Like-minded to a point

Published 12:00 am Sunday, August 1, 2004

I was beginning to form an attachment with William H. Harward of Suffolk who often agreed with subjects in my column and said so in Letters to the Editor. I am grateful for any letter to the editor as it indicates interest in what’s going on in the world. The Suffolk Sun severely limits individual use of that section of their paper while the News Herald says, &uot;Have at it.&uot;

Mr. Harward has opinions and expresses them well but on one subject we disagree. I am not Fonda Kerry. If he were the only candidate I wouldn’t bother pulling a lever in the booth. Here are some excerpts from Sir John’s resume:

I graduated from Yale with a low &uot;C&uot; average. I used three minor injuries to get an early discharge from the military and joined Jane Fonda in protesting the war. I have no world experience except marrying rich women and running H.J. Heinz vicariously through my wife. I set the record for the most liberal voting record, exceeding even Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton. I have consistently failed to support our military and CIA by voting against budgets. Although I voted for the war in Iraq I am now against it and refuse to admit that I voted for it.

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I have no plan to help this country but I intend to raise taxes significantly if elected. I make very little charitable contributions despite family wealth of over $700 million. I ride a Serotta bicycle, about $5,000, and a Gulfstream Jet, a little over a million, which costs $2600 an hour to fly but what the heck, I can afford it. My 42-foot twin diesel yacht set me back only $850,000. But don’t get the idea I don’t understand the plight of you little people.

I’m sure Mr. Harward agrees that World War II was necessary even though it cost the country years of heavy debt, 450,000 dead and two million wounded. Hitler did not attack us. If we were told how many military personnel die outside the war, on bases doing normal duty, there would be less fuss about how many die in battle. And Iraq is just as much a battle against terrorism as invading France was against fascism. Mr. Harward has a right to his opinion and letters but I pray the majority don’t agree with his thoughts regarding the liberal candidate. As you can tell, I am not Fonda Kerry.

John Kerry keeps talking about corporations leaving the United States and setting up shop in foreign countries, taking thousands of jobs with them. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Kerrys own 32 factories in Europe and 18 in Asia. They own 27 factories in North America, some of which are in Mexico and the Caribbean. How many Americans could be working in those factories if they were in this country? And we wonder what wages are paid in those foreign countries. He demands that American corporations return to these 50 states. Not likely. As far as I know George Bush has not moved one factory out of this country. Shame, shame, shame.

Robert Pocklington lives in Suffolk and is a regular News-Herald columnist. He can be reached at robert.pocklington@suffolknewsherald.com