Open Forum

Reference Dec. 21's showing of Operation Awaken at CLC. Awesome. The truth, the way we should always hear it, not the way the media wants you to hear it. Worth seeing and hearing again. Hundreds saw it and hundreds believed it. To our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, keep up the good work. Our support, 100 percent. Happy Holidays.

Charlie Makidon

Backus

Stand up for humanity

The extreme right and left are unknowingly blinded by the reiteration of words. Words that are taken out of context, that are misused from normal meaning, and repeated lies; and how a smile and often a straight face can reinforce their gullibility.

In the 60s I heard the actor named Reagan, reading H. L. Hunt's far right propaganda, and then watched him as governor destroy the Californian economy. After destroying California's economy he was elected and re-elected as president of United States, and with his voodoo economics to destroy the national economy. Then George H.W. Bush who knew better in 1980, followed the same line until 1992.

Even with generally unfounded hate attacks, by 2000, the Clinton administration left our country generally, if somewhat shakily, headed for fiscal soundness and world respect. But then we received the full onslaught of hate, fear, and word distortions from the far-right religious, economic, and imperialist greed machine.

If the American voters can not get our elected representatives to stand up for humanity, we will in six years see Depression deeper than 1929; hundreds of millions die of starvation and disease within forty years; perhaps another hundred million from armed conflict. All this will be done under the misinformation of the right to life, smaller government, free enterprise, and God's judgment.

If we but take responsibility for life and human welfare to the best of our ability, we would use the best data we could secure and take some action.

As a start we would practice family planning, protect our water supplies, totally invest in pollution-free energy and tax and spend to put our citizens to work to accomplish the above for ourselves and the world's humanity.

Dennis G. Gordon

Nisswa

Obama has been repairing

In response to all the whining and bellyaching the conservative Republicans are doing, all I can say is, you certainly on purpose have a very short memory!

The Bush, Cheney, Rove clan ran our great country down for eight years, throw in another six from Norm Coleman and what did we get, disaster! President Obama has done more repairing in one year than can be expected. Things are starting to come back! Yet Republicans the likes of Newt Gingrich and Michelle Bachmann are not helping the cause! The rich get richer, the poor get poorer is their chant!

Not to change the subject, but, hats off to our Sen. Al Franken for showing others who was running a recent Senate meeting! Keep up the good work senator!

James Cummings

Nisswa

Let the public eat cake

At a recent county board meeting, I learned you do not provide real facts that challenge our governing bodies, especially if you are a woman. Two men before and after were allowed to speak but when I presented facts and planned to ask important questions about the tax levies, I was blatantly told I could not speak. Our governing personnel are mind readers or psychics! I was stopped short without any effort to listen by the board and then talked down to by another county official who stated I had my chance to speak - even when I hadn't! I got the message and left! How dare anyone question or put relevant info on the table!

What did the other local government personnel do? Nothing! Is that complicity of the board in violating open meeting laws? Thus, a gang-process also is used to get across the message. Only what the governmental entities wish to present will be allowed. Even if open meeting laws are violated, action taken cannot later be challenged - Let the public eat cake and be quiet! An added bonus - a green, politically correct approach to governing! Keeping meetings short saves time and energy! Who could argue that! Like in fiction, facts and legal rights don't matter. Like The Blight Way, it's The Brainerd Way.

They also wisely sidetracked quite a few people to the assessor's office, did nothing for them and sent them home. Smart way to keep the public out of their meeting!

We need to start taking legal action personally against members of government entities who violate our rights. Financial penalties and attorney fees can be paid if government personnel violate open meeting laws. Even if you can't fight city hall, you can fight the city's personnel to protect your rights! ACLU - where are you?

Maria Cardle

Rural Brainerd

We'll all pay the price

The climate change bill being considered by Congress will have a negative impact on agriculture, as well as the U.S. economy as a whole. The U.S. House and Senate climate change bills would impose higher energy and food costs on consumers: raise fuel, fertilizer and energy costs for farmers and ranchers and shrink the American agriculture sector, which produces our nation's food, fiber, feed and fuel.

Under the climate change legislation, a significant amount of productive crop land will be taken out of production in order to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals. This shift in land use will hurt consumers at the grocery store, where the increased food costs will have a dramatic impact. Many families are facing difficult economic times, and this legislation will add an additional burden for them.

Less farm land, coupled with increased costs of production incurred by American farmers and ranchers as a result of legislation, will put our country at a competitive disadvantage in international markets with other countries that do not have similar carbon emission restrictions. The United States can't go it alone in greenhouse gas emissions. All nations of the world must be committed to greenhouse gas reductions.

