My Uncle sent this letter to his editor in Shawnee OK.

July 23, 2011

Shawnee News-Star

Letters to the Editor:

THREE….TWO…..ONE……  TAXI ! When the Atlantis Space Shuttle touched down at Cape Canaveral last Thursday it not only marked the end of the American manned space program, it was a defacto admission that future Americans in space would have to hitchhike or ride the Russian Soyuz taxi to the International Space Station. This is a major Russian propaganda victory! It is also a tacit admission the current Administration has neither the means nor motivation to continue American manned space flights. That bothers me. It should bother all Americans.

Only those of us who worked closely with our early R&D, production, and operations  know of the tireless effort, excitement and unity of the military, contractor, scientific, and governmental  communities in fielding our missile force and exploring space. The technological spin offs to consumers is legendary. Less well known is the economic impact upon all levels of American society. It cost a lot, but we got a tremendous return for our investment. How did you feel July 20,  1969,  when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon? Do you think we would have gotten there first if we had to “Thumb” a ride on a Russian rocket? Nyet!

The Space Shuttle and the International Space Station programs have been vital in furthering knowledge of our own planet as well as planning for future space exploration. Who among us doubts the value of the Hubble Space Telescope? Man in general, and Americans in particular, love challenges and the results they produce. Witness: Achievements in ground transportation, Panama Canal, aviation, atomic power, breath taking advances in agriculture, medicine, communication to name a few, AND space exploration.

Yes, the Space Shuttles were aging and needed retirement, but not the elimination of American manned space flight. Of necessity, American launch vehicles will once more take Americans to the moon and beyond. Talk about adding jobs? Our national pride, as well as our pocketbooks, will benefit.

Glenn C. Peck,  273-4596

Retired, USAF

Cavuto busting myths about debt limit - July 27

You've heard about the sell-off. Now to all the carrying on about this debt.
So, we're going to kick things off a little bit differently on this show today. Because frankly, in the midst of this debt ceiling hysteria. That's all I can call it. I step back and say you know this is kind of long overdue today.
I've heard so many distortions, so many lies, so little time.
So six days from supposedly doomsday, may I be the first to say no doomsday. So why don't we just all calm down here? And let's be clear:
Let's Be Clear Point No. 1: We will not default if the debt ceiling isn't raised by next week. Now we will default if we willingly miss payments to bond holders next week or any week. That never changes.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 2: Republicans aren't the ones who risk not paying those bond holders in that event. Only the president has the power to pay, or not to pay, those bond holders in that event.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 3: Missing a debt deadline does not mean the government is dead. Taxes will still be coming out of your check, I'm sorry to say. So tax revenues in Washington will be alive and well.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 4: The credit ratings agencies won't give us a pass if we just meet this debt deadline. They'll still cut our debt if there's no real spending restraint attached to that deadline.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 5: We're on the brink of a downgrade not because we're bumping up against a deadline. We are on the brink of a downgrade because of all the spending and deficits that have lead up to this deadline.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 6: You can't say Tea Partiers are holding up this process because they won't budge on taxes and not say the same about liberals holding up this process because they won't budge on spending. Just be fair here.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 7: Democrats can't say Republicans are playing politics, not wanting to raise the debt limit now, but they weren't five years ago, when not a single Democrat voted to raise the debt ceiling back then.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 8: The president can't say he's the adult at the table and not the one pointing fingers and then holding pressers and speeches blaming republicans for acting childish.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 9: You can't say spending isn't the problem, then with a straight face say you worry about whether you can send out 80 million checks to people getting paid by the government, only a small portion of which are Social Security and Medicare checks from the government. That's a lot of checks. That's a lot of government. That's a lot of the problem.
Let's Be Clear Point No. 10: And Mr. President, this one's for you -- you can't say the other side has brought us to the brink on this budget, when your side didn't even offer a budget. Not this year. Not last year. And not the year before last year.
So that my friends is where we stand. Sorry to go on and on. But that is where we stand. That is the real deal. A government deep in debt. Two sides trying to fight it out. Both sides playing politics.
Nothing unusual is holding this process hostage. Business as usual is what is holding this process hostage.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/your-world-cavuto/2011/07/27/neil-cavuto-busts-myths-debt-debate#ixzz1TotcHjLe

