Letters to the Editor 08-18-1999
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Shooting Sports - Impaired Driving - Animal Laws - Tax Joke - Tax Dollars Wasted
Shooting Sports
Editor, Times-Union:For those of you involved with children, 4-H, DNR, IBEP, or any form of hunting or the shooting sports, our objective keeps becoming more painfully obvious every day. As you're no doubt aware, SOME of the media in America has gotten almost as out of hand as our federal government in many ways. I was told that on Friday the CBS evening news was going to run a short segment spotlighting the beneficial and healthy aspects of team shooting sports by interviewing a very popular youth shotgun coach and members of his team shooting at a major competition being held in Ohio, I believe. I was unable to watch the spot due to prior engagements and, yes, I forgot to set the VCR so I wound up at CBS's Web site looking for at least a sample of it. Instead I found a line of "facts," polls with disclaimers, "facts" that couldn't possibly be substantiated in "average American homes" and even their own bar graphs contradicting themselves by promoting "gun control" while showing that the highest number of "firearm related incidents" have occurred in one of the strictest gun law states in America. If we don't promote the truth effectively at a grassroots level quickly, these people are going to baffle the public with BS that they apparently can disclaim their way through with fine print and so forth before anyone knows what hit them. I urge each one of you to take a few moments and think what the outdoors has meant to you, even if only as a kid. Consider what hunting or shooting with relatives or friends has meant to you then visit this Web site. Consider a generation growing up in front of their video games "destroying" the desired characters or "annihilating" the next level instead of hunting and harvesting game, out there just being part of nature or simply learning the safe and proper way to enjoy a team sport with good friends and qualified coaching. Hunting and the shooting sports are not just a set of skills to be mastered, it's friendship, fellowship, discipline, respect for nature, respect for firearms and so much more. If we don't AT LEAST speak out and let these media folks know that all of America isn't just sitting out here waiting to be brainwashed, our kids, or grandkids at best, won't get to enjoy any of the opportunities that hunting or the shooting sports have to offer. Thanks for your time. http://www.cbs.com/flat/section_200.html (Guns In America)
David E. Roose, volunteer IDNR instructor and Kosciusko County 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor
Impaired Driving
Editor, Times-Union:Kosciusko County organized a CAT (Community Action Team) as a part of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) approximately two years ago. This CAT was instigated from a serious need in our community. CAT supports people who have had their lives deeply affected due to the vicious crime of drinking and driving. We also work very hard to educate the public about the effects and consequences of this heinous and preventable crime. As a member of this team I have had the opportunity to participate in several Kosciusko and neighboring community activities and events. In general, we have been welcomed. While participating in these activities and events I have heard several passing comments, for the most part they have been positive. However, a couple of comments that are of concern to me and my team have been: What about the drugged driver. We are concerned with any and all drivers that drive while impaired. Education on the drugged driver is most frequently through DARE. Recently Kosciusko County CAT participated in a parade in one of our small communities, along the parade route some of us observed persons on private property drinking beer. As our float approached some of these individuals placed their beers out of sight. I would like to inform people that we are not here to harass, belittle or in any way come across as being opposed to drinking, The goal as a member of MADD is to educate the public on the devastation the crime of Drunk Driving causes, and to ask people to drink responsibly, by using a designated driver, taking persons home that are too intoxicated to drive, and to contact law enforcement if a person is suspicious that an individual may be on the road impaired. There may be members of the team that do not agree with drinking in any way, shape or form. This is not what MADD represents. We are here to work as a team with our community so we may prevent injury and the loss of lives. We would like to thank the communities that have welcomed us and see MADD as an important educational tool and support system. We welcome support and encouragement from everyone. We are working to make sure the support does not have to come from someone who has become a victim.
Tammy Johnson
Animal Laws
Editor, Times-Union:I recently contacted the Animal Control Officer to report animal neglect. As I spoke with the officer, he explained to me that by law, an animal may be kept on such a short leash that it is scarcely able to sit or lie down, and he cannot do anything about it. Because the existing laws about this subject are very vague, the owner can mistreat his or her animal in this way and will not be charged with animal abuse.
As a pet owner who feels animals should be treated with compassion, I was appalled that this kind of mistreatment can go on legally. It definitely is time for the powers that be to look into these laws and make some big changes. I'm not sure who has the authority to make these revisions, but I hope they will see this and take action soon.
Leigh Ann Routh, Warsaw
Tax Joke
Editor, Times-Union:The Clinton administration says the proposed $792 billion Republican tax cut is "excessive," and the Libertarian Party agrees: It's excessively small.
"The only thing smaller than this proposed tax cut is the Republicans' courage," charged David Bergland, the Libertarian Party's national chairman. "The GOP tax cut is a flea dancing on the back of the bloated elephant the federal budget has become." How small is the tax cut? A mere 3.63 percent of gross revenue collected from taxpayers over the next 10 years.
