The people have spoken. We have elected to continue on the path of depending upon our government to take care of us.

From a political standpoint, can there ever be a fair hearing in Logan County?    A case in point was Examiner Staff Writer Joel E. Mast’s blatantly one-sided reporting in the paper’s Thursday, Jan. 8, edition.

Ostensibly, Mast’s front page article concerned the appearance of Ben Famous, a legislative liaison for recently re-elected Ohio United States Senator Sherrod Brown, at a Logan County Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast. Brown is a Democrat.

What it amounted to was a mash-up of Republican “talking points.”

The litany included debt reduction, instead of the needs of people, an assault on our local schools and what they allegedly teach or don’t teach, too many regulations for businesses, and gun control.

As a former newspaperman myself, I will cut Mast a little slack in consideration of where the meeting took place.

The chamber of commerce is nobody’s idea of a liberal organization.

The C of C is a fiercely anti-Democrat, anti-union, right-to-work outfit. The latter meaning the right-to-work for less.

Some of these chamber of commerce folks are so far to the right they’d make a member of the John Birch Society blush — if we still have a John Birch Society. It’s more likely known as the Tea Party today.

Mast wrote that the above (debt reduction, education etc.) were a “few of the issues broached during a roundtable discussion.”

I’m wondering what were some of the other issues “broached.”

I’m also curious as to why the event didn’t take place before a more diverse group of people.

Oh, pardon me, these are the so-called “community leaders.”

Admittedly, it would be difficult to have a wide range of political thought in Logan County, simply based on long-time voting patterns here.

Nevertheless, it’s worth a try. For the time being, we’re stuck with the status quo, such as it is.

At the meeting, according to Mast, it was purported that “60 percent of Logan County children do not go on after high school” and  are “lacking skills and attitudes that area employers need.”

As a former student, current student, teacher or administrator of a Logan County school, I would be deeply offended by such assumptions.

In the last three decades, private sector corporations and big business have gutted the American economy by shipping millions of jobs elsewhere in order to fatten their bottom lines. Their contempt is so brazen as to now fault the American worker for that guard.

The evidence is that corporations are sitting on trillions of dollars in assets — record highs, in fact — while the American public in general continues to suffer mightily.

We’re left with a whole lot more people for much less of the pie.

The chamber of commerce, keep in mind, is the mouthpiece of business — both small and big.

Also.

I’ve lived in this county most of my life and known countless outstanding individuals and contributors to society, who never spent a day in college.

I never spent that day, either, and feel none the worse for it.

I will be celebrating my 50th Class Reunion later this year (from Riverside High) and still revere many of my teachers, most of whom have since passed on.

Through the efforts of those dedicated professionals and my mother’s good will, I was well prepared for the “hard knocks” of life, so to speak.

I think teachers are getting a rotten deal these days. Their ranks are being slashed to ribbons. For those surviving the purges, their wages and benefits are often frozen or cut.

Here is what I think about deficit-spending cuts and entitlement reform (don’t like the word entitlements).

I’ve yet to read about or have it explained to me by anybody, how balancing a budget, such as the federal government’s, could possibly benefit anyone other than those who don’t need it.

Balancing a household budget is a good thing. But the residents of a home are not responsible, at least in part, for the well-being of millions.

Were it not for the federal government’s assistance, in particular with unemployment compensation, food stamps, anti-poverty programs and the likes, the situation in this country, for millions would reach tragic proportions more often.

Make no mistake about this, however, the people clamoring for unlimited government in this nation care for the future of their children and grandchildren. They just don’t give a d--- about the rest of us.

Who fills that void?

Sometime back, I was addressing some of these matters with a Bellefontaine man I’ve known for years. He’s a decent fellow.

He said to me “from what you write, I’d say you’re a liberal Democrat.”

Fair enough.

He intimated that my opinion of schools and teachers, for example, was influenced by the years I spent as a truant officer in that business (26 years), and that I have a School Employees Retirement System pension. In addition, I was elected to and served a term on the Bellefontaine board (1980-83. I didn’t seek re-election.)

In regard to the school issue, he’s on solid ground again.

Following is where we part ways, however.

He’s a conservative Republican, who now labels himself an independent.

When I asked him, though, for one liberal idea he could embrace, he was stumped for an answer.

Even as a liberal Democrat, there have always been conservative measures I support. I believe in the death penalty and in the Second Amendment’s right of the people to keep and bear arms, to name a couple.

These chamber of commerce types mentioned earlier are like a one-trick pony. And the trick is on us.

I’ve become plenty put out over the years with the ideas that theirs is the only line of political discourse in Logan County.

It isn’t. Nor should it ever be.

Jerry Turner

Quincy

Reading Marshall Pierson’s recent Forum article on same sex marriage reminded me of the Salem Witch Trials and why there is a separation of church and state. The Preamble to the Constitution starts with “We the People” which obviously means all of the people. Not those that Mr. Pierson and his ilk deem worthy, but everyone including those that he adamantly disagrees with. If one reads the Federalist Papers, it is obvious the intent of the Founding Fathers was for separation of church and state in part because of the ridiculous use of religion at the Salem Witch Trials and subsequent events similar where fanatics tried to use their interpretation of the Bible for their own personal gain and to perpetuate their particular religion no matter who and how many people it would hurt.

