Talk of the Town

I AM ENJOYING the controversy created by the General Motors pep talk, “It’s Halftime in America.” I do not think that either General Motors or Clint Eastwood was endorsing Obama. I think Eastwood — playing a combination of the Man With No Name, “Dirty Harry” and Walt Kowalski (of “Gran Torino”) — was telling all of us — and that includes all government and corporate leaders and lackeys — to stop the divisive whining and subterfuge and let’s get on with the task of fixing this country, together.

As an example of the success that comes when we work together, GM used Detroit’s nascent comeback. Obama chose to bail out the car industry, and his strategy, so far, has succeeded. When Eastwood said, “It’s halftime in America,” I don’t think he was cleverly endorsing support for another four years of Obama. It doesn’t have to be Obama at quarterback. We, the people — every one of us, no matter who is president — still have to play the second half, pushing onward toward full economic recovery.

I think Clint Eastwood’s take-home message was: Don’t forget who we are, as Americans. We might get knocked down, but we get right back up.

“We” is a very important American word. Maybe, right now, “we” is our most important American word.

GREG LEICHNER

Placitas

Slaughtering No Cure for Horse Problem

WE DON’T want to go back.

Horses have provided and shared in the greatness of man throughout the ages, especially in the United States, where they evolved. Let’s not doom our beloved horses by opening slaughterhouses for horses again.

Do we have a choice? Yes, we do. PZP (porcine zona pellucida, a horse contraceptive) and birth control measures need to be adopted and enforced for any oversupply of equines.

Killing horses for meat for human consumption has been rejected over and over by the American people. Horses are not a meat animal here and are not safe for human consumption. Why should we be supplying horse meat for foreign markets? Especially costly now.

Some say we need to put starving horses out of their misery. I say slaughtering horses is torture. Is torture better than starvation?

Solutions can be developed and should be developed for all problems. Extreme animal cruelty applies to horses, too

I would rather see any taxpayer money go to pay for PZP and grants to pay for hay for people who can’t afford it or horse sanctuaries where horses can provide education, rehabilitation, recreation and tourism. Tell the Senate to stop backroom deals that satisfy U.S. Rep. Sue Wallis, R- Wyo., and take our country backward, instead of going forward.

BETTY J. PRITCHARD

Bernalillo

Occupy Movement a Long Time Coming

RE: WINTHROP Quigley Upfront, Feb. 7:

I disagree with (his) assessment that occupy fails as a moral movement. It should have been completed during the Bush era cowardly nonmovement, as well as war protesting. Now everyone blames a president for the woes.

From one’s perspective, the white dominance of America with corruption and greed, we can see that nothing has been accomplished in that society since 1492. I would not expect that society of men to learn anything but to continue to corrupt, lie and cheat in the name of their God and religion. So sad!

In 1775, when the Iroquois Nations gave America their constitution to use, they said, there is a spiritual consciousness to politics, don’t forget! Look how they consumed that indigenous population that was thriving in 1491. You people out there, your efforts are not a lost cause. Don’t listen to the criticism.

AL BENALLI

Jemez Springs

More to a Movement Than Meets Eye

THANK YOU for your excellent article in the Feb. 7 Albuquerque Journal comparing the occupy movement to the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King. I especially appreciated your pointing out that, above all else, King regarded himself as a minister of God.

That is almost never mentioned in connection with his considerable accomplishments. But, as you stated, it was his primary motivation and the source of his moral authority. Permit me this additional observation: one of Martin Luther King’s greatest accomplishments, and one for which he’s hardly ever credited, was his appeal to the conscience of ordinary whites, to their sense of right and wrong as shaped by their adherence to the most fundamental of Judeo-Christian principles. I’m not talking about the real racists and bigots, but the basically good people who never really thought about the disconnect between segregation and what they professed to believe. I saw it among my parents’ friends, as well as in my own family. To me, this was King’s greatest accomplishment, and it would not have been possible had he not been a believer himself and a committed, ordained minister.

GEORGE LOEHR

Albuquerque

Tax Break a Windfall for Undeserving

OUR FEARLESS leaders in Washington want to extend the payroll tax break for working Americans. Unfortunately, the term Americans in Washington includes non U.S. citizens.

There is a loophole that allows foreigners in our nation illegally to take billions of dollars in tax credits each year.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the federal government paid over $4 billion in refundable credits just in 2010 to those using Individual Tax Identification Numbers, a group made up of almost entirely of illegal workers. Only those eligible to work in the U.S. receive Social Security numbers, but the Additional Child Tax Credit program, unlike other tax credits, allows illegals to file using ITINs and then receive the funds, even if they paid no income taxes .

Even the Treasury Department’s inspector general stated that these tax credits are an ” additional incentive for foreigners to enter our nation illegally.”

By eliminating this loophole, we may have some funds for a real tax credit for American citizens. There might be a few in Washington with political courage to right this wrong .

JOHN F. KOSTRUBAL

Rio Rancho

Support Abortion, Boost Breast Cancer

WHY IS Susan G. Komen for the Cure doing flip-flops on issues that affect the lives of women and their unborn children? It is time that they begin to tell the public the truth. Susan G. Komen is not reducing the number of breast cancer cases. The data clearly show that the number of breast cancer cases are increasing: 1962 — 63,000 cases, 1972 — 90,000, 1982 — 120,000, 1992 — 180,000.

