Letters from our Readers - May 2004

Not Just Any Sunday

On Sunday, April 25, one million people-perhaps the largest single demonstration in the history of this country-marched in Washington D.C. to protest attacks on women's reproductive rights. One million. That's how many people came. And how many other millions remained in how many hundreds of thousands of homes, enabling the marchers by taking care of houses, children, pets, jobs? 
Why wasn't President Bush there? He should have been standing next to Whoopi Goldberg when she held up a two-cent wire coat hanger, yelling above the din of approval: This should not be the only option! Never again! Why didn't the president come outside to meet his constituency face-to-face? President Bush can neither represent nor serve people he won't even acknowledge, will not meet, and cannot hear. His absence, which can only be disdain for the public, is a disgrace.
Perhaps he thinks these one million people and the millions more who supported them were just another focus group, like the millions of people who marched and demonstrated against the invasion of Iraq.
Such dismissive neglect from the president is unconscionable. He ought to have stood in humility before one million people from every state in the union, representing every race and religion and more than 1,400 groups whose agendas include civil rights, healthcare, feminism, and the environment.
Any president, but particularly this president, must be obligated-if not by conscience and character, than by law-to face such an assembly.
Where was President Bush? Where were members of the Congress? Their absence is disgraceful. Shame on Bush. Shame on every Senator and Congressperson who did not demand his attendance, nor attend themselves. Shame on us for letting our democracy come to this, for letting the behavioral bar of our public servants be dropped into the sewer.
In November, I hope we care enough about ourselves and our country to elect a new president, one whose arrogance does not daily disgrace the most vital tenet of our democracy: of the people, by the people, for the people.

Robert Rabbin 
info@truthforpresident.org 

Bullpen

This piece should be titled "Bullshit" rather than Bullpen. It appears you hold to the axium; If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. 
Entertaining though. 

Jay Winfield
Conroe

Thanks For The Great Slam

Thank you from the very bottom of my heart for your gracious invitation for me to participate in your Slam. The first year that I began performing in Slams I had heard about the Bluebonnet Slam, but could not imagine myself performing in it while so green. 
This year, being the second year of my Slam career, I retained the idea that Bluebonnet was the forum of the Taylors, Rives' and Buddy Wakefields (ie. the Slam Greats). Your invitation came as a very welcome surprise, as I saw this as my first opportunity to perform for in front of my mother and in the area where I grew up. 
That alone was a win for me! The events of last night and how it turned out were beyond my wildest imagination. It was an amazing competition and the talent and passion were complete reminders for me of why I started doing this in the first place. The whole experience will always be a treasured memory! 
Congratulations on such an amazing show! Bluebonnet is truly recognized in the Slam community as a premiere event and a coveted crown. I wear that crown now with humility, honor and complete shock! Again, thank you for this amazing opportunity! I look forward to working with you in the future. 

Tony
Houston

Hypocrites

Hypocrite, the meaning of the word fits most politicans. When someone asks for re-election and refuses direct debate should they be re-elected? Just because they oppose fair campaign funding? Where do they get their funding? Corporate funding and bigots that have money to buy there vote? 
Think what you will continue to pay for abuse? Now that the 8th District is no longer all Montgomery County the bigots will really have to come out. 
Will the truth hurt?????

James Wright 
www.wrightforcongress.com 

Don't Drink And Drive

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), the Conroe Police Department (CPD), and the Conroe Independent School District Police (CISD-PD) will launch a joint enforcement initiative to combat underage drinking and other alcohol violations as part of “Operation Safe Prom/Safe Graduation.” This will coincide with the month of April which has been declared as “Youth Alcohol Awareness Month.” 
A press conference will be held on Thursday, April 29, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Conroe Police Department to announce this joint initiative.
Acting Captain Debra Jones of the TABC Conroe Region states that “Operation Safe Prom/Safe Graduation is a much needed enforcement tool that will hopefully minimize injury and the loss of life among our youth during this time of celebration.” This collaborative effort is part of a three-prong approach of education, enforcement, and publicity to address minors and alcohol-related offenses. The enforcement effort will consist of conducting random undercover sting operations for locations in close proximity to prom/graduation sites, increasing bar checks, and responding to reports of large parties attended by minors. 
Chief Charlie Ray of the Conroe Police Department states that this is a very memorable time for high school seniors and he would hope that this awareness campaign would prevent anyone’s prom or graduation from being marred by tragedy.
Experience has shown that too many young and innocent lives have already been lost or severely impaired in Texas due to illegal underage drinking and driving. For more information on “Operation Safe Prom/Safe Graduation,” or to see the text of the full proclamation issued by the Governor, visit our website at www.tabc.state.tx.us/educa/safe.htm. To report underage drinking violations, call toll-free 1-888-THE-TABC

Email

Don't Tie Me To Eddie

I find the actions of Eddie Duncan to be inspiring, giving me hope that perhaps this experiment ins elf-governance can be resurrected. 
However, Mr. Duncan is not, as you wrote, "tied to" this organization. I suspect he has learned from my and other books and perhaps from listening to my radio broadcasts, but he is not directly associated with Freedom Bound International, and I would appreciate it if you would indicate such as a revision to the piece. 

