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The Pendulum Must Turn Again . .

To the Editor;

  In trying to get out from under their Dioxin contamination cloud controversy, Dow Chemical continues their inappropriate relationships with government officials at all levels.

 

In their most recent meeting in Midland it was revealed in a newspaper report that the private meeting place was paid for with corporate money. If this is true, Dow's critics have every right to continue to question their corporate motives.
       

Comparative Economic Systems Analysis, a course I took in graduate school after World War II has helped me to better understand what kind of a slippery slope America's political economy is on today. Knowing about the history of Communism & Capitalism and Fascism helps to know where to place present day corporate Democracy on the political spectrum.
 

Modern Fascism got started in Italy and Germany after World War I when government officials became too friendly with commercial interests. The financial opportunities were too tempting. The people were promised jobs and security and peace. They were not told how profitable another war would be for munitions manufacturers.
    

If we fast-forward fifty years, we can find some interesting parallel elements of history to start the 21st century. In November, 2004, about half of those USA citizens who voted, elected an administration promising to lower taxes for wealthy people, more jobs, a growing economy, and security from terrorist groups. They were also promised a successful conclusion to a pre-emptive war being fought in Iraq, to bring corporate Democracy, and God, to the Middle East.
     

I bring this up because Democracy is not doing so well here at home. People in the Saginaw Valley have much to worry about besides the National debt, Social Security Reform, and global 'Free' trade.
 

It is not just the Dioxin Contamination in their soil; air and water that keeps Tittabawassee River citizens' awake at nights. It's the difficulty in dealing with a government and a corporation who have too many common goals. Rampant confusion reigns in meetings where a government regulator and a corporate polluter work "in concert" to side-step needed reforms in Michigan government.
     

For two decades and more a number of people have been active in the Saginaw Valley trying to promote a more sustainable healthy future. I will mention three. During their time in the trenches, I believe Terry Miller of Bay City; Diane Hebert, Midland; and Michelle Hurd Riddick, Saginaw; have been incredibly kind to commercial interests who would do damage to their ecology and destroy their representative government.
    

Multinational corporate policy makers would like their critics to believe that what they do is all part of the natural order in what is known as American Capitalism - and is not to be questioned by anyone.
  

This ideological phenomenon has allowed the political pendulum in America to swing far to the right.
   

We are going to have to move to the left just to get back to the middle of the political spectrum if we want to solve some of our problems.
    

Is that so hard to understand?

Ward J. Hodge
Midland, Michigan

Taxation without Representation?


Dear Mr. Robert E. Martin;

  Regarding the STARS millage and the attempt to lift the tax cap, thank you for speaking for the not so rich and the barely-making it.
   Such voices are rare these days.
        Again, I say thank you.

Sincerely,

Carol M. Heine
Richville, Mi.

Editor's Reply:
 
   Thanks for your comments, but frankly, I don't think such voices are rare but becoming increasingly commonplace, which is a good thing.
The problem is that they are uttered privately, or in small social groups of friends that do not speak up enough, or do not know how to articulate their thoughts, or worse yet, feel that their words will get lost in the wash of big dollars blanketing the market.  This is a phenomenon that Richard Nixon won the Presidency based upon - the voice of the 'silent majority'.

        Nobody can afford to be silent anymore, especially in an age of electronic voting machines, because such silence is often misconstrued as consent.


Rumor Report . . .

Dear Mr. Martin;

Have you heard that TV 5 anchor, Sam Merrill is running for State Senate?  People are saying that he has had meetings with top Granholm supporters and the Governor herself. 
Isn't this unfair -- all the free TV "advertising"? 
It seems to put the Democrats at an unfair advantage.

John Broad
Via the internet

Editor's Reply:
    
Yes, I have heard that Sam is thinking of running for State Senate.  Although I've never met Sam personally, people I trust tell me he would be a thoughtful and competent asset to the State Senate.
  

Whether he can retain his role as a TV anchor should he run is another question.   Separation of Powers purists would argue that the Media is the 4th Estate of our Democracy, and needs to refrain from reporting upon things that it might easily have a partisan conflict-of-interest with; but the same could be said of my new role on the Saginaw Charter Commission, and to my mind the solution is simply for me not to report on anything having to do with The Saginaw Charter Commission.
   

Sam could easily do the same thing were he to run for Senate, and it would not necessarily undermine the credibility of the news organization, nor its significance as an impartial entity.
    

It all depends on the influence Sam carries. If it were proven his role as a State Senator compromised the integrity of the station in some manner, then you have a problem.   But until such a transgression is proven or occurs, it seems that reporters in general are good material for elected office.

Let's face it, how many people have the time or resources to research public policy issues?  In this sense members of the media are in a unique position, because just like a politician, their career is based upon public trust.
     

Current Republican Minority Leader Tom Delay is presently plagued with several smoking trails of Tammany Hall chicanery and has yet to resign.
 

If anything, I believe professional integrity and the different nature of public trust as it relates to the media serves as the strongest protection against undue influence peddling, which in many ways makes journalists safer bets when it comes to holding elected office than those from other walks of life that enjoy less scrutiny.
   

It's Time We Listened to Barry Goldwater

Dear Editor;

It's time to start quoting Barry Goldwater, of all people, who wrote in a 1994 Washington Post essay:

" I am a conservative Republican, but I believe in democracy and the separation of church and state.  The conservative movement is founded on the simple tenet that people have the right to live life as they please as long as they don't hurt anyone else in the process."

"I don't have any respect for the Religious Right.  There is no place in this country for practicing religion in politics. That goes for Falwell, Robertson and all the rest of these political preachers.  They are a detriment to the country."

Miles
Via the Internet

                                         
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