You said, “I believe strongly that government is the sole institution large and formidable enough to protect the interests of people who lack the money and power to promote their agenda.”

I also believe in a government that acts as a referee. A government that helps level the playing field and insures that no one is cheating. (Including members of the government.) However, while you were sitting in San Jose learning one political lesson, I was a volunteer in Vietnam, seeing a different side of governmental intervention.

Government today is not a referee. The federal government is a business, run by managers, not leaders. It is in the business of slowly replacing all services with its own brand… and that is not healthy.

I would love to find a way to work with you on returning government to its original role and freeing up our society to allow those who work hard to succeed and not be buried in bureaucratic red tape.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32682775

Bobby Kennedy came out to organize the mexican farm worker to expand his voter base for his presidential aspirations. Nothing wrong with that, good strategy. But Cesar Chavez, who was a friend to my brother, had the ‘smarts’ of a stone wall. The United Farm Workers Union attempts to squeeze more out of the farm corporations, for right or wrong, were mostly ignored by the public. When the union boycotted the grape harvest, grapes were brought in from South America. The UFWU has never had any clout. Any successes has come from a trade of votes for democratic party pressure on corporations.

Father Boyle was a marxist who talked a lot but I’m not sure what he was good for. For some reason some men/woman of the cloth think Jesus was a
revolutionary/marxist/leninest and feel justified in ignoring their pledge to “in the world but not of the world.” Any way, Boyle was a blowhard of lilttle effect.

It’s terrible that the two Kennedy’s, Martin Luther King, Jr. were murdered. I have the highest esteem for Rev. King and for Pres. Jack Kennedy. Robert Kennedy was, to me, a work in progress and I don’t know what he may of accomplished if he had not been cut down by a murdering killer. Bobbies involvement with Marylin Monroe does not compliment his memory. I know too much about that history. But may his killer rot in prison. I still thiink all the Kennedy’s in politics will always live in the shadow of Jack Kennedy, a truly brilliant mind and a true hero. I know well why he was marked for death, and lead as a lamb to the slaughter in Dallas, TX.

I’m not sure why you have so much belief in the ‘power of the state.’ Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Castro are recent examples of what governmental power in the hands of a few can do. The five murdering political leaders above are responsible for the deaths of well over 100 million human beings in the name of the STATE. I would rather have a weak central government than what we know a strong central government has done and continues to do today in China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela to name a few.

My first job was in 1953 at the age of 12 years selling newspapers on 19th & Irving in San Franicsco. Since then I supported myself never needing help from my parents who were immigrants who worked hard for not much money but they were happy to be at home with their children around them. I don’t recall ever missing a meal at home, although at times we had rice & beans for days in a row. I don’t recall my mom or dad ever complaining about their jobs or life in general. They did what they had to do. They never looked for the government for help. Help was generally within the extended family when it was needed.

I worked from the age of 12 to 67 years of age. I take care of myself and my loved ones. I served in the military for 3 years. I earned an undergraduate and graduate degrees. The only help was from the GI Bill for my undergraduate degree. And I earned that….I never made more than $115.00 a month while in the military.

I fear a powerful central government. I would rather have strong state power as in the early part of the 20th century and before. It was Pres. Roosevelt who started the Federal Governments power grab over the states. I am fearfull of the continued growth of federal government and employee populatation. Not for me but for my children and grand children. I’ve read enough history going back to the Greek and Roman history, European history and Chinese history over the last 1 thousand years to have any faith in ‘strong’ centralized governments.

Your picture reflects a man of with a good heart as I see it. The above are a few reasons why I disagree with you. There is a government with 2 heads, a democrat and a republican head. I see these two political powers as two sides of the same coin. Nixon, the two Bush presidents were democrats at heart. They grew government as fast as any democrat president. Or maybe to say democrat or republican is not really valid anymore. I’ll just call them politicians.

Best Regards,

Ernie

With “giving the poor and weak a hand up”, do you mean:

1. Send children of the poor and weak to public school at tax payers’ expense, while they, the rich decision making politicians, send their kids to private school?
2. National healthcare for the general public, but not for the decision making politicians?
3. Margarine for the staff “Downstairs” and butter for the employer “Upstairs?”

The States and Cities in our country with the most poverty are those where the elected officials are Democrats.

No, it’s NOT disinformation or misinformation that scares and angers people; the facts scare and anger people.

No, it’s NOT because people don’t like change; it’s because people don’t like their freedom to be taken away.

The people don’t bash Government; Our Government bashes people now more than ever.

I couldn’t agree more that government-bashing, which started in earnest with Ronald Reagan, is dangerous and counter-productive. Most “bashers” are simple-minded, but their anger is real…and dangerous. They may love the military, police forces, fire departments, the FAA (safe planes) and who knows what other agencies that provide them benefits or pride, but these are also government agencies.

“Government” cannot be uniformly incompetent any more than the “free market” is uniformly wise in allocating resources (look at those outrageous Wall St. bonuses or the fact that many doctors–who are really technicians or artists, at best–often make hundreds of thousands of dollars while teachers, who are shaping our future, make a few tens of thousands).

The market does not handle everything well, and government does not handle everything poorly.

Let’s start thinking again and holding real debates that are about ideas and
solutions, not emotional manipulation and arguments ad hominem.

Thanks again,

Mitch