Lobiondo Caters to Big Business

Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, likes to say that the unions in our area support him for his pro-labor stance on issues. I wonder what the average union member would say if he/she knew that LoBiondo favors tax cuts for the wealthy and subsidies for big business. LoBiondo also favors Social Security personal accounts, cutting benefits and limiting welfare benefits, and he opposes affirmative action and more federal funding for health coverage. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce gives him a 70% rating indicating a pro-business voting record. Progressive Punch, a non-partisan database of congressional voting, rates LoBiondo zero in general union rights, occupational safety and health and outsourcing of American jobs. Perhaps union members should take a closer look at LoBiondo's record and stop listening to what he says because, like President Bush, what he says and what he does seem to be different.

Nick Reina

Milmay

Letter printed in Press of Atlantic City, July 29, 2005.

Recent LoBiondo Votes

Iraq Benchmark: LoBiondo voted against a Democratic call for Bush to set public benchmarks for measuring US progress in Iraq. HR 2601 was defeated 203-227. Iraq Commitment: By 291-137, the House adopted a Republican amendment to the HR 2601 above, stating that US withdrawal should occur only when the US goals for establishing a "free and stable Iraq have been or are about to be achieved." Of course, LoBiondo voted yes. Weapons in Space: Members defeated, 124-302, a bid to require the United States to begin negotiations on an international treaty to ban weapons in space. The Pentagon is studying a possible US launch of space weapons and a yes vote backed treaty negotiations. Guess which way LoBiondo voted? Correct, no. (HR 2601) Fistula, Birth Control: LoBiondo voted with his breathern, 223-205, to remove birth control from US-funded services for coping with "obstetrical fistula" in poor countries. Young girls in labor are most susceptible to the injury, which leads to incontinence and social isolation. (HR 2601) Permanent Patriot Act: The House voted 257-171 to renew the USA Patriot Act and make permanent most of its key sections. LoBondio's yes vote was to renew the law, which expands police power to watch, probe and detain those suspected of terrorism and related acts. (HR 3199) Temporary Act: The House majority rejected, 209-218, a Democratic bid to extend the Patriot Act by four years. A yes vote backed a temporary law, which recognized that government power over civil liberties must be limited. LoBiondo voted no. (HR 3199) Library Searches: Members voted overwhelmingly 402-26, however, to require the FBI Director to personally appove library and bookstore searches under the Patriot Act. The law still permits such searches based on secret warrants. LoBiondo voted yes. (HR 3199) Security Letters: LoBiondo voted with the majority, 394-32, to give recipients of a "national security letter" access to counsel and standing to challenge the letter in court. These letters are subpoenas the FBI can issue without prior court review. This, finally, is a good vote. (HR 3199)

With Bonuses, Tuition, Army Preys on Young

A July 15th article in The Daily Journal reports that the N.J. Army National Guard is opening a store-front recruiting office on Landis Avenue in Vineland and has already opened one in Elizabeth. Well, I have to give them credit, they did their homework. It wouldn't do them any good to open one in Short Hills or Spring Lake Heights or Upper Saddle River. Most of the young men and women in those neighborhoods don't need $10,000 bonuses or the promise of free tuition for state or county college. Most of them would just laugh at the recruiters. I am so angered and saddened by the fact that, because we give young people a bonus and promise college tuition, they are willing to enlist and put their lives in jeopardy. The bonuses are more money than some of their families have or will have in their lifetimes, but that money is nothing compared to the love we know they have for their children. It means more for them to have those children alive and well, not injured or dying in an unnecessary war in Iraq, a war that has made the world less safe. With college tuition going up, loan rates rising, grant money being depleted, and most available jobs dead ends, what can they do? Young people are patriotic, love their country and sincerely want to do their part, so it probably appears to be a golden opportunity. They look at army commercials, like exciting video games and feel invulnerable, thinking they won't be hurt, they won't be coming back crippled or in a body bag. I've just about decided that we should bring back the draft, not because I want any of our children to be forced to serve. But, if the children and grandchildren of the poor are needed, then so are the children and grandchildren of the wealthy, the Senate, the House, the Bush Administration and anyone else whose policies send our young to fight their wars.

BETTIE J. REINA

Milmay

Letter Printed in The Daily Journal, July 25, 2005

http://thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050725/OPINION03/507250334/1014/OPINION

Washington is the Problem for Homelessness

The problems of the homeless in our area are multiplied a thousand-fold throughout this country. President Bush and Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, say they believe in the sanctity of life and say that they care about poor children. But they pass tax cuts for the wealthy and spend billions for the war and rebuilding of Iraq while cutting funds for people programs.This country is still run by men, many of whom speak of protecting the unborn, but after birth, those babies are often the sole responsibility of women. Why are the fathers not required to do their share? Children are completely at the mercy of the adults who are supposed to care for them. If you have limited funds, or are overwhelmed caring for the children you already have, getting pregnant again will not solve your problems. Every child is called a gift from God, but God also gave you a mind to make decisions about whether or not you need or can care for one more. I have nothing but admiration for the workers at the shelters and for the families who manage to pull themselves up and move on. We need a fairer playing field for the mothers and the children, and to expect that to come only from the local charitable organizations is unreasonable. Let's demand that Washington priorities change and increase support for the youngest and neediest of this nation - if not for humanitarian reasons, then because what we don't spend now we will have to spend many times over when undereducated, angry, abused children become uneducated, angry, abusive adults.