Bottom line, if the climate change legislation becomes law, we all will pay the price.

Rosanne Caughey

Crow Wing County Farm Bureau President

Fort Ripley

Our Winter Wonderland

Congratulations Sertoma organization for its Winter Wonderland. Folks, it's magic. The fantastic arrangements of lights sponsored by local business people. I hope every resident of Crow Wing County plans to attend and when they do they will thanks Sertoma, you did a great job and we will see you next year.

Andy Thomas

Brainerd

Vote the bums out

To anyone who will listen: After reading the letter in the Dec. 17 paper written by the gentleman in Nisswa, I had to add my two cents worth (apparently, it's not even worth that).

My husband and I have also been writing and e-mailing our elected leaders. Some don't bother to reply. Others send form letters saying basically we appreciate your contacting us. However, we know better what you need than you do, so we will do as we please.

Anyone who tries to force something on the American public that they would not touch with a 10-foot pole, makes me start to worry. If the health care bill is so great, why is it not good enough for the people who want to pass it, their families, or their staff? But who would know because they will not tell us what is in the bill. Same goes for Cap and Trade, TARP, the Stimulus bill, and who knows what else they have planned for us.

A relative of mine has a motto that has never been more meaningful. It is VTBO: vote the bums out.

H. Kaspari

Crosslake

The majority should run things

My wife and I were talking to a young man who returned from Iraq this spring and said he may be going to Afghanistan. We thanked him for his service and said, God bless you. He looked up and said very clearly, Merry Christmas. This made me think: What is he fighting for?

Today we have all kinds of vulgar and pornographic expressions under the Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression First Amendment. However, the political correctness police have discouraged saying Merry Christmas for years now because it may offend someone. As many of you know, a democracy is supposed to be run by the majority of its people - not the minority that may object! There was a large minority that objected to the Revolutionary War; they were called Tories, but the majority of Americans wanted freedom and that is what we got.

It is said, All it takes for evil to thrive is for good people to do nothing. Please pray for the soul of our wonderful country, be patriotic, freely express our age old sayings such as Merry Christmas, In God We Trust, and God Bless America!

No one will arrest you - yet.

Tim McCarthy

Pequot Lakes

A ray of hope

The only ray of hope at the end of the two-week Copenhagen summit is the hedged recognition of the two degree Celsius limit as a guideline for all efforts in protecting the climate. The upper limit for global warming recommended by climate researchers has more or less been adopted.

But the measures actually necessary to observe the 2 degrees Celsius limit, particularly the reducing of global emissions by well over 50 percent by the year 2050, were not even mentioned. In this respect a target has been agreed upon but we are still not sure how it is to be achieved. In order to deliver on his promises to reduce America's greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and provide a chunk of that $100 billion in aid, President Obama must persuade the Senate to approve measures like carbon taxes and various emission caps - a huge task.

Although the Copenhagen Accord emphasizes the necessity to rapidly introduce greenhouse gas emissions reductions, it completely relies on voluntary contributions towards climate protection that the states are supposed to specify by Feb. 1, 2010. That amounts to a kind of collection-plate principle, by which each state gives what it considers appropriate. If we put all of the currently available climate protection plate offers from all of the states together, we are apparently moving towards a 3-4 degree Celsius world with serious climate risks.

Rolf Westgard

Deerwood

Let's take back our country

The majority of the country, whether Republican, Democrat, or independent, is feeling a real sense of frustration with our two national governing bodies, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress continually demonstrates that they care more about their special interests than they do about their constituents. Even though their approval rating is in the 20-30 percentiles they continue to enact legislation that is leading to the financial ruin of our country. They are able to stay in office because history has shown that the incumbent is reelected to office about 90 percent of the time. Being in office term after term enables them to form power cliques and to scratch each others backs and to disregard their constituents. Polls show that the country overwhelmingly supports term limits for these bodies but of course this will not happen since they make the laws.

The time has come for change and we can make it happen together, regardless of party. The Tea Party popularity has shown that the people are tired of the status quo and want an infusion of new blood. Let's return to government by the people not professional politicians.

Let's join together and take the Tea for Two Pledge in honor of the spirit

of the tea party movement. That pledge is: I pledge that I will not vote for the return to the Senate or the House of Representatives any member who has already served two terms in either body.

We do have the ultimate power, the vote. Let's use it together.

Joe, Ann and Steve Lanz

Nisswa