Published: January 15, 2008 05:37 pm            

Letters to the editor - Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008

Project Linus worth checking

My name is Carla Russell, and I sew handmade blankets for Project Linus.

We make these blankets for children that have been through some trauma in their lives or are in the hospital to help bring them comfort.

We have sent blankets to the 9/11 victims, Katrina victims, the children of soldiers who were killed in the war, and many more. These blankets are sent worldwide.

You may check this wonderful ministry out by going to www.projectlinus.com or www.projectlinus.org. May God keep blessing you.

Carla Russell

Denver, Ind.

‘One election away from socialism?’

It has been said that a democracy is temporary in nature. Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.

A democracy will exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves gifts from the public officials. From then on, the public will vote for the politician or political party that promises them the most benefits from the government, resulting in the collapse of the government from excess spending.

The average age of the world’s great civilizations is about 200 years. Ours is now about 220 years.

Let’s look at the 2000 presidential election. Bush won 29 states. Gore won 19. The population of the counties won by Gore: about 127 million. By Bush, about 143 million.

Bush’s area was mostly in smaller cities and towns where people worked and paid taxes. Gore’s area was mostly the densely populated areas where most of the people lived off many forms of welfare.

That figures out at close to 39 percent of our citizens are receiving some form of welfare.

A politician cannot give you anything of monetary value, unless they have ways to get the tax money collected from the people, back to the people. That is all the people, even the ones that didn’t pay taxes.

Are we becoming too complacent with our democracy, or is it apathy? Russia is only one election away from being hard-line communist once again. Are we just one election away from socialism?

Freedom is not free. You have to fight for it, work at it and pray for it.

William J. Kuntz

Kokomo

Crop Insurance Corp. not playing favorites

As a representative of USDA’s Risk Management Agency, I would like to comment on the letter to the editor published Jan. 8, 2008, regarding a crop insurance premium discount available to Indiana farmers. The letter from Mr. Kirkpatrick leads the reader to believe that the federal government gave special treatment to Monsanto, which has developed and licensed the triple stack technology which makes the grower eligible for a discount of crop insurance premiums.

Monsanto applied to the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. Board of Directors with the documentation required of any new crop insurance product as specified by statute. The Risk Management Agency administers the federal crop insurance program and welcomes any company to apply for a similar discount. More than 250 companies license Monsanto’s triple stack technology, which has been shown to provide lower yield risk as compared to non-traited hybrids.

It should be noted that Monsanto was simply the first company to make a submission for a discount because of proven reduced risk. Any similar company, with proven results from their technology and meeting other necessary requirements as dictated by statute, can make the same submission to the FCIC Board.

Shirley A. Pugh

Risk Management Agency

        

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