According to Congress, federal revenue will grow from $1.905 trillion in 2000 to a whopping $2.725 trillion in 2009. During that span, federal tax collectors expect to rake in $21.761 trillion. Of that money, Republicans propose to return a piddling $792 billion, or 3.63 percent, to the taxpayers.
Do the math: It amounts to less than four pennies on the dollar. Is that what Republicans mean when they promise a less expensive government? Even worse, the proposed tax cut doesn't reduce the size of government by even those four cents; it merely slows the projected growth rate.
Under this Republican proposal, annual federal revenue will still increase by at least 38.9 percent over the next decade. Without the tax cut, it would grow by 43 percent. Slightly slowing the growth rate of the federal government is not a Republican revolution, it's a Republican embarrassment.
If the puny size of the proposed tax cut isn't embarrassing enough, there's more bad news:
1. The tax cuts are "phased" in, with most of the so-called savings not happening for five to 10 years. In fact, the first "savings" don't occur until 2003, and even then it's only 1 percent, which works out to about $32 per person, four years from now.
2. The tax cuts are conditional on politicians cutting the size of the national debt. The Republican tax cut only takes effect if the interest payment on the national debt is lower from one year to the next. Will that happen? It's unlikely, since Congress is already busting its self-imposed budget caps, and since an Ohio University study revealed that, over the last 50 years, 74 cents of every surplus dollar has gone for new spending programs. Why should we expect this Congress to be any different?
3. The tax cuts aren't legally binding on future Congresses. These tax cuts could be fictional, because Congress can repeal any tax cut next week or next year. The only tax cuts that would mean anything are ones that take effect right now. If Republicans really wanted to cut taxes, they could do so by repealing the estate tax or the capital gains tax today, not 10 years from now.
The bottom line, said Bergland: "These so-called tax cuts are a slow, conditional, non-binding, minuscule reduction of future increases in federal tax revenue. If that's the best the Republicans Party can do, they need an increase in courage almost as much as taxpayers need a real reduction in taxes."
Daniel Stevens, Libertarian Party, Kosciusko County
Tax Dollars Wasted
Editor, Times-Union:Looking at your Aug. 3 edition, I find it deplorable and disgusting that our U.S. Government cannot stop paying - giving out millions of American dollars to countries in which their politicians steal this money for their own use.
When we have a dry disaster here in America, why can't we give these farmers, not loans, but give each of their families a direct gift equal to a good year?
I read recently that the U.S. is losing 500 farmers a day. Let's stop this loss, and help (give) these farmers a much deserved break in their lives.
Albert Smith, Warsaw
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- Shooting Sports - Impaired Driving - Animal Laws - Tax Joke - Tax Dollars Wasted
Shooting Sports
Editor, Times-Union:For those of you involved with children, 4-H, DNR, IBEP, or any form of hunting or the shooting sports, our objective keeps becoming more painfully obvious every day. As you're no doubt aware, SOME of the media in America has gotten almost as out of hand as our federal government in many ways. I was told that on Friday the CBS evening news was going to run a short segment spotlighting the beneficial and healthy aspects of team shooting sports by interviewing a very popular youth shotgun coach and members of his team shooting at a major competition being held in Ohio, I believe. I was unable to watch the spot due to prior engagements and, yes, I forgot to set the VCR so I wound up at CBS's Web site looking for at least a sample of it. Instead I found a line of "facts," polls with disclaimers, "facts" that couldn't possibly be substantiated in "average American homes" and even their own bar graphs contradicting themselves by promoting "gun control" while showing that the highest number of "firearm related incidents" have occurred in one of the strictest gun law states in America. If we don't promote the truth effectively at a grassroots level quickly, these people are going to baffle the public with BS that they apparently can disclaim their way through with fine print and so forth before anyone knows what hit them. I urge each one of you to take a few moments and think what the outdoors has meant to you, even if only as a kid. Consider what hunting or shooting with relatives or friends has meant to you then visit this Web site. Consider a generation growing up in front of their video games "destroying" the desired characters or "annihilating" the next level instead of hunting and harvesting game, out there just being part of nature or simply learning the safe and proper way to enjoy a team sport with good friends and qualified coaching. Hunting and the shooting sports are not just a set of skills to be mastered, it's friendship, fellowship, discipline, respect for nature, respect for firearms and so much more. If we don't AT LEAST speak out and let these media folks know that all of America isn't just sitting out here waiting to be brainwashed, our kids, or grandkids at best, won't get to enjoy any of the opportunities that hunting or the shooting sports have to offer. Thanks for your time. http://www.cbs.com/flat/section_200.html (Guns In America)
David E. Roose, volunteer IDNR instructor and Kosciusko County 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor
Impaired Driving
Editor, Times-Union:Kosciusko County organized a CAT (Community Action Team) as a part of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) approximately two years ago. This CAT was instigated from a serious need in our community. CAT supports people who have had their lives deeply affected due to the vicious crime of drinking and driving. We also work very hard to educate the public about the effects and consequences of this heinous and preventable crime. As a member of this team I have had the opportunity to participate in several Kosciusko and neighboring community activities and events. In general, we have been welcomed. While participating in these activities and events I have heard several passing comments, for the most part they have been positive. However, a couple of comments that are of concern to me and my team have been: What about the drugged driver. We are concerned with any and all drivers that drive while impaired. Education on the drugged driver is most frequently through DARE. Recently Kosciusko County CAT participated in a parade in one of our small communities, along the parade route some of us observed persons on private property drinking beer. As our float approached some of these individuals placed their beers out of sight. I would like to inform people that we are not here to harass, belittle or in any way come across as being opposed to drinking, The goal as a member of MADD is to educate the public on the devastation the crime of Drunk Driving causes, and to ask people to drink responsibly, by using a designated driver, taking persons home that are too intoxicated to drive, and to contact law enforcement if a person is suspicious that an individual may be on the road impaired. There may be members of the team that do not agree with drinking in any way, shape or form. This is not what MADD represents. We are here to work as a team with our community so we may prevent injury and the loss of lives. We would like to thank the communities that have welcomed us and see MADD as an important educational tool and support system. We welcome support and encouragement from everyone. We are working to make sure the support does not have to come from someone who has become a victim.
