Deceitful Deadbeat Daughter
Dr. Joe and Margaret Brown | Phoenix
I just got done reading the article on Tom and Karen Seemeyer. Keep up the good work and hopefully Sonoran News will keep informing the public how deceitful and dishonest the Seemeyers really are. I personally met Tom and Karen Seemeyer years ago through her mother and father, Bob an Kay Andraski. There was an ‘air’ about Karen – ‘she’ thought she was better than anyone else.
I don’t want to write about Karen and her husband, but about how hurtful she and Tom have been to her father, Bob Andraski. How she managed to spend his life savings, and embarrass him through her actions. I hope she has a ‘conscience’ because of her and Tom Seemeyer’s actions; it has really ripped at Bob’s soul. I really don’t have any idea how a daughter could steal from her own parents. Bob Andraski is a very caring, thoughtful, living and gentle man. How dare they hurt him like that! I hope one day they truly will take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences for all they’ve done!
Every time we see Bob, we try to make the evening as uplifting as possible, but somehow another article has been published about Tom and Karen Seemeyer. Thank you for letting the public know how deceitful they really are.
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Rock star politics
Ralph G. Smith | Cave Creek
The media seems to be fascinated by Barack Obama, who goes to Europe acting as if he is already the President of the United States, beating his breast, muttering “mea culpa” (on behalf of the country he claims to love, of course) and leaving each meeting of dignitaries with his nose noticeably browner than it was prior to his “consultations.” He draws huge crowds and applause in some of the very countries that the U.S. has several times saved from total disaster. This guy is a real “rock star,” and he wants to be your president.
Few people are old enough to remember the early days of the Great Depression, and the colorful and flamboyant Huey P. Long – “the Kingfish” – of Louisiana. The Kingfish was immensely charismatic and drew huge crowds which he harangued as he campaigned first for governor of Louisiana and later for the U.S. Senate. He created the “Share Our Wealth” program, – “Every Man a King” – and he fought with Standard Oil, which he claimed was exploiting Louisiana’s oil and gas resources. As governor of Louisiana he built a very strong political machine, passed “free textbook” legislation and did some admirable things such as building roads, bridges, and schools. He also attempted to pass an “occupational license tax” on refined oil. He claimed that the Spanish-American War and World War I were unwarranted and caused by Wall Street, and he proposed a progressive tax that would end up by taxing the eighth million of income at 64 percent, and the remainder at 100 percent.
Unfortunately, he kept his political machine going by rampant fraud, bribery and the wholesale gift of government jobs to political cronies, who were forced to contribute a good part of their salaries to his “slush fund.” He opposed FDR, who called him a “radical demagogue” and he planned to run for president in 1936. He never got that chance, due to his early demise in 1935.
Huey Long was the early day equivalent of a “rock star politician,” and his life inspired at least a couple of novels: It Can’t Happen Here, and All the King’s Men. Many of his ideas seem to have outlived him by 75 or 80 years.
I doubt that Obama would turn into a latter-day Kingfish, but even so, I don’t know if this country is ready for a “rock star” president. I know I am not. As of now I will remain with the “acoustic” crowd, with no electronic (or media) augmentation of the natural sound of the candidates “music.”
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COPP political committee candidate recommendations
The COPP Political Committee | Bob Vairo, President | Scottsdale
In the September 2 Primary City Council election, Scottsdale residents will be faced with a field of seven new faces and four familiar faces – eleven candidates in all – three for mayor and eight for City Council. The incumbents are Mayor Mary Manross, Councilman Jim Lane who is challenging Mary Manross for the Mayor’s seat, Councilwoman Betty Drake and Councilman Ron McCullagh. Challenging Betty Drake and Ron McCullagh for seats on the Council are Lisa Borowsky, Joel Bramoweth, Oren Davis, Tom Giller, Suzanne Klapp and Nan Nesvig. John Washington is running for Mayor as a write-in candidate.
We asked each candidate to provide information on their background and experience and also to answer a number of questions on issues of importance to the governance of Scottsdale that influence the quality of life for all residents. A copy of the unedited questionnaire can be found at www.coppeak.org.
The COPP Political Committee evaluated each candidate to determine which ones we believe will best represent our values and concerns. Based on a recent survey of residents in the three northernmost zip codes, highest among those concerns are the completion of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, questionable zoning decisions and traffic congestion. We weighed each candidate’s position on these issues, together with their experience, education and desire to change things for the better throughout Scottsdale.
For mayor we recommend Mayor Mary Manross for a third term. While we have not always agreed with her decisions, she has a wealth of experience as a two-term mayor and her involvement in various positions in Scottsdale governance for the past twenty years. Of all the candidates, she has consistently been the staunchest advocate and supporter of Scottsdale’s Preserve vision. Challenger Jim Lane’s four years on the council and his financial background are valuable, but we believe not enough to keep Mayor Manross from being returned for a third term as Scottsdale’s Mayor.
The three council positions were a bit easier to evaluate. We believe electing Nan Nesvig and Tom Giller will give the city council a balance that is needed to provide a stronger voice for Scottsdale residents and neighborhoods. It is important for ordinary citizens to have elected officials who understand their concerns and represent them well in decisions that affect their quality of life. Tom and Nan’s emphasis on open government, protecting neighborhoods and keeping Scottsdale unique underscores their desire to make this happen.
We believe Nan and Tom will bring new energy and a different approach to governance with a transparent sense of governance for residents. We have interviewed them and believe we know them well enough to be convinced they will provide a fresh approach to the city council. We recommend a vote for both of them as agents of change for the future.
We also believe that Councilwoman Betty Drake should be returned to the city council for another four year term. Of all the current candidates for Council, she is the most knowledgeable about land use, city planning and related issues. Given the adoption of a new Downtown Plan in a few months and the updating of the General Plan for the entire city in 2011, we need to have someone of her experience and skills on the city council.