Brent Johnson 
Author , The American Sovereign 
Host of “The Voice of Freedom”

Clarification

I just read Mark Williams' article on Blues in Red America, including a couple of quotes from me. Please allow me to clarify the first point I tried, apparently rather ineptly, to make. 
I absolutely do not say or suggest that being poor or a minority is something different than, or inconsistent with, being intelligent, which is how I thought that quote might be interpreted when I read it. What I was trying so inartfully to say was that you cannot spot a Democrat in a crowd, in Montgomery County or otherwise. We come in all races, ethnic groups, and religions. We are found in all economic, educational and intelligence levels. (Although, if I were someone else and read that quote, I would probably place me somewhere near the southern tip of the intelligence indicator.)
Please accept my sincere apology for the boneheaded way in which I tried to make that point, and thank you for your understanding. 

Nancy M. McCoy
Willis

The Woodlands Rules The Roost

When I moved to east Montgomery County several years ago one of the public officials told me that the Woodlands and Conroe run the county. Woodlands and Conroe lawyers and businessmen seem to have a low regard for the residents of Splendora, New Caney and Porter. This has become quite evident during the last couple of weeks.
Eric Yollick, a Woodlands lawyer and candidate for the Montgomery County Hospital District challenged his opponent to a debate. Ironically, he has done everything he could to avoid a debate in east Montgomery County. 
A debate was organized by local high school and college students, and ultimately sponsored by HEART, a health care foundation promoting education. Yollick, with the help of a local official who has endorsed him (Yollick) for election, has successfully shut down the debate. 
Perhaps the young people and panel of reporters would have asked Yollick questions that would be hard to answer, like why a building built with Federal money a year ago, to be used as a clinic, has never opened as a clinic. Or, why he shut down clinic service to east Montgomery County residents without notifying the individuals scheduled for appointments. Terminating the patient/healthcare provider relationship without notifying the patient (as Yollick did), is a serious violation of medical ethics.
Now they will probably ask why a public official may pick and choose who may use public buildings. 
We live in a society where fewer and fewer of the citizens are voting. The east Montgomery County debates were intended to interest young people in the political process. Unfortunately, the young people are learning a different lesson, that the First Amendment only applies to those with the money and power to control the topics.
The young people from east Montgomery County got the message they are too young, from the wrong part of the county, and from families that do not matter. 

Jim Becka, 
Splendora

The Real Losers

The real losers in East Montgomery County as a result of this week's "debate that never was" were the high school students who were trying to learn about the democratic process by holding a public forum. They had planned to help the public understand the MCHD candidates' positions in the upcoming election and at the same time gain a valuable education. A lot of work ws put into this forum by both teachers and students alike. HEART of Montgomery County(HOMC) was trying to help them salvage an opportunity to learn and participate in the political process simply by locating a place to meet. 
Unfortunately, what the students learned about politics is that it is a dirty business and that democracy and freedom of speech in Montgomery County are often suppressed, especially at election time.
Eric Yollick can whine all he wants to about HEART of Montgomery County's sponsorship role in this debate. He can complain about the inappropriateness of high school teachers trying to teach students about the political process and hold forums that would give them a chance to participate and put theory into practice. His paranoid delusions probably made him think that HOMC was going to sabotage the debate and rig the questions to make them tougher. In reality, HOMC was planning to sit in the background and let the students do their thing. We had no role in formulating questions or format.
P rec. 4 County Commissioner Ed Rinehart expressed several versions of the truth as to why he would not allow this forum to take place after proper consent had been 
obtained from the building supervisor. After all, senior citizens who were using the facility might have stopped square dancing long enough to listen to why this community clinic was being used for everything but healthcare. Homeowner sessions held there are more controversial. 
Interestingly, both Yollick and Rinehart have one thing in common: they share the blame for the fact that this clinic was never opened in the first place. Having a public forum might have drawn attention to the plight of East County residents who have had nowhere to go for healthcare and to unfulfilled promises made over a year ago by these same politicians. 
Eric Yollick is an example of Montgomery County's need to transform its reputation for dirty politics, slander, and character assassination into a process that allows viewpoints to be expressed openly and without fear. What a terrible shame it would be for us to not provide better role models for our students who will become our future leaders. Let's send them a clear message that the dirty politics that we have come to accept as the norm in Montgomery County can and should be changed for the better. 

