Guns, Agriculture, Seniors, Race & Politics

Presidential Debate III

Guns: There are ads being run on local radio stations that are misleading (if not outright lies) regarding Sen. Obama's stance on gun issues. The ads basically say Obama wants to ban all guns & will take away your shotguns, handguns, etc.

This is NOT true. His view on this issue can be found here: http://obama.3cdn.net/7d467fe75a3029d7df...

Out of 129 races examined the NRA endorsed 106 Republicans & 23 Democrats (18 of the 23 are unopposed) When the NRA "grades" were equal the tie goes to the Republican candidate. My first memory of this 'issue' was in 1976 and the NRA was saying the Democrats are 'going to take your guns'; not true then, not true now. It is another example of the campaign tactic of "fear & smear". When facts get in the way, the result is to try and scare people into voting a particular way. Name me one politician in the last 30 years that has stood up & said 'I am going to take your guns away from you.' It simply will not happen!

Agriculture: Saline County is an agricultural based area; farming, renewable/alternate energy programs could very well provide an economic boom for our county. It would allow Saline County to become a leader in this emerging field. With the new algae plant being discussed this could be an extremely important factor in the future of our county. Some of Obama's plan calls for: "Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future. Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025." John McCain has said that he wants to ELIMINATE ALL SUBSIDIES FOR ETHANOL facilities. His answer to our problems calls for more drilling for oil & natural gas; estimates are that it will take 7 10 years before any of these products would reach the American consumer. He also proposes massive, permanent tax breaks to the oil/gas companies for their R&D. I guess with profits so low it wouldn't make sense for Exxon, Mobile, etc to have to pay for this themselves.

Seniors: Seniors need to examine their current health care and prepare for the 'McCain health plan.' According to the WSJ, McCain's senior economic adviser Douglas Holtz Eakin admitted to a reporter that the Senator's reforms would "result in cuts of $1.3 trillion to Medicare and Medicaid." His plan also calls for taxing health insurance benefits for the first time in American history. His proposal also calls for a "tax credit' to help citizens pay for their health insurance. Unfortunately, according to studies this credit will only cover 50% or less of the average cost Americans now spend on health insurance.

Race: This may be the most delicate and unspoken aspect of this presidential election. As much as I hate to say it; I have spoken with many citizens from Saline County that have stated: " There is no way I will vote for a (N Word)or a variation such as "I would never vote for a"(same racist term). Many of these folks are self described "strong democrats." Nothing could be further from the truth. This country fought this battle about 150 years ago in the Civil War. Even after its conclusion, it took another 100 years before equal access to voting, education, housing, etc. became a reality. I prefer to look towards the future and what/how we will conquer the challenges of the 21st century; I don't have the time nor desire to revisit issues of the 19th century unless it is in the context of learning from past mistakes. I overheard an opinion last week that I could not agree with more: If you are going to base your vote on personal prejudice then you obviously do not care about your country. This is basically saying that your personal prejudice is more important to you than the future of America. Your hate triumphs over your belief in God, country and the very foundation & principles this nation was founded upon.