Letters to the Editor
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Let's get specific
I am tired of speeches about change and experience. I want specifics from all 3 candidates. So here are my questions.
Foreign Policy
Iraq is falling into a cycle of violence again. What are you going to do? What if the Iraqi politicians still haven't made any progress by the end of 2009?
Ditto Afghanistan. What will you do?
Iran? North Korea?
The Bush administration has poisoned our relationships with friends and foes alike. What can you do to restore our image and position in the world?
Will you pressure Israel to make a deal with the Palestinians?
The Economy
What will you do to get us out of recession?
Do you support the minimum wage being raised to a true living wage, that is, $10 per hour or higher?
Our infrastructure is crumbling. What will you do?
Ronald Reagan took the federal government out of the business of supporting low and middle income housing. Will you restore this?
Do you support the repeal of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans?
Note to McCain: Tax cuts do NOT increase tax revenues and do not grow the economy.
There may be several trillion dollars of unsecured debt still to be written off in the mortgage crisis. Will you support a plan to restructure homeowner debt so families can stay in their homes and pay off their mortgages?
As a quid pro quo for bailing out various financial houses, will you support increased regulation of non-banking financial institutions?
Health Care
45 million Americans including 11 million children have no health care. What are you going to do?
Note to Obama: your plan is not mandatory. Why?
Congress has a great health care plan. Inmates in federal prisons receive free health care. Saddam Hussein was seen by a doctor immediately after his capture. Members of the US military receive free health care. Senior citizens have Medicare and Medicaid. Yet, taxpayers under age 65 who pay for all of the above do not automatically receive health care. Is basic health care a human right? Do you support a national health care plan for all Americans?
Do you support federal funding for stem cell research?
The VA is not providing adequate psychological care for returning Iraq vets. What will you do?
Terrorism
Is finding Osama bin Laden important? Why? If it is, what will you do to find him?
5 million cargo containers enter the US every year that are not inspected? What will you do to change this?
President Bush has repeatedly said the struggle against terrorism is the seminal battle of the 21st century. Do you agree? If you do, why is it being fought with only 160,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Do you support bringing back the draft to create a much larger army to fight terrorism around the world?
The Constitution
Will you end the illegal wiretapping by the Bush administration?
Will you close Gitmo? The other "black sites" run by the CIA around the world?
Are the prisoners at Gitmo and the other sites entitled to due process specified in the 14th amendment?
The Bush administration believes in almost unbridled power for the executive branch. As Senators and members of the legislative branch, do you agree or disagree and why?
If another country or international organization such as the World Court at the Hague requested documents for evidence in seeking an indictment against President Bush and VP Cheney for war crimes, would you provide such evidence?
Do you support the separation of church and state as specified by the Founding Fathers? Why?
Will you end support for the Bush administration's faith-based intiatives?
The Environment
Your colleague Senator John Imhofe says global warming is a hoax. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
VP Cheney said in 2001 that conservation of energy was a "personal virtue," but not the basis for an energy policy. Do you agree or disagree?
Will you re-sign the Kyoto Agreement and support reductions in greenhouse gases?
Will you enforce limits of carbon monoxide emissions by power plants?
Will you support tax incentives for homeowners to upgrade their heating equipment and install various alternative energy devices such as solar panels and small wind turbines?
Will you raise the fleet MPG requirements for cars and trucks?
Will you support greater use of railroads to move freight?
The airline industry is suffering from the higher fuel prices. Will you provide greater support to Amtrak?
Will you support a high speed rail service?
Do you support drilling for oil in the ANWR?
Will you support greater use of nuclear power?
Immigration
Historically, has immigration been good for the US? Why?
What will you do about the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the US?
Farmers and businessmen around the country say they are having problems filling jobs harvesting crops and providing housecleaning tasks, jobs Americans usually don't want. What will you do to ease this labor shortage?
Let's see some answers to these questions.