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McCain rhetoric is smokescreen
Shannon Crane | Scottsdale
Let's not be fooled by the smokescreen rhetoric of McCain's campaign regarding Iraq.
Recent NBC/Wall Street Journal polls show over 60 percent of Americans want a clear timetable to get out of Iraq. McCain's campaign rhetoric puts a spin of language on appearing to support withdrawal of troops ... however, that has never been his position. He has stated many times that, withdrawal is "surrender" and that victory is "just around the corner."
John McCain has no plans to bring our troops home. He only plans to occupy Iraq.
(See "Iraq: Six Months at a Time," MoveOn.org Political Action, April 9, 2008, 
 or http://youtube.com /watch?v=suNqiAgE1kw)
Don't be fooled! Our only safeguard of Democracy is an informed populous! Thank you.
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Obama and McCain's history of drug abuse
Arlin Troutt | Apache Junction
The drug war is a massive multi-billion dollar failure that has been destroying our nation and kids for generations. The Obama and McCain family drug abuse history seems to be off the table of discussion. Did Obama smoke marijuana? Was John McCain's wife so hooked on prescription drugs that she was caught stealing drugs from medical relief packages being flown to Nicaragua?
We are being lied to about drugs and this drug war that we have fought since Nixon declared it in 1971. Millions of kids like my sister and I were lied to about Marijuana. My friends coming back from the Vietnam War gave us our first marijuana and told us everything we had heard about marijuana and drugs was a lie. They were telling the truth about the marijuana but they had already got hooked on heroin in Vietnam and that was not a lie. Marijuana was not a "Gateway Drug" to other drugs it was a "Gateway Lie" that got kids hooked on dangerous drugs.
Marijuana and alcohol were made illegal 70 years ago because Rockefeller did not want farmers making their own gasoline. When the American people wake-up I hope they punish the people that told the lies that killed my sister and destroyed so many lives.
I want to hear John McCain and Barak Obama discuss this drug war that started in Vietnam and what affect this drug war and drug abuse have had on their personal lives and this nation. We are being lied to and abused by these drug warriors.
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The 1.4 Billion dollar B-52
Steve Takesian | Cave Creek
That’s what we spend on one B-52. The plane that crashed in Guam this last week,with six crew members who were killed, was not on a Mission. It was on parade duty for a FLYOVER on GUAM ... How much money have we spent on flyovers for NASCAR ETC. Talk about a waste of money, time and life.
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This will make you retch
Walter J. Boyne | Ashburn, Virginia
Re: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg DZ4GJkqds
Retch? It guarantees projectile vomiting at the truth of what is wrong with America: weak-kneed liberals who've had life handed to them on a platter and have never had to make a tough decision in their lives except for which brand of marijuana to smoke.
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Mexico – A Third World Country
Name withheld by request
I often wonder what the country of Mexico has cost the United States and its' taxpayers. While a handful of Carefree residents hire them for cheap labor, they suck our medical system dry when visiting our emergency rooms. They vote illegally in states that don't have verification programs, cause accidents that kill or scar people for life (such as officer Jason Schechterle who was burned, or the bicyclist hit and killed on Pinnacle Peak Road). Let's not forget crime such as rape in schools and now home invasions.
I can't imagine how many other resources they consume such as back to school hand outs from large corporations for their anchor babies, or any charity such as The Red Cross, Goodwill, or The Salvation Army. Now, Mexico is responsible for salmonella outbreaks! Just in order to locate the source, I wonder how much money was lost in the banning of tomatoes? It's obviously in the millions, maybe even billions.
Lets face it, Mexico is a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY with a corrupt government. It's not OUR jobs to support them. Period! Do you hear that, Mayor Flash Gordon?
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McCain & Armageddon
Ron Lowe | Nevada City, California
John McCain has the fundamentalist armageddon vote locked up. Pastor John Hagee's end times theology and those who subscribe to it are wildly enthusiastic about John McCain. Why not, with McCain as president they will be a button away from their glorious Armageddon.
No, seriously, only fruitcakes want end times to transpire. Here's the scenario: The planet is destroyed and the human population is decimated so that a few million fundamentalist foot soldiers can be saved and lifted up into heaven. How altruistic.
These end timers and Apocalypse Now folks have prostituted Christ's teachings and they see John McCain as their last best chance for salvation – the world be damned!
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Our 50 states can save us from federal tyranny
Larry William Bradbury | Reseda, California
It does not take a rocket scientist to see that our country is rapidly becoming a federal police state. Fortunately, our individual states can save us from this tyranny if enough of them, and their citizens, are willing to act.
We need to remember that it was the original 13 states that set up the federal government and granted it the limited powers stated in the U.S. Constitution. All federally elected and appointed officials take an oath to obey our Constitution. Sadly, they have disregarded it in about 80 percent of their activities.
The Tenth Amendment can help us reclaim our lost liberties if enough of the states act to regain their lost powers. This Amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” The states can get their lost powers back by claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment
The state of Oklahoma started the ball rolling with its House Joint Resolution 1089 which it passed 92 to 3 on March 13. However, opponents in the Oklahoma Senate kept it from being voted on before this year’s legislative session ended. But, it is certain to be voted on again in 2009. See www.thenewamerican.com for details. All we have to do now to lose the shackles of the federal government is to get enough citizens to demand that their states use similar resolutions.
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Coincidence?
J-P. A. Maldonado |
Desert Foothills
Today the Arizona People's Democratic Republic reported that 18 percent of the illegal aliens in Arizona have returned to their countries of origin. At the same time, the State Attorney General's office is reporting that violent crime has decreased by 18 percent. Coincidence?
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