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Hernando Today

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 23, 2008

Dollar Value Loss

On July 8, Tom Cannariato implied we can drill our way to energy independence and cheaper oil. Dallas Dunlap is more perceptive of the real world. When oil was $9 a barrel, it was far cheaper to buy it than it was to produce it ourselves, so nobody cared. Who does Tom think will pay the billions for exploration, rigs, pipelines, refineries and manpower? You will. How much more of your tax money should be used to subsidize the oil companies? Add that to the cost; so much for cheaper. You pay for all hurricane destruction, too.

As far as foreign oil dependence, he says nothing about conservation. If Americans had gone with economy cars since the 1973 oil embargo, we wouldn't have needed any oil from the Middle East; not to mention funding our enemies. We also could have built stormproof homes designed to use a small fraction of the energy of conventional homes. I did both. Returning to the 55 mph speed limit would instantly save millions of barrels of oil, if everyone complied. It worked in the '70s for those who did. I know, I know, you don't want to change your lifestyle. Then pay up.

In answer to "the escalating price of gas," it is important to understand inflation. You, too, John Nash, John Reiniers, Sean Hannity, etc. Inflation is not a price increase. It is a loss in dollar value. Since the Bush Administration started the war in Iraq, the dollar has been losing value at an accelerated rate, losing half its value against other major currencies. This is because our government, with the privately owned Federal Reserve, created enough to double the world's supply. Twice the dollars, half the value; get it? OPEC does. That is the only cause of inflation; check your dictionary.

Other price changes are caused by supply and demand, production efficiencies, disasters, taxes and speculation. Whatever gas sold for five years ago, it is double that now just from inflation before applying price factors. Inflation is the hidden tax the politicians won't talk about except for Ron Paul. Read his books or at least go to www.ronpaul.com. If we continue to expect government to solve problems that we should solve ourselves, then a collapse is guaranteed because government will continue to inflate to pay for wars, programs and bailouts until our dollar is worthless.

Study the German inflation of the early 1920s to see what could happen. From 1833 to 1933, U.S. wholesale prices only changed a total of 1 percent because the gold standard prevented creation of more dollars than could be redeemed in gold or silver.

Remember silver certificates? If not, ask your parents or grandparents.

Patrick J. Miketinac

Brooksville

Cover-up

Re: Sheriff's Cover-up

Was there a cover-up by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office? Of course, there was a cover-up. A cover-up that impugns the integrity of the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office.

It has been my experience over the years that if a cover-up is necessitated, the initial agency would request assistance from an alleged impartial agency to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Apparently, the Sheriff's Office is immune from scrutiny and rather than make what should have been an easy case, they screw it up, either intentionally or negligently.

If this had been John Q. Citizen, he or she would still be trying to post bail.

Chip Harp

Brooksville

Extreme Rall

I appreciate the editors of Hernando Today for giving me and others the opportunity to comment on one of your paid columnists. Ted Rall represents what many consider an extreme view of politics and history. But even in his divergent views, he brings enlightenment.

In 1956 Lu Ting-yi, director of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party said in a speech to the Assembly of the Communist Party: "Let flowers of many kinds blossom." Too many times we only want to listen to what we want to hear or read. This tells us little, if anything about the opposing points of view. I have read Das Kapital by Marx and Engels and they were wrong in 1848 and are just as wrong now in their extolling of communism. I have also read Carl von Klauswitz's treatise "Von Krieg" (On War). Each of these and many others, which in many cases are totally contrary to my political beliefs, has given me a deeper understanding of the opposition and how they think.

I do not think that anything I can say or others can say will change Mr. Rall's opinion. But it has stimulated us to thought, perhaps on subjects we would not have considered. So in this sense, he has done us all a favor. In this instance he has shown us the true colors of the American liberal and their regard for the American veteran. After they get our vote, we should go quietly into the night.

It is telling that the liberals when the going gets tough all they can clothe themselves in is the "failure" of the Vietnam War. It is as if nothing has happened either before or after in our history.

The liberals pointed recently to how evil Abu Ghraib was and how we tortured poor prisoners. Aside from the fact that I have seen worse treatment of fraternity pledges in college, they forget the four American contractors who were killed, their bodies dragged through the street and burned before being hung on a bridge. How does that rank with the pictures from Abu Ghraib? I have yet to hear a liberal give me a coherent answer. They seem to fall back on the notion that Americans should set a higher standard. Those were Americans killed and burned. Tell their families that they died so we can set a higher standard.

I shudder at the thought that had the extreme liberals been in power during the 1941-45 era, we would all be speaking German and our children would be learning to goosestep.

If it be the decision of the editors to keep Mr. Rall on the payroll, I will have no objections. I will read his rant and, while I don't have a birdcage to utilize the paper, I am sure that I can come up with an equally creative use.

Harry Chamberlain

Spring Hill

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