Letters to the Editor

Neil Davis is absolutely correct that the Ten Commandments apply the same today as they did when they were inspired by God in 1513 BC. However, the Constitution, which was adopted in 1787, was inspired by man and has been amended 27 times.

I realize there were schools before the Industrial Revolution, but a college education was mainly for the rich and most people didn’t need an education because they could make a living off of the land. Not so any more.

Without Medicare and Medicaid, health care would also be only for the rich. Without Social Security and disability benefits, many· elderly and disabled people would have trouble paying their bills. Without veterans benefits, our veterans wouldn’t have much reward for their valiant efforts. Without some kind of safety net for farmers, we might be in danger of a shortage of food.

If the Tea Partyers’ argument is that it is up to the states to take care of “Penny’s amenities” (entitlements, or socialism according to the Tea Party), I would like to hear their ideas on how to go about getting that accomplished instead of just criticism.

They ostracized President Obama because his pastor said something about racism in America. When he distanced himself from his Christian church to appease the propagandists, they concocted the story that he is a Muslim and claimed that he isn’t even an American. The Hawaii governor, who is a Republican, vouched that he was born in Hawaii.

It seems that the stimulus, which was a bipartisan effort, is helping bring the stock market back.

I’m tired of the hate and hype. Let’s have truth and specifics and work together to get the country going.

Would you give money to someone at your door, asking you to support California welfare recipients who use their debit cards for cruise ships in Florida and gambling in Las Vegas?

No need, the federal government is doing it for you. The State of California is borrowing $40 million a day from you. Do you think they will ever pay you back? They just re-elected “Moonbeam” Brown as their governor. His first priority is free college tuition for illegal immigrants. Even if California paid back the feds, do you actually think any of that money would be returned to you?

Welcome to Penny’s world. Thank God for the federal government! Penny Fattig wonders if ignorant tea party advocates realize this is not 1789. Unlike Penny, tea partiers know exactly how the Constitution should apply at this “time in history”—just as when it was written. Penny occasionally cites Bible passages. Should the ten commandments be re-interpreted, just because they are old?

What is lost on many people is that the federal government owes it’s existence to the states (individual sovereign nations) that created it. While each state has the power to govern itself, the framers realized the need for a small central government.

One of their greatest fears was that centralized (federal) government would become too powerful. We are currently living that fear. Number 10 of Penny’s “first 10 amendments” states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Therefore, most of Penny’s “amenities” are off limits for the federal government, but not necessarily the states. Others (like insurance) were created by private enterprise.

Apparently, there was no need for schools like Harvard University (founded in 1636) until Jimmy “Einstein” Carter’s administration created the Department of Education in 1979. The Roman Empire surely failed because they had the audacity to build roads before the industrial revolution. But building roads, actually is one of the enumerated powers in our Constitution, as it relates to delivering the mail.

Each state has the power to establish it’s own healthcare system and act as a proving ground. Failure by one state would be limited to that state alone. Success by one state could benefit the other states. When national healthcare fails miserably like Obamacare, it affects the whole nation.

Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. It only works as long as funds coming into the system aren’t exceeded by payments going out. For a good laugh, go to this government webpage (www.sec.gov/answers/ponzi.htm), read their definition of a Ponzi scheme and wonder why Congress isn’t being prosecuted. Perhaps you could contact Bernie Maddoff at Butner Federal Correctional Complex and ask him about the legality of Ponzi schemes and what happens when they fail.

Penny, like most people, cares about her fellow man. When caring becomes socialism through government, the road to our demise is being paved with good intentions.

I wonder if the Tea Party advocates who think we need to return to the Constitution realize that this is a much different time in history.

When the first 10 amendments of the Constitution were written (1789) a man could support his family basically with a gun, an ax, a knife, a horse, a cow and some seeds. Houses could be built relatively cheaply. They had no need for highways (no mechanized vehicles), no need for education (people could live off of the land), no need for insurance (people died young because there weren’t many medicines or doctors).

The amenities that Neil Davis said the Constitution doesn’t mention were not needed at the time it was written.

The Industrial Revolution and increased population changed things. People started moving to industrialized areas where there were jobs. Life on the farm wasn’t always profitable due to variables such as weather and prices. This created a need for education (competition for better jobs), roads (mechanization), health care (people getting hurt on the job), social security (people living longer due to better health care), etc.

I learned some things from Neil’s last letter. I didn’t realize that blue states didn’t get ballots overseas to our military in time for the election. My father-in-law’s outfit had to break into a warehouse and steal blankets to keep from freezing to death in France during WWII. Somewhere along the chain of command somebody didn’t do their job getting supplies where they belonged. If, in fact, it is true that ballots didn’t get overseas in time, it probably wasn’t something that was done maliciously. How would anyone know who they would vote for anyway?

I didn’t realize the government tells you what school to attend and what classes to take if you get a student loan. My husband and kids benefitted from government student loans. I don’t remember the government telling them what job they could get or what classes to take.

I didn’t know that dead people and Disney characters could vote, and I also didn’t realize that they are Democrats. You learn something new every day.

I would like to congratulate the Gothenburg Times for winning the national general excellence award. What an honor! Where would we be without our newspapers to get news and information on both sides of the issues?

We have not lived in Gothenburg for over 50 years, but every visit renews our memories of the great people that make Gothenburg a great town.
People like the Peterson’s, Blaine and Arlene, Steve and Ligia, Thelma (Wm. F. “Bill”) Peterson, Tim Strauser of Blase-Strauser, Norm and Coleen Geiken, Dee’s Floral & Gifts, the entire staff at the Comfort Suites Motel, and of course, the Gothenburg Times.
We were recently in Gothenburg for our mother’s, Virginia “Gin” Aden, memorial service at the Gothenburg Cemetery. Everyone we dealt with or had contact with treated us with typical Gothenburg hometown hospitality and kindness.
We are very appreciative of all the people of Gothenburg. The Gothenburg Times is a real treasure that we enjoy reading and staying abreast of all our hometown activities.
As the world grows smaller and time goes by faster, it is very nice to know that the human element of our world is still doing very well in hometowns like Gothenburg—we still consider ourselves Swedes!
Thank you, Gothenburg.