Sapulpa Daily Herald (Sapulpa, Okla.), Vol. 94, No. 257, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 2, 2009 Page: 4 of 14
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Page 4 — Weekend Edition, August 2, 2009, Sapulpa Daily Herald
The Sapulpa Daily Herald
Changing My Attitude
Opinion
We’ll tell you news
others won’t
Brenda Shance
Things That Matter
My biggest prob-
lem with the changes
unfolding in America
is that 1 grew up in
middle class America
in the 1950s and ‘60s.
1 was taught to do
well in school and
learned that paid off
for me with college
scholarships. Of
course, one of those
scholarships was a
•work-study” - I had
to work for my food
and housing.
And 1 learned, even in the third
grade, if I used my bicycle with
the basket on the handlebars to
peddle donuts to businesses in the
little town of Fairfax, 1 could get
enough money to go swimming
that day.
In hi*a school. 1 flipped burg-
ers at the Tastee Freeze and used
by paychecks to buy gasoline for
my 1955 Chevy and have lunch
money at school.
All said, I learned to do my
best, developed a good work ethic
and learned of the personal satis-
faction of taking care of myself.
But I realize, now more than
ever, for as long as I've been
doing it like this, there are those
who live life a different way.
And when the president made
campaign promises to change
everything and have our govern-
ment provide houses, cars, and
health care - that sounded good to
a little over half of the voting pop-
ulace.
1 have a problem with the new
government wanting to take care
of me.
But, in order for me to get
along and not be bothered by what
is happening, I’ve got to change
my attitude and quit hanging on to
old ways that once served me
well. J
I should see the positive side
of getting voters out to the polls by
offering them a sandwich, a cold
drink, and a piece of pie-in-the-
sky if they will vote for the one
providing the goods.
I should be glad the govern-
ment wants to grant amnesty to an
estimated 12 million illegals who
can't read a ballot nor understand
our politics as this secures a strong
voting block of people who
already live here but don t have a
vote in our elections.
Likewise, when
more show up at the
polls than are regis-
tered to vote (like in
Minnesota). I should
be thinking how
wonderful that many
last-minute voters
made the effort to
participate in an elec-
tion that would keep
one political party
from having to deal
with time-consuming
filibusters on life-
changing, crisis-based, debt-rid-
den legislation they want to pass.
Admittedly, it seriously both
ered me when I read the secret
Homeland Security document
about government action planned
against “right-wing extremists"
and soldiers returning from over-
seas. However, when 1 noticed
there was nothing in the document
about radical Islamists meeting (as
they did July 19 in Chicago to
actively recruit others and pro-
mote the downfall of this nation),
I quickly figured i should not do
“right-wing extremist” stuff - like
attend Tea Parties - if I want to
stay under the radar.
Thank the good Lord above
I’m a quick learner He not only
gave me a heart that loves freedom
and what is essentially “right -
but he also gave me a brain to fig-
ure things out and the revelation of
the remedy to all my problems
with what is going on:
Just change my attitude.
“Freedom’s just another word
for nothing left to lose,” Janis
Joplin said. If you own nothing
and have nothing, then you don’t
have to worry about keeping it.
If the new government so des-
perately wants to provide for me,
then 1 should let it.
If we’re all the same, then l
won’t have more than someone
else and someone else won't have
more than me. Except of course
those controlling everything. But
since they were smart enough to
take it right out from under us,
then they deserve it.
A show of force prying my
hands off what 1 once worked for
and loved about this country won't
be necessary.
See, my attitude is already
showing signs of changing.
Frankly Speaking...
About our food safety
By Rep. Frank Lucas
In yet another example of the
negative impact of overreaching
federal power without the benefit
of careful consideration, the ro:> x-
ity leadership forced the passage of
H R. 2479, the Food Safety
Enhancement Act.
Members of Congress were
given less than 24 hours to review
the bill before it was voted on.
The House Agriculture
Committee, which had clear juris-
diction over the bill, was bypassed
during the drafting stages so that
not a single hearing or markup was
held. Once again, this Congress
has used a flawed process to create
a flawed piece of legislation.
