Some questions about what Kerry plans to do about jobs

Some questions about whatKerry plans to do about jobs
EDITOR:
"This is the worst jobs president since Herbert Hoover," declared Sen. Kerry, when he spoke in Youngstown. He was talking about President Bush. Although Clinton said the same thing about George H.W. Bush, and the same thing was said about Reagan, Ford, Nixon.
A hundred years from now, no one is going to know who Herbert Hoover was, but Republican presidents are still going to have the worst economy since him. Interesting fact about Hoover is that his response to a bad economy was to raise taxes and to try to spend his way out. If he had used the Bush, Reagan, Kennedy model of cutting taxes, the Great Depression would have been the What Depression.
The senator also mentioned the unfair 17,000-page tax code that is riddled with loopholes. I'm glad to hear that he is for a flat tax. Oops, he isn't. He is for "tax credits."
Nothing simplifies the tax code like a tax credit and all the resulting hoops you have to jump through to get it.
The senator also wants international tax reform. Companies should be encouraged to stay in America. They should be discouraged from going overseas to places like Taiwan or Singapore, places with low taxes and regulation. Perhaps making this country more company friendly might work better than adding more pages to the tax code.
Small businesses employ the most people in this country. Small businesses will be seriously hurt if tax rates for income over $200,000, the rich, are raised. How is crippling the employers of the most people going to increase jobs?
GREG HARMON
Bessemer, Pa.
When it comes to Iraq war,Cal Thomas is just confused
EDITOR:
I thought that I had seen or heard the depths of political sucking-up by Fox News, or CNN experts, or "Radio Raiders" like Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage, but I see that Mr. Thomas has brought sycophantic journalism to a new low!
In his article April 18, Confused Cal asked the question, "Why should Bush admit his mistakes when he didn't start the war?"
To make sure I've got this right, is America to assume that: 1) Joseph Wilson wrongly advised the White House that the Niger letter was a fake, yet it made its way into the State of the Union speech; 2) that Hans Blix mistakenly said there were no chemical weapons, no biological weapons, no mobile labs, the aluminum tubes were not weapons capable or there were no WMD in Iraq before Dubya launched the Debacle in the Desert; 3) that David Kay erred when he verified what Blix found, making his now-famous "We Were All Wrong" statement regarding WMD in Iraq; 4) that former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill was wrong when he told us that Dubya had been planning the Iraq invasion all along; 5) that Richard Clarke was wrong when he told America that Dubya had no immediacy regarding terrorism?
Back in the good old days, one incident (Mr. Wilson) was considered an event. Two incidents (Mr. Wilson and Mr. O'Neill) could be considered a coincidence. But that three incidents (Mr. Wilson, Mr. O'Neill and Mr. Clarke) were very definitely a pattern! I agree that Mr. Bush should not apologize -- he should be impeached, tarred and feathered and put on a rail back to Crawford!
When Calamitous Cal and the plethora of pusillanimous pundits were hawking the rationale for the impending attack on Iraq, the very intelligence he called "dysfunctional" in his twisted treatise was "iron-clad evidence that Saddam Hussein had to go!"
History has proved that Iraq has indeed become a quagmire sucking taxpayer money to the tune of $165 billion so far with an anticipated request this year for an additional $50 billion! It isn't bad enough that we have to pay for the Debacle in the Desert; Dubya gave his rich friends a break and let them off the hook.
Au Contraire, Cal! Dubya has a lot to apologize for -- there are 707 reasons for him to apologize -- once for each of the sons or daughters who have lost their lives in a grand scam called the Debacle in the Desert! And by the way, Cal: Iraq is an armed conflict like Korea and Vietnam and Afghanistan. Congress has never issued a declaration of war as mandated in the Constitution.
JOHN ZORDICH
Youngstown
To stop theft at cemeteries,use a permanent marker
EDITOR:
After reading the two letters within the last week regarding items stolen from local cemeteries and knowing how distressed the victims feel, I would like to share the way to solve the problem. Take a black permanent marker and write your last name or initials on all sides and the bottom of containers, baskets, etc. On artificial flowers, put initials on the leaves and petals -- you must mark whatever you leave so that the thief cannot sell it.
By doing this, whatever you place at a loved one's grave stays there. Too bad something like this has to be done, but thieves really don't care about you or your feelings.
SHIRLEY HALL
Struthers
Take heads out of the sandand learn more about AIDS
EDITOR:
AIDS remains the world's No. 1 health hazard. Those living with it are enslaved to the timing of expensive medicines; missing one dose can vitiate the whole regimen.
Yet infection among the young is again climbing. How have we let this happen? The answer is that the radical right has mandated "abstinence-only" programs, which young people don't take seriously. Risk-reduction agencies everywhere face pressure to terminate programs that address nonjudgmentally those at greatest risk -- programs that might seem to condone drug abuse or extramarital sex.
A moralistic approach to AIDS must fail. Depriving people of life-saving information won't make them lead better lives. Addicts won't stop injecting drugs just because health departments can't exchange clean needles for used ones. While needles are in short supply, they'll share them, and people will believe risky sex safe. Humans are masters of self-delusion. No government asking citizens to use common sense should refuse to educate them or let "immorality" incur a death sentence if information and inexpensive health services could avert it.
Let's take our heads out of the sand the first week in May, Ohio AIDS Awareness Week. On Monday, YSU hosts a forum, "AIDS in the Valley: A Case of Denial." Local professionals in HIV/AIDS prevention and care will speak and answer questions from 4 to 6 in the art gallery in Kilcawley Student Center.
On Wednesday, people wishing to honor loved ones taken by AIDS may attend a quilting workshop in the human ecology sewing lab. Participants should discuss the design of the panel with the workshop leader ahead of time by calling (330) 793-5154.
TOM COPELAND
Youngstown
What to do about the trucks
EDITOR:
In response to truck traffic on turnpike (4-25-04), I agree we need to get more trucks on the turnpike. We live next to I-76. Trucks travel here 24-7 -- four 18-wheelers per a second. We can't enjoy the outside because of noise and pollution. This has increased over the years. We have written to Columbus so many times with no results.
ODOT pours a lot of money into repairing roads but doesn't have money for barriers unless you live in Columbus. Thank you.
BETTY IANNETTA
Lake Milton