Steven Farber, MD 
Founder and President, HEART

Give Me A Break

I want to answer the people supporting Cathy Smith and all of her charitable contributions.
The following are some of the things that happened on her watch that show she is pretty charitable with tax payer money. Without these wasteful expenditures we might have had enough money for a pay raise for City employees (no raise for two years)
A. $800,000.00 bridge built in her subdivision. (Oops) I forgot to mention last time that some friends (Hawthorne and others) owned the land next door and they would have had to build a bridge/crossing, exept we paid for it. Also Westfork Subdivision built to the North does not have access through McDade Estates and when developers layout a subdivision they are required to finish streets to other subdivisions for traffic purposes. She made sure no one used her bridge.
B. $2,4000,000.00 amphitheator. Would someone please show me where anywhere close to $2.4 million was spent (or misspent) and look carefully because for 2.4 million you expect something big or at least eye-catching. 
C. Police Station-Enough said about that possible $2+Million debacle.
D. One that pales in dollar comparison, but I find eespecially galling, is a 5 acre tract of land owned by the City of Conroe (us tax payers) sold to a sitting councilman for $12,000 total, not per acre. Then $10,000 to $12,000 worth of timber was sold off in effect giving this land for free to the councilman. I know I know she is going to say it was done legally and that the sales price was based on the appraisal District value. Excuses! Excuses!
Just think of what we taxpayers could do for our children, elderly, handicapped, mentally ill, or sick people with all that money. It has been tit for tat with her and other past counsel people and the City Administrator.. Simply put. It's time for a change of administrator and attitude and therefore we need to show both Craig Lonon and Cathy Smith the gate.

Mike Stoecker
Conroe

Falling Down, My Fair Lady

Police station falling down, amphitheaters which don't work and cost millions, budgets which rose to 48 million, selective management salaries out of control, long term contracts which review automatically, too few public works employees, too few fireman and policeman on the street, traffic problems escalating and the list of failures reads like a cafeteria grocery list. Need I say more?
The current Council faced with debt created by the former Council was forced to freeze hiring, freeze wages for all employees and ultimately call for a tax increase and she asks us for four more years of what we previously got for 12. I think not! Fool me once it's your fault; fool me twice it's my fault. After 12 years of failure I for one will vote for change on may 15th.
I ask you to study all of the candidates and pick one that is part of the solution and not part of the problem. The City is in dire need of a strong and inclusive visionary leader.

Steve Cook 
Conroe

Kerry not a Candidate

You know I am sure that John Kerry is a decent fellow, but before I even think of considering him as a candidate for the President of our country he has to do a few things.
First, he has to apologize for his indefensible actions following his premature exit from the Viet Nam conflict. Accusing fellow soldiers of atrocities on hearsay and throwing his medals over the fence were over the line. I know he was young and immature so I will give him the benefit of doubt if he gives a heartfelt public apology to all the vets and the American public.
The next thing he has to do is stop using his vet status as a convenient currency. Viet Nam Vets status is not cheap and should not be treated as such. What he did in Viet Nam, see combat, is laudable but falls seriously short of hero status. We all did what we had to do in that war. Bragging about your exploits is unbecoming at best.
The anti-military democrats have to stop enabling their own cheapening of vet status. Do you think we don’t know who you are? After the personal attacks they carried out on Bob Dole in 1996 you would think they would be embarrassed to try to use vet status for anything.
The democrats attacked Bob Dole and said his brain was too old. Remember that this is the party that feels seniors belong exclusively to the Democrats. They really got personal. Senator Dole was portrayed as sleazy, mean, nasty, cynical, disloyal, and a money launderer who resigned from the senate in disgrace. There was no limit to their mean-spiritedness.
Bob Dole’s courage in war, and in recovering from literally crippling war wounds, is unassailable. If you compare Bob Dole’s Purple Heart to Kerry’s you find that Senator Kerry’s three purples fade to lavender, lilac, and mauve.
So at this point I would have to say to Senator Kerry the “glass is half empty” candidate of the stridently pessimistic Democratic Party, I don’t want to be lead by a rudderless Lieutenant in the stormy sea that is our world today.