The truth that should also be told is that the risk of getting breast cancer is 50 percent higher for women who have had an induced abortion compared with woman who did not have an abortion. A woman who has had an abortion is left with more cancer-vulnerable cells than she had before she ever became pregnant. Having an abortion dramatically increases one’s chances for breast cancer. Why would anyone want to support the abortion business at Planned Parenthood when it sets women up for getting breast cancer?

The final truth is that according to the American Cancer Society, 20 percent of the women who get breast cancer will die within the first five years after their diagnosis.

Women do deserve the respect and dignity of being able to make an “informed” choice about their lives. Susan G. Komen, tell the public the truth about the abortion/breast cancer connection. See the peer-reviewed research on these topics at these websites: www.BCPInstitute.org and http:// abortionbreastcancer.com/

MARY L. PEPPER

Albuquerque

Planned Parenthood Not Helping Komen

THE SUSAN G. Komen for the Cure organization made news recently by renouncing its grant support to Planned Parenthood, only to bow to political pressures and capitulate. Komen had it right the first time! While Komen unselfishly searches for breast cancer cures, Planned Parenthood profits from funding a network of abortuaries. Make no mistake about it; Planned Parenthood’s business is abortion. A wikipedia.com article, citing Yahoo! News, refers to Planned Parenthood as the USA’s largest abortion provider.

Komen’s grant money can be more effectively spent by organizations that have appropriate equipment and research personnel who actively engage in breast cancer research and services. National TV news reports suggest that Planned Parenthood centers do not even have mammography capabilities.

Planned Parenthood’s nonprofit status does not mean they aren’t profitable. Their 2007-2008 Final Report shows revenues of about $1 billion and “Excess of Revenues over Expenses” — a stealthy way of saying profits — of $85 million. Why should Susan G. Komen provide grants to such a financially well-off entity?

I have contributed to Komen in the past when I did not realize that my donation partially found its way to subsidizing abortuaries. I will not contribute to Komen again as long as they provide grant money to Planned Parenthood.

GEORGE WRIGHT

Corrales

Yoga Is the Pathway to Spiritual Ruin

IT’S COMPLETELY inappropriate for the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center to be teaching yoga to inmates. Yoga is the practice of Eastern religion.

Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon have written several articles on this topic. They write: “… yoga practice is intended to validate occult yoga theory. And as noted, yoga theory teaches that everything is, in its true inner nature, divine — not only divine but ultimately equal to everything else—everything from God and the devil to the athlete and the AIDS virus.”

Yoga is a way to achieve union with impersonal spiritual forces — demons — and to destroy the individual so he can be liberated and learn that this mortal life isn’t worth living.

Those who believe they can practice yoga merely as exercise don’t realize that they’re opening themselves up to the occult. We do not want our tax money supporting occult practices!

CATHY MONTOYA

Albuquerque

Who Loses by Mastering English?

I READ THE article by Josephine De Leon, but have an addition that is much belated! I taught Apaches on the Mescalero reservation years ago, and they told me that when they went to the government school, they were not only told to forget all their tribal traditions, but they were punished for even using their language!

When I taught there in the late 1940s and early 1950s, they could use their language, which was dying anyway because of intermarriage, though many of their customs were returning, even encouraged by the churches. The problem surfaced again after I left and the community schools were closed to save money and the children were bused into nearby area schools. They discovered that, not only did they use English, but they had to also learn Spanish! Their Apache is (now) almost gone!

I grew up in Racine, Wis., in the early ’30s and Racine was so Danish — the most Danish town outside of Denmark— that Danish was used as a second language in the stores and businesses. We wanted to learn English to improve our opportunities to earn a living and we wanted to be real Americans!

People from South America are coming here to learn English so they can improve their opportunities for their careers back home. Good reason for making English No. 1 here?

THE REV. ROBERT S. OVE

Rio Rancho

Kindness Is Contagious – Pass It Around

THIS YEAR, Random Acts of Kindness Week will be celebrated this week and what better way to celebrate than by spreading kindness, respect and civility, while also focusing on safety!

Unfortunately, daily acts of kindness are not publicized but rather overshadowed by acts of violence, bullying and insensitivity. Consequently these acts can lead to injuries, deaths and suicides as people seek recognition by copycatting these acts, thereby allowing the cycle of violence and insensitivity to continue.

In order to place more emphasis on kindness, respect, civility and safety, I am leading the charge to encourage (everyone) to focus on positive behaviors and finding ways to demonstrate kindness and respect and to focus on safety.

Being kind to each other isn’t difficult or profound and doesn’t take much extra time or money. It just takes awareness and conscious thought from all of us. Some of the smallest acts of kindness: Sending a friend or co-worker a note of thanks, giving someone a compliment, volunteering at a shelter, holding the door open for someone, walking a neighbor’s dog, or giving up your seat for someone can go a long way. And if you want to do more, a few extra dollars could treat a friend to a cup of coffee or a movie, or help your favorite charity and companies or organizations can combine efforts for food or clothes drives. Be a role model and show others how easy this can be!

It always feels good when someone is nice to you, but it feels even better when you are nice to others! In fact, there are many health benefits associated with being helpful and kind. It can enhance your feeling of joyfulness, emotional resilience, optimism, self-worth and vigor, and reduce your sense of isolation, helplessness and depression.

Let’s put up a fight to achieve kindness, respect, courteousness, and our focus on safety! Be kind and pass it on to others!

For more information, go to: http://studentaffairs.unm.edu/random-acts-of-kindness.html or www.randomactsofkindness.org.

KIM KLOEPPEL

UNM Interim Dean of Students and Student Affairs Planning Officer Albuquerque