Americans need to vote out incumbents

July 15, 2012

Why I support voting out incumbents

If you have read many of my articles, you know that my consistent general theme has been that in order for voters to help solve our nations many problems we need to unite in firing all incumbent federally elected officials beginning with the coming fall elections. Most American voters are angered and frustrated by our lawmakers overall performance, but some then argue that some are OK and should be saved. This article is written to better explain why I feel so strongly about supporting this drastic action.

Over the past couple of years, many, many readers have sent me their very well developed ideas that, if implemented, would likely solve most of our challenges. Many said, in effect, that we didn't need to fire everyone...we just need to convince our elected to do these things. Since our representatives have failed miserably to respond to our anger, how do we get that accomplished? I am a pragmatic and practical business person. I spent over thirty eight years in the private sector working in five different industries, during which I held over 20 different management roles in just about every business function you can think of. I was repeatedly told by my bosses that I was valued because I was very good at solving problems.

I was trained to evaluate negative results by identifying their primary underlying causes, and when the most important causal factor was identified, to then determine the most effective options to remove or modify that cause. It was while evaluating our nation's problems with this approach that I had my personal "Ah Ha!" moment. It became clear to me that most of us see all the laws and regulations that need to be changed. We simply lack the willingness and effective leadership to implement them. Our two political parties remain locked in a desperate struggle to retain as much power as possible, and the vast majority of our elected politicians from both parties are more interested in staying in power than risking the needed collaborative actions necessary to pass the laws and regulations so desperately required. The parties and their politicians have learned from long experience that we will re-elect them over 90% of the time anyway, and that they must fear the lobbies more than the voters.

It dawned on me that we voters only have one single effective tool at our disposal and that is the ballot. We the people cannot pass a single law or regulation...that is solely in the control of our elected representatives.

That led me to my conclusion that as long as we are no real threat to their power, why would we expect them to pay any attention to our complaints...or even bother to listen to our suggestions or ideas. The fact is that they, quite accurately I might add, only fear the monied special interests who fund their campaigns...because these folks will withhold funding at the first sign that a politician isn't following their orders. Where does that leave we the people? I'm afraid it leaves us to either continue the frustrating and non-productive game we have been playing of just blaming all those in the other party...or to stand up and take the necessary actions to send a strong signal to all future candidates and current office holders that we can and will fire them...by doing just that! Those we elect to represent our collective best interests would suddenly realize that we the voters can and will fire them if they fail to act accordingly. After this process has begun the metrics that we should use in the future to measure our lawmaker's performance will be fairly easy to create and help guide our future election decisions. For those who could never imagine voting for a candidate in the opposite party...just vote out your party's incumbent in a primary.

I know that this likely seems too simple and unrealistic and many will suggest that we will just be sending new crooks to Washington. I do not believe that most of our politicians intend to behave like crooks. It is the system they are forced to work within that is corrupt, and that corruption is created by the powerful special interests and the political parties themselves. It seems pretty clear that the folks we have been re-electing for term after term from either party do effectively say the words supporting their followers personal values...but they have clearly not delivered the goods for a very long time and I don't think they can or will change their behavior without our help.

Clearly we will risk losing a few good and decent people currently in office. However, being nice or good but ineffective should still get you fired! By signaling with our ballot that we can and will take action to replace incumbents is what will force the rest to be reminded that they serve at our pleasure...not just that of the special interests. Frankly I don't think it would take more than one or two waves of firings before the survivors would get the message. For the faint of heart, please stand aside. Our nation is in a war for it's very survival. Politics as usual, either for politicians or voters, is clearly no longer an acceptable alternative.

These are my opinions. What do you think?

Mike Tower

The implications of Obamacare

July 8, 2012

The health care bill implications

The Supreme Court has approved the health care bill that is commonly known as Obamacare with two exceptions. The first, deals with the wording in the law requiring that a penalty be paid by anyone who could afford to, but then chose not to buy insurance. The court stated that the penalty would have to be called what it actually is...a tax. The second removes from the law the threat that said, in effect, if a state fails to expand its Medicaid offering as part of the health care expansion, they would lose all federal monies currently being paid to them for the program...that amounts to 90% of the state's costs for medicaid. These two exceptions will prove to be critically important as this important debate continues.

