LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Why Waste Our Dollars on a Failed Policy?
To the Editor:

On Congressman Bart Stupak's official Web site, he has a section entitled "Bart's Views on Current Issues," which includes a "Position on Iraq" statement. The first sentence of the position paper says, "Our current policy in Iraq has failed." If Iraq is a failed policy, I would like to know why Congressman Stupak voted for the most recent war funding bill. Why is he so eager to waste our tax dollars on a failed policy?

Senators Levin and Stabenow also voted for the war bill funding bill. There are a lot of disappointed Democrats and independent voters who sent them to Congress to end this war. Their constituents are angry, and their enemies are calling them cowards without the courage of their convictions.

The idea that President Bush has to get a blank check, no strings attached, in order to support the troops is pure mass media ad campaign spin for the mindless mesmerized masses and the Democrats and the Republicans are both using it. Some of us passed our GEDs and get our news from sources other than the mainstream. We are not going to cut funding for the troops until they run out of bullets and leave them without a ticket home. That con job is just another lie, like weapons of mass destruction, Jessica Lynch, Iraqi ties to 9/11, and we are there to democratize Iraq. We are there to take their oil.

The truth about why this bill got bipartisan suppoert may be in the details. The bill requires that the Iraqis turn over the majority of their oil fields to the Big Oil companies.

To maximize profits, the oil companies need to control the flow of oil or competition, and real capitalism will result in lower prices. The oil industry is becoming increasingly monopolized as it price gouges us to poverty.

One final note, before someone writes and tells me about Congressman's Stupak's recently proposed oil price gouging bill, let's examine one little detail: It requires the approval of the President, who declares an oil price gouging emergency, and spurs investigation into action to check the price gouging. President Bush is the best friend Big Oil ever had.

The average gasoline price in 2001 when he took office was $1.13 a gallon. So if he just doesn't just veto the legislation, does anyone really think that the man who called a crowd of wealthy patrons, "his real constituency, the haves and the have mores," is going to check the major oil companies?

Our legislators will get to vote for it though, and tell us, "See, we did something about the out-ofcontrol gasoline prices."

As a wise person once said, "What this country needs is a good second party."
Jim Ramelis
Gould City