Letters - Vol. 3:

Greetings,

I keep getting asked for another "Letters" post, and I've got a lot to say about the political conventions, so I thought I'd marry the two. I thought about just leaving politics alone and letting the pundits handle it, but one thing I've learned lately is that if you have something important to say, you need to say it, because you can't just assume that someone else will say it for you. So, with that, let's begin.

Letter #1:

Dear Senator Obama:

Thank you very much for using sound judgement while selecting your running mate. Keep up the good work.

Very Truly Yours,

The Reverend Humpy



Letter #2:

Dear Senator McCain:

What the hell were you thinking?

Sincerely,

The Reverend Humpy



Letter #3:

Dear Female Independent Voters:

Just in case some of you were thinking about it, DON'T VOTE FOR McCAIN/PALIN JUST BECAUSE OF PALIN!!!

I want to call to your attention some of the things recently reported about Gov. Palin in the media rush to find out just who this woman is. Many of these things fly in the face of the speech that she gave Wednesday night, and the ones that don't are still just plain scary.

First - Gov. Palin used a lot of rhetoric last night to paint herself, along with Sen. McCain, as renegades, or "Mavericks" if you prefer, who will stand up to the lobbyists and special interest groups that earmark billions of dollars each year on pet projects. She touted that she told Washington "Thanks, but no thanks" on the "Bridge to Nowhere" project.

What Gov. Palin failed to mention, is that while she was mayor of Wasilla, a town of around 6,000 people, she hired a lobbyist firm to help her shore up over $6 million a year in federal funding for various projects for the town. By contrast, Boise ID, a city with over 190,000 people, receives approximately $6.9 million a year in federal funding. When I told my wife that information, she asked me "Well, what did they spend it on?" I told her that they spent it on good things, like community centers, mental health facilities, etc, but that's not the point. The point is that it is irresponsible to send that much federal money to a town with only 6,000 residents. I'm pretty sure that a couple million of those dollars could have served more Americans by building community centers in places like Boise. The other thing that Gov. Palin failed to mention was that while she was campaigning, she actually told the people in the town that would have benefited from the "Bridge to Nowhere" that she was committed to getting it built for them.

Next - Gov. Palin also spoke a lot about energy last night. She started off by saying that herself and Sen. McCain would not be held hostage by big oil companies. She used the correct buzz phrases, like "...end our dependence on foreign oil." Then, amazingly, as if she actually thought that none of us could put this together, she said that the first thing she and Sen. McCain would do in January, if they were elected, would be to start building more oil pipelines and end the bans on offshore drilling. So, apparently, relaxing regulations and funding more oil production is her and Sen. McCain's idea of a good way to take on the oil industry. At one other point in the speech, she also mentioned that some of her family members just opened up a service station. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't service stations sell gasoline, made by the oil companies she's apparently so committed to fighting? Also in the energy portion of her speech, Gov. Palin used a clever little rhetorical phrase. She said "... the fact that drilling won't solve every problem, though, is no excuse to do nothing at all..." So, I thought I should interject my own little clever rhetorical phrase: Doing the wrong thing instead of doing nothing at all is still doing the wrong thing. Touche. Gov. Palin also argued that we need to start tapping into our own oil and natural gas reserves because she "knows the North slope of Alaska very well..." and "...we've got plenty of both." Really? 'Cause, all of the scientists, who, by the way, I would guess know the North slope of Alaska a little better than Gov. Palin does, say that we have very limited quantities of oil left in the world, let alone Alaska, and that it is absolutely imperative that we focus as much attention as possible on finding new sources of energy. Then again, scientists believe in all kinds of crazy things, like evolution, and global warming, and Gov. Palin is certainly not afraid to disagree with them on those things, either.


Speaking of disagreeing with scientists, I guess I should also point out that Gov. Palin believes that Creationism should be taught in public schools, but has kind of flip-flopped on the issue a few times.

Next - National Security/Foreign Policy. Gov. Palin again used a lot of rhetoric last night to trumpet the fact that Sen. McCain is the only candidate to have worn a uniform, and that Sen. Obama never uses the word "Victory" when addressing the Iraq issue, and that the troop-surge that Sen. McCain so strongly supported has helped bring us closer to "Victory." Ok, before I get started on all of this, I have to first say that I have the utmost respect for Sen. McCain's military service, and cannot possibly fathom, nor do I wish to in any way diminish his experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. His bravery and perseverance in the face of horrendous adversity are beyond reproach. Having said all that, I feel I must say a few things in response to Gov. Palin's rhetoric. First, there is no such thing as a victory in a war. I'm sorry, but there's not. If you don't believe me, go to the bomb memorial/museum in Hiroshima, Japan; or consider that even though our side "won" World War II, six million Jews were killed before it was over. How is that a "Victory?" In a war, you can accomplish your missions and achieve your objectives, but nobody ever wins. Second, of course the troop-surge worked!! We have the most powerful armed forces on the planet. It still doesn't mean it was the right thing to do to send them there in the first place. Third, and this is the one that may get me in trouble, Gov. Palin used language last night that said that Sen. McCain is the only candidate in this election that has literally fought for his country. I take issue with that. Again, I have the utmost respect for Sen. McCain's heroic courage and do not in any way wish to diminish the atrocities that he endured as a P.O.W. in Vietnam. My issue is this, the war he fought in did NOTHING to protect this country. Now, that, of course is neither Sen. McCain's nor any of the other hundreds of thousands of brave Vietnam veterans' fault - it is the fault of the politicians who started it. Vietnam, like Iraq, was a war that we should have never been in in the first place. The only thing that it achieved was the loss of over 60,000 of our finest young Americans, and the sharp division of our nation. I am making such a big deal about this because I believe that we CAN NOT, in this day and age, keep looking at war as a win/lose, right/wrong, good/evil affair. I believe that the men and women in our armed forces are the epitome of selfless service, and should be trumpeted at every opportunity, so it makes me very angry when politicians spout propaganda in an attempt to justify a quagmire they've put those brave men and women in.

Lastly - Gov. Palin made a sarcastic remark about the difference between a small town mayor and a "community organizer" being that a small town mayor has "actual responsibilities." I just wonder how the impoverished families on the south side of Chicago feel when the work that Sen. Obama did to help them is diminished in that way.

The bottom line, ladies, is that this woman is both a rabid conservative and a savvy politician, just like the rest of them. Please take the time to read all of the stories you can about her record in public service before you cast your ballot.

Very Truly Yours,

The Reverend Humpy


So, that's all the letters I have for now. I haven't watched Sen. McCain's speech yet, but once I do, I'm sure that I'll have some more to say. Please feel free to let me know what you think. It hurts my feelings when I don't get any comments. =0)

I am the Reverend Humpy and I have approved this message.