Organizers offer thanks (03/10/06)

To the editor:

The Jay County High School Student Council and the American Red Cross would like to say thanks to everyone who donated blood on Monday, Feb. 20 blood drive at the high school.

A total of 126 people came to donate, and 92 units were collected.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this successful, including Portland Wal-Mart, LoBill Foods, Sugar ‘N Slice, Pizza Hut, Arby’s, Fisher Packing and Redkey IGA.

Thanks also to the student council’s Travis Ford, Janae Jackson, Brianne Saxman and Abby Schmiesing — the coordinators of the drive.

Abby Schmiesing, for the

JCHS Student Council

Stop globalization

To the editor:

I first heard about it on the television. I just heard the last sentence, that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels was planning to lease the Indiana Toll Road for 75 years to a foreign company for a price of $3.85 billion.

At first I was shocked and then I became very angry. How dare Gov. Daniels lease our Indiana road and make it a toll road for a foreign company to lease for 75 years.

This means that you, your children and your grandchildren will be forced to pay an ever-increasing tax on highways owned by the American people and paid for by American taxes.

I cannot believe that 52 House Republicans voted for any bill so flawed and impractical. Don’t they realize that this foreign group can charge almost any price and the American people will have to pay in order to use our highways, which we all pay taxes on?

All Americans own these highways. Not Gov. Daniels. Not even the President of the United States. And why all the secrecy. I tell you what I think it’s about. It smacks of Big Brother leasing our highway to a foreign power who will have control over American highways for 75 years.

This means that a foreign company will, in effect, have the control of one of America’s major highways for 75 years and if they choose could sublease it to a Russian or Chinese company. And we cannot do anything about it.

Suppose a large terrorist group attacked America and the people who have control of many of our major highways knew about the attack and they had all the highways under construction at the same time. We surely would be between a rock and a hard place if that ever happened.

Just when I thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, President George W. Bush decided to add to the upset. President Bush, who should know better, has decided to allow an Arab company that has ties to al-Qaida to provide security at American ports. Two of the hitchikers who helped kill thousands of Americans during the 9/11 attack were from United Arab Emirates, where the company is located.

Yet President Bush says he checked them out and there is no danger. These vital ports are New York, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Our governor planes to tie American up for 75 years to a foreign company to which we will have to pay a toll for 75 years. And our president is risking an attack upon American by hiring a company that has supported our enemies for even less money than Gov. Daniels is receiving.

I think we should stop both these crazy plans. I also think that the American people should think strongly about impeaching President Bush.

If we allow both of these ventures to go on, we could lose our very Freedoms. New York Gov. Pataki and Maryland Gov. Ehrich both expressed concern about the company which supported Al-Qaida.

I share that concern. That’s why I am sitting here typing this article when I am in a lot of pain.

I will be 90-years-old on Nov. 21, and when I fall, I don’t recover like a used to.

I ask about 10 or 15 people to write to the opinion page of The Commercial Review and let the American people know that you think both ventures are dangerous to our country and must be stopped at once.

Also write to Congress and other newspapers.

Jack Earl Lindley

Portland[[In-content Ad]]