Letters to the Editor (9/19)

Varied political views do exist in Ahwatukee

Dear Editor:

I was very offended by an opinion ("Barack Obama: son of promise, child of hope," AFN, Sept. 12), which showed fear and derogatory tactics against Barack Obama. The use of the mention of the Communist Party and stating that the Palestinian Jihadis donate to his campaign is the usual smear that I have seen from the far right conservatives.

I love this area and have enjoyed this local newspaper, but I am very worried that your publication is one-sided. There are many people living in Ahwatukee that have different political views, and this is what makes America a great country.

I would like to see in your publication a commentary from the Democrat side, citing the differences between McCain and Obama on the issues and not smears. Of course, it should be as long as Mr. Roger's piece and not hidden in a small article. For informational purposes, I am a senior citizen and of the Jewish faith.

Lois Bejerano

Fear Republican economic policy

Dear Editor:

In his Sept. 12 commentary, Chuck Roger fears Barack Obama's hope that the United States can do better. What we all should fear are the consequences of four more years of Republican economic policy.

During the past eight years of Republican "leadership" - implementing the same fiscal policies that John McCain supports - the U.S. has seen unemployment rise from 4.2 percent to 6.1 percent and the annual budget surplus of $128 billion from 2001 reverse to a record $490 billion deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.

Under Republican direction the U.S. debt has soared to an estimated $9.7 trillion - over $31,000 for every U.S. citizen, right down to my 2-year-old son.

McCain and the Republicans are asking us to rack up more debt for our kids so that they may continue tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Most of us aspire to achieve wealth, but doing so by running up trillions of dollars of debt that our kids will have to pay off is a disgusting concept - it is amazing Republicans endorse such policies.

McCain is correct when he says he doesn't know much about the economy. His control of our economy is a fear that we should all hope to avoid.

Source for national debt: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock.

Source for deficit: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news.

Jeff Berg

That which we fear is what separates us

Dear Editor:

This letter is in response to recent commentaries by Chuck Roger in the Ahwatukee Foothills News.

First, let me state the obvious - Roger is well read and well written. Unfortunately, in his obsessive attempts at trying to "define" liberalism, Roger's angered and vitriolic pros are exposed as both self-serving and wrong headed.

Liberalism as well as any other political mindset can't be defined by any made-up list. Certainly, one so narrow minded on this topic as Roger could be capable of that "reasoned" thought, if he were to reflect beyond those angered fantasies that he holds so dear.

Most liberal ideals do not fall within his very narrow view, that view which is fueled by a self-absorbed hatred that is completely destructive to the marketplace of ideas. Roger has fallen prey to his baser side, that which annihilates more than it enlightens. He has created a political world for himself, one that is black and white and confined in boxes with lids and locks. By penning his commentaries, his bile-fueled concepts of what is "liberal," he is exposing himself as less the intellectual and more the shrieking brainless skull of self-confinement - a self-imposed prisoner of intellectual one-sidedness.

As an example, I consider myself a fiscal conservative but a social liberal. By my reasoning, President Bush would be a fiscal liberal and a social conservative. Many of the liberal "definitions" of Roger's commentaries would fall flatly with a well-challenged debate. One example is that of the stereotypical phrase "tax and spend liberal." Under this administration, our deficit has exploded to record heights.

Democrats have always made it a priority to balance the budget. Bush was the only president to cut taxes during a time of war. This folly has left us with the carnage of our national debt being held hostage to China with its communist ideals that Roger so abhors.

There are all shades of liberals and conservatives - of every color, social strata and intellect. Let's stop using those boxes and lids and locks and start trying to understand more that which we fear and resolve that which separates us.

Ernie Logan