Why does Howey

keep attacking Mourdock?

Why is columnist Brian Howey suddenly making a full-time job of trying to discredit Richard Mourdock? His back-to-back columns berating Mourdock while practically canonizing Sen. Lugar have revealed a hostility that goes much deeper than mere political differences. His spiteful rhetoric appears to have taken on the tone of a personal vendetta.

Why else would he purposely twist the facts, ignore the truth and refuse to publicly apologize for accusing Mourdock of being responsible for a $700 million loss in the Indiana Public Retirement Fund when, in fact, Mourdock had no connection with that fund?

Howey’s insistence on using the same false accusations over and over are beginning to sound more like repetitive rambling than credible reporting (unless, of course, Lugar’s campaign is providing Howey with his reiterative script).

Attempting to manipulate readers in favor of a particular agenda does not fit the job description nor the moral character of a true journalist but is certainly the identifying characteristic of a poltical activist. Columnist or campaigner? Which is it, Howey?

— Susan Oard

Terre Haute

Thanks for the

commitment

The Wabash Valley Planning Council on Homelessness for Region 7, also known as the homeless council, wishes to extend a huge thank you for the recent stories and information published in support of our annual PIT count.

The depth of coverage and the effort put into it demonstrated a clear commitment to aid the community to improve conditions for these people as well as to educate the public.

For all that work and its quality, thank you.

— Muriel Ryan

Media contact chair

Executive Director

Families by Choice

Terre Haute

Accurate view

of pipeline issue

Many kudos to you, Nick Agresta, for bringing the truth to all the people who have read your letter about what Middle East oil and OPEC have done to make our country dependent on their oil cartel.

As you so eloquently put it, if President Obama fails to sign (again), after four years, the documents that will create immediately, 20,000 jobs, with an additional 100,000 in the future, that will indeed be a day that will live in infamy.

I know that I am repeating what you have already said, but if enough of us pound this into the public’s head, maybe they will sit up and take notice. I surely hope so.

This proposed 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline will accomplish the addition of thousands of jobs, as you said. Our country would no longer be dependent on the cartel.

Our great neighbor and trading partner to the north, Canada, has Alberta Oil Sands, the second largest oil reserve in the world, and has the area available for sale, Nick, as you stated, and as you also stated, China is interested in securing it. (What a devastating mistake that would be for our country).

Canada isn’t going to wait because of economic reasons, and has taken the stance of first-come, first-served.

Nick, you asked why the powers-that-be can’t stand up for the American workers who know how to drill, refine, build and maintain a project of this magnitude, and are ready and able, and willing to accomplish it.

Nick, have you asked yourself this one question?

How many of the politicians we have elected to the House, Senate and Congress, and the presidency, have stock in these oil companies and cartels, that are costing all of us taxpayers millions and billions of dollars?

So, as you asked, or should I say pleaded, please, Mr. President, don’t let the Feb. 21 deadline bury a nation you took a sworn oath to the people of this protect and defend.  

Charles E. (Ed) Gossman

Terre Haute

Oil pipeline is

a pipe dream

This article is to expose the misinformation contained in an article written by Nick Agresta. That article is totally false and devoid of any facts. Nick says the Keystone Pipeline will create 20,000 jobs and that 100,000 jobs will be waiting in the wings.

Three independent study groups have found that the construction of the pipeline would create 6,500 temporary jobs at the most. When the pipeline is finished only 2,000 full-time jobs will remain. Turning this sand/sludge into oil is a chemical process and will not employ a lot of people.

Nick gave no information on how dangerous this sand/sludge is. But the state of Montana, where this pipeline would run through, has investigated its content. They found that to break this sand into some form of liquid so it can be transported is corrosive and toxic. Has anyone forgotten the cost and effect of the oil disaster in Louisiana? What damage would be done to the environment if this pipeline burst or leaked?

This pipeline is a pipe dream. This sand/sludge will be pumped down to Texas and give the oil barons another gift. No one knows the cost of transforming this sand into oil. But let’s say it’s inexpensive. Does any person out there believe it will help lower the price of gas?

We need to get away from our addiction to oil and look to alternative fuel. The GOP that’s pushing this pipeline does everything it can to obstruct alternative sources because the oil companies pay them bribes to do so. But they call them campaign contributions.

If jobs are the main concern of the GOP, why don’t they keep their 2010 election promise to create jobs and stop voting no on Obama’s jobs bill? Obama’s job bills would create a lot more than 20,000 jobs.

The pipeline is purely a partisan political scheme to paint Obama as a job killer in the 2012 elections. It’s also the GOP’s bargaining chip in any negotiations on any job or economic bills Obama introduces this year.

Obama has not said “no” to the pipeline. He’s asked for more time to study it in depth. But the GOP wants to ram it through without any thought as to what the dire consequences might be if the pipeline were constructed and there was a disaster connected to it. Then the GOP would change its line from job killer to “it’s all Obama’s fault.”

I must correct Agresta’s statement about gas being $1.83 when Obama took office. Gas went to $4 a gallon during the Bush fiasco, and has never been close to $2 a gallon since, and it won’t be ever again.

As stated previously, if anyone thinks that the Keystone Pipeline is the magic bullet that will lower gas prices without any risk to our environment, you’re having pipe dreams. When there’s less demand for oil, then and only then will the price of gas go down.

— Pam Rogers

Clinton

Not all workers

belong to unions

From all the letters praising unions, I get the idea from “good union members” that the only people who work for a living are union members. Well, guess what, Mr. Banta, not all people who work for a living are union members.

The first five years of my work life were as a union member. I got nowhere, so I quit my job and went to college. The rest of my working time was spent as a nonunion member of the work force. There are actually people working for a living outside of unions.

As an accountant, part of my job was to accumulate and analyze work data. The company that I worked for was nonunion and we had a fair pay scale. Our pay was based on incentive. Some were happy with minimum pay for minimum work. Others produced a little more, so were paid accordingly. Still others wanted more, they produced much more and received more. Everyone (workers and management) was happy until one day the workers decided they needed a union. Everything was fine for a few months until the better workers decided there was no reason to produce as they had before because they got paid the same as the non-producers. The non-producers were happy because they got paid more money (thanks to the union) for the same production as before. So now we have less production at a much higher cost.

The company is not happy because of less production at a higher cost. The good workers are not happy because their incentive to make more money is gone. The only happy workers are the non-producers who are still plodding along, but are making more money.

Unions originally served a good purpose by raising pay and improving working conditions. Their usefulness has decreased considerably over the last few years. We need to get “incentive” back into the workforce. Pay people for what they produce, not because they belong to a union.

I am not anti-union, but there are workers who are not union members.

— Joe DeLorme

Clay City

Unions protect

working people

With recent legislation promoting right-to-work, I feel compelled to share how a recent personal experience demonstrates the importance of unions to the protection of the working Indiana man or woman.

On Dec. 8, 2011, while working for a contracted company at a local power plant, after following direct orders from the company foreman, I was exposed to the chemical hydrogen sulfide. Immediately following the exposure I became extremely ill, experiencing vomiting and sharp chest pain among other symptoms.

Once I regained partial composure and with the support of fellow union employees, I went directly to the safety coordinator to report the incident. The safety coordinator expressed no concern for my health or the safety of the other employees under his care. Instead I was laughed at. I was refused access to the onsite medic. I was denied a copy of the incident report. In fact, I was informed that there had been no incident and I should return to work.

With the assistance of a fellow union member, contact was made to our local union office. The union office insisted I leave work immediately and seek medical attention. Once at the hospital I was admitted for 48 hours of observation due to the severe nature of hydrogen sulfide, a chemical known to cause respiratory failure, seizures, and even death in high concentrations.

In the aftermath my local union actively advocated for my rights as an employee and ensured that this company was held accountable. Without the advocacy of my local union I would have been left to battle this unfortunate situation on my own.

In the recent right-to-work debate, much has been said about the monetary cost of union labor, while little attention has been given to the critical role of unions in protecting the physical well-being of Indiana’s workers and the security of the families who depend on them.

Unions not only ensure fair wages for their members. They also set the bar for wages of non-union employees. They ensure safe working environments and the liability of employers. Through the collection of dues from local members, unions provide health coverage, pensions and above all provide security to the working man’s or woman’s family. These benefits enable me to provide my children with the opportunity to live the American dream.

— William J. Kearns

Proud member of

Labor Local 204

Terre Haute

Zoning issue unites neighbors

The people of Terre Haute need to hear why the residents of Edgewood Grove and East Ohio Boulevard took a stand against the proposed re-zoning of 46 acres on Ohio Boulevard. I summarize in the following points.

1. The eye-opening information Chris Gambill presented about the business practices of the Magnolia Corporation can easily be called very unethical. In view of this information it was clear we did not want this business as a neighbor.

2. Concerning Jobs: Have you considered that the corporation might have had plans to close its other four facilities in the Wabash Valley and consolidate them into the proposed Ohio Blvd. facility? Some of those jobs would have transferred. But how many personnel would have lost their jobs? Our efforts saved several jobs!

3. The people of Ohio Blvd. and Edgewood Grove would have welcomed a proper residential home project.

4. It is the judgment of qualified real estate and appraisal personnel that residential property values would be significantly reduced.

5. Edgewood Grove residents are grateful for the multi-million dollar infrastructure project that improved drainage, sewage, streets and sidewalks. It makes no sense to spend money on the Grove only to bring in a business that would significantly lower the home values in the neighborhood the city just improved! Tax Revenues gained from the business would have been offset by Loss of Revenue from properties in the Ohio Blvd./Grove area.

6. Ohio Boulevard is a “showcase boulevard” that Terre Haute continues be proud of. It was designed as such in the 1920’s by people who had a vision for the city. We contend that vision should be maintained.

7. The peaceful environment of Ohio Boulevard/Edgewood Grove (especially for the residents in homes that join the acreage in question), would be at an end.

8. The people uniting against this development come from varying political backgrounds. I’m glad to say that party politics had nothing to do with this group. This was a group of Americans of varying social and economic backgrounds uniting so that their voices could be heard. SOMETHING THREATENED THEIR PROPERTY, PEACE AND HAPPINESS. We did the American thing and our voices were heard. It makes you proud to be an American and very proud to be a citizen of Terre Haute. We all stood up for one another. WAY TO GO PEOPLE!

9. When Mr. Shagley, representative of the Magnolia project, stood at the microphone in the council meeting and stated THE REZONING REQUEST WAS BEING WITHDRAWN, there was an AMAZING MOMENT. After two silent seconds his statement sunk in to all in the room. The crowd erupted with shouts of joy and the sweet cry of VICTORY! There was jubilation, clapping and wondrous amazement.

10. The voice of the People prevailed. WE WON!

— John L. Thompson

Terre Haute