Mr. Obama and his fellow Democrats are lauding this as a victory for the American people. The Republicans are, of course, proclaiming it to be a disaster of epic proportions. This will result in this issue being a significant debating point for both sides in the remaining months of the election. We must all hope that the more important issues such as jobs, debt, and unfunded entitlements aren't ignored.

Since it is pretty clear that the health care and Insurance lobbies led the process of writing this bill in their favor are the primary winners. Their enthusiasm, however, has to be tempered by the fear of the Republican's promises to repeal the law if they win a majority of both houses and the presidency. Any bets on where these same special interests will be placing their support this fall? Any doubts about what a GOP candidate will have to promise in return for their financial support?

It's easy to see that the 10% of Americans without insurance have also won. Who are the losers? Well, let's begin by looking at the other 90% of Americans who currently have some form of health insurance. Does anyone imagine that this majority population isn't about to see the beginning of the most incredible negative changes to their health care imaginable? The President stated before and after the court's decision that folks who are already insured will be allowed to keep their insurance. He, of course, did not say that this majority will have to bear most of the burden for all of these newly insured via higher costs or reduced services, or both. Can you imagine that insurance providers of all types will not end up raising fees to make up for expected higher costs? Do you think that the number of employers providing health insurance in this new reality will increase or decrease? It doesn't matter if you happen to be covered by private, Medicare, Medicaid, Government, or the VA; you might be able to maintain coverage, but these all will be affected by higher costs and reduced services. It's a simple matter of economics; our nation is deeply in debt and cannot afford to pay for these additional insureds and increased services for baby boomers without additional revenues and/or reduced services. Think about the supply of primary care providers required by the growing twin demands of the newly insured and the baby boomers. The supply of primary care providers has for many years been failing to grow at a rate that even matches current demand. In America today, driven by shrinking reimbursement rates for service, our primary care specialists are among the lowest paid of all physicians. Why would anyone logically want to make this their chosen medical specialty? During these very trying economic times it seems indisputable that this new law initiates a period of declining quality of health care for the vast majority of all Americans for the foreseeable future.

Last year I wrote a series of articles dealing with health care realities in our nation. I stated that we are the only developed country in the world not providing universal health care for all of it's citizens. Clearly that must not be allowed to continue in a nation that remains, in spite of our problems, the wealthiest in the world. To me this requirement to provide health care access for all citizens falls under the “Life” portion of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” sentence of our Declaration of Independence. However, for our leaders to have created this version of health care reforms that more benefits the powerful special interests than the vast majority of our people is not the best way accomplish that goal. We have transferred all control of our health care into the hands of the politicians, bureaucrats, and the insurance and health care industries. As I wrote then, and am even more convinced today, the right thing to do would be to offer everyone a Medicare option. After all, over half of all Americans are already on some form of public health coverage when you include those covered by Medicare, Medicaid, Government, and the VA. The infrastructure is already in place, and most current recipients think that these health care delivery systems work pretty well. The real negative of that option would, of course, be for the special interests...and they certainly are more capable of influencing the lawmakers than we the people. Meanwhile we just keep voting the incumbents back into office?? Will we never learn?

These are my opinions. What do you think?

Mike Tower

Please also check out:

Citizens Against Politics As Usual

Lee's Political Opinion

How Should Americans Rate Our President?

June 10, 2012

The two most frequently cited indicators of our President’s performance by his supporters and opponents are the stock market and the unemployment rate changes. When either is up or down his supporters and detractors have a field day. When either number has even a slight positive indication it is accompanied by cries from the

President's supporters that America is on the way back to economic health, then when these indicators are negative, the world as we know it is about to end according to his opponents. Is either side correct? More importantly are these two indicators even

the most important measures of how our President’s performance should be rated by voters?

