they tax the rich to give to the poor. Fairness is why they man the picket lines against evil corporations. Fairness is why they vote for the likes of Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton and now John Kerry.
And what has all this fairness gotten them. Let's take a look. During Clinton's administration, 20 million jobs were created. Of course, 2 million manufacturing jobs were lost. But that's fair -- 2 million $30-an-hour manufacturing jobs in exchange for 20 million $5-an-hour hamburger flippers. Why should just a few union guys get all that money? It's much fairer to spread it around.
Their China policy is equally bewildering. Apparently it's OK for America to export its jobs to China as long as the Chinese are paid a comparable wage. In a country where the average income is $100 a month, earning the American minimum wage would put these workers in the top 2 percent of wage earners. Thus, Democrats believe it's OK to create a Chinese upper class with the jobs of America's working class. However, America's upper class must be taxed into oblivion. But that's fair. Why should Americans be the only rich people on the planet?
What's really unfair about all this fairness is that middle-class Democrats have nowhere to go. They can't bring themselves to vote for Republicans, and their liberal leaders are dragging them into a world built on global socialism. Now there is nothing fairer than global socialism unless you are that rich country that is being tax to support those poor countries. And who is the richest country on earth? And who is paying these taxes in the form of lost jobs and foreign aid? But isn't that just Democrat fairness applied on a worldwide scale?
So the next time Kerry passes through the Valley chanting his fairness slogans, and another manufacturing plant closes, and another China-laden Wal Mart opens, Democrats might want to remember to be careful what they wish for, because sometimes all this fairness can come back and bite you!
THOMAS MASKELL
Poland
Here's a history lessonon Bush's terror response
EDITOR:
Concerning the letter of March 11 ("enemy of my enemy"), the author apparently believes that the Bush administration is doing all it can to combat terrorism and that Democrats "are not willing to oppose terrorism, and the terrorists know it." This is ridiculous beyond belief, and the writer must have had his head in the sand before and after 9/11.
For months Bush rejected all Democratic demands for a Department of Homeland Security, giving in only when pushed by congressional Republicans who didn't want to be seen as soft on terrorism.
And what became of all this? Ridge developed a "color scheme" whose only effect is to promote fear and keep the Republicans in power. (I'm predicting Bush going to Red Alert this October to help his election chances.)
During World War II, we were told, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!" Now, we're told to keep spending but watch the colors and be afraid.
As for specifics, the Bush administration ignored the Hart-Rudman Report, reduced homeland security programs in the Defense Appropriations bill by $4.6 billion in December 2001 and threatened to veto a bill for $8.3 billion passed in the Senate by 71-22, refused to spend $2.5 billion in emergency funding for homeland security in August 2002, and helped defeat a Democratic amendment for $1 billion for seaport security problems in April 2003. (Note that well over a half million large cargo containers enter U.S. ports every day and only 3 percent to 5 percent are inspected.)
So here you have Bush's response to terrorism: reject a strong Department of Homeland Security, reject Democratic (and even Republican) demands for homeland security money in Congress, blame others who point out their mistakes, and invade other countries by lying about the danger, while Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida are still at large.
Remember Madrid, Spain? Is our rail transportation safe? The nuclear problems with North Korea and Iran are still out there too.
Do American soldiers in Iraq feel safer now that Saddam is in jail? (More than 550 deaths and counting!)
When I joined the U.S. Army in 1970, I took an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States of America from all of its enemies, and this didn't mean only those parts with which I agreed. While giving passing acceptance to the Second Amendment, Bush, Cheney and Ashcroft have gone out of their way to trash the Bill of Rights. Most Americans aren't even aware, and those who are don't seem to care. Like the letter writer, they would rather feel safe in a country without Constitutional rights than face the future with courage and perseverance like Americans did during World War II.
RON TABAK
Austintown
Israeli-Palestinian crisiscalls for evenhandedness
EDITOR:
When does the tail wag the dog? When the brain is weak and the heart is faint. It was very instructive in the last Democratic debate how the remaining four candidates answered the question concerning the Israeli apartheid barrier -- "Is it a wall or is it a fence?"
As expected, one after the other -- Kerry, Edwards and even Sharpton -- capitulated to the Israeli position: "It is a fence." At last came Dennis Kucinich's turn. With a firm voice he stated: "It is a fence when it is on Israeli territory. It is a wall when it is on Palestinian land." I jumped out of my seat and cheered. He was the only one to give an answer that conveyed he would be fair and evenhanded to both sides and not merely echo the pro-Israel position that so dominates our politicians.
Where did he get that from? I wondered. I thought of Solomon with the baby, or perhaps Jesus' "Render unto Caesar ..." Strange how a few words well chosen can reveal volumes in character.
Last week the Bush administration literally rubber-stamped the Israeli assassination of Sheik Yassin. The tail does indeed wag the dog and that is why we are trapped in an unending struggle against the whole of the Arab world instead of truly trying to establish a culture of peace and understanding based on fairness and good will.
ROGER LAFONTAINE
Youngstown