LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Vile Rall To Continue

I was surprised to find the vile Mr. Rall's column missing today. Is he on vacation or have you found it necessary to stop printing his bile? I hope it's the former, because it would be wrong to censor his opinions, no matter how nasty they might be. He serves to illuminate the viciousness of the extreme left.

I'd hate to have only the dotty Ms. Earl to uphold the far left on Thursdays. She believes that "McCain sat it out in a POW camp." What a clever dodge by McCain - getting shot down and spending a fun-filled five years in a lovely POW camp, rather than give commands and "run a war" like Ike.

I'd rather hear what they truly believe, that being, that there are no heroes, unless Teddy and Fran think they're heroes.

Please keep them in the editorial section. Even with them there, I'm reminded why I don't subscribe to the St. Pete Times.

Richard Tellejohn

Brooksville

Editor's note: We will continue to publish Ted Rall's weekly column. Last week there was a transmission problem, and we did not receive his column in time to get it into Thursday's edition. It was published on Saturday. Sorry about the inconvenience.

Bailout Thanks

I would like to congratulate all of the responsible taxpayers, homeowners and businesses who are going to bailout reckless mortgage companies, real estate speculators and home buyers who caused the mortgage crisis. Isn't it admirable that the federal government has decided to reward deplorable financial behavior for the greater good?

So you worked hard and saved for years to come up with a 20 percent down payment for your home. You made sound financial decisions to keep your credit score high. You researched and wisely chose a fixed rate mortgage at a payment you can afford. You purchased a home that would fit within your budget. You resisted the "flip a home" fad because the loans were risky. That is wonderful. The government needs folks like you to rescue the people and companies who did not and got caught with their financial pants down. These folks will be given cheaper loans to stay in those homes and the mortgage companies will feel no financial pain.

Did you know that last year, Freddie Mac paid Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Syron nearly $19.8 million in compensation even though the mortgage company's stock lost half its value? During the same period, Fannie Mae President and Chief Executive Daniel Mudd got compensation valued by the company at $12.2 million, including a $2.2 million bonus.

Doesn't the $300 billion dollar bail out make you proud to be a compassionate American?

Christopher Miles

Brooksville

For The Last Time

In French: Nous ne pouvons pas entrainer notre façon de ceci!

In German: wir konen unscren weg dies nicht bohren!

In Spanish: Nostros no podemos taladrar nuestra salida de estos!

In English: We can not drill our way out of this!

Do you want it in Greek? Now I hope you'll stop accusing me of saying that we can! We desperately need alternative energy sources and we must vastly improve our conservation efforts!

However, Mr. Dunlap, you certainly don't think everyone is going to hike to the nearest dealership tomorrow to buy a car that runs on seawater. You certainly don't think we're going to slap up a few dozen prefabricated nuclear generating facilities next Thursday. Even you must know it will take more than a few weeks to tear out all those heating systems up north and replace them with perpetual motion energy gizmos.

If we started tomorrow it will take years to convert existing oil fired generating plants to clean coal or natural gas. You don't need a membership in Mensa to figure out that it will take decades to wean ourselves off petroleum. Get out your abacus - what's $700 billion a year times decades? Because as fast as you conserve and as fast as you convert you have to do it faster than the growth of our energy requirements to make any headway.

I'll say it again; I'm all for conservation and I'm all for alternatives. And again I ask: What do we do in the meanwhile? Your answer: Anything except using our own natural resources. So it's not me who wants status quo; it's you, and status quo is the financial bloodletting of our country!

And there you go again. You cite T. Boone Pickens' wind and solar plan but conveniently omit the fact that he too advocates drilling as much and as soon as possible; yet you still quibble about where and why we shouldn't drill anywhere. Give me a break!

You might be taking solace that the vituperrious Mrs. Pelosi and that sniveling snert Harry Reid are blocking any effort to drill here despite the fact that more than 75 percent of the American people are for it. When our Congress can no longer represent the will of their electorate, then they no longer serve the people but merely their own political aspirations. My prediction is that if "Both Sides Obama" wins, the drilling will begin immediately and all the far-left enviro-wackos will have been duped out of their votes.

And finally, please spare me any further financial blather. The simple fact is that any gains we make in our balance of trade is gobbled up instantly by our oil imports - it's so noted in the newspapers and online every day. Put Ron Paul's book back on the shelf and read the Koran. That will give you an idea of where you stand in today's food chain. Enough on this subject for me, I think I'll take on debating Ted Rall or that self proclaimed genius, Frances Earl. They're starting to make better sense.

Tom Cannariato

Weeki Wachee