Let's begin by examining how official unemployment statistics work. As I have written before, to really understand this complex topic, you have to begin by knowing that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has several categories and methodologies that are

used to compile their various employment estimates. The most common “headline” report is the “official unemployment rate”. However, the methodology used for this specific report, while consistent, doesn’t accurately reflect all of the unemployed and

underemployed. For example, the longer term unemployed and those who have given up looking for work, are no longer counted as being unemployed. They aren’t working...but they are not officially unemployed. Also not counted in this report are the

under-employed. For example, if someone works as little as one hour per week...they are considered as being fully employed. Those who are self-employed are counted as

fully employed even if they have little or no work or income. Interestingly in the private sector most companies report their number of employees in “full-time equivalents” (FTE’s) to make sure they have an accurate count. Thus most experts, when all these

factors are considered, conclude that the actual FTE number of workers not employed may be closer to double the official estimates. Today that’s about 25 million Americans

plus their dependents, and many are now increasingly relying on friends, family, charities, and government assistance. Since the last unemployment bottom was reached in 2010, we have averaged adding about 125,000 new jobs each month. Should we feel optimistic? Well the trend may be in the right direction, but the hill to full employment is much higher than we think. For example, don’t forget that we have nearly 150,000 net new job seekers entering the job market each month due to population expansion. Also to be considered, are the huge burdens that this will continue to place on private, federal, and state safety nets which are already strained beyond capacity. The bottom line is that the “official” unemployment rate means very little. The number of unemployed and underemployed and Americans with long-term stagnant wages means everything…and that is not a pretty picture.

Let’s now look at the economic recovery improvements claims. Any nation’s economy has financial indicators such as the stock market indexes and GDP growth rates, and social or human indicators such as employment indexes. Yes, our financial economy has made strides toward recovery. However, much of that reflects the global nature of businesses today. Many very large and successful multinational companies are based in the U.S., but they increasingly sell and produce products globally. Thus their growth and financial performance may be wonderful, and help drive our “financial economy” toward recovery. But this still may not help solve our own nation’s employment problems. This is what is meant by a “jobless” recovery. Thus, our “social or human economy” is not recovering at anywhere near the same rate as our financial economy.

Two of the highest stock market valued American companies are Apple and Google, but they actually employ relatively few Americans...thus their financial performance measures and stock prices can grow with not much real positive impact on the

America’s employment economy. Their performance certainly does help those who own their stocks, or who are fortunate enough to be employed by them.

So, should our President be gaining higher approval ratings for his performance or not?

In my opinion, for voters to be guided primarily by the indicators of employment and financial markets recovery to help make their voting decisions absolutely ignores the much more important critical problems our nation faces. Frankly, most of our current

federally elected can take little pride in their inability to solve our abysmal educational problems, continuing lack of job creation, horrible national debt, continued deficit spending, and the incredible unfunded entitlements that our future descendants will face. Like the rational head of any family or private organization...the questions regarding what we can and cannot continue to afford must be continuously asked and answered. The longer we delay effectively confronting these critical questions, the deeper the hole becomes and the closer our nation gets to a tragic ending. We cannot avoid shared suffering, but must begin sooner rather than when it will be literally too late. For us and our leaders to continue to pretend that we are the wealthiest nation in the world is foolish and dangerous. A nation cannot make these claims when it must

borrow 40+% of what it spends. In my opinion, President Obama has proven that his lack of prior real world experience certainly did not prepare him to lead the largest economy in the world. We simply cannot afford to continue to trust an amateur to run our country when it is in such distress. The truly most important question is whether or not we the people will have the wisdom and courage to also fire all incumbent lawmakers, and then demand that those we vote for in the coming election cycles commit to developing a solid education strategy, a realistic job creating environment, and putting our nation’s financial footings back on firmer ground as their top

objectives...beginning immediately...no matter what! Time is not our friend! For us to continue the delusion that incumbents will somehow change behavior is simply naïve at best!

These are my opinions. What do you think?

