Letters

Veterans Day

Nov. 11, first called Armistice Day, commemorates the end of WWI. At eleven o’clock on Nov. 11, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, a treaty was signed which ended the first World War, and for the next twenty years was memorialized as Armistice day. As a high school student in the Junior ROTC I marched in a parade on each one.

After WWII, the name was changed to Veterans Day and all veterans were supposed to be honored as heroes. A few were, and others thought they were because they had put on a uniform, even though they may have spent all the war years playing poker while wearing it. As an Air Force mechanic in a combat squadron of WWII, I was neither a hero or career poker player, but did whatever they told me while island hopping across the Pacific Ocean and back. During those years my squadron dropped bombs on Iwo Jima and tried to kill Japanese men before they could kill Americans.

We also dropped firebombs on Japanese cities, setting women and children on fire to die horrible deaths, although their only offense was that they had a bad government. That was not heroic work and we should remember that war is not about making heroes, but about killing people and of people dying.

We veterans of WW II, other wars, and many other people are survivors of an insane time when million of people on our side were trying, and succeeding in, killing millions of people on the other side that was doing the same to us. War is not an act of nature; people make wars and people kill other people. Whenever we want to we can stop fighting wars

Gordon Monroe (U.S. Air Force, 1943-46) Via e-mail

Conscience

Wouldn’t it be a good thing if people could convince Pres. Bush to go see the play The Exonerated. What can we do to get him to a showing?

Kay PlummerNew York NY

Wellstone memorial

PWW, thanks for year twenty of sending the paper to me. Renewal is in the mail.

Wellstone people are accustomed to being in the midst of Republicans who hated Wellstone and anything remotely like him. I am glad that Republicans had the opportunity to be somewhat forced to sit still for a Wellstone event. As for Trent Lott getting an unwarm welcome … it is like Al Capone showing up at the funeral of Elliot Ness.

I have given Governor Ventura every possible credit… but he is seriously wrong about the Wellstone memorial, and his behavior is embarrassing, though no more so than the local media members who say they felt hoodwinked out of a “real” memorial “service.”

I thought that the Wellstone memorial was 100 percent Wellstone. Wellstone people are sincere, serious, focused, people-issue activists.

The Republican Party manipulates people with insincere issues. Many good people are Republicans simply because the Republican Party is the greatest institution of propaganda. The core of the Republican Party does not care about the “issues” that average Republicans latch on to. The Republican Party core knows what it is doing. It is out to protect the interests of the wealthy and powerful. That core interest will never sell. They have no choice but to gather support with their phony issues that sell to the selfish and uninformed.

Democrats don’t have to apologize for being Wellstone people. Wellstone people will stand up and keep voting and keep fighting. Millions of Wellstone people will make Wellstone’s America a reality.

Bob PerschmannChaska MN

Stop interest rate reduction

The seniors cannot stand any more stimulation. Every time you reduce the rates we get less interest on our savings and bonds that we live on. We must then sell some of our income producing assets to live a decent life. That means we have less assets to produce interest income on in the future. If we have less money we buy less. Factories cannot sell and make a living on their products. They then fire workers to keep their bottom line up. These workers lose income so they can not buy products. The vicious cycle continues until America goes “bust.” The idea of reducing interest rates is a “catch 22” situation. We cannot afford any more interest rates cuts! Am I the only one who sees this fiasco coming?

A. Morton RosenfieldBoynton Beach FL