Letters for December 1, 2005

Wal-Mart affects the economy
Re “The down side to cheap stuff” (View from the Fray, Nov. 17):

For years, I’ve been telling people to avoid Wal-Mart. Deidre Pike’s column explains—better than I’ve ever been able to—why. Cheap stuff now means doom later. We want good paying jobs here, but we take our paychecks and spend them at Wal-Mart, which doesn’t support good paying jobs, here or anywhere. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. It’s a disaster that is happening. Support Wal-Mart and you support bad paying jobs in other countries—and bad paying jobs in this country.

Please don’t shop at Wal-Mart. Spend a few dollars more. It’s an investment in the future, it’s an investment in the big picture, it’s an investment in America.

Jennifer Nelson
via e-mail

You might be …
Re “You might be a conservative” (Right Hook, Nov. 17):

In response to Mike Lafferty’s columns: You might be a conservative if …

• You believed BushCo that Iraqi oil would pay for their war and reconstruction of Iraq’s infrastructure ($260 billion and counting).

• You believe honesty and integrity were installed in the White House in 2000 and 2004. (Those who disagree with current agenda are Un-American, traitors or worse. Shades of Joe McCarthy.)

• You believe BushCo doesn’t suffer from testosterone poisoning.

• You believe spending beyond your means and giving tax breaks to oil companies and the wealthy is as American as apple pie.

• You believe Chalibi is other than a felon, spy, liar and has not hoodwinked BushCo. (Jordan conviction for embezzlement, WMD false information, Iranian connection)

• You still believe Saddam had anything to do with 9/11 or al Qaeda. (Darth Cheney still repeats the lies even as late as Nov. 17, 2005)

• You believe democracy can grow in the barren soil of Iraq when it never has.

• You believe BushCo didn’t have war plans on Iraq long before 9/11.

• You believe young Americans don’t die in Iraq as long as BushCo ‘hides’ the returning coffins.

I could go on, but since you are gullible enough to believe anything out of this conservative cabal outfit, it becomes tilting at windmills.

Charlie Webster
via e-mail

War stories
Re “Benchmark” (News, Nov. 3):

Carol Cizauskas’ article was quite informative and educational, and I’m grateful for the thorough research. Thank you for showing the prevailing ignorant mentality, as demonstrated by military spokesperson Steve Boylan.

To think that the mention of the 2,000th casuality is being used as an ulterior motive [of protesters] is out of the question. Yes, along with freedom of speech comes poignant consequences, but there is no reason to put a label on the latest death poll. It should not come down to the point where a certain benchmark should determine the level of grief from this country. The question really is, how many casualities need to be counted before intervention will occur?

As far as I am concerned, I have no evidence to think it will occur anytime soon, and I’m glad to see that side of the story expressed, the story of genuine American despair. Though the political opinion is what shapes this country’s knowledge of the three-year war, it’s hard to appreciate it when no immediate action is being done to get those soldiers out of that war-torn country.

Please try to write more articles focusing on this issue at hand, but feature the opinion of those who suffer as much as the soldiers—their families.

Jasmine McKoy
via e-mail

Party hypocrisy
The Republican leadership doesn’t support the military.

1. During the 2000 election, Al Gore’s service record was called weak because he was “just a journalist.” To date, 27 journalists have been killed in the Iraq War.

2. Conservative pundit Ann Coulter accuses former Sen. Max Cleland of intentionally dropping a grenade that cost him two arms and a leg.

3. Vice President Cheney and Rep. Jean Schmidt recently attacked Rep. Jack Murtha, retired USMC colonel and a decorated war hero, suggesting his calls for Iraq troop withdrawal smacked of cowardice.

4. In the 2004 election, the Republican-supported Swift Boat Vets hijacked Sen. John Kerry’s reputation, accusing him of betraying this great country.

5. Republican strategists have even attacked Sen. John McCain, suggesting his capture and subsequent torture make him unfit for the Oval Office.

Rick Strandlof
Reno