Love Letters/Hate Mail

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To

Dear Editor:

The lobbyist system is a corporate corruption tax on all

Americans--the worst taxation, a bribery system for un-scrupled politicians.

Corporations are not people--they have no right to take this off their taxes. Old politicians never die. They become lobbyists or TV talk show partisans. The party system is unconstitutional. They are just gangs, the enemy of freedom and righteous government. Their primary product is self-promotion, nepotism, and propaganda. The people are minority stockholders in this Republic gridlock gamesmanship.

The government has money--our money! We elect politicians to get our share of the national wealth--this has been demonized as "Pork" to excuse their own inefficiency. None porkers are parasites. Religious organizations are not non-profit unless 70 percent of all income is spent on helping the needy--James 1:27. Millionaire preachers are not working for God--dying rich is not The Way--Luke 18:22.

Most of the media sources in America are owned by rich elitists and their main purpose is to keep the Ignorant masses Ignorant by promoting fear and division among "We the People". Slavery is not just bondage, economic slavery has always been the slavery of choice. The slavers do not need to supply food or healthcare or what to do with US when we are too old to work.

Without unions Americans would live in poverty and human misery. God did not create us to be slaves. To save America we must stop voting the Party line. Only Independent candidates are re-elected on performance. Only Independents are smart enough to be Independent. Think before voting!

- J. Ray Hunt, Broken Arrow

Crazy Puppet of the Theocracy

Dear Editor:

(In response to Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson's guest editorial "Upheaval in Honduras" in the July 16-22 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly.)

First, let's answer the Dr.'s opening question. The capital of Honduras is Tegucigalpa. I was born there and lived there for 18 years. While I have been in the U.S. for most of my adult life, I maintain strong ties to the country. Hendrickson's assertion is that President Obama should have condemned Iran's fraudulent elections as swiftly as he condemened the coup in Honduras. Then, he uses these two unrelated events to construct an argument where he concludes that President Obama's views are that presidential powers should trump constitutions. Even I, who spent a considerable part of freshmen Philospophy 101 hungover and took notes while consulting English-Spanish dictionary, know what a fallacy is, and Hendrickson's note is a great example of presenting an argument that may in itself be valid but does not address the issue in question.

The facts: No one denies the Obama administration was slow to criticize the so-called fraudulent election in Iran and the repressive acts against the population that followed. And the President pronounced himself quickly against the coup in Honduras. When a legally elected President is awaken by guns at his doorstep, kidnapped, flown and dropped in his pajamas at the tarmac of a foreign nation's capital (such as it happened on June 28 to President Zelaya of Honduras) that is a coup d'etat and I would hope that any President would be against such an act.

Oh, let's not leave out the fake resignation letter read in the Honduran congress by the newly installed president. According to Dr. Hendrickson, President Zelaya was taking a page out of the Hugo Chavez handbook to extend his presidency term and that justifies the means used to separate him from office. Nowhere in the Honduran constitution it says that unwanted leaders must be deposed by gunpoint. It is relatively easy to condemn such an act, even if one does not agree with the politics of President Zelaya, and President Obama was right and quick to denounce it as illegal, particularly with the background of dictatorships and coups in the region.

Coming back to Iran, the situation was not as clear as it was in Honduras (How can you prove electoral fraud from afar?), and the President was right in taking a cautious tone. Because Iran is completely different from Honduras and there are different U.S. interests at play (what would Honduras do if the U.S. if relationship went by the wayside, send us spotty bananas?) Iran, on the contrary, is a country with vast oil resources, with a large border with the country ruled by President Bush's hunting buddy Mr. Putin. And most importantly, Iran is a country that is seeking nuclear weapons. It is ruled by a crazy puppet of the theocracy (lesson: keep state and church separate; it is a good thing) ruling that country. A pragmatic leader that keeps his cards close to his chest moves with caution and that is what the President has done; much better than one that listens to his gut. Making the assertion that President Obama is being friendly to Marxist states by using these events as basis is simply ridiculous.

Regards,

Ramon Casco

The Danger Zone

Dear Editor:

Cory Cheney spent 25 percent of his allocated space in his last column wondering aloud why Oklahomans--and red-staters in general--can't get their Green on. My answer: who is and isn't living as "green" as they could be revolves in large part around the planning and zoning done decades ago. I don't think we can write it all off to rednecks being allergic to exercise.

When America vastly expanded its infrastructure in the 1940s and 1950s, the central planners (of this region, anyway) assumed the auto would become a necessity to the point it would entirely replace the pedestrian.

Consequently, roads were built with no pedestrian access; subdivisions were planned with no thought of it either.

Zoning ordinances have made it mandatory for most of us to live several miles from our workplaces. Even if we wanted to walk to work, or to the store, we'd spend an extra two hours per day doing it. In essence, we've made it impossible to walk just about anywhere. We've zoned and planned our way into lethargy and obesity.

Walking from place to place is much more feasible in the more densely populated Eastern states, ergo, pedestrianism is more in practice. Some of the more (culturally) forward-thinking Western states--such as Colorado and California--did a much better job of factoring in and planning for foot and pedal traffic than they did in Oklahoma.

Consequently, people living in those areas tend to be leaner and healthier.

Unfortunately, adding bike/pedestrian paths to existing thoroughfares is going to be expensive, difficult, and quite unpopular with anyone driving an automobile. And doing it at a time when the economy is nose diving into the abyss--forget it. Not going to happen. Not for awhile, anyway.

Read into it what you like about Big Oil and its role in this conspiracy to make us all dependent on the automobile. Hope I've cheered everyone up.

Alas, my answer comes to late to save that column space, which might have allowed Cory to go into greater detail about why a film sucks, or why it doesn't.

- Todd Kreigh, Skiatook

Bigger Picture

Dear Editor:

I have a problem. The largest "supposedly independent" local newspaper doesn't put the largest "actually independent" music festival, DFest, on the cover? And where is the rest of the coverage? You recommend the Tulsa Talons and American Idol instead of a local event run by local people that brings the locals money? I just don't get it.

Keline Pallez, Tulsa

Editor's Note: No, Keline, you don't have a problem at all. What you do need, however, is a little more historical perspective to help solve your dissonant vibes. Here's the scoop. If it weren't for UTW there would be no DFest. Our coverage of local music is without parallel and has propelled the local live music scene to the point that impresarios like Tom Green and Angie Devore have a fertile ground in which to nurture their festival. We love the event and have helped it considerably during the years, devoting a Cover to the event last year.

We also love the Talons and we love the BOK Center and the many events it brings to town.

What you need to keep in mind is that if Tulsa is to grow, all those people whom we helped bring downtown through our coverage of DFest also need to read about some even more significant issues (like our Cover Story the weekend of DFest that talked about bringing grocery stores downtown) that will contribute to the future, progressive growth of our city and the evolution of annual events like DFest.

Shoots from the Hip

Dear Editor:

President Obama has confirmed my fear of having a president with terrible judgment.

His recent accusation that the Cambridge, MA police "acted stupidly" in the arrest of a black college professor shows Obama makes decisions without gathering all the facts and analyzing the situation. He automatically took the side of a fellow black, and berated the police, without any knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the event. He should not be commenting on local police matters. This only weakens the office of President of the United States.

President Obama has trouble thinking correctly and makes poor decisions when he is away from his aides, is not reading from a prepared speech and does not have a teleprompter in front of him. Also, he has exhibited a tendency to "shoot from the hip." Do you trust him to take the 3am call? I don't.

- Donald A. Moskowitz, Londonderry, NH