Mike Tower

Hendersonville, NC'

Please visit:

Citizens Against Politics As Usual

Lee's Political Opinion

Krugman get it all wrong

May 20, 2012

Krugman Dead Wrong!

I read an editorial by Paul Krugman in the Times-News last Monday which was titled; “Structuralists won't take no for an answer”. He opened by quoting a paper that appeared in The American Economic Review in 1939. The gist of the article was that America's continuing high unemployment problems (remember the great depression was in it's tenth year) were not amenable to any quick or easy solutions. The author argued that the problems had deep “structural” roots that were causing the continuing lack of job creation. Mr. Krugman then goes on to discredit the article by pointing out that the structural defects began to quickly be repaired a few months later when WW II broke out. America began a period of war preparations that ended up leading to a decades long period of massive job creation. Thus, according to his views, the problem was solved. His recommendation to fix our current problems, not surprisingly, given his rather liberal leanings, to have the government massively spend in order to stimulate growth and thus create jobs. He belittles those who worry about our future children and grandchildren. He argues that we need to spend our energy worrying about the current generation instead of the future, and those who do the latter are actually irresponsible!

Mr. Krugman goes on to say that “every time some self-important politician or pundit starts going on about how the deficits are a burden on the next generation, remember that the biggest problem facing young Americans today isn't the future burden of debt...a burden, by the way, that premature spending cuts probably makes worse, not better. It is, rather, the lack of jobs, which is preventing many graduates from getting started on their working lives.” I almost forgot that he also said that the long term view by structuralists only serves to inflict pain on today's workers and the poor.

Is Mr. Krugman blind? Does he not see that WW II was an incredible tragedy of epic proportions from which America was the fortunate economic beneficiary. Globally many millions of human beings lost their lives and even more were left in deep poverty. America was left in the fortunate aftermath of not having it's manufacturing capacity negatively affected. We rode the resulting wave of growth as the rest of the world rebuilt its manufacturing capabilities for many decades following the war. This period fostered the improvement in the lives of what was likely the golden age of all times for the middle class in this country.

So, Mr. Krugman wants us all to forget the long term and just give the government the authority to create new stimulus programs because it will, according to him, fix everything right now. (Do you hear the sound of that can being kicked down the road again?) Has he conveniently forgotten the stimulus spending surge that our President led when he was elected? How well did that work? Others on the progressive side will argue that we didn't spend nearly enough. How much is enough? What happens if we take the additional gamble and it doesn't work like it hasn't worked? Doesn't he see that we have a national debt that is now greater than our anemically growing GDP? What about our unfunded entitlements that now dwarf the national debt by at least a factor of seven-fold? Does he understand that too many of our citizens have also buried themselves in such personal debt that most can no longer remotely consider continuing their prior levels of debt financed spending? Does he see the nearly one trillion dollars in student loan debt that many of our current citizens have accumulated in an effort to better prepare for the future? Does he see the situation rapidly unraveling in Europe? We all know that places like Greece, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain are in imminent danger. Most experts think they put all of Europe at risk? They are all buried under decades of entitlements that could never have been afforded long term. Don't forget that European countries collectively are major trading partners with America. As their economies worsen, how will that affect our chances of pulling out of our economic malaise? Finally, he seems to ignore the reality that continuing to borrow, print, and tax as our only solutions cannot go on forever. Sooner or later we, as Europe is learning, will have to face the harsh truth that their are no free lunches. Personally, I vote for facing the truth now, and for all of us to share in the sacrifices that will be necessary...rich and poor alike. Mr. Krugman reminds me of the Ostrich which is known for its proclivity to bury it's head in the sand in order to deny danger. He's even worse though because he wants us to bury our heads in the sand too! Obviously some miracle of technology might open up future job opportunities that I just can't even imagine, however, as great as miracles are...they are impossible to forecast. Perhaps I'm just missing his real point which is that we need another world war to fix everything. Let's hope and pray not!

These are this structuralist's opinions. What do you think?