Theodore Pierce 
The Woodlands

The Draft Is Coming Back

The United States is headed for a military draft as soon as next year, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said today: "Every sign points in that direction."
"Not only has the Administration daily renewed its commitment to continue the occupation and keep our troops there indefinitely," Kucinich pointed out, "but now there are even more troubling indications, including Congressional support, that make the draft more and more likely."
Other nations that have been part of the U.S. military coalition are "responding to the concerns of their own citizens" by pulling out their troops, putting an even greater burden on U.S. forces, he said. "First Spain, now Honduras and the Dominican Republic, possibly the Philippines, and even expressions of concern from Poland, which has the second largest military contingent in Iraq," Kucinich noted.
Even before the other nations publicly announced their intentions, the Pentagon had already ordered 20,000 U.S. troops to stay in Iraq beyond their tour of duty. Now, with the exodus of troops from other nations, "Our own troops are stretched even further and are in more danger," he said.
Kucinich, an Ohio Congressman who led the fight on the floor of the U.S. House in opposition to the war authorization resolution in 2002, said the recent escalation in violence in Iraq is evidence that the Administration miscalculated the scope of the military effort and
misjudged the reactions of the Iraqi people to the invasion and occupation.
"Now, leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties are talking about ways to increase U.S. troop strength there to 'stabilize' the country," Kucinich said. "It was the invasion itself that destabilized the country, and the longer we stay, the more our young men and women will be targets."
As recently as yesterday, a senior Republican lawmaker raised the possibility that restoring the draft might be the only way to meet the increasing security demands in Iraq, Kucinich said. "It would take an act of Congress, but this is the same Congress that voted to authorize the war and later voted to fund it." He also pointed out that legislation has already been introduced in Congress, supported by some members of both parties, to resume the draft.
At the same time, Kucinich said that over the past few months, the Selective Service System has been quietly filling vacancies on local draft boards all across the country claiming that the actions are "merely administrative." Kucinich said he sees it otherwise: "The Pentagon has already sent tens of thousands of National Guard men and women and Reservists to Iraq," and some U.S. leaders have said the military needs 40,000 or more new personnel, in part to offset declining re-enlistments.
"I assure you, both Republicans and Democrats are looking at the draft as a way of meeting those quotas and meeting the demands of our current military policy," Kucinich said.
Kucinich, the only Democratic challenger to presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry, has been campaigning across the country urging voters to support his candidacy to send a message to the Democratic Party that it needs to take a position against the war, in favor of
turning over peacekeeping and reconstruction to the United Nations, and for bringing U.S. troops home.
"The Democratic Party must have the courage to take a strong stand to bring this war to an end," Kucinich said. "The lives of countless young men and women are on the line."
He concluded, "America must take a new course: get out of Iraq and stop the threat of a draft."

Matt Harris

Eric Egotistical

Eric Yollick is so egotistical and such a detriment to the Montgomery County Hospital District (MCHD) board that a citizens group has formed to oust him. The groups name is "Committee for REAL MCHD reform". Please read our website at www.thedogpound.net. You can then see that Yollick speaks out of both sides of his mouth.

Gene Osborne
Montgomery, TX

Thanks, The Bulletin Really Does work

You had posted an article about me searching for my brother who was adopted at birth 32 yrs ago. I want to say thanks for all you did. We found my brother and now are trying to make arrangements to go see him. I wanted to show you a pic of the family. Shannon sent us pics and I put together a family photo for our mother. I still get responses from people in your area who had read the article. It has been a great blessing to find my brother. Shannon Mayo who was adopted at birth is the brother in the Cowboy hat, and Im the brother right above Shannon. My mom cried after I found him and he sent pics, due to the great resemblance between Shannon and Myself. Once again thanks for all you had done.
Thanks and God Bless

Joe Thomas

Brady's Statement On Rumsfeld

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) issued this statement regarding Secretary Rumsfeld's testimony before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on Capitol Hill today. 
"Secretary Rumsfeld made a terrible mistake. He should have made the President and key leaders in Congress immediately aware of the prisoner abuses. Especially since, to his credit, it was military commanders under his direction who uncovered the abuses and were prosecuting appropriately. 
"Taken on balance, his leadership of our defense department during both peace and war, has been excellent. To resign now at this critical juncture would do far more harm than good to our national security and the war against terrorism and potentially jeopardize the lives of service men and women deployed in two theaters of war today." 

