On Your Mind is the Herald/Review’s telephone opinion line and is intended as a public forum for our readers. Comments represent the opinions of callers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper or any specific knowledge that we have. Readers may share their opinions by calling 458-0332, or by e-mail to svhoym@transedge.com or regular mail at 102 Fab Ave., Sierra Vista AZ 85635. Due to the volume of submissions, comments will be limited to 150 words or fewer. Comments are edited.

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Sept. 9

In the latest Gabrielle Giffords’ TV ad, she has a sheriff telling us Giffords has worked hard for border security. What the sheriff doesn’t tell us is that Giffords has favored every piece of legislation that hampers and delays the building of the border fence, in deference to those environmentalists who champion animal rights over the security of our nation. Giffords is two-faced on border security, just as she is two-faced in repeatedly telling us she supports the troops and then with fellow Democrats opposed the successful surge in Iraq, ready to let our troops return home in humiliation and defeat. The same goes for her telling us she is for oil drilling but is against drilling in ANWR and avoids telling us if she favors off-shore drilling or not. Giffords calls herself a moderate Democrat but votes with staunch liberal Nancy Pelosi 93 percent of the time. The bottom line: Gabrielle Giffords isn’t straightforward with voters.

 

I began to read the article, “Independent group says U.S. is still ‘dangerously vulnerable’ to WMD,” in the Sept. 9 Herald with interest, only to discover Democrats in Washington are concerned the U.S. is vulnerable to WMD. These are the same Democrats who, under the guise of protecting our civil rights, consistently try to tie the hands of our CIA, NSA and FBI who labor to intercept messages to and from suspected terrorists located overseas and here in America. These are the same Democrats who consistently coddle captured al-Qaida terrorists and want to give them all the protections of the U.S. Constitution. Is it any wonder the U.S. is vulnerable to WMD? Oh, yes, these are the same Democrats who control both Houses of Congress which have a public approval rating of 9 percent, the lowest ever.

 

This is to the person who was appalled by the picture of the Bisbee obese football team. My son is a lineman on the Puma team and I’m appalled at your show of ignorance. My son is 265 pounds of pure muscle. He works out twice a day and has about 14 percent body fat. Can you say the same? Most of these boys work out harder at practice every day than you will ever in your lifetime. Stop being appalled and start getting educated.

 

Tell those calling in whining about licensing your cats to get a grip. Indoor cats live longer. I’ve got one who’s the neighborhood waif. He’s even been written up in the paper for visiting a neighbor via a cat door in the middle of the night. Took some time but now he’s indoors, living well at 13 and he will be licensed. All it takes is for you to see one that’s been ripped apart by wild critters to understand the necessity. I look forward to catching on tape the one that’s ruining my plants and defecating near my front door. The owners are renters and I will thoroughly enjoy taking the proof to the property management company for reimbursement of the destroyed plants. Stop your whining and quit pretending that you are some kind of animal defender and you’re outraged. These are domesticated cats not wild or feral. Your outrage demonstrates your misunderstanding of pets.

 

Two recent news events pointed out to me the clear philosophical difference between liberals and conservatives. When questioned Barack Obama says he supports abortion because he didn’t want one of his daughters to pay for a mistake all her life. Palin’s daughter, born, raised and educated in a conservative-values environment is unmarried, pregnant at 17 and is going to marry the father and have the child. She is accepting the consequences of her mistake and not trying to eliminate her mistake. Personally I want our nation’s future generations to accept responsibility for their actions, live with them and learn from them, not a generation of second, third or fourth chancers who continue to err and expect someone to bail them out whether through abortion, amnesty or judicial activism.

 

In her speeches Sarah Palin lies about the Alaska government’s corporate jet. It wasn’t sold on eBay. It was sold to a contributor to her campaign and at a loss. She also put down Obama and his community organizer job as low. In South Chicago that work was mostly faith-based with the poor and jobless through churches. How dishonest and uncharitable this self-proclaimed Christian is. She also brags about her Alaska budget surplus. She didn’t make it. Due to high gas prices at the pump Alaska oil revenues were at a record high.

 

I just saw on TV where they are bad-mouthing Sarah Palin about her religious faith. I bet whatever it is her reverend didn’t ask God to damn America. And I also bet she never saw the inside of a mosque.

 

I’m reading today’s paper and you’ve got the girl being abducted story way back on Page A8, not on the front page. Isn’t it front page news when our children are at risk or they’re put in harm’s way? It’s much more noticeable on the front page. I know you may not think this is important; perhaps you’re not a parent, but being I am a parent I think it should be on the front page where everyone can se it. When we have abduction attempts on our children in this town it should be on the front page. Please let’s start protecting our children. I think that’s an obligation the paper should take on.

