President Bush's plan for 21st century jobs rings hollow
Published October 15, 2004
As an IT software architect and developer, I have waited through three debates to hear a question about the loss of high-tech jobs to India. President Bush has made it abundantly clear that engineering jobs are not 21st century jobs. We IT engineers are supposed to accept the fact that our jobs are gone for good. But - good news - he has a plan! We are expected to go to a community college to get retrained for 21st century jobs.
On a personal level it means that at age 40 I am expected to leave an industry that encompassed 18 years of my life and provided a six-figure income. The next step is to enroll in a community college. Has anyone looked at the curriculum of a community college, lately? I have. The conclusion is there are no fields of study that will replace my six-figure income.
I am one of the 5-million Americans eliminated from the tax rolls. I have a wife, a daughter, a mortgage and all the other trappings of the American Dream. My American Dream has been destroyed by tax credits given to big business as an incentive to send my job overseas.
Further, what can President Bush say to the students currently studying for jobs that will be in India when they graduate? What can he say to their parents, who paid for the worthless education? What can he say to any of us in this position? Nothing.
-- Charles Markosi III, Lakewood Ranch
Bush shows steadfast character
I think I have had it regarding the debates. These artificial exercises would serve a great purpose if we were going to hire a debater who would argue our case before a group, but we are not looking for a debater. We seek a steadfast leader, one we can follow without reservation.
As discerning voters, we need to look behind the facade of fancy words to understand the underlying principles that sustain each man. Where is his central core? What are his immutable values? These are not irrelevant, as John Kerry seems to feel, stating that his personal values have no place or influence in his governing principles. This makes him like a sailboat without a keel - nothing to keep him on a straight, predetermined course.
Whether one always agrees with his actions or not, George W. Bush has a set of core values that enter into his decisionmaking, and therefore his decisions always follow a steadfast course, not conflicting or opposing each other.
As we cast our votes in a few days, we need to choose a president who can establish a course of action and keep to it. We need to know the depth of the character of the man who wins our vote. For the safety of America, in this election, character counts.
-- Vance R. Lackore, Madeira Beach
Kerry seems a decent human being
They say he doesn't come across as a likable guy, but as I watched the debates I saw a side of John Kerry I hadn't seen before. Maybe he's not all warm and fuzzy, but I saw evidence of character there, and boy do we need that.
Kerry came across as a decent human being, the kind of guy who really would stop the boat and pull a fellow sailor out of the river - no matter what.
In the same way, through his words and his manner, John Kerry raised the level of political discourse from the mire into which it has sunk in this election
-- Bill Grab, Largo
With Bush, things have not improved
Re: Presidential debate and election.
I am a 32-year-old married woman with two small children. My husband and I work very hard and struggle from time to time. I have experience with the school system, my brother was sent overseas for the war effort, and frankly, health insurance is very hard to afford. I'm not a rocket scientist, but I pay attention to world affairs and the changes in this country.
I don't need a degree from Harvard to recognize that things aren't any better now than they were four years ago when George W. Bush entered our lives on a national level. When I feel discouraged I ask myself this: Am I better off? No, I'm not, and I'm not the only one.
-- Kristin Bowman, St. Petersburg
Vandals suppress free speech
I proudly support President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. One way I express my support is by displaying a campaign sign in my front yard. This is a form of free speech guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
This presidential election cycle has been very heated and filled with hatred. If you ask Kerry supporters why they are voting for him, they never give an answer except voicing their hatred for President Bush. This brings me to my point. It is the right of citizens to display campaign signs on their property supporting their candidate. I have had several Bush-Cheney signs destroyed in my yard. My wife will not put a Bush-Cheney bumper sticker on her car for fear of having her vehicle vandalized.
With behavior like this, I see no difference between those committing this type of vandalism and the terrorists we are fighting overseas. They both are attempting to suppress freedom of speech, using fear as a weapon.
-- Joseph P. Sekula, New Port Richey
Attacks against dissent
Thank you for your recent editorials relating to issues in the current presidential election campaign. Shortly after the publication of the first, Administration unbound, which dealt with the erosion of civil liberties under the Bush administration, my son and I noted that a John Kerry yard sign in our neighborhood had been slashed. The homeowner left the slashed sign and put up a new one beside it. That very day, I arrived at my office to find that our John Kerry sign had been torn down, and sometime over this past weekend, the sign was vandalized again. In addition, a Kerry button was stolen from my athletic bag.
It is disturbing to think that some Bush supporters still feel that expressing dissent against our current president by supporting his opposition is somehow subversive and must be squelched. The sign was on private property, and our support of John Kerry echoes the position of many of our colleagues in the American Academy of Pediatrics, including six past presidents and eminent developmental specialist T. Berry Brazelton, "that the Bush administration's policies are moving us away from effective and longstanding federal commitments that improved the health of children, commitments proudly initiated and supported by previous Republican and Democratic presidents."
We must also make sure that we are not moving away from free speech and the right to express dissent.
-- Donna Sperber, M.D., St. Petersburg
Letting the grandchildren pay
George Bush calls the Democrats "tax and spend," but he spends and adds to the national debt so our grandchildren can pay.
-- Samuel H. Jeffers, Palm Harbor
[Last modified October 15, 2004, 01:30:36]