It is, unfortunately, what we
have come to expect from the
majority leadership in the 111th
Congress - from the food safety
bill, to the stimulus package, to
cap-and-trade, to the health care
legislation - President Obama and
Speaker Pelosi seemed intent on
blatantly disregarding the legisla-
tive process in an attempt to cram
their liberal agenda through
Congress, whether we like it or
not.
A Coup or a Democracy?
This is no way to create law. We
have an established legislative
process in Congress for a reason.
Allowing hearings and markups in
each committee of jurisdiction
ensures that all areas of a bill are
reviewed and tweaked, resulting in
the best bill possible.
There are major pieces of legis-
lation currently before Congress,
like health care and cap-and-trade,
that will have long-term effects on
our economy and on the way we
live our lives.
The American people deserve
elected officials who do everything
they can to ensure that these bills
are the best available option - not
the one that can be most quickly
crammed across the floor for a
vote.
As Members of Congress head
home for the August district work
period, I hope they will all take the
time to listen to their constituents.
No one benefits from a flawed leg-
islative process - it only leads to
flawed policy.
Frank Lucas represents
Oklahoma's Third Congressional
District in the United Slates House
of Representatives.
Levantarse, Sehor Presidente!"
‘Get up, Mr. President! Sir, we
have a judicial order to detain you.
Soldiers had stormed the
President's residence and disarmed
his special guard. Then they rousted
him from his bed in his sleep and
whisked him to an air force base.
Outside his residence tanks patrolled
the streets and military planes flew
overhead. The government television
station and another station that ordi-
narily supported the President were
taken off the air. Other television and
radio stations stayed on the air be'
broadcast no news. More soldiers
guarded the main government build-
ings. Electric power was cut off and
public transportation was suspended.
Meanwhile the president was
forced onto a plane. When it took off
he didn't know his destination until
he landed in Costa Rica, but when he
landed he was released and even
allowed to talk to the media.
But it was too late. The latest in a
long history of military coups in
Latin America was now an accom-
plished fact.
Back home the Supreme Court of
Honduras declared that it had ordered
the army to remove the country s
elected president, Manuei Zelaya,
from office: “The armed forces, in
chaige of supporting the constitution,
acted to defend the state of law end
have been forced to apply legal dis-
positions against those who have
expressed themselves publicly and
acted against the dispositions of the
basic law." The military’s chief
lawyer concurred that the decision to
detain and deport the President was
necessary “in order to avoid blood-
shed"
Bloodshed was indeed averted.
But was democracy in Honduras pre-
served or undermined by the military
action which occurred in the early
morning hours of June 28,2009?
Manuel Zelaya was in fact the
duly elected President of Honduras
and, at the time of his expulsion from
the country, he had six months
remaining on his term. The United
States State Department under
John Mark Young
Some Things Never Change
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
joined the Organization of American
States and a host of other countries in
condemning the military coup—if
that’s what it was—which removed
Zelaya from power. Everybody
seems to be upset about it—except
the people of Honduras who mostly
seem to view him as good riddance.
What did he do to provoke such a
loss of support from his own country-
men?
The short answer is he was leading
his country along the path set by
Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. He’s the
President there who—although popu-
larity elected-has systematically
transformed Venezuela from a
democracy into a dictatorship that is
doing everything in its power to criti-
cize and undermine America. He
started by talking Venezuela’s
National Assembly into voting him
more and more power and has pro-
gressed to shutting down any media
critical of him. Yes, he was recently
re-elected, but only after intimidating
any realistic opposition. Little by lit-
tle he has destroyed true democracy
in Venezuela and now other countries
in Latin America are following suit—
including Honduras under the leader-
ship of Manuel Zelaya.
That is, until other elements in the
government of Honduras took deter-
mined steps to stop him. The
Constitution of Honduras provides
that no referendum could be called to
alter certain “entrenched" articles in
the Constitution that can’t be modi-
fied under any circumstances, includ-
ing the process of presidential succes-
sion and changing the limits of the
President's term. Zelaya planned to
present just such a referendum to a
vote to extend the term to which he
hoped to get re-elected. The ballots
were printed in Venezuela where the
same tactic had worked for Chavez.
