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TERRORIST PRISONS
Recently, Congressman Phil Hare announced that he supports the moving of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the Thomson Correctional Facility, on the basis that it will create thousands of jobs [See “State employee union blasts plan for Thomson prison sale” on page 9] While his logic is pretty simple, I don’t believe that just one terrorist prison is enough.
To make up for his total job losses while serving the 17th district as congressman and district director, Congressman Hare should focus on bringing in at least 10 more terrorist prisons. One prison only makes up for the job losses of Maytag and Seaford. What about the job losses that he has overseen at International Harvester, Quad City Die-Cast, Eagle Country Market and countless other employers — small and large — across the district?
Congressman Hare shouldn’t just stop at Thomson. He should put terrorist prisons in Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Quincy, Springfield, Canton and other parts of the district that have really suffered. After all, these super-max prisons do wonders for local economies, like ADX in Florence, Colo. I hear the unemployment rate there is only at 9.6 percent. God forbid Hare should allow private industry, not government, to bring jobs back to these areas. To him, government seems to be the cure-all.
In all seriousness, if the only way that Congressman Hare can bring jobs to our state is by bringing a bunch of terrorists here, then I say that we need a new congressman with new ideas.
Rodrigo Quiroz
Rock Island
RICH ON REPUBLICANS
Listening to Rich Miller expound on the Republican Party is tantamount to an atheist attempting to explain the purpose of the birth of Jesus Christ. Perhaps he should stick to the liberal side of the aisle of the federal government. They, like him, do not see the problem with increasing taxes, illegal aliens, killing the unborn, etc. Instead, he should concentrate on his own party and their disdain for the Constitution, as espoused in Article I section 8.
Carlos Callas
Springfield
LINCOLN’S GENERALS
Julie Cellini’s review of Lincoln’s Political Generals was informative and thought-provoking. The review brought out the problem, which I had not before considered, of the severe need for people that President Lincoln faced. I had long before been taught that many of the West Pointers of the time were pro-Southern. But Cellini’s review, using numbers from the book, demonstrates how severe the problem was. The Union got less than half of the West Point-trained officers. I calculate 43.7 percent (1700/754) from Cellini’s review.
The review tells me that the book helps us to think about a fundamental problem, to which Lincoln had to devote so much attention, and with so little precedent. It is how a president can exercise military command. The times have changed, but that is a basic issue that remains. The Lincoln experience still gives much for citizens to ponder as they think about their expectations of presidents.
Matthew Holden, Jr.
Springfield
POLITICAL MALFEASANCE
The cause, as I see it, of the current political-financial mess is the ability of the voting public to be lulled into complacency by the constant stream of political rhetoric and innuendo. The “ins” and their minions spend millions of our dollars to convince us that they are working for us and someone else is not. The lack of general skepticism from the public has allowed an air of “believable” unbelievability to be the norm and keeps them in office. There are no political parties as they (the parties) are divided within their own ranks and almost nonexistent in having the same message but they all are trying to stay in office to wield the power of the office.
Until we (the voters) start examining the words and actions of the office seekers and holders, we will still be victims of political malfeasance and non-representation.
Michael Abrams
Springfield