BETTIE J. REINA

Milmay

Letter Printed in the Atlantic City Press, July 24, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/072405HOMELETTS.cfm

LoBiondo Proved His Ignorance

Regarding the July 16 story, "LoBiondo apologizes for Hitler comparison":Rep. Frank LoBiondo's suggestion that the people being held at Guantanamo Bay are worse than Adolf Hitler because Hitler "sort of had a political rationale about what he was doing" is offensive on many levels. LoBiondo's comments bespeak his vast ignorance of world history and of current foreign policy alike.First, Hitler had no political rationale at all to kill millions of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally ill and others, although he benefited personally and politically. Religious and racial hatred, megalomania and madness drove Hitler. Secondly, LoBiondo, R-2nd, condemns all prisoners at Guantanamo as "Muslim terrorists." He paints each man with a broad brush.At every turn, President Bush, with LoBiondo's political support, has opposed hearings for these individuals. Many men held for up to three years were eventually released without charges. Surely, if the Guantanamo prisoners are "the worst of the worst" and dedicated to harming the United States, as LoBiondo contends, there must be some proof. Why is our administration afraid of due process? Finally, LoBiondo voted against an independent panel to review allegations of prisoner abuse at the base despite the fact that our government has already substantiated abuses and torture at Gitmo. Personnel employed many of the same tactics that were later "exported" to Iraq.LoBiondo apologized for saying that Hitler "never went to the level that these people are going to," but not until after a caller objected to the remark. The wise person, however, thinks before he speaks and has an understanding of history such that this ugly thought would never have crossed his mind in the first place. In the long run, LoBiondo should lose his seat in 2006. Immediately, he should resign from the House Armed Services Committee. He is not qualified to be there.

JANET L. FAYTER

Egg Harbor Township, NJ

Letter Printed in the Atlantic City Press, July 23, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/072305LETTSSATJUL23.cfm

Congressman's Gaffe Shows He Is Unqualified

Last Friday, Congressman Frank LoBiondo was forced to apologize for remarks he made on a radio talk show comparing Hitler to the prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay.

He did not apologize, however, until after a caller from Margate objected to his remarks. In particular, LoBiondo said that "Muslim terrorists" at Guantanamo are "worse than Hitler" because the Nazi leader "sort of had a political rationale about what he was doing."

He went on: "If you start thinking that this is not as horrible and as evil as someone like Hitler was, he sort of had a political rationale about what he was doing that's different from these people that just want to kill everybody. Hitler, in his philosophy, was, you know, he hated Jews, he was murdering Jews, and there were some people he liked, but he never went to the level that these people are going to."

Wow. He really minimized Hitler's atrocities, didn't he?

At the same time, he condemned prisoners who have never been brought to trial and whose "crimes" are clouded in secrecy. LoBiondo, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, voted against an independent panel to review allegations of prisoner abuse. He contends that persons held there are "the worst of the worst" and are dedicated to harming the U.S. He offered no explanation for (1) men who were released after as many as three years of imprisonment and interrogation without any formal charges being filed against them; (2) findings by our government, the International Red Cross, and Amnesty International that abuse and torture have in fact occurred; (3) pending prosecution of some military personnel; or (4) employment of the same techniques that were condemned in Iraqi interrogations.

LoBiondo should resign from the House Armed Services Committee. He is not qualified to be there.

JANET L. FAYTER

Egg Harbor Twp.

Letter published in The Daily Journal. July 22, 2005

http://thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050722/OPINION03/507220333/1014/OPINION

Bush's Iraq War Provokes Attacks

Most of President Bush's biggest supporters stoutly insist that he is not nearly as stupid as many "misunderestimate'' him to be. But I wonder if our expensively (although dubiously) educated president has made the simple leap of logic needed to recognize the connection between his holy crusade in Iraq and the terrorist attacks worldwide. Bush's mantra is: "We're fighting them over there so we won't have them over here, and it's working, ya'll see?" Yeah, and so is my spell against dragons. You don't see any dragons around here, do you? Tell the "over there'' story to Bali and Saudi Arabia and Madrid and now London. The "evildoers'' have promised that Denmark and Italy are next. They're systematically socking it to every one of Bush's great "coalition'' (who are deserting in droves) and saving the worst for us. The London attacks were apparently done by native-born British citizens who, oddly enough, have said they were inspired by the Iraq mess. Does Bush really think the American public is dumb enough not to realize that his dishonest, insane war has not just needlessly massacred tens of thousands of the innocent, but has multiplied and inspired other thousands of fanatics all over the world to redo Sept. 11, 2001?What makes "George the Worst'' think his "subjects'' haven't guessed that his clever, political, oil baron's war has almost certainly ensured that the next 9-11 is already cooking right here, possibly even by native-born Americans? Maybe he should ask Tony Blair, who at least has a security system that can solve the crimes.

