Bells Tolling, Not Jingling
It's almost Christmas and many of us only feel sad. Not much money to buy presents, and a government (though now it seems to be in more capable hands) that seems to be deliberately enlarging the ever-present, ominous disconnect between foreign and domestic policy, moaning about the financial problems at home, blaming the states for spending too much money, while it is spending trillions around the world killing people.
The Pentagon budget is the largest in history, but the government is only talking about helping banks and car companies—not, as you know, about helping the poor or not killing people. They aren't even using the words "rich" or "poor" anymore, even though the gap between them grows more savage each day. Instead they talk about the "middle class," as if those words are more reassuring and will keep us from protesting in the streets. Then, in case we grow too unruly, there is a plan to do away with the Posse Comitatus Act, which, since the Civil War, has not allowed the government to use its own military on U.S. soil. Thus we too will become a police state.
It's almost enough to make the few of us who have worked hard to get a bit of "equal access" with the military recruiters in our high schools give up. Unemployment is helping the recruiters and the Pentagon these days by giving a boost to what we call the "poverty draft." No matter what we try to tell them, more young people are joining up, and those who have given their time but cannot find work are going back into the military, since that is the only way to feed their children. The ways of a crumbling empire do not bring us a "merry" Christmas.
Jane Newton
South Londonderry, Vt.
State House Has Her on Hold
Tom Vannah's suggestion that Gov. Deval Patrick's administration isn't all it was expected to be ("Together We Haven't," Nov. 27, 2008) is accurate. I've been waiting for one year to a response to my submission of documents pertaining to a position I was recommended for on the Hadley Housing Authority by state rep John Scibak. I have repeatedly phoned and emailed the office to no effect.
If this is their normal operation procedure, I feel sorry for the neglected affairs of this commonwealth. The governor's office is well aware that conditions at Golden Court [a public housing complex] in Hadley are inadequate for the needs of tenants. Cameras in the community room, suppression of tenants' rights to organize and a general refusal to create a positive social environment are all problems at Golden Court. Gov. Patrick knows about this. He chooses to do nothing. Typical, I sadly fear.
Nadine Gallo
via email
