Thursday, April 24, 2008

Eliot Spitzer- Letter to the editor

Have you ever wondered why the FBI was directed to search out and find the evidence that the Governor of N.Y. was hiring prostitutes for his personal pleasure? He was listed as #9. Have any of your investigative reporters ever checked to find out who were #8, #7 etc. I wonder who they were and if they were as important as he was. Was he such a threat to Corporate America that he needed to be cut down? If the FBI could track his infidelity why stop here. Why not continue down the list and punish the others as this man was. Without any personal knowledge I believe he was pursued as a special case to bring him down.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 25, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Monday, April 14, 2008

Employer Sanctions

We, the people of Arizona voted to place the burden on employers to curtail ILLEGAL immigration in the State. It went into effect 1/1/08 with penalties to be assessed beginning 4/1/08. This was deemed only fair. It gave the employers the time to purge their employment roles and also gave the State time to prepare to enforce the will of the majority.
I have searched the paper diligently and listened to nightly news to see if anything was happening. It is now April 14, 2008. I can only conclude that complete success has been achieved. All ILLEGALS have left for the other 49 States. Now, if those States would enact the same law we did, the problem would disappear. Special thanks to employers and State government for listening to the citizens and doing as asked. It makes my heart feel warm and fuzzy to realize how simple it really is to solve problems.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 14, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Friday, April 11, 2008

Va. Tech $11M Settlement

State of Virginia $11M Settlement with the families of those killed by Seung-Hui Cho at Virginia Tech

The wanton killing of students and faculty was a tragedy. I can understand the State deciding to cover medical costs for the victims that survived. I can’t understand however how the State can be held liable for this tragedy.
We Americans are fortunate to live in a free country where we can come and go as we wish without checkpoints except of course for the ones established after 9/11, but that is a separate issue. It is unrealistic to hold a State or University liable for a random act by anyone possessing the means to kill as he did. Arming all of the faculty and student body and having armed guards roaming the campus would be outrageously expensive and dangerous in and of itself. How about shopping malls, theaters, restaurants, the list is endless. If someone is without fear of their own death that person cannot be stopped.
If a terrorist or some other crazed person kills, that is a tragedy but should not be grounds to sue any institution which has taken security as part of their responsibility.
For me, if a member of my family was killed in like manner and I was awarded money in compensation, I would immediately give every dollar to a worthy cause. Making a profit off of that death would be blood money.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 11, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Tibet- Another Perspective

The time for protests was when China attacked and conquered Tibet. The international community including our own government allowed it to happen without a murmur. In our case we didn’t want to disrupt the flow of cheap toys, etc. to America.
There is falseness to the current turmoil. It was started to bring pressure on China as the Olympics nears. All it will do is irritate and take away from the joy of competition by the athletes and the spectators. President Carter denied our athletes from going to Moscow. He was wrong.
It was also wrong for China to take over this peaceful country. They should have felt the wrath of all peace loving nations. I would still hope that their sovereignty could be restored. There is little chance for that unless extreme financial pressure was brought to bear. In the interim, let the games begin.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 11, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Sunday, April 6, 2008

THE RIGHT TO FAIL

A basic tenant of Capitalism is the right to fail. If each of us is to be allowed to pursue our ambitions without interference then we should accept the consequences if we are not successful. This has been blurred over the 200 years of existence of our country. We have come to expect sympathy and handouts instead. Should we become rich then in our greed we demand lower taxes on income whether it be in wages or profits from capital gains or dividends. Should we fail we demand to be rewarded for our failure. There are many examples of this. To name a few of recent times;
1- Just this week the U.S. Senate approved an addition $1 billion to cover losses from hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Included in this are grants of up to $150,000 per homeowner and accelerated depreciation for businesses. Sure the hurricanes were tragic, but I ask was there insurance available which was not purchased because it cost too much? Were the homes destroyed worth as much as $150,000? From the ones I have seen on television, I would conclude that they weren’t. The billions that have been poured into this area for the most part were wasted. This is usually the case. The treasury is opened, vultures dive in to get as much as they can. Few dollars actually reach those most in need.
2- West coast salmon fishing industries. The salmon have been fished to near extinction. The government is considering a complete shut down this year in a desperate attempt to allow the species to rejuvenate itself. Those affected are fishermen, the tourist industry including accommodations, restaurants, supply stores and others. When business was booming they were happy to take their profits but now they are demanding handouts to cover their losses.
3- After the 9/11 tragedy, everyone it seems, living and working in the N.Y.C. area, requested and received generous handouts for lost income. I doubt if anything like proof was required.
4- One of my favorites I became aware of in 1987, when we went to Chapel Hill, N.C. to visit my daughter Amy on her spring break. We spent it on the outer banks. While driving along the narrow sand strips that are the outer banks we saw homes built on stilts, obviously very vulnerable. Hurricanes routinely strike this area with houses demolished. The homeowners could not buy insurance from private carriers but guess what our government does, which means that you and I on foot the bill.
5- The current implosion in the value of residences is another example. During recent years the value of homes escalated at an accelerated rate, far above realistic expectations. I remember an article about a doublewide manufactured home in California that sold for $1 million.
Families all across the country went on a binge buying and selling, making tremendous gains. Home ownership has always been considered a wise investment. Down payments of 20% were required. Proof of ability to pay the mortgage was essential. With that 20% cushion, a mild recession would still leave the mortgage less than the reduced value. When and how this reasonable standard was discarded I do not know nor am I willing to research, but it was. Millions purchased homes without any down payment at all under the stupid assumption that values would always increase. Sitting on a park bench watching my granddaughter play on a swing set I overheard a conversation between several young mothers about this person or another who had sold homes making hundreds of thousands in profit. People with mortgages took funds out to spend on other of life’s enjoyments still with the same premise that their homes would continue to rise in value. Now that housing is losing value, they are demanding that the government bail them out. Congress, together with presidential candidates, is falling in line to do just that.
Bear Sterns is bailed out by the Federal Reserve to the tune of $28 billion in guarantees all the while the corporate chiefs continue to receive outlandish financial compensation. This was a first. They also pumped $20 billion into the banks to keep them solvent. In addition they have dramatically lowered interest rates. This has a very adverse result for people like me who withdrew from the stock market and put into fixed investments like money market. The interest is not enough to balance inflation. Do they care, of course not? Their only concern is for the huge corporations who created this mess in the first place.
As usual when find an issue outrages me, I start pecking on my computer knowing full well that what I write or say will have no impact on the course of history. The books are stacked against the little guys of this world. Nonetheless I still insist that freedom to do as we wish includes the right to fail.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 6, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Wasteful Spending in Iraq and Afghanistan

