Letters to the editor

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 9, 2008

Raise political stake

I am pro-Nancy Boyda. She is a Blue Dog Democrat in Congress, meaning she tends to vote as much with Republicans as she does with Democrats, and this sometimes irritates me.

However, it looks like we are going to have a Democratic majority in Congress, and the way the system works, Kansas will be better served having a Democrat representing us at the table. Like it or not, members of the majority party get better seats and their states get more. We would be foolish to send anyone other than Nancy Boyda back to represent us.

Besides, she has done a good job since being elected, and her voting record, whether I agree with all of it or not, has been good for Kansas.

It makes me wonder if now wouldn't be a good time to have a Democrat as senator from Kansas too. Remember, the majority party decides who the committee chairpeople are and who sits on which committee.

The Republican Party takes Kansas for granted. The Democratic Party doesn't pay any attention to Kansas, because why waste money or effort on a solid red state? Think of the attention and perks Kansas would receive from both parties if we elected a Democratic senator. The National Democratic Committee would be pouring money into the state to keep him in office, and the National Republican Committee would be pouring money into the state to unseat him.

Kansas would no longer be taken for granted as a solid red state. And that, my friend, is power.

JIM LINN,Topeka

Foxes in hen house

What we're supposed to believe: We need a $700 billion bailout? No, we need a $700 billion rescue plan. That doesn't sound as bad.

"This financial mess was caused by greed on Wall Street." That sounds good. "These greedy entrepreneurs took advantage of low interest rates and made bad investments." That sounds good. "We want to protect the American people; we want protect their retirement, their homes and small businesses." That sounds really good.

What we're not supposed to know: Interest rates are artificially created by the Federal Reserve. Each fiscal quarter we wait to see what the Fed will do with interest rates. The Fed isn't part of the government. It is our central bank. Congress established the Fed and its powers. The Fed is supposed to ensure stability of the financial system.

Who is trying to fix the problem? Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Fed; and Henry Paulson, secretary of the Treasury. Treasury's mission is to be steward of U.S economic and financial systems. Sen. Christopher Dodd is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which is supposed to provide oversight of the Fed. His committee has jurisdiction over our financial institutions.

So those who gave us the problem are going to fix the problem. Are you feeling some anger?

Paulson is going to print the money (further dropping the dollar's value). We will borrow from China, again. We owe China about $3 trillion. Our debt was $5.3 trillion (you each owed $31,700). Adding unfunded Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare, our debt was $59.1 trillion.

Congress gave us this. Our presidents have concurred. The free market has been crushed by our government. They like socialism: more circuses and more bread. The "plan" makes things worse for tomorrow.

AL PEDERSEN.St. Marys

Leader on and off field

This evening, the 1984 Topeka West High School football team will be inducted into the Topeka West High School Athletic Hall of Fame. A testament to the team is that the seniors have all tried to stay in touch in one form or another over the past 22 years. The bond created by that special season remains.

I think I speak for all former football players when I say that our head coach, Frank Walton, was the reason we were successful, not only on the field but in the classroom and in life.

We still hear the words that motivated us: "Don't waste it."

Coach Walton instilled discipline and values, which along with the values instilled at home helped guide us to become upstanding and successful members of our respective communities.

Coach Walton made his players believe commitment, along with hard work and sacrifice, leads to success in anything they do.

He taught his players the true meaning of teamwork, dedication and honor. He expected perfection, not only on the field but in the classroom also.

Those beliefs and expectations led to some of the most successful seasons in school history.

It is now time to honor our coach and our leader for the impact he had in all of our lives. On behalf of the all the players that had the privilege to play for Coach Walton, we say thank you.

JOHN T. CAHILL,Topeka

Seat belts work

I was recently in an accident that caused a compound fracture of my forearm, a broken kneecap and 15 broken ribs. I spent 51/2 weeks in the hospital. But I still consider myself fortunate.

I had two of my grandchildren with me. I was only going 21/2 miles away from home, and it would have been easy to just put the children in the van and take off. Instead, I did as my son and daughter-in-law asked me, which was to always buckle the kids in their car seats. We all know the law requires us to do that, but there are people who don't follow the law.