 

The real issue is John McCain’s age. A Duke University study this year showed more than a third of us over age 71 have mental problems, from declining faculties to dementia. Moreover, after 70 one’s stamina declines. How can McCain handle a 24-7 executive job? He is 72. A hero he maybe, but he will be 76 in office if elected. I’m an independent and an active 74-year-old but I know this study hits the nail on the head. America needs a man or woman with vigor at the helm, not Sarah Palin who has absolutely nothing to do with Washington.

 

Three cheers for McCain. He made the right choice and made both history and change by selecting Gov. Palin for his vice president. Yes, a woman as VP on the Republican ticket is change. But the biggest and unprecedented change will be a woman as VP in the White House for the first time in our country’s history. I think McCain and Palin make a great team. They both have what it is going to take to make the right changes in Washington. No cheers for Obama. By using the media his campaign and supporters try to discredit Palin just like they did Hillary.

 

Sept. 10

For all of our Democratic friends and voters. You all seem to be sold on Senator Obama’s agenda of “change” But what change? He hasn’t committed himself as to how he would change our government or the way Washington does business. From what I gather, he wants to change back to the ways of old, higher taxes, more government spending, more government programs, more government oversight of our everyday lives, In other words socialism. I, for one, would rather look after myself. If you need a structured environment, join one of the services, they have officers who will plan your day for you.

 

I’d like to have the good Republicans in the state of Arizona tell me what John McCain has ever done for this state. He doesn’t believe in earmarks so evidently we never get any money from Congress. It goes to Alaska.

 

I see where OPEC decided just today to cut the production of oil so the price doesn’t fall too low. If that doesn’t tell you something. It’s time to start drilling, get more energy, and use the energy in this country. It’s ridiculous to be held hostage by them. Apparently they don’t want the gas to go below $3.60 per gallon. We need to do something now. Waiting any longer is just stupid.

 

John McCain’s campaign managers, Steve “Swiftboat” Schmidt and lobbyist Rick Davis, former campaign manager for Schwarzenegger, are following the rule — if the lie is big enough and repeated often enough people will believe it. So it is regarding McCain’s lies about Obama: That he will raise your taxes. He will, but only if you make more than $250,000 per year. If you make less, he will lower your taxes. No. 2 lie is that Obama did nothing in Congress. In fact he worked on arms control, the GI Bill for educational benefits for soldiers returning from Iraq, and he worked on an ethics bill and several others. He reached across the aisle. Sarah had the lies drilled into her to read in her speeches. They don’t even write their own speeches. Before you vote please seek out the truth.

 

The comment in OYM today sounds like a hard-core, never-die Democrat who would find anything nasty they could say about Republicans. Get a life. Look at some of your Supreme Court judges. How old are they? And some in Congress and the Senate? You sound like the good old Bush bashers. I would be proud to have Sarah Palin as president if anything should happen to McCain. After all, behind every good man is a good woman, period.

 

Never has a vice presidential candidate been investigated and smeared like Sarah Palin. The person that commented in OYM, talking about McCain being a dice roller, playing for thousands, saying he’s in his 70s and couldn’t do his job, that he’s too old. Well, that’s that person, that’s not John McCain. Your comment is out of line. There has been nothing in Palin’s past that has been a surprise or is unfavorable toward her. It’s all the left-wing liberal media. I think McCain made an excellent choice and the McCain/Palin ticket will win.

 

I was reading the article by Jim Adams from the Sierra Vista Police Department. You might want to tell him to step it up or something. The column is completely boring. I can’t make it through the first paragraph. The most interesting his column has ever been was when he was describing a movie several weeks ago and after that I lost interest in what he was saying. The words he uses are too technical. He’s not holding the interest of the reader. I have a doctorate in divinity and he needs to simplify and make it more interesting and about what we really care about.

 

I wish the Democrats would stop the silly talk about impeaching the president. As I understand, the Constitution there’s nothing in it that says you can impeach a president for arrogance or stupidity.

 

Now I’ve seen it all. In the Sept. 8 On Your Mind column, someone was seriously claiming that Sarah Palin had significant International experience because the state of Alaska bordered Canada and was “within sight” of Russia (only across the Bering Strait!). Are American voters really that gullible — or foolish?

 

The lipstick comment is a clear example of Middle East extremism.