Sarah Tunstall Stephens

Ending The “War On Terror” Myth

The so-called “War On Terror” is a dangerous myth that is undermining American national security. This myth is a deliberate creation of the Bush Administration and their political allies. It has been very useful in promoting the Corporate Agenda of the Bush Republicans. Their fellow travelers in the Corporate Media have helped promote this intellectually dishonest way of looking at the threat posed to America by the Bin Laden terrorist organization.
First of all, “terror” is an emotion and should not be confused with an actual organization of terrorists. This “terror” theme is useful if you want to promote unrelated goals but ineffective in actually responding to the real threat posed by the Bin Laden organization. The term first used by Bush operatives was the “War on Terrorism.” This was equally dishonest because terrorism is a tactic used by terrorist. It is as absurd to have a war against a “tactic”
as it is to have a war against an “emotion”.
The deliberate distortion of language helped the Bush Administration take us to War in Iraq. These writers believe it was one of the main reasons the term was chosen by the Bush Administration. The climate of fear created by the 9-11 attacks was continued and heightened by the language chosen by the Bush Administration. Unrelated policies from tax breaks for the wealthy to the Invasion of Iraq have been promoted by the Bush Republicans under the guise of fighting the “War ON Terror.” American citizens were manipulated into supporting the Right-Wing Corporate political agenda of this White House although this agenda was in no way related to the 9-11 attacks.
The Bush-Cheney team spread the lesser myths about Iraq by falsely linking Saddam Hussein to the 9-11 attacks. We now know that Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were mortal enemies. Both were anti-American but only the Bin Laden organization posed a threat to the American Homeland. We have diverted huge military and financial resources away from the threat posed by the Bin Laden organization by invading and occupying Iraq. The Bush Administration was not paying enough attention to this threat before 9-11 and is still not truly focused on the Bin Laden organization. Before 9-11, they were largely focused on missile defense, tax cuts for the wealthy and packing the courts with Right Wing judges. Currently, they are focusing too much attention on Iraq, tax cuts for the wealthy and packing the courts with Right Wing judges.
The first focus of the Bush Administration should be the threat posed by the Bin Laden organization. Those were the persons responsible for killing 3,000 Americans in the 9-11 attacks. We should continue to aggressively wage the military campaign in Afghanistan. The next greatest threat to America is the exporting of jobs by large American corporations because this trend undermines our long-term ability to fund the fight against the Bin Laden terrorist organization. We need to stop using the term “War On Terror” because it is worse than useless. It is clouding our judgment when we need to clearly see the reality of the threats we face. It is time for the Bush Republicans and their fellow travelers in the Corporate Media to stop playing politics with the language of national security!

Stephen Crockett
Al Lawrence 

Crystal Ball

The Item newspaper in Huntsville, Texas announced Kevin Brady is the next Congressman for District 8. Is it telling the voters the vote is rigged? Remember 2000? Kevin Brady is a traitor to his own oath to uphold the Constitution. Sadam and Osama both were supported by the Bushs. Give Iraq to the UN. It was about Oil and look at what you pay at the pump. And our own troops face radium poisonings everyday in Iraq and Kosovo. Our own president supported the use of DU in both conflicts.
Will Brady face those in Walker County with children with this? Our veterans? The citizens did not cause this. Greed did. 
It's time for the voters to wise up to what we let into our government and make the law be upheld. When Brady does not have enough backbone to face wrongdoing and supports the Republican platform without question. What is he?
Lets see if he can stand a criminal investigation. 
Will George cover for him???? 
George! You missed your flight to Viet-nam. 

James Wright 
Plum Grove, Texas

Help For Eddie

Can you provide me with Eddie Duncan's phone number and/or E-Mail address. 
I can help him beat all his charges. 
I myself drive with NO Driver's License since 1996 and Beat All my Tickets! 

Luis Ewing
rcwcodebuster@hotmail.com 

Shocked 

I was shocked to read a letter to the editor in the Courier on April 27th by local chiropractor and former Council candidate Michael A. Chaplin which was full of false accusations and untruths about a candidate for mayor and current members of the Council. 
First of all, no member of the existing council or the existing mayor has ever discussed with any mayoral candidate the firing of any one city employee much less 6 city department heads.
Second of all, even if two sitting Councilmen had met with a mayoral candidate to discuss any personnel issue, which they did not, it would not have been a violation of any law.
Knowingly insinuating false accusations and possible violations of the law he stopped short of mentioning any names to protect himself, I guess from any slander suits in relation to these false innuendos. Mr. Chaplin may have skirted a lawsuit but he hurt a lot of hard working co-workers of mine including other Councilmen and the various department heads. His untrue innuendos concerning the firing of 6 employees had unfairly caused the families of city employees to worry if their husband or wife or mom or dad was one of the 6. 
As I previously said these accusations have not one ounce of the truth in them and the truth is current Council members only discuss personnel issues in executive session and we have never discussed firing anyone while I have sat on Council.
In conclusion, Mr. Chaplin, I feel you owe the mayoral candidate you refer to, our current Mayor and Council as well as all of the city employees and department heads an apology. 
Mr. Chaplin, you have the right to support the candidate of your choice although I feel you did Mrs. Smith a disservice. However, you don’t have the right to hurt innocent people with mean spirited letters full of false innuendos and accusations.
All of us a City Hall will be waiting for your apology. While you are at it you might want to include the citizens of Conroe in that apology.