Mike Tower

Citizens Against Politics As Usual

Lee's Political Opinion

My Generation of American's Technology Journey

May 13, 2011

My generation’s incredible technology journey:

I read a story many years ago about a news reporter who was interviewing ordinary people regarding their personal opinions about the most incredible technology recently developed. As expected, many identified things like man walking on the moon, television, computers, medical technology, etc. One fellow, a street sweeper, thought about the question for some time and then responded that it had to be the thermos bottle. The reporter, who was quite surprised, told the man that he must not have understood the question. The man assured the reporter that he did indeed understand. He went on to explain that his wife packed his lunch every day. In the summer when it was hot outside she always included a thermos of iced tea, and then in the winter when it was cold she always included a thermos of hot soup. The man went on to say that when he opened the thermos the iced tea was always cold and the soup was always hot. The reporter then said…so what? The man replied, don’t you see, how does it know?

When I was born we were quite poor and the only technology that we had in our home was one radio, a wired telephone that shared a line with several other neighbors, electric lights, and an ice box that had to be kept cool with ice that was delivered to our home. As small children my mother heated our bath water on the stove and bathed each of us in the kitchen sink. We didn't even have an indoor toilet.

Today our lives includes the most amazing technology imaginable. Our automobiles are technological miracles that are increasingly controlled and operated by powerful small computers. We use GPS systems instead of roadmaps, satellite radio, rear view cameras, air bags everywhere, blind spot detection systems, electronic skid controls, ant-lock brakes, even systems that nudge us to stay in our own lanes. Recently I received a phone call from my car maker’s service department telling me that my car had notified them that it was due for service. I took the car in and joked with the service writer about the phone call. He then told me that the car had indeed notified them that it required service!

We are rapidly moving from paper to electronic reading devices. Our entertainment from music, movies, and television is increasingly becoming electronically controllable and user friendly. CD’s, DVD’s, cassettes, etc. will soon be gone as all forms of storable media are digitized. We no longer have to watch television programming when it is presented because of the magic of video on demand and digital video recorders.

Our connectivity to information and each other is increasingly and likely unrelentingly going to be via electronic media. Who doesn’t have a cell phone on them all the time now? These phones themselves are increasingly becoming “smarter”. In fact, I am told that a new smart phone has more computer power than all the computers NASA had when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969. We stay connected with extended family and friends via technology. We are increasingly using electronic devices to pay our bills, and most importantly, to tap into the amazing amount of information that is so easily and freely accessible on the information highway known as the Internet. I do not make any major purchases without conducting product quality and pricing comparisons via the internet. My family no longer allows our health care to be solely managed by the health care providers and insurance companies. I am adamant about being an informed consumer, especially in this critical area. I deeply value our health care providers, but I want to participate in my family’s health care.

Today, if you can imagine a question on about any topic…you can find information readily available. Of course, you have to be careful because all information is not 100% reliable. As long as you are just a bit careful and have some degree of patience and discernment, you can find accurate and objective guidance.

The newer phenomena of social media is being increasingly utilized by even the older generations in order to better keep track of what’s happening in the lives of friends and loved ones.

Sadly some among our older generation continue to resist the technology that is so capable of enriching their lives.

I suppose part of that is just human nature. I was talking to my wife the other day about buying an electronic reading device for her to use for most of her reading. She replied that she just enjoys holding the real reading materials in her hands. I could just see her a few thousand years ago saying; “I don’t care if papyrus has been developed, I just like holding these stone tablets in my hands!” Of course I did not say that out loud!

I have no doubt that the availability of information for the masses at warp speed will result in the creation of amazing solutions to many problems that have seemed unsolvable. However, in the short term, the resulting loss of jobs due to technology induced automation will continue to be horrendous.

As usual, these are just my opinions. What do you think, and what technology has impressed you the most? Can you even imagine the technology of the next ten or twenty years?

