Published: July 16, 2008 06:00 pm            

LETTERS: July 17, 2008

Reader: Oil makes us sick



A recent Opinions column titled "OPEC gets a pass on antitrust laws" by three law professors attacked Republicans because they had managed to kill a bill which would have permitted lawsuits against OPEC.

Talking about OPEC they said "everyone knows that it is, pure and simple, a cartel that manipulated markets, restricts output and fixes prices".

Setting aside whether suing Saudi Arabia to make them produce more oil would work, restricting output keeps the price up and if anyone is restricting output it is the Democratic Party. Democrats hate oil, so they should be happy the prices are up, because I sure can't afford as much evil oil as I could before.

Sen. Harry Reid, the Democrat's leader in the Senate, said it nicely on Fox Business, "The one thing we fail to talk about is those costs that you don't see on the bottom line. That is coal makes us sick, oil makes us sick; it's global warming. It's ruining our country, it's ruining our world. We've got to stop using fossil fuels."

Democrats limit U.S. oil production by keeping vast areas off limits to exploration and development. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and the continental shelves on the east and west coasts are examples.

There is a solution to the problem and it will be on display at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. They will have biodegradable balloons if they can buy any.

I wonder what would happen if China sued the U.S. for keeping oil prices high by limiting production.

— Jim M. Young, Jeffersonville



Reader congrats Daniels



Congratulations to Gov. Daniels on the dramatic improvement in Indiana’s business environment.

Being recognized by CNBC as the “most improved” state for doing business is a great sign that Daniels’ policies are on the right track. A strong business community is what provides the necessary jobs and economic activity for us all to thrive!

— Tony Schy, Charlestown



Reader upset with Wilder’s comment



This letter concerns the words of Larry Wilder of what the African Americans in this area are called.

I am a person of color, my spectrum of God’s rainbow of colors for people is brown. The only thing black about me is my hair, and it has a hue of brown also. In other words, black is a color, not a people here in the United States of America, and when used to describe a person, it is an insult and it shows ignorance, it shows prejudices of the person using it.

If one did not know, one knows now, hear me well. It is an insult to most educated African Americans who know their heritage of kings and queens from Africa. The Continent of Africa is our heritage. America is where we have been born and raised, the place we know as home, the home we love. May God continue to bless America.

Any self or college-educated person will tell you he/she is an African American. It is only the uninformed, unread, uneducated of human matters that continue to use the word “black” to describe a people or a person. The same as all Caucasians, from the pilgrimage of the Americas, from the beginning, all came from across the sea. There is more to tell, but I can only write so much.

I have written Larry Wilder and offered to give an explanation on the word used by the so-called victim, Mr. Mosier, as he has chosen to portray himself.

The man is not innocent, both are wrong, by showing prejudice.

The fact of the African-American group that came to protest of the Grand Jury selection is a very correct move. Jeffersonville is a diverse city, so why should the Grand Jury not have African Americans seated? Why should the Grand Jury not be diverse?

This jury does not represent the African American community and they do not understand the threat that the young lady felt. I have had it happen to me, but when that Caucasian man saw that I was ready to protect myself, in the same manner, he turned around. I cannot say it was the same person in Wal-Mart’s parking lot this past winter, but I do know he looks like the same man. He was in a black truck with a female, not riding a motorcycle.

Some Caucasian men have a bad habit to think they can say and do things to African Americans and its OK. It’s not.

— Doddie Ellis, Jeffersonville

        

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