Being homophobic and xenophobic hardly deems one worth of being a Biblical prophet predicting the end of this country. And to extrapolate your statement that acceptance of same sex marriage is going to cause “progressives” to have sex with their own children is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. Where did that come from? This sounds like something the Rev. Cotton Mather would have said in Salem around 1692. Perhaps Mr. Pierson, you need to dig a pond and set up your dunking pole to find out who is worthy and who needs to be burned at the stake.

Fanatics like you, Mr. Pierson, drive more people away from Christianity than you ever attract to it. While it may make you feel better to do a little gay bashing, it really only serves to show how shallow and pathetic your argument is. Why are you so afraid of gays and that they might actually have rights as you or I?

This country is a melting pot of many different religious and ethnic backgrounds and our Founding Fathers were very wise in keeping religion separate from government. It keeps anyone religious from being able to control others and allows everyone to follow the faith of their choice or lack thereof. Anything short of this would be ludicrous. We could have government soldiers rounding up certain groups of people that the government leaders hate and then burn them in gas ovens. Oh wait, that already happened, didn’t it. Six million times.

Ned Buchenroth

Huntsville

A week before the November election, the great New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote “Republicans are geniuses at getting people to vote against their own self interest.”

To conservatives and the right wing, the left-leaning Times is a “Commie Newspaper.”

But Dowd is right on.

The mechanism used by Republicans to accomplish their goals is religion.

In the months leading to their action, you could read the editorial pages of any paper and be exposed to a conservative sermon about how awful President Barack Obama and his administration were.

The implications being that anyone with a liberal point of view is an atheist, a communist or a socialist. Maybe all three.

I keep reminding myself, though, that it was the right wing segregationists in the South all those years who claimed slavery was in their Bible.

Most irksome to me in the recent editorials were the repeated references to religious themes and our Constitution.

I’m always asking questions. I think that’s a very good thing to do. This requires two big ones.

If religion was so central to our founders’ vision of America, why is even God not mentioned in the Constitution?

And why did the chief architect of the Constitution, James Madison, say that where religion had been part of civil government in past times, it had always resulted in “tyranny” and was “needed not.”

So, how do the Republicans exploit religion and faith?

It’s as simple as human nature.

I’ve long believed that we make more important decisions in our lives based on emotions than we do on facts, logic or common sense.

What is love if not pure emotion?

Religion is a very emotional thing, especially on issues like abortion and same sex marriage.

What are we missing by all this though?

For instance, how many of those in the anti-abortion movement who care so much about protecting us while we’re on the way, are opponents of universal healthcare? They have to be saying that once we’re here, only those with enough cash on hand deserve it.

That’s hypocrisy 101.

We hear a great deal in America about “Islamic Terrorism.” Islam being a religion of course.

After all the hateful missives I’ve read this fall from other religious zealots, many of them sound like terrorists to me.

A threat to anyone — atheists, liberals, gays, etc. — that dares to be or is different.

I’m convinced James Madison and our other founders were mindful of such concerns when separating church and state in or civil government.

And despite all the noise from the religious right, that alleged socialism/Marxist in the White House, Barack Obama, was re-elected president of the United States on Nov. 6.

I think our founders would have approved.

Jerry Turner
Quincy

A week before the November election, the great New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote "Republicans are geniuses at getting people to vote against their own self interest."

To conservatives and the right wing, the left-leaning Times is a "Commie Newspaper."

But Dowd is right on.

The mechanism used by Republicans to accomplish their goals is religion.

In the months leading to their action, you could read the editorial pages of any paper and be exposed to a conservative sermon about how awful President Barack Obama and his administration were.

The implications being that anyone with a liberal point of view is an atheist, a communist or a socialist. Maybe all three.

I keep reminding myself, though, that it was the right wing segregationists in the South all those years who claimed slavery was in their Bible.

Most irksome to me in the recent editorials were the repeated references to religious themes and our Constitution.

I'm always asking questions. I think that's a very good thing to do. This requires two big ones.

If religion was so central to our founders' vision of America, why is even God not mentioned in the Constitution?

And why did the chief architect of the Constitution, James Madison, say that where religion had been part of civil government in past times, it had always resulted in "tyranny" and was "needed not."

So, how do the Republicans exploit religion and faith?

It's as simple as human nature.

I've long believed that we make more important decisions in our lives based on emotions than we do on facts, logic or common sense.

What is love if not pure emotion?

Religion is a very emotional thing, especially on issues like abortion and same sex marriage.

What are we missing by all this though?

For instance, how many of those in the anti-abortion movement who care so much about protecting us while we're on the way, are opponents of universal healthcare? They have to be saying that once we're here, only those with enough cash on hand deserve it.

That's hypocrisy 101.

We hear a great deal in America about "Islamic Terrorism." Islam being a religion of course.

After all the hateful missives I've read this fall from other religious zealots, many of them sound like terrorists to me.

A threat to anyone - atheists, liberals, gays, etc. - that dares to be or is different.