Jay Ross Martin
Conroe City Councilman 

For The Record

One Council person running for Mayor of Conroe is running on her past record of accomplishments, lets address this issue in more detail if you don't mind.
I think we should list these past accomplishments she is so proud of, and I think we should start out with her most infamous accomplishment to the citizens of Conroe, the Cathy Smith Bridge. How much money did we spend on that Cathy?
A few more of her self proclaimed achievements that I think we should remember is the $4 Million police station that is falling down, the amphitheater which has got to be her greatest claim to fame that cost $2.5 million and last but not least, the city manager's contract that automatically renews every year for three years.
What's amazing to me is that she is running on her record. Is this lady moronic or is she living in denial. Either way we don't need her as mayor of Conroe, as a matter of fact, I think we should ask her to move out of the city.
I do agree with Mr. Flynn's comment that the office of mayor is very important and I feel that we don't need a recycled career politician but a fresh face with a vision and basic ideas of living within a budget. We need Tommy Metcalf.

Robert Bennett
Conroe 

Fruitful Years

Sure Mrs. Smith has spent 12 fruitful years as a member of Conroe City Council, but to whom?
She got a $800,000 Cathy Smith bridge in McDade Estates to serve her home and approximately 15 others when the longest wait was approximately hours plus an alternate rear way out to SH105. She voted to spend $2.4 million on an ill designed amphitheater that I am told could have been built correctly at one-third the cost. She served on Council when a $4 million Police Station was built that is falling down around the police department that only took four years to come to the taxpayers attention.
She served on Council when assistant Chief Charlie Ray wrote letter after letter begging for help with the building before the contractors bond expired, which fell on deaf ears.
She served on council that let the contractors bond expire without correcting the problems which may ultimately cost the taxpayers $2 million to correct if it can be corrected without tearing the building down and starting over.
She claims to have done so much for the Conroe Police and fire Department, yet they have endorsed Tommy Metcalf for Mayor.
What's up with that?
People have mentioned firing city leaders and having to pay off their contracts costing the taxpayers several hundred thousand dollars. This is simply not true, he can be terminated for cause costing tax payers nothing. 
Guess who was on council and got Mr. Lonon his sweet automatically renewable contract. In the real world an executive that lat a bond expire would be terminated, 
She voted against allowing the Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival a few years back which has an economic impact of over $800,000 for Conroe businesses plus being a 501 c3 non-profit group that gave Conroe High students more than $10,000 in scholarships last year along with many donations to other non profit groups.
I urge you to join me in making the right choice and voting for Tommy Metcalf for Mayor.

Leo Hewett
Conroe 

Taps: The Sound of Duty

This Memorial Day, many Americans will attend special ceremonies honoring the men and women who have laid down their lives in service to our country. With young men and women dying in the war against global terrorism and oppression, Americans are again aware that Memorial Day is more than another shopping holiday. There is a reason our nation has set aside a certain day to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty. Such duty deserves our respect -- and this day allows us an opportunity to show that respect. 
At many of these solemn observances a somber melody will likely echo over the proceedings. Sometimes played by one bugler, other times by two, the 24 notes that comprise Taps seem so simple and haunting. Why does a simple bugle call convey such deep emotion? Taps has a unique history and meaning known by few who hear it. But it's a story of how 24 plaintive notes came to embody the principles of duty and ultimate sacrifice. 
Taps, like Memorial Day itself, has its origins in the Union Army in the War Between the States. According to the U.S. Military District of Washington -- home to our nation's greatest memorial to fallen servicemen -- the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Taps dates back to one sultry night in Virginia in July 1862. 
Encamped with the Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, at Harrison's Landing on the James River, Brigadier General Daniel Adams Butterfield decided he didn't like the bugle call being used for "Lights Out." The call was originally set down by Silas Casey years before, and he had borrowed it from the French. Butterfield thought the call was too formal, too foreign. 
Now if a Brigadier General doesn't like something, it gets changed. So, Oliver Willcox Norton, the brigade bugler, was called to Gen. Butterfield's tent to work out a new tune. Butterfield whistled the proposed tune, possibly a derivation of an even older tune. Norton turned it into music, made a few changes and the bugle call we now know as Taps was born. Eventually, it was heard and picked up by other buglers in other commands. 
Taps was first used at a funeral later that year during the Peninsular Campaign. According to the story, a soldier in Union Captain John C. Tidball's battery was to be buried at a time when the standard three volleys of rifle fire would endanger their position so near to the enemy. Capt. Tidball decided to substitute the rifle fire with Taps, and word of his use of the tune spread through the ranks. Eventually, the call was written into the Tactics manual for use by all U.S. forces. 
Taken in the simplest sense, Taps played at a military funeral signifies the end of a day -- the end of a life. Lights Out. Yet, with the understanding of its history, Taps is more than a funeral dirge. It symbolizes the respect upon which our Armed Forces are based. A respect owed by each of us to the men and women who are willing to die so that others may enjoy freedom. 
So, if this Memorial Day, you happen to hear the sound of Taps, think not of death, but the sense of duty which bound that person to offer his life for your freedom. That is the true meaning of those 24 simple notes. 
There are no official lyrics to Taps, but the words that seem most appropriate are these: Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor,
God keep
On the land or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Jerry Patterson
Former Marine Lt. Col. USMCR
Texas Land Commissioner 

