Letters

June 6, 2010

Tea Party dupes
Having just read this week’s responses to Stephen Tuttle’s “An Open Letter
to my Tea Party friends,” I am reminded of something said by John Stuart
Mill. He said that while it wasn’t the case that all conservatives were
stupid people, it was certainly the case that most stupid people were
conservatives. The responses to Mr. Tuttle’s column bear this out.
Tea Party members seem to possess a stupidity that is without limit. Start
with the movement’s two darlings: Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. Together,
they don’t make a half-wit. From those two, it’s an intellectual downhill
slide to the tri-corner hats, Hitler signs and the folks claiming the
government is going to put a chip in their heads.
I am no friend of the Tea Party; they’re not my friends. Unlike Mr.
Tuttle, I don’t have any constructive advice to offer. Their goals are
counter to the founding principles of this country. The members of this
group are being duped by the people behind the scenes in the Tea Party;
the folks who pay for the Express buses, speakers’ fees… If you’re not
wealthy, the people behind the Tea Party are not looking out for your
interests - they’re stooging you to secure more privilege for themselves;
they like the status quo. Hey, no proposed tax increase affects me, I
don’t make $250,000 or more; how many in the Tea Party do?
If you’re making a quarter million dollars or more, you can afford to pay
taxes at the same rate I do. That the wealthy and the large corporations
don’t share an equal tax burden with the middle class, people like me,
amounts to social welfare for them.
Follow the money, you’ll find out what the Tea Party is all about. Who
calls the shots? Who pays the bills? Who puts up the money? It’s not about
patriotism, socialism, Hitler, tax hikes, constitutional principles… It’s
about money: the wealthy don’t want to pay their fair share because they
never have, and the same goes for the large corporations. By agitating
everyday folks, by inducing fear, they get you to do their dirty work, and
all the while, you undermine your own interests.
Talk about stupidity. The Nazis did this when they duped the middle class
in their rise to power; they played on a fear of socialism, trade unions,
and anti-Semitism. The wealthy and large corporations ran Nazi Germany;
they had all of the privileges; this is what the Tea Party aims for; a
nation where the wealthy and big business can do as they please - and we
all serve their interests. It’s the new American Dream, if you’re rich.

  Mike Beveridge • Brethren

In Harley hell
Noisy cars, barking dogs, whine of leaf blowers. All disturbing
annoyances but compared to a Harley motorcycle with the guts in the
muffler burned out, nothing. You have heard them from miles away winding
out, running through the gears and wondered, isn’t there something that
can be done?
There is but it isn’t being done enough. Tickets. Have you ever been
driving along with the window down enjoying the flow of cool air and had
an airhead on a Harley blow past you doing 70 in a 55 area? You don’t buy
one to drive 55 all the time. The noise alone is enough to give you a
heart attack.
Safety? Naw. The noise is behind them and they get hit head on, seldom
from behind. Also, seems they could pick colors besides black and brown
leathers if they want to be safe (visible). Let’s share the road and
preserve our hearing or it’s going to be a noisy summer.

Norbert Tutlis • TC