I'm convinced James Madison and our other founders were mindful of such concerns when separating church and state in or civil government.

And despite all the noise from the religious right, that alleged socialism/Marxist in the White House, Barack Obama, was re-elected president of the United States on Nov. 6.

I think our founders would have approved.

Jerry Turner
Quincy

Dear Friends and Citizens of Logan County,   

As I set here in the early morning after the election, I want to express some of my concerns and thoughts that are keeping me from a good night's sleep.

I am looking at these thoughts not as a Republican, Democrat or Independent, but as a son of a WWII Vet, a Vietnam Vet, husband, father and grandfather and most of all a proud American.

I have been blessed to have been born in this great and exceptional country of the United States of America. This is a country of freedoms and opportunities equaled by none. A country where I was taught by loving parents about religion, work ethic and the fact that I could succeed by working hard and making intelligent decisions. I was also taught early on that making bad decisions had consequences. I was also taught love and responsibility for our country. These are lessons taught by most all parents regardless of political association. We all want our country to be the best it can be, not only for us but for future generations. We all hope and pray that the freedoms and blessings that our forefathers provided for us will provide a safe, happy and successful life for our kids and grandkids. Yet we do not seem to be able to elect representatives to government that secure those hopes. Why? We only seem to elect those who care more for themselves than for us and more for their careers than for serving their country. Why? I can only look at the last four years and wonder how we were led to $16 trillion in debt, how we have had freedoms taken from us by our representatives enacting laws and regulations and by judge decisions that disregard our Constitution, the same Constitution that was designed to protect us from the government. I see a Christian nation founded on Christian principles being oppressed more and more in schools, at work, by government and in our daily lives for political correctness. I see schools and teachers being required to act as parents and used for social and political teaching rather than teach the skills needed to be successful in the future. I see our great country that was once the hope and leader of the world being laughed at by dictators and enemies when once we were respected for our goodness and feared for our power. I see our country never being energy independent because of laws and regulations that do no let us use the resources God has given us but requires us to buy from countries that hate us. I see a country of hardworking God-fearing Americans with no jobs, on unemployment, food stamps and other kinds of government support, not because they want to be but because our government has put them there by their policies. I don't believe that any American wants to see this but yet we cannot elect people that agree with us? I truly believe that when over 50 percent of our working population must depend on government for food, housing, health care and many other programs to survive, that our country as we know it will be gone.

No doubt you can see that I am very fearful for the future of our country. We are told that everything will be OK and that we can solve our problems if we only pay a little more taxes. That is not the answer. Look at Europe where taxes are being raised higher and higher and it cannot fix their problems. Is this the kind of freedom we want? The kind that requires us to work for the government and not for ourself and family? That is where we are headed. We can no longer vote out of office officials that lie, cheat and buy votes using their policies and our tax money? This is not the future I want to see. Going down this path will lead to a USA that has far less freedoms, is weak financially and militarily with a much lower standard of living for future generations. Is this what any of us want? Who do we have to blame? Only ourselves. This is why I cannot sleep tonight and I wonder how many of you are having the same thoughts?

I pray that once again we become a Christian USA and are proud of it. I believe that is the only hope and change that will make a difference.

Dale King
Bellefontaine

It's when our church groups park their cars on the parking lots, decorate them and pass out candy. It is a safe alternative to traditional trick-or-treat. There is free hot dogs, coffee and hot chocolate. There are games and lots and lots of candy, all free. Last Wednesday night, the First Church of God had its annual "Trunk or Treat," but because of the terrible weather we had outside, it was held inside. Obviously we would like you to come back. We are in the soul-saving business.

In the newspaper we see politics, obituary notices, drug busts, accidents and advertising. It is nice when something nice happens in the community. We used to have a section in the newspaper that told when someone did something nice for someone. (Editor's Note: And we still do, Good Morning Good News that appears periodically on Saturdays).

My point being, all the above mentioned articles flood our papers every day. But I am here to tell you that there are good people in our community.

Our church was blessed to be so crowded we weren't sure we could get all the kids through in the two hours or not. We saw a lot of adorable costumes and some of the cutest babies ever. And our people were amazing. They worked hard for the glory of God, it just made me proud.

My point being is that we saw an amazing team of Christians working together to bring this event to any child that wanted to come. We had greeters, food servers, welcome center to hand out information about us, and tables and more tables down the halls with teams at their decorated tables passing out candy. I couldn't be any more proud of my church family, than I am now. It took teamwork and lots of candy to pull this off and we did so with an amazing style. The amount of work that it took all of us to set up, tear down and clean up was well worth it. We hope all who came enjoyed themselves.

I think it is time for all denominations of churches to step up and be disciples of God it speaks of in the Bible. If the polls are right, they say 87 percent of people surveyed believe in God and say they are Christians. I learn something every time I go. If you haven't "found" where you belong at, try our church, we have a great pastor and lots of dedicated people who work together for the good of our community.

Thank you Bellefontaine First Church of God for all your outreach programs. I don't know where I would be without your love and support.

God Bless You.

Alana Roberts
Bellefontaine