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Despite gloomy views of some, our economy is strong

Re: Wanted: Adult in White House, July 17.

The more I read Robyn Blumner's articles in this paper, the more I realize how out of touch with the mainstream she is.

In this column, she was blasting the president for having a $333-billion deficit, which is nearly $100-billion less than previously projected. The reason the deficit is expected to be $333-billion instead of $427-billion is that the economy is growing faster than predicted.

Blumner is still running with the same old line we have all heard for years that Bush came into office with a surplus and now we have a deficit. Maybe she is forgetting a few large events that occurred in this country. First, when the president came into office, the economy was on a downward spiral, and the tax cuts made our recession less severe. Second, we had Sept. 11., which took thousands of jobs in less than a month. The thing is, we are in a war against terror, and it costs a lot of money to take the fight to the enemy.

Currently, our unemployment is at a low 5 percent and we are growing our job force by more than 160,000 jobs a month. We have a strong economy, not, as she says, one that's on the verge of "fiscal disaster"

Blumner should stop talking about how awful everything is. I know she thinks the country is on a path to utter destruction, but that is why she is in the minority, and we are in the majority.

Fiscal disasters are ahead

Re: Wanted: Adult in White House.

I want to congratulate Robyn Blumner on her July 17 column. It demonstrates both knowledge of the subject and wisdom of how to present it. This from one who has never voted other than Republican. She is right on target! Those who just sit back and take whatever government does, do not comprehend the seriousness of the fiscal disasters that are just ahead of us.

Blumner should keep hammering home this message that she seems already to have in a keen grasp. Perhaps even the lethargic and economically uneducated citizenry eventually will begin to understand the tremendous hazards of massive debt to other nations and continued debt-ridden spending for even the essentials of existence.

Like Blumner, I care more about the real challenges facing the nation than the political grandstanding and the blatant attempts to deceive the public about the economic crises that are only a short time away. Again, congratulations.

Trucks are vital to the economy

Re: Wanted: Adult in White House.

Robyn Blumner attacks President Bush on a number of fronts, including the deficit, but primarily gets into the energy situation. She recommends a "whopping" tax on gasoline as a concession to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. What a deal!

However, for a major argument, she relies on an investment banker, Matthew Simmons, who has written a book entitled Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy. He advocates inventing our way out of the energy problem, which I believe is happening, though perhaps not at the rate that some feel is necessary. However, he also suggests an immediate step toward greater fuel efficiency is to "take all the trucks off the highway, and put all the freight on train-beds and boats." Did Blumner think about this idea when she embraced it?

Perhaps she should talk to, say, Publix or Wal-Mart and see which train line or boats they would use to service their hundreds of stores. Would Sysco Systems bring a boat to the St. Petersburg Yacht Club to deliver food?

Take all of the trucks off the highway and the economy would shut down in a matter of hours.

People killing people

Re: Weighing our words when we talk about terrorism, July 17.

Philip Gailey's definition sits just fine with me: calling terrorists terrorists when they specifically target innocent civilians. That would make Americans terrorists in the bombings of German cities during World War II (done to break the will of the people). And Israelis, too, when they kill innocent Palestinians. Same goes for almost every industrialized country at some time or another.

Of course, such actions are done for the greater good, but whose greater good? The Sunni car bomber believes he, too, is doing this for the greater good of Islam.

Unfortunately the word terrorist is very muddled. So call it what you want, it's still people killing people, and it won't cease until we stop hating. I encourage people to do a little research to see just how long terrorism has been around. I think many would be surprised and ashamed.

Feed the starving in Niger

Re: Millions in Niger on brink of starving, July 21.

This situation is so very troubling. We as a country seem to be able to spend billions of dollars in an effort to change the way a foreign country conducts itself, not to mention the cost in our countrymen's blood and the lives that are forever changed because of it. Yet we as human beings just can't seem to get beyond the "throwing rocks at each other" behavior, albeit the rocks have become very sophisticated.

Why can't our leaders help those millions of innocent children who have no way of helping themselves and give to them what anyone who has children would do? Send Niger the aid it needs and police the handing out of this aid so it actually gets to the children who so desperately need it.

Israel is only for Israel

Re: Gun fight among friends, July 17.

I continue to wonder why we (the United States) consider Israel a good friend and ally! The attempted sale of "sophisticated technology" to China is just one more example of the Israelis' blatant disregard of our interests - regardless of all the billions of dollars we have given them over many years.

Israel has only one interest: "Israel."

Human vs. canine response

Re: Gun fight among friends.

I think Mark Twain summed up the situation best:

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man."

Collins deserves more recognition

LeRoy Collins was a statesman among politicians. He deserves to be remembered. I know of no school named after him.

I had the honor of attending his inauguration in Tallahassee years ago. We had a correspondance for many years. I also read his columns in the St. Petersburg Times. He was a Southern gentleman in the finest sense of the term.

[Last modified July 23, 2005, 00:27:02]