Blaming the Tea Party - Not so according to Cavuto

Neil Cavuto on July 22:

Fact One -- Tea Partiers' opposition to tax hikes didn't bring us to this brink. Washington's indifference to spending did.
Fact Two -- Tea Partiers didn't create these deficits. Washington did.
Fact Three -- Tea Partiers didn't wreck the budget this year. Try Democrats, who had total control of Washington, not even offering a budget at all... last year.
Fact Four -- Tea Partiers aren't the reason we're up against another debt limit. Washington is.
Fact Five -- Tea Partiers aren't suddenly to blame for the credit ratings agencies now putting this country's credit on watch. Credit ratings agencies first warned about this years ago.
Fact Six -- Tea Partiers have been consistently opposed to the gimmicks that created this mess. Washington's consistently offered only more gimmicks to allegedly fix this mess.
Fact Seven -- Tea Partiers aren't the only ones saying a debt hike without meaningful spending cuts is a waste. Standard and Poor's itself warned such a deal would be a travesty.
Fact Eight -- Tea Partiers aren't the crazy ones for saying it's time to stop this nonsense. Those who call them crazy for dare speaking the obvious are the ones who make "no" sense.
Fact Nine -- Tea Partiers resisting business as usual aren't the problem right now. Self-serving politicians still practicing business as usual are.
Fact Ten -- Tea Partiers demanding accountability isn't the stuff that brought us to this brink. Washington's continued failure to "be" accountable has us at the brink.

Is there no shame?!

    Well folks, we are now being deluged from the dominant media culture as well as outlets which we used to depend on being "fair and balanced," that the debt bill is the "best we can get."  I am so livid that sparks should be coming out of my typing digits, but no, let me tell you about the latest indignity which has been heaped on you and I, Tea Party Patriots.
     Today (August 1) while watching "The Five" (which replaced Glenn Beck on Fox News Channel), Bob Beckel (yes, the same Bob Beckel who managed Walter Mondale's campaign in 1984 and later was involved in a sex extortion scheme in 2004) referred to the Tea Party as "Tea Terrorists"!  This bully joins Democrat Congressman  Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) who, at a two-hour, closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting this weekend, said:  "We have negotiated with terrorists.  This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money."
    Not to be outdone, but Vice President Joe "Plugs" Biden said: "They have acted like terrorists," according to several sources in the room.
    Where have we heard this before?  Oh yeah, it was our own (former) Congressman Baron Hill.  The Baron said that he would have not have town hall meetings in 2009 because (in Washington Post and Indianapolis Channel TV 6 interviews) he was afraid that those who disagreed with him on socialized medicine (he called it "health care reform") "political terrorists" he called them, might "blow up the meetings."
    Mr. Hill was wrong (and thankfully shown the electoral door) and so are Mr. Becket, Biden and Doyle.  We, The People (many of us are Tea Partiers) are not terrorists!  Terrorists right now and for the past 30 years or so are Islamofascists who fly into buildings killing 3,000 of our countrymen; terrorists strap bombs on their bodies killing innocents; terrorists are those people who are dedicated to the destruction of our country and our way of life.  How dare you?  Have you no shame?  Your comparison is absolutely disgusting and I hope you are all shown the door.  The lack of shame from Mr. Beckel's colleagues on the panel is deafening.  The lack of shame of the Democrats for Biden and Doyle is almost expected.  More's the pity.
  Oh yeah, the debt limit ... we're being hosed again.  Obama gets an additional $2 trillion slush fund to help himself get re-elected.  We get the promises of another blue-ribbon panel (didn't we just have one last year whose recommendations were ignored?) to make recommendations about debt reduction; the promise of a dollar for dollar expense reduction (which doesn't start until 2014); and, what should amount to a total of $17 TRILLION dollars debt owed the Chinese and the Japanese.
  Watching the current spirit of "bipartisanship" on the floor of the House makes me throw up a little in my mouth and reminds me of P.J. O'Rourke's classic book about Congress: A Parliament of Whores.  The title was right then and it certainly fits now.  This capitulation of Congressional leadership is deplorable, particularly on the Republican side.  They say "this is the best deal we can get," until the GOP can control the White House and Senate in 2012.  I pray we still have a country in 2012.