That’s when the Supreme Court of
Honduras and its Attorney General
warned Zelaya he would be arrested
for a crime if he proceeded with his
proposed illegal referendum. He did
and they did.
Ironically it appears that the ones
in Honduras most interested in pre-
serving true democracy are the ones
who removed the President from
office and the one bent on undermin-
ing the institutions upon which
democracy depends is the one who
claims legitimacy as the elected
President. The Organization of
American States, which officially
claims to promote democracy, has
come down on the side of Zelaya, but
also recently voted to admit Cuba
which hasn’t even pretended to have
an election since Fidel Castro came to
power in Cuba in 1957.
America is between a rock and a
hard spot. It wants to be a supporter
of democracy, but sometimes such
“pseudo-democracies” are inimical to
our national interests. What we’d
really like to see happen is the "good
guy” win the election fair and square
which actually happened in 1990
when the Marxist Daniel Ortega was
voted out of office in Nicaragua.
Democracy is more than just hold-
ing an election once in a while. After
all. Germany was a democracy when
the Reichstag elected Adolph Hitler
as Chancellor in 1933, Saddam
Hussein claimed to win over 90 per-
cent of the votes in his “elections,”
and the Palestinians voted Hamas ter-
rorists into office in Gaza in 2007.
Anastasio Samoza, the one time
President and/or “Strongman" of
Nicaragua in the 1930’s once boasted
“You won the election but I won the
count”.
Oh well . . . good luck, Hillary,
sorting this one out.
Flawed Policies of the 111th Congress
Stimulus: The stimulus package bypassed all committee hearings and
narkups and was drafted behind closed doors. At a cost of almost $1 TRILLION,
jince its passage, 2.3 million Americans have lost their )obs and expetis agee
hat number will only increase over the next six months.
National Energy Tax: The controversial national energy tax, known as cap-
jnd trade, was brought to the floor for a vote less than 24 hours after an addi
tonal 300 pages were added. The bill would impose an almost $700 billion tax
on American families and smali businesses who are already struggling during the
^Appropriation* Packages: In an effort to silence the minority party and the
wrStuente^they represent, the Democrats called an unscheduled voteto
adloum debate on amendments to the Commerce, Justice, and Science
WSmSto introduce amendments.
14UUUU-— ----
Letter to the Editor
Editor:
I am more opposed to alcoholic beverages than the
average person, however, I believe that if people are
too young to legally buy alcohol, then it is wrong for
the police to put them up to trying to buy it in order to
entrap those who would sell it to them. This exploits
the young people and gives them wrong and conflict-
ing messages about the use of authority.
It’s like saying, “it’s okay for you to try to do some-
thing wrong if it’s for a good cause and the police give
you permission and encourage you to do it — whatev-
t» the police do is OK."
I think it is unethical, an overstepping of the bounds
of authority, possibly even illegal, and sets a bad exam-
ple for young people. It reduces my respect for our
police department. People should not be selling alco-
hol to these young people, but “two wrongs don’t make
a right,” and “the end does not justify the means".
Also, when a girl, who looks very young and inno-
cent, is scantily clad and has long blonde hair or other
prettiness is used as the “bait”, it adds an element of
attraction and enticement to an already very question-
able practice (see photo on page 9 of July 28 Sapulpa
Daily Herald).
The photo makes me think of Eve handing Adam
the apple, and we all know how that turned out. The
obviously smitten fellow in the photo who got caught
is only 19 years old — if they’re to young to legally
drink, then they should not be allowed to sell it in the
first place, to anybody, and then he wouldn't be in this
situation, though he surely knew better.
I wouldn't want anyone selling alcoholic beverages
to my child, nor would I want my boy or girl used in
these “sting operation" dramas even if they were 18,
19, or 20.1 had hoped the police had quit doing this.
There’s got to be a better way to combat alcohol being
sold to those under 21.
Barbara Moore - Sapulpa
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Shance, Brenda. Sapulpa Daily Herald (Sapulpa, Okla.), Vol. 94, No. 257, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 2, 2009, newspaper, August 2, 2009; Sapulpa, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1506857/m1/4/?q=technical+manual: accessed July 1, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.