Mike Tower

Hendersonville

Please also visit:

Citizens Against Politics As Usual

Lee's Political Opinion

An Ordinary American Citizens Ideas For Fixing America

May 6, 2011

A Citizen's Ideas For Fixing Our Nation's Problems

I have often been asked to stop just pointing out all of our nation's problems and complaining about the condition of our country and instead suggest some fixes. I always responded by saying that any of us ordinary citizens could come up with a pretty good list of fixes if asked. Recently an 81 year old pen pal of mine named Betty Leggitt sent me the following as her ideas for fixing the good ship America. I was impressed by her common sense and easily understood suggestions. I asked her permission to publish this and to name her as the author. Fortunately she agreed and so here's what Betty thinks need to be done. My point in sharing this is to simply point out that many voters and all of our elected certainly understand what needs to be done...they simply don't have the courage to confront these problems with any real actions. Too many voters on each side are so rigidly attached to their party of choice that they can't even consider a more collaborative approach. For our politicians in Washington, getting re-elected is far more important than fixing the many challenges that will eventually result in great harm to our children and grandchildren. Betty knows this, I know it, and I suspect that most of you do too. What ever happened to common sense? My thanks to Betty.

Dear Mike, These are my ideas for fixing what's wrong in America today:

Do not excuse the citizens from responsibility for our broken government, too many have been buying into the nanny state of big government by asking the government to provide, instead of being self sufficient. After decades of this we are now in a crisis situation and government, as we know it must end, be restructured and downsized. The National debt is in the stratosphere with no indication that this Administration and Congress have any intention of stopping the rise. Our credit rating has been lowered with indications that it may drop again. This Administration has no budget and has not produced one since taking office.
Not all voters try to educate themselves on who they vote for which leads to the election of politicians that are unqualified for the office. Greed, corruption, and ignorance will eventually bring down America. Constant monitoring and vigilance will slow down the greed and corruption, which has been a problem since time began. However, ignorance is not a sin or a disease and can be cured but only if the desire is there to be cured.
The race card and class warfare are tearing the country apart. Respect for each other has disappeared and most of this has happened because of the political rhetoric, the news media, and the entertainment industry. Social Security , Medicare, Medicare Part D all must be restructured. Our life span has gone from 61 to 80 since 1937 - change the eligibility age to reflect the increase in life span. Medicaid, Food Stamps, Welfare and Disability: More oversight is needed to assure these programs are not being abused.
Close all federal tax loopholes. Simplify the code so that most people can file their return without the expense of a CPA.

Department of Education: Eliminate this entire agency. Education must be returned to the States. County schools will bring the parents back into the education system, provide a better curriculum, safer schools and involvement of local people in the education system. Mega Schools and busing should never have been instituted, this was social engineering at the expense of quality education.

Massively reduce regulations and rules. Too many agencies have been granted too much power to regulate and create laws that make it impossible to start up new businesses, and allow established businesses to grow. This burden has caused some businesses to fail. All rules, laws,and regulations by all agencies must be discarded if they stand in the way of progress. There is a need for rules, regulations and laws but they must be to only to protect the people, not hinder progress. Duplications of agency services must be eliminated. Close all unnecessary offices.
Earmarks must not be allowed. All requests for money from the Treasury must come without earmarks. Each request must stand on its own merits with clarification and justification for the expense.
Lobbyists have far too much influence. They must be required to reveal to the citizens who they represent, their agenda, and who they are seeking audience with in Congress.
Political correctness must be curtailed. This is just a way of avoiding the truth. Stop this nonsense.
No more bailouts. We have in place a very good system - Bankruptcy, It has worked for individuals as well as businesses and will continue to serve the purpose of helping people and businesses come back to solvency.
Government sponsored businesses must never be allowed. There should never have been, and never again should the government be in the venture capitol business. That is gambling with tax payer money.

Sincerely yours,

Betty Leggitt, Columbus, NC

I could add to this list of ideas...but my number one choice is to replace all incumbents and start fresh with new lawmakers...they could hardly do worse.

These are Betty's ideas. What are yours?

