Need a reason to vote?

Need a reason to vote?

I had two run-ins with family members recently that I find hard to understand. One was a question of if they were going to vote: their reply was “maybe I don’t know” and the other was still undecided.

What is it going to take to wake us out of our apathy and get us paying attention to what’s happening to our country?

Gas Prices? That’s something that affects all of us. Prior to President Obama taking office we were paying $1.87. Though he cites forces out of his control for the high prices, his own energy secretary, Steven Chu, has said we need to get gas prices to European levels, which at the time were $8 a gallon.

Energy Prices? President Obama’s own words were “you could build a coal fired plant but it will bankrupt you.” Thanks to that attitude toward coal and many new regulations, a lot of coal fired plants have to close. Think that’s not going to affect your electric bill?

The Debt? Do you remember in 2008 when President Obama accused President Bush of being “irresponsible and unpatriotic” for adding $4 trillion to the debt during his two terms? How about President Obama saying he would cut the debt in half during his presidency? How is it then that he can add $5 trillion in 4 years to the debt and not get called out on it?

Social Issues? Do you agree with our president and vice president on same-sex marriage? How about abortion? Do you realize that with another term Pres. Obama could appoint as many as three new Supreme Court justices? We would most certainly see a shift from conservative views to very liberal.

The Economy? If we were to believe the Obama Administration that we’re in a recovery, how is it that from 1948 to 2008 we had 39 months total where the unemployment rate was above 8 percent yet under President Obama we had 43 consecutive months of unemployment above 8 percent?

If we re-elect this man we deserve what we’re going to get, but shame on us for making our kids and grandkids pay for our indifference and ignorance.

Julie Magill, Leetonia

Boom Boom was worth the wait

I was one of the 500 people in line for the book signing of Ray Mancini. It was 12:45 a.m. when I finally got my three books signed; the wait was well worth it. He was so friendly and gracious — one classy guy we all can be proud of.

Patty Gordulic, Canfield