Two recent news accounts have confirmed for me again that the wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are for profit and greed, nothing else.
The first was in the Charlotte, N.C. paper the last week of March. It was an article by Jason Straziuso of the Associated Press that pointed out the absurdity of how funds are being spent. The main beneficiaries are five companies; KBR, the Louis Berber Group, Chemonics International, Bearing Point and Dynacorp International. The entire article was worthy of copying but the main point which stood out for me was the cost in high salaries, security and living arrangements. The average total is $250,000 each. The cost of an Afghan civil servant is $1,000. Wouldn’t it make sense to employ 250 Afghans instead of one foreign national? At least then money would be flowing into the local economy instead of lining the pockets of corporate chiefs here at home.
The second was in the 4/5/08 edition of the Arizona Daily Star. The Pentagon has just renewed the contract with Blackwater. They have received $1.25 billion in federal business since 2000. Their employees also receive very high salaries. Their cost is probably the same as reported above. With more security agents in Iraq than our armed forces, we are paying far in excess of what our troops receive. It has been reported that many troops when their enlistment ends hire on with this company. Who could blame them? They would still be in harms way but at least they could better provide for their families.
In my opinion we have squandered billions in the last six years. When we overthrew Saddam, the Iraqi military and government employees were dumped. Without jobs or purpose many resorted to terrorism as their response. Had they been kept on they might have been eager to restore their country to normalcy. We will never know. In the meantime we continue to pour our treasury in wasteful endeavors as mentioned above without a chance of resolving the conflicts that continue on between warlords, different Muslim sects and terrorists who have infiltrated into the country.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 5, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Book Review of Three Cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea
By; Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

This book chronicles the life’s work of Greg Mortenson as he strove to provide educational opportunities for Muslim boys and girls in Pakistan and later Afghanistan. He mentions paying respects to Mother Teresa as she lay in state. His life parallels hers, in that he sacrificed all thought of personal gain for his family or himself on his striving to achieve bringing opportunities to children in remote mountain communities that had been ignored by their government. To this day he is continuing his work which has resulted in the building of 55 schools complete with books, supplies and teachers. The curriculum takes special care to not offend conservative religious leaders. All funds from donations by people he has convinced to support this effort. There is a website www.threecupsoftea.com. Check it out for more detailed information or make a tax deductible contribution to;
Central Asia Institute
P.O. Box 7209
Bozeman, Mt. 59771
406-585-7841
www.ikat.org
It is an inspiring book to read. I wish now to share several important thoughts as expressed in the book.
1-“Slowly and painfully, we are seeing worldwide acceptance of the fact that the wealthier and more technologically advanced countries have a responsibility to help the undeveloped ones, not only through a sense of charity, but also because only in this way can we ever hope to see any permanent peace and security for ourselves”.
2-“ I wish Westerners who misunderstand Muslims could have seen Syed Abbas in action that day,” Mortenson says, “They would see that most people who practice the true teachings of Islam, even conservative mullahs like Syed Abbas, believe in peace and justice, not terror. Just as the Torah and Bible teach concern for those in distress, the Koran instructs all Muslims to make caring for widows, orphans, and refugees a priority”.
3-While his efforts achieved positive results; we learn that our “friends” in the region, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have spent millions constructing mosques in Pakistan and Afghanistan to provide impoverished children an Islamic education. They are referred to as Wahhabi madrassa. It is a conservative, fundamentalist offshoot of Sunni Islam and the official state religion of Saudi Arabia’s rulers. Little in the way of education is provided in subjects such as math, science, history or geography. Many become recruits for the Taliban. The goal, it seems is to churn out generation after generation looking ahead to when armies of extremism will have the numbers to swarm over Pakistan and the rest of the Islamic world.
Why do our government leaders not recognize that Saudi Arabia is responsible for much of the continuing hatred of America? If a single individual like Greg Mortenson can make a positive contribution why doesn’t our government offer assistance in countering this onslaught by our enemies? While our troops are fighting to restore order, the Saudis continue to stir the pot increasing the difficulty of our mission.
The above comments represent the most important issues that I gleaned from reading the book. I did not write in detail the story of his accomplishments. I leave that to you if interested. Purchase or go to your local library. Reading it is worth your time.

Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 5,2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com