Becoming Intimate with War

Thanks to the firestorm of breathtaking images--at long last--America is becoming intimate with war. I cannot remember the exact timeline of events, but the past few weeks have ripped apart the Bush Administration's linguistically neutered and sanitized representation of the Iraqi invasion and occupation--what they call "Operation Iraqi Freedom." America is now traveling the gruesome distance from Administration salon word games and ivory tower fantasies to rape, torture, and murder; from war sloganeering and political posturing to the names and faces of the dead; from the emotionless swagger of Donald Rumsfeld's press briefings to the horror and grief of an outraged world.
We see rows of American flag-draped caskets, whose pictures were prohibited by Bush Administration policies. On Nightline, Ted Koppel shows us the names and faces of the American soldiers killed in the invasion and occupation--as the number edges towards 1,000. And then, Abu Grahib. The pictures and as yet unseen videos do not require words. The pictures cannot be undone by words. The pictures will not be silenced by words. The pictures cannot be edited by words; they cannot be modified or formatted to fit the screen of obfuscation and denial.
And yet with all this, the true picture is still fuzzy and out of focus. If we are going to listen to a "war president" then we must also see what war is--and not the war that is discussed and debated in the halls of Congress and on television talk shows. We must see the actual, not the metaphorical war. We must see the war that has faces and bodies and spirits, not the war of ideologies and abstractions and misguided patriotic fevers.
We have not seen the war that has taken the lives of 10,000 Iraqi civilians. We have not seen the war that has wounded thousands more. We have not seen the war of hospitals filled with children. We have not seen nor heard the sorrows, fears, and wailings of thousands and thousands of people in whose souls our bombs and missiles and bullets will ricochet for years without end. We have not seen these things. We do not hear those who exalt and celebrate war speak of these things. We do not see those who dress up in war costumes showing these things. 
If these things are the actual cost of war, then we should see them. We should become very intimate with the human dimensions of war as the war is happening, in real time. Every American must weigh the rhetoric of war against the body count of war. Every American must let the full force and scope of war fill their heart with actual images and sounds and smells. We must demand to know, to see, and to feel all the tragedy and sickness of war in its most graphic and uncensored realism.
And then, perhaps, we will decide to end this war, and future wars. Perhaps we will decide that we need a "peace president." Perhaps we will stand before the world and say we were wrong, that we are wrong, and that we will stop what is wrong. Perhaps, with enough intimacy, we will.

Robert Rabbin
Mill Valley, CA 

In Defense of God’s Servant

The US media made Saddam Hussein responsible for all of the reports of mass graves, prison abuse, torture, and injustice that came out of Iraq. The US media used these accusations to promote a non-existent moral right to invade Iraq. Yet the same US media that heaped the blame on Saddam Hussein is the same media that justifies the same abuses by the US government. The US media, generally speaking, is guilty of a blatant, racist double standard.
When President Bush, Sr. invaded Panama, there were reports of mass graves that were dug by the US. The response of the US government was that the mass graves were dug for health reasons. The US government had to bury the bodies of the people ho had been killed in the invasion in a mass grave to prevent disease. Why are the reports of the mass graves in Iraq more or less credible than the reports of mass graves in Panama and is it possible that the mass graves in Iraq, if they really are mass graves, were dug for health reasons? 
When the US used deliberate lies to invade Iraq they claimed to have liberated the people of Iraq from the abusive Saddam Hussein. Now we can see that the US must resort to the same tactics that they accused Saddam Hussein of using. These include prison abuse, torture, and injustice. Why are George Bush and the US Senate -- which pays the bills in Iraq -- less guilty of these crimes than Saddam Hussein. Why are the republicans and democrats more or less guilty than the bathist?
I submit that the Iraq war is a religious war that is being waged on behalf of the Vatican. Furthermore, I submit that the double standard of blame in the US media is motivated by the Vatican’s influence over the US media -– and, therefore, their influence over the US government. Finally, I submit that this is the evidence that the man of sin -– the pope -– has been revealed and that he is working with lies and deceivableness to promote an unjust war against Iraq and God’s servant –- Saddam Hussein.
I believe that the pope hates Saddam Hussein so much because he knows that God is using Saddam Hussein to liberate all of Arabia –- including Israel -- from the kings and tyrants who now dominate and enslave the people of Arabia. I believe that it is God’s intention to create a United States of Arabia that will truly liberate the people of Arabia the same way that the founders of the United States of America did when they created the Constitution of the United States of America. 
The Vatican is the focus of evil in the world.

