All the polls show that Americans consider balancing the budget more important than cutting taxes, and that is why the Republicans think they can get away with giving us a puny $245 billion tax cut over the next seven years. That’s only $35 billion a year in tax relief, pocket change to the federal government. Why it doesn’t get us back to where we were before the adoption of Clinton’s tax and spend plan, not to mention the tax hikes that occurred under Mr. Bush. Continue reading “The New GOP Budget Plan”
Reform of the Clean Water Act
When most people think of wetlands they think of swamps, marshes, and bogs, places where ducks, geese and waterfowl swim and build their nests.
That’s what President Bush was thinking about back in 1988 when he promised that under his Administration there would be “no net loss of wetlands.” Environmentalists used that innocent line like a club, and they beat him with it his entire four years in office. Mr. Bush thought that he was talking about wet lands, but “wetlands” is a term, manufactured by bureaucrats at no less that five governmental agencies, that now includes, yes, that pothole in your back yard. Continue reading “Reform of the Clean Water Act”
Violence Against Women
The National Organization for Women has kicked off a campaign to combat violence against women. Last month the Clinton Administration opened a new door at the Justice Department just for this purpose and christened it with $26 million in grants. At that time we were told by the President that a violent crime is committed against a woman every 12 seconds, that 3 to 4 million women are victims of domestic violence every year and that rape rates have risen nearly three times faster than the overall crime rate.
Crime is a major problem in this country. I was at a meeting yesterday where I was told about a group of underage thugs who recently raped a woman and beat up a man in my small community. Everyone knows who they are, but the local sheriff advised against pressing charges, saying there was nothing more he could do to them.
Crime is a local problem, and federal programs that mandate “gender sensitivity training” for judges and extend federal civil rights protection for crimes “motivated by gender” only make matters worse. If I’m mugged and by purse is stolen I don’t want a panel called in to try to determine if the mugger was really after my money, or if he simply had a grudge against women. I want him punished! Continue reading “Violence Against Women”
Portrait of a Polluter
Steve Lathrop decided to take matters into his own hands and do what his city, his county and the state of Illinois had not been able to do — clean up a local eyesore, a low area at the end of his street know as Doubrey Slough. The 14 acres at the edge of Granite City was filed with water and mosquitoes and a lot of other things. For 30 years it had served as a dump. Heavy rains were a constant problem to local residents because this area backed up. There was no drainage. According to one study the average annual damage was over $300,000.
Hundreds of thousands of tax dollars had been spent over the years studying the problem to no avail. The governor proposed a $4.2 million project in the early 70s. A 1984 study done by the Corps of Engineers recommended a $4.8 million channel be dug to a nearby lake, but that didn’t work out either. Continue reading “Portrait of a Polluter”
Haiti: the Morning After — Winners and Losers
The Haitian poker game broke up at the eleventh hour last night. The game was called with the U.S. holding a full house. The spoils weren’t distributed. At this point no one really knows how much was at stake, only one thing is sure. We’re responsible for whatever was on that table; and we will be for months, or even years to come. Continue reading “Haiti: the Morning After — Winners and Losers”
The Presidential Address on Haiti
Mr. Clinton laid out four reasons for his invasion of Haiti: to restore human rights; to stop the flood of refugees; to restore democracy; and to save our own credibility with other nations in the world. His speech was passionate, but unconvincing to anyone who has studied this issue. The way he rewrote history left me wondering if he will have any credibility left with knowledgeable people here or abroad. Continue reading “The Presidential Address on Haiti”
Haiti — the Invasion of the Mind
Now that Mr. Clinton has failed to convince the Haitians leaders to leave, he is faced with trying to convince “we the people” that an invasion is worth our money and our blood. No one has any doubt about the initial outcome on the island of Hispaniola. The most powerful force in the world can overcome Haiti’s rag-tag army. That is a given. What is seriously in doubt is the invasion of the minds of U.S. citizens. Will Mr. Clinton be able to convince us that we have a national interest in Haiti that is serious enough to justify this action other than allowing him to escape from the corner he backed into?
Getting into Haiti is simple: getting out anytime soon with dignity is next to impossible. We dropped leaflets all over that tiny country telling its citizens that Aristide will treat them fairly. We cannot guarantee them that Aristide will not return to using the mob violence that marked the brief seven months of his presidency, unless we are willing to stay there and protect them from him if necessary. Continue reading “Haiti — the Invasion of the Mind”
The Haitian Money Trail
So how is it that we are about to spend our money and waste young American lives to prop up a man who has been described as “a cross between Idi Amin and the Singing Nun” — to impose a kind of democracy on Haiti that Pol Pot could love? Continue reading “The Haitian Money Trail”
Haiti’s Human Rights’ Violations
Why are we about to invade the tiny country of Haiti? The simple answer is because Haitians are fleeing to the United States to escape the terrible conditions in which they live, made more intolerable by our blockade. Why not just send them back and lift the blockade?
We are told that these people cannot return, that they will be tortured or killed. While there has been some retribution on Aristide’s bloody henchmen, there is no evidence of any wide-spread effort to retaliate against the Haitian people who simply desire to leave for a better life. Where did the figure of 500,000 people in hiding and 100,000 dead come from? It came from Aristide’s own broadcasts on Creole radio. Continue reading “Haiti’s Human Rights’ Violations”
Who is Jean Betrand Aristide?
Mr. Clinton has backed himself into a corner over Haiti’s deposed president from which there appears to be no escape. So, who is this man we are being asked to support?
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ordained as a priest, but was expelled from the Salesian order by Rome in 1988 for preaching the righteousness of class violence. It is interesting that Mr. Clinton portrays this man as the key to Haiti’s democracy for Aristide believes in it only when it serves his purposes. Continue reading “Who is Jean Betrand Aristide?”
Jane Chastain 