Don’t ignore the coincidences that are happening right now in the national arena. [Prior to Hurricane Ike,] why were gas prices lower? The election season is in full swing.
Some say [when] the U.S. dollar gains strength, the price of crude oil goes lower. … Another study shows that using less gasoline lowers demand and eventually the price. The Middle East started to produce more oil, lowering the prices through supply-and-demand. [When] President Bush asked those nations to increase production, it was reported [they] would not meet his request. This is an election year, and the Republican Party—including Sarah Palin—has more ties to oil companies than other parties could ever dream of.
Investigate, investigate, investigate the claims made by politicians! They can somehow convince us that the sky is not up and the grass is not on the ground. How could John McCain be a maverick if he has voted with the Republican party nine out of 10 times? Our grandchildren’s grandchildren will probably still be paying for [a] war the Bush administration initiated almost unilaterally. Doesn’t history warn us that a two-front war drains resources and almost never leads to clear victory? The United States used the atomic bomb on Japan to end World War II—most likely because we could not win on both fronts without it. The war on terror that erodes our basic constitutional rights and increases the size and strength of government needs to be scrutinized by the only people who matter: the voting public.
The 2004 election was considered a sweep of Congress when many incumbent Republicans were voted out of office. This election should also be a wake-up call for incumbents of both parties. … By holding politicians accountable through large voter turnout, we have more voice in government.
The [local] Parkside development debacle is a great example of politicians getting too comfortable in office. Every member of the county commissioner should be voted out of office due to the lack of healthy fear of elections. They are making a scapegoat of the developer, [when] the mess is not his fault. He is simply a businessman acting in his best financial interests. However, the commissioners knew better—or should have. Now the county will most likely be sued by Coleman. How much is that going to cost taxpayers?
Remember, you cannot complain about our current political situation unless you vote, because only then do you have any leverage. Voters need to get in touch with politicians the only way that they can—through their vote!
— Shannon Watkins
Asheville
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