Mike Tower

Hendersonville, NC
Citizens Against Politics As Usual

Lee's Political Opinion

Gay Marriage in America

April 22, 2012

North Carolina Marriage Amendment

North Carolina has a proposed Amendment to the state Constitution that would add to an existing state law that prevents anyone to marry anyone from the same sex. The following are my opoinions and thoughts on this complex topic.

Many seem to have deeply polarized opinions on this topic.

In the middle of my career, the pharmaceutical company that I had then been employed by for nearly 20 years transferred me to New York City to be the Director of Marketing for a wholly owned cosmetics subsidiary named Elizabeth Arden. I was suddenly in the fashion industry instead of health care. I clearly remember wondering how I was going to explain to my 10 year old son that instead of saving lives I was now selling lipstick. Please picture this mid-western hick who had never been to New York City and knew nothing about makeup and cosmetics trying to run the marketing efforts for this major cosmetic company. The six years I spent there not only turned out to be among the most enjoyable of my career, and I even managed to convince myself that instead of saving lives I was now beautifying America!

What does all of this have to do with the marriage amendment? Well, another part of this job required me to interact with a large crew of world-class male makeup artists who worked for the company. They were almost all gay...and openly so. Initially I was very uncomfortable working with them. I'm normally a very friendly outgoing person, but I was afraid that some of them would misunderstand and perhaps think I was interested in them...in that way! Finally, one young fellow approached me and asked me if I was prejudiced against gays. I stammered a bit and told him that I hoped not, but had to confess that I just didn't understand much about the gay scene or how or why one chose to be gay. He told me that it was obvious to all of them that I was confused and he wanted to share his personal story about how and when he discovered he was gay. It was a heart-wrenching and very sad story of pain, persecution, and even of losing his relationship with his family. He encouraged me to ask some of the others in this group to share their life story about being gay. I did exactly that and not one person I ever asked that question told me that they had simply decided to become gay...they all said that they were born that way. Most would say that if it were a simple choice...they would never have chosen it because of the pain and suffering that went along with being part of this heavily persecuted group.

Here are my opinions on this amendment that will be on the May 8 ballot. First, North Carolina already has a law that defines marriage as being between two people of the opposite sex. Second, a couple of my lawyer pals tell me that the amendment is so loosely written that it will absolutely be challenged in the courts regarding its constitutionality and will likely be overturned. The many years that this will then take to work through the legal system will cost the taxpayers many millions of dollars that we cannot afford. For these two reasons alone I will vote no.

Perhaps more importantly, while I believe that any religion or religious group has the right to determine who they will or won't allow to be a member of their church or marry, I do not believe that any governmental body, be it state, local, or federal...in most cases...has that same right. It also seems interesting to me that many of the folks who are supporting this amendment are the same folks that keep preaching for less government intrusion...and yet here they are asking for more. If you believe that folks who are gay generally chose to be that way, then you certainly have a right to be personally against gay marriage. After all, who really pays attention to that old “judge not lest ye be judged”. I had an opportunity to attend an excellent lecture on this topic by our own local Rabbi Phillip Bentley last week. He said that in his life-long experience of counseling and personally knowing a significant number of Gays...he had never known a situation in which they chose that behavior. He sincerely believes, like I do, that the vast majority were born that way, and that they too are children of the same God and deserve the same legal marital rights as the heterosexual majority. Maybe it's not called marriage, but it certainly should encompass the same civil and legal rights of any heterosexual couple...at least in our opinions. Finally, if you are a Christian, I hope you will pause before deciding how to vote and ask yourself...what would Jesus do? Maybe more importantly...what would he want you to do? After all, most, if not all, Christians believe that God is our ultimate judge and that after we pass on we will be judged for our sins while on earth and rewarded or punished appropriately. If we really do believe in God being our ultimate judge...why do we seem to need so desperately to judge others ourselves? In this particular situation, it seems to me that this amendment is just one more example of mankind trying to play God. Do you really think he needs our help?

These are my opinions. What do you think?

Mike Tower

Hendersonville, NC

Please Visit:

Citizens Against Politics As Usual

Lee's Political Opinion