Letters to the Editor/<br>  Free Press Forum

Bush and the 9/11 Commission

In all the uproar over Richard Clarke’s testimony to the 9/11 commission, I think we’re missing the larger issue.  The finger pointing is now all on whether the Bush administration focused on the terror threat prior to the attacks on 9/11.  But in Pres. Bush’s own words, as quoted in Bob Woodward’s book Bush at War, Bush did not feel a “sense of urgency” about terrorism at the time prior to 9/11.

The world has changed since then, but the real question is what has been done since that time to make us safer?  Was Iraq the main front on the war on terrorism?  Or was it a needless side trip that diverted resources and focus away from our true enemy.

Going forward, This is the question we need to answer.

John Kerry’s 10 million job promise

As a student, I often worry about just what kind of jobs will be out there when I get out of college.  Many young people with college degrees are working dead-end jobs with no benefits and very low pay.  Many more have no jobs at all.  In fact, a recent study has shown that for the first time in decades, the unemployment rate for college graduates is actually higher than that of high school dropouts.  John Kerry realizes this and that’s why he has created a plan to restore and create 10 million new jobs in the first term of his presidency.  While that is easier said than done, he has a set of new and innovative plans to accomplish this such as expanding the New Jobs Tax Credit to restore jobs that have been lost overseas as well as cutting off all tax incentives for companies that ship profits and jobs overseas and cutting the corporate tax rate by 5% to help jumpstart the economy.  We need to ship products overseas, not profits and jobs and John Kerry has a real plan to end this real problem of outsourcing and the job drain.

Bryan Thompson

Paper ballots

Dr. Bob Fitrakis:

I have just run across your article entitled "Death of a patriot: No more" from March 17, 2004.  As a professional in the computer industry for twenty years, I must take exception to some of the claims made by ignorant people in the Democratic and Republican camps who know little, if anything, about computers.

You quote Gibbs as saying "Inevitably, computers mess up".  That is an interesting statement and is clearly used to stir up sentiment without offering any context for the statement whatsoever.

Let's look at that a moment.  If computers "mess up", then it is safe to say that, as one can simply observe from life around them in general, people mess up more than computers.  The facts show that computers only do what people tell them to do, and they do it exactly many millions of times per second.  Computers simply are not known to make any mistakes, while people do all the time.

Al Awda

You are listed as supporters of Al Awda, assoicated with Islamofascist terrorists,as a supporter and you BLATENTLY lie about groups supporting them

SHAME ON YOU; DEATH OR JAIL FOR ALL TERRORISTS, THEIR SUPPORTERS, DRUG DEALERS, COMMUNISTS AND SOCIALISTS TOO THAT SUPPORT THESE TERRORISTS BECAUSE YOU ARE PROMOTING TERRORISM UPON THE EARTH.

A CURSE ON YOU AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT YOU INCLUDING UP TO THE VATICAN AND ALL OTHER DRUG DEALERS

YOU MUST BE HAPPY WITH YOURSELVES KNOWING YOU CONTRIBUTE TO THE MURDER OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS

Also from GreenGrow:

NO TO LEGALIZATION OF TRAVEL TO CUBA HAVENT YOU READ THE STATE DEPTS SPONSORS OF TERRORISTS LIST NUMNUTS?

Re: Diebold and the vast Right Wing Conspiracy

I want to thank Bob Fitrakis for putting the truth out there to the American public about the agenda of the right to alter our elections secretly via paperless electronic voting machines.

I am an activist that opposed evm's in Arkansas for almost a year, and was successful in persuading our Secretary of State to file the waiver under the HAVA Act, delaying the implementation of these machines until 2006.  Secretary Blackwell's insistence to purchase Diebold machines despite the fact that he also requested the waiver is highly suspect to say the least.

I work with activists in other states, including Ohio, to stop the purchase of paperless electronic voting machines.  I have never encountered anyone so headstrong to bring disaster on his election process as Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.  This man is unyielding in his stance on Diebold, despite computer security reports, computer scientist's expert opinions on these machines and the general distrust of these machines by his constituency.  I ask what's the rush and why the hurry?  He filed the waiver which delays the machines until 2006.

Absentee voting

Here is an idea for the DNC, MoveOn.org, TrueMajority.org:

Tell the state legislatures that if paper-trail audits are not implemented BEFORE the 2004 election, then they will encourage all Democratic and Independent voters to vote by absentee ballot.

Bottom up Capitalism

The reason you can't just print up some money on the office copier is because it reduces the value of all other money. What this means is that money isn't private property, but a form of public commons, just like the road system. What is happening with our economic system is a version of the tragedy of the commons, as it is abused by the few, to the detriment of the many.

It would be one thing if the tax cuts for the rich had some greater long term effect, but all that extra wealth is only creating inflation in the stock markets. Everything being relative, if the value of the underlaying assets are not going up, than the value of the investment capital is going down. Only as much wealth can be saved as can be effectively invested. The economic engine is the borrower, the fuel tank is the lender. Order is top down, but growth is bottom up.
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