Tammy Johnson
Animal Laws
Editor, Times-Union:I recently contacted the Animal Control Officer to report animal neglect. As I spoke with the officer, he explained to me that by law, an animal may be kept on such a short leash that it is scarcely able to sit or lie down, and he cannot do anything about it. Because the existing laws about this subject are very vague, the owner can mistreat his or her animal in this way and will not be charged with animal abuse.
As a pet owner who feels animals should be treated with compassion, I was appalled that this kind of mistreatment can go on legally. It definitely is time for the powers that be to look into these laws and make some big changes. I'm not sure who has the authority to make these revisions, but I hope they will see this and take action soon.
Leigh Ann Routh, Warsaw
Tax Joke
Editor, Times-Union:The Clinton administration says the proposed $792 billion Republican tax cut is "excessive," and the Libertarian Party agrees: It's excessively small.
"The only thing smaller than this proposed tax cut is the Republicans' courage," charged David Bergland, the Libertarian Party's national chairman. "The GOP tax cut is a flea dancing on the back of the bloated elephant the federal budget has become." How small is the tax cut? A mere 3.63 percent of gross revenue collected from taxpayers over the next 10 years.
According to Congress, federal revenue will grow from $1.905 trillion in 2000 to a whopping $2.725 trillion in 2009. During that span, federal tax collectors expect to rake in $21.761 trillion. Of that money, Republicans propose to return a piddling $792 billion, or 3.63 percent, to the taxpayers.
Do the math: It amounts to less than four pennies on the dollar. Is that what Republicans mean when they promise a less expensive government? Even worse, the proposed tax cut doesn't reduce the size of government by even those four cents; it merely slows the projected growth rate.
Under this Republican proposal, annual federal revenue will still increase by at least 38.9 percent over the next decade. Without the tax cut, it would grow by 43 percent. Slightly slowing the growth rate of the federal government is not a Republican revolution, it's a Republican embarrassment.
If the puny size of the proposed tax cut isn't embarrassing enough, there's more bad news:
1. The tax cuts are "phased" in, with most of the so-called savings not happening for five to 10 years. In fact, the first "savings" don't occur until 2003, and even then it's only 1 percent, which works out to about $32 per person, four years from now.
2. The tax cuts are conditional on politicians cutting the size of the national debt. The Republican tax cut only takes effect if the interest payment on the national debt is lower from one year to the next. Will that happen? It's unlikely, since Congress is already busting its self-imposed budget caps, and since an Ohio University study revealed that, over the last 50 years, 74 cents of every surplus dollar has gone for new spending programs. Why should we expect this Congress to be any different?
3. The tax cuts aren't legally binding on future Congresses. These tax cuts could be fictional, because Congress can repeal any tax cut next week or next year. The only tax cuts that would mean anything are ones that take effect right now. If Republicans really wanted to cut taxes, they could do so by repealing the estate tax or the capital gains tax today, not 10 years from now.
The bottom line, said Bergland: "These so-called tax cuts are a slow, conditional, non-binding, minuscule reduction of future increases in federal tax revenue. If that's the best the Republicans Party can do, they need an increase in courage almost as much as taxpayers need a real reduction in taxes."
Daniel Stevens, Libertarian Party, Kosciusko County
Tax Dollars Wasted
Editor, Times-Union:Looking at your Aug. 3 edition, I find it deplorable and disgusting that our U.S. Government cannot stop paying - giving out millions of American dollars to countries in which their politicians steal this money for their own use.
When we have a dry disaster here in America, why can't we give these farmers, not loans, but give each of their families a direct gift equal to a good year?
I read recently that the U.S. is losing 500 farmers a day. Let's stop this loss, and help (give) these farmers a much deserved break in their lives.
Albert Smith, Warsaw
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