DONALD CONNOLLY

Linwood

Letter printed in The A.C.Press, July 22, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/072205LETTSFRIJUL22.cfm

NPR is Fair and Valuable

Regarding the July 9 letter, "NPR is the only real news": I agree with each of the writer's views and thank her for expressing them so clearly.I tune only into NPR for intelligent, fair, stimulating news reports. Along with the writer, I phoned Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, and was sorry he failed to support funding for this valuable radio source. In my view, this indicates limited vision on his part of what has real value for all of us.

LEILA KING

Letter printed in Atlantic City Press, July 19, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/071905LETTERSJULY19.cfm

"Culture of Life" Not for Iraqis?

Somehow the numbers just don't add up. Call it "collateral damage'' as a euphemism for the fact that we have killed tens of thousands of innocents, including women and children in Iraq and Afghanistan and for what? In the name of what this administration calls a "culture of life?'' The Red Cross estimates that we have killed more than 100,000 Iraqis and if there were only in the beginning a few acting as insurgents and then a year or so later the number rose to 5,000 insurgents and now they say it is maybe at max 20,000, does that mean we have killed 80,000-plus innocents? What the hell are we doing? If your mother, father, child, spouse, friend or loved one were killed as "collateral damage'' by a group or country, would that make you consider joining the fight against that entity? So, have we made the friends and loved ones of tens of thousands of innocents, killed by mistake, our friends or our enemies? Let me see if I got this right: It's a "culture of life'' that energizes all these Bush supporters when it comes to Terri Schiavo, and when it comes to all those innocent sentient humans killed in Iraq, it's the price of cheap gasoline or hypocrisy? Why are we in this handbasket and where are we going?

Larry Angel

Mullica Township

Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, July 17, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/071705LETTERSJULY17.cfm

LoBiondo's Hitler Remarks on WOND

On Friday, July 15, LoBiondo was forced to apologize for remarks he made comparing Hitler and the prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. He did not apologize, however, until after a caller from Margate objected to his remarks. In particular, he said that "Muslim terrorists" at Gitmo are "worse than Hitler" because the Nazi leader "sort of had a political rationale about what he was doing." He went on:

If you start thinking that this is not as horrible and as evil as someone like Hitler was, he sort of had a political rationale about what he was doing that's different from these people that just want to kill everybody. Hitler, in his philosophy, was, you know, he hated Jews, he was murdering Jews and there were some people he liked, but he never went to the level that these people are going to.

Wow. He really minimized Hitler's atrocities, didn't he? At the same time, he condemned prisoners who have never been brought to trial and whose "crimes" are clouded with secrecy. LoBiondo, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, voted against an independent panel to review allegations of prisoner abuse. He contends that persons held there are "the worst of the worst" and are dedicated to harming the U.S. He offered no explanation for (1) men who were released after as many as three years of imprisonment and interrogation without any formal charges being filed against them; (2) findings by our government, the International Red Cross, and Amnesty International that abuse and torture have in fact occurred; (3) pending prosecution of some military personnel; or (4) employment of the same techniques that were condemned in Iraqi interrogations.

Bush's Critics Love the U.S., Too

Two June 27 letters titled "How can Dems compare U.S. to the Nazis?" were offensive and inaccurate. Unfortunately, too many people hear only sound bites on their favorite cable network show and haven't heard or read the seven-page speech made by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. If they did, they would know that most of his speech was about the overturning of our laws and treaties that, because we are a civilized nation, we have chosen to abide by in previous conflicts.They were overturned because Alberto Gonzales, then the White House chief counsel, told the president that the Geneva Conventions did not apply. Colin Powell strenuously objected and was overruled. The Supreme Court has twice ruled that the Constitution does not allow people to be held without charges or access to legal advice. This administration has chosen to ignore those rulings. How can we condemn the torturers in other lands if we become them? Torture gains little information and reinforces the prisoner's beliefs. Just as Iraq has become a recruiting tool for terrorists, so has our abuse of prisoners. The reports of abuse have come from numerous sources, including FBI agents, the Red Cross, military guards who have been witnesses and Amnesty International.I only hope more dissenters, like Durbin, will continue to speak out. We Democrats, and many others who disagree with the administration, love our country as much as Republicans do, however much the right-wing radicals try to portray us otherwise.

SHARON GRAY

Mays Landing

Letter printed in A.C. Press, July 13, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/071305LETTSWEDJUL13