I read with interest the differences of opinion between the columnists Peter Cavanaugh and Dr. Bill Atwood in the Aug. 2 opinion section of the Sierra Star. I find it almost comical that a journalist, Cavanaugh, needs to use the term "Dummies" referencing his reading public ... it really lowers his intelligence ... and that's my opinion.
What I want to stress is that there are differences of opinions during political campaigns and to refer to those who disagree with you as "Dummies" is highly insulting. I found it interesting that the two writers were in stark contrast to each other. Cavanaugh cites the praises of Obama's spending and accomplishments throughout his presidency and it would have been laughable except that the spending was done with taxpayer monies. And, unfortunately, the accomplishments are not that great as Mr. Obama is not citing them as a record on which to run. Instead, he's running based only on negativity against Mitt Romney.
Atwood stressed the benefits of capitalism, citing hard work and smart planning that resulted in profits and a tremendous sense of pride.
This is something that I feel is lacking in the American public today towards their elected officials knowing that so much of what they pay in taxes goes to many willing to take and no sense of responsibility to give back.
People have commented that Mr. Obama inherited many of his problems from President Bush when, really, those problems were caused by the Democratic Congress that Bush had of which Mr. Obama was a member. So, in actuality, Mr. Obama inherited his own mess and he has not been successful in cleaning it up, only in trying to sweep it under the rug, so to speak.
Capitalism works. As my first husband and I approached our silver anniversary in 1978, our nine children sent us to a beautiful hotel as they were planning a party for us. They had invited many of our long time friends and family members to our home, had the food catered and our favorite husband/wife duo to play for the group. They presented my husband and I with plane tickets to Hawaii for a week with the time split between two islands, rented cars for us and gave us $500 spending money. This is where the comparison mimics Bill Atwood's story of when he was a kid.
A year prior to this event, the kids opened a checking account and it took three signatures for good accounting. Each kid was obligated to deposit so much a month to the account based on how much they each earned. The older children had jobs and the younger ones had paper routes and mowed lawns. They all contributed and managed to keep it a surprise from us. We were surprised and pleased at their ingenuity.
We had a wonderful time and when we returned home they all met us and wanted to hear all about the trip.
Sending us there was not only pleasurable for us but for them. They took great joy and pride in knowing that what they had worked for all year had a good result ... we were very proud of them and they were proud of themselves as they deserved to be.
Mr. Cavanaugh referred to the thoughts many people have about Mr. Obama, i.e., a Muslim and a socialist. I know those comments were meant to make fun of the ones thinking that way. But, Mr. Cavanaugh only reiterated to me that, yes, there are many, many people who have those thoughts about Mr. Obama.
I believe the president's track record is poor ... what happened to the televised sessions of Congress that were to inform people of new bills before the legislature? Congress was going to be transparent to the American public. Now he's saying he wants another four years to rectify what he failed to do in the first four years.
Yes, I am of a different opinion than Mr. Cavanaugh, myself and many others, but that does not make us dummies ... we're just weighing both sides so that we will make an intelligent decision in November 2012. You might want to do that too, Mr. Cavanaugh, without the name-calling.
