Gay Olympics
Randy Haspel’s comment, “Brian Boitano came out just in time for the 2014 Olympics,” (The Rant, January 9th issue) had me laughing until my sides ached. Even the blind knew that Boitano was light in the loafers. As if normal, heterosexual men figure skate. Hilarious!
Continuing, Haspel appears to believe that Obama delivered a zinger by sending a homosexual entourage to represent him in the Olympics. Are you libtards really that clueless? As an American of Ukrainian descent with many Eastern European friends and relatives, I can tell you first-hand, in that part of the world, Obama is viewed as in impotent excuse for a man.
So let’s recap: Obama decides to boycott the Olympics, and he is so appalled that his boycott involves sending homosexuals to represent him? That’s one hell of a strong statement there. I have news for you, no matter how hard Obama tries, homosexuality is never going to be an accepted Olympic event.
Tommy Volinchak
Memphis
Chris Christie
Regarding Chris Christie (The Rant, January 16th issue): He talked a lot about bipartisanship in his explanation speech following Bridgegate. Sure, there has been a lot of bipartisanship in New Jersey, because everyone was scared to death if they didn’t do what they were told, they would find a horse head in their bed!
Jim Stroupe
Memphis
Science!
I read that there are more people who believe that the Earth is flat than there are global warming deniers. With the 97 percent of scientists not employed by the oil or energy industry staunchly maintaining that global warming is real, I think that is probably an accurate statement.
It is amusing that when an extreme cold snap (which itself is a symptom of global warming) happens, the scientific illiterates immediately start ranting about global warming being a “liberal hoax.” Never mind the already rising sea levels, ever increasing average global temperatures, and the fact that computer modeling of global warming has been dead-on accurate.
It is sad that the U.S. is fast becoming the most scientifically backward developed country on Earth.
Jim Brasfield
Memphis
The War on Poverty
Happy 50th birthday to the war on poverty. Of course, most have forgotten that in 1980 the war was suspended when the Reagan administration began the war on the middle class. And it continues today.
Reagan’s first year in office began a 34-year decline in the number of Americans in the middle class. Upward mobility became increasing hard. Falling into poverty became much easier. The Wall Street bull was let loose to rampage through the blue-collar workers who made up a high percentage of the middle class. Leverage buyouts, hedge funds, shipping good-paying jobs overseas, and destroying unions became the norm.
But Wall Street has seen a spectacular rise, from 900 to over 16,000 on the Dow. About 52 percent of Americans own stock, but that includes 401ks and pensions. A more telling number: The top 1 percent own 50 percent of the stock.
The tax laws also favor the well off. We saw that in the last election. Mitt Romney, whose worth is in the hundreds of millions, pays a tax rate of 14 percent. The big banks ripped off everyone. Their greed put millions of middle-class Americans in bankruptcy or living on the streets of our cities. There is an ever-growing number of children living in single-parent homes.Wages are stagnant.
We have Republicans worried about their campaign donations and Democrats concerned about their voting blocks. Neither seem to be concerned about what is happening to Main Street America.
Jack Bishop
Memphis
Detroit and Obamacare
In the early 1980s, General Motors embarked upon an enormous investment in automation. In 1985, it opened its showcase: The new Hamtramck factory in Detroit, Michigan, had 50 automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) to ferry parts around the plant, and 260 robots to weld and paint.
At first, it didn’t seem like such a good idea. The production lines ground to a halt for hours, while technicians tried to debug software. When they did work, the robots often began dismembering each other, smashing cars, spraying paint everywhere, or even fitting the wrong equipment.
It takes time to get new systems up and running correctly. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) had a rocky start, but give it time and it will be as dependable and efficient as the other government programs Medicare and Social Security.
Kevin Garland
Covington, Tennessee