Charles Henry Schoonover
2004 LP Presidential Candidate

There Is No God, There Are No Atheist Terrorists, And There Is No "war On Terror" 

In its campaign “2004 – Year of Atheism”, launched by His Holiness RAEL on December 13th 2003, the Raelian Movement (www.rael.org and www.thereisnogod.info) is discovering more and more that Americans do not agree with what George Bush tells us - that “war is unfortunate but necessary to rid the world of evil”, implying that God approves of America’s policies in which thousands of innocent children are killed in Iraq, US and British soldiers torturing Iraqis or the hundreds of US coffins coming home – all this while the populations of Muslim countries are indoctrinating little children that Islam is the only true religion in order to retaliate.
The current “Year of Atheism” campaign is giving more and more people the courage to speak up against the politically correct who immediately call atheists “unpatriotic” or other such nonsense. A growing number of Americans understand that belief in a god removes all responsibility for one’s actions and humanity places itself in a position of being powerless pawns in some sort of “divine game” being played out. The Raelian Movement and other atheist organizations teach that we are responsible for our actions – or lack of actions. Humanity’s future is up to humanity, not a god. 
It should be obvious by now that violence can only bring more violence – and that love will bring only more love. We should be very aware of how much violence in old religious text has shaped the world in which we live. The Old Testament’s “eye for an eye” was taught to be wrong by Jesus and was replaced by “love your enemy”. George Bush, who claims to read from the Bible every morning, somehow missed this most famous message of Jesus and if he really followed Jesus, would lead the world to peace instead of war.
His Holiness RAEL declares: "Another big lie is the idea that there is a "war against terrorism". There is no such thing. A war is waged by an army fighting against another army. Fighting terrorism may be a police matter, but not a military one. And that is where education has failed. Because the real weapon against terrorism is education. When a proper education teaches children atheist values of respect for every other human being nobody is willing to crash an airplane into a building in the name of Allah or any supernatural being hoping to access an imaginary "heaven". 
With an atheistic education nobody believe in any kind of life after death, and then everybody try to make this life, the only one we are sure to have, better for everybody. 
Peaceful citizens need of course to be protected against terrorists, these people who were already badly educated and who are ready to die for their beliefs by becoming human bombs in the name of their supernatural gods. But this is not a war. It's a matter for police. The huge military expenses, advanced jets and armored vehicles, missiles and satellites can do nothing against 3 men with a cutter who decide to hijack a Boeing 747. It is always laughable to see the medias illustrating the idea of war against terrorism by showing military training in terrorist camps. You do not need months of training in para military camps to hijack an airplane with a box cutter! Wake up it's a cutter not a machine gun! 
This is a pure campaign of disinformation in order to support the alleged "war on terror" which doesn’t exist. And by invading other countries in the name of this so called "war on terror", killing thousands of innocent civilians, imprisoning and torturing thousands of others, America is only generating a thousand times more terrorists ready to die to avenge the death and tortures endured by their friends and families. How can citizens of the "country of freedom" and the most advanced country in the world, United States of America, suddenly become war criminals, torturers and abusers? Only because they are indoctrinated by this big lie of a "war on terror" which makes them sees all Arabs or Muslims as potential terrorists potentially guilty of September 11 attacks, and needing punishment. 
It is exactly like the Germans in 1938 that were indoctrinated to hate the Jews so much that a majority of them were ready to help Adolph Hitler put them in concentration camps and exterminate them. Guantanamo looks more and more like Auschwitz and it is indeed a concentration camp where so called "detainees" have absolutely no rights.
The imaginary " war on terror" is creating more terrorists and the future will sadly prove it. Before this war started there was a few hundred religious fanatics ready to blow themselves up in the name of their god, now they are hundreds of thousands all around the Muslim world who hate America as never before. Hatred creates hatred. War brings war and violence brings violence.
"Those who live by the sword will die by the sword ". That's why it is more than ever of the utmost importance to remember what Jesus said: "Love your enemies". If these words of Christian wisdom from Jesus were applied by George Bush, who falsely claims to be a Christian, after September 11 the American President would not have started a war, but by loving his enemies, would have given more support to Palestinians, received more Palestinians refugees, withdraw the military from Saudi Arabia, cancel the economic sanctions against Iraq killing so many children, ask Israel to destroy the nuclear weapons of mass destruction (and these nukes are really there), and give as much money as it gives to Israel to Arab countries in a more balanced way . This would have brought peace and love, which would have dramatically brought down the number of potential terrorists. And it doesn’t mean that at the same time security in the airports couldn’t have been increased which is one more time a matter of police and not militaries.
Education and atheism are the most important weapons to fight terrorism. Remember: there is no such thing as an atheist terrorist. Because when you don't believe in god and heaven, you have nothing to die for, and you are just willing to live happily as long as possible and make the life of other human beings better.

The Raelians

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