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November 8, 2011

LIZ CIANCONE: So far, this is a poor excuse for debate

Liz Ciancone The Tribune-Star The Tribune Star Tue Nov 08, 2011, 11:32 AM EST

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen enough “debates” to last the rest of my natural life.

For openers, the would-be candidates are spending an obscene amount of money. That’s a turn-off in these tough times. There are kids, and adults, going hungry. Highways and bridges are being condemned, thousands of our young men and women are overseas getting shot at, there is a crying need for honest debate in Congress, and all we are getting is name calling, self-important and self-inflated codswallop.

We have a full 12 months before the next presidential election. Can you imagine how many dollars are going down the tube before that happy day? Oh, the advertising agencies may declare a dividend, but so far I have seen nothing and heard nothing to convince me that any of the hopefuls are even remotely qualified to take on the monumental job of president of our country.

Or, maybe I don’t understand the term “debate.” So, I ran to the dictionary. Webster assures me that a “debate” is “a formal discussion of a motion before a deliberative body according to the rules of parliamentary procedure.” That’s what I thought. That’s what Congress is supposed to be doing.

So, what is the motion? We’ve heard nothing but slams against other contenders. You want substance, you get gossip. You want suggestions to begin debate and you get finger-pointing. I can’t believe we are in for another 12 months of this before we get to vote. Meanwhile, we are fed the results of polls. Don’t start me on the reliability of polls. A telephone sample of some 300 or 400 households in a nation of more than 300 million is hardly reliable. And, we all know that questions can be framed to get a preferred answer.

Ideas? Did you like the “9-9-9” tax proposal? Sounds good until we learned that the 9 percent national sales tax is in addition to our 7 percent sales tax here in Indiana. If you like 7 percent you will love 16 percent. Please!

Come next fall, after both parties have chosen a candidate, maybe we can have a meaningful debate. As for what we have been seeing — well, I don’t know what it is, but it’s no debate.

My choice so far? None of the above.



Liz Ciancone is a retired

Tribune-Star reporter. Send e-mail to opinion@tribstar.com.

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Copyright 2012 News From Terre Haute, Indiana. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Liz Ciancone

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• LIZ CIANCONE: And why didn’t they call him ‘Kernel’?

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• LIZ CIANCONE: Always fond of those silent types — of movies

  I’m not a big movie fan, but a few days ago Number Two son said he almost had to have me sedated and hauled off to a movie. He insisted that I’d enjoy it.
   

  February 21, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: A little bit of cursive comes in handy

  Good grief. What next?
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  February 14, 2012  

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  February 7, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Super Bowl festivities mostly for super rich

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  January 31, 2012  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Catalog this mail as junk

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  January 24, 2012  

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  January 17, 2012  

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  I told my Best Friend the other day that I thought I’d write about growing up stupid. “We weren’t stupid,” said he, “we were just sheltered and naive.” He’s right. We had no idea that there were people and things in the world that would want to hurt us.
   

  January 10, 2012  

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  That swooshing sound you heard may not have been the wind. It was me! I was breathing a sigh of relief that the holidays are over until the next time.
   

  January 3, 2012  

• MS. TAKES: Some look forward to spring and garage sales

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  December 27, 2011  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Let gifts to lawmakers help cut the deficit

  In the holiday spirit of giving, I’d like to pass along to Congress a tip I ran across in my reading. If adopted, it would enable the competing parties in Washington, D.C. to enhance federal income without raising taxes or reducing social programs.
   

  December 20, 2011  

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  December 13, 2011  

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  December 6, 2011  

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  November 29, 2011  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Holidays bring on baking duties

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  November 22, 2011  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Keeping track of a tattered underworld

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  November 15, 2011  

• LIZ CIANCONE: So far, this is a poor excuse for debate

  I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen enough “debates” to last the rest of my natural life.
   

  November 8, 2011  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Sounds of silence are now hard to find

  Is there anyplace left where there is no noise — other than the comforting noises of nature?
   

  October 25, 2011  

• More Liz Ciancone Headlines

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