Editor:

The question shouldn't be, "Am I better off than I was eight years ago?" The question should be, "Is my country better off than it was eight years ago?" Unfortunately the answer is, "No!"

With two Republican oilmen in charge of our energy policy, the price of gasoline went from $1.50 to $4. The recent cuts will disappear after the election. With Republican neocons in charge, my country was attacked by al-Qaida from Afghanistan, but my country got bamboozled and ram-rodded into attacking the nitwit in Iraq. Meanwhile, al-Qaida reconstitutes in Pakistan and learned in Iraq all kinds of nasty ways to harm the innocent.

Because of Republican-inspired deregulation, mortgage lenders have ruined the housing market, Enron and friends have exploited the energy market and now my food, medicines and playthings made in Mexico or China are poisoning me or the environment. Huge tax cuts for the wealthy have raised the deficit to $9 trillion; our infrastructure is collapsing.

The Democrats have offered up Barack Obama, a man who promises us a change in the way we perceive and attempt to fix our problems. His major fault, supposedly, is that he has a foreign sounding name and he doesn't look like me, lucky guy. The Republicans offer up John McCain, another rich, white guy who had honorable service in Vietnam but less than honorable service as a member of the "Keating Five" and as a husband to his first wife.

Obama's new positive plans may not work out as well as he would like, but I'm sure that more of the same under John McCain is going to do far more harm to my country.

Bruce Greene

Elkview

Rockefeller has failed to uphold rule of law

Editor:

Serving as chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller commands a difficult position. He must weigh concerns over national security with concerns over upholding basic freedoms protected by Democratic and International laws.

Throughout the invasion of Iraq, the sanctioning of torture and issues of domestic spying, Rockefeller has consistently failed to uphold the rule of law. His votes for the invasion of Iraq, the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act and most recently FISA, which allows domestic spying, helped destroy crucial Congressional oversight mandated by the Constitution. His votes have granted the Bush/Cheney Regime absolute authority.

To his credit, Sen. Rockefeller has led an in-depth bipartisan analysis of the lies that led to the illegal occupation of Iraq. Rockefeller concludes, "In making the case for war, the administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted or even non-existent. Sadly, the Bush Administration led the nation to war under false pretenses. ... There is a fundamental difference between relying on incorrect intelligence and deliberately painting a picture to the American people that you know is not fully accurate."

One would hope Rockefeller would learn from his grave mistakes and use his pivotal role to prevent future tragedies. Instead he continues his silence and compliance as the Bush/Cheney administration pushes for military action with Iran.

Carli Mareneck

Sweet Springs

Why isn't Manchin backing wind farm?

Editor:

Recently I read an article titled "Manchin to push Renewables."

If that is true then why is it that Gov. Joe Manchin isn't getting behind the Coal River Wind Farm Project?

The Coal River wind farm would be the biggest wind farm on the East Coast and it is being proposed right in his back yard! Not only would it serve to provide an infinite resource of renewable energy, but it would also create permanent jobs and preserve part of our beloved state that is slated for destruction.

Could it be that the Gov. Manchin has no intentions of backing one of the largest renewable energy projects in this country?

This tells me that Gov. Joe Manchin is not serious about his claims to back renewable energy in West Virginia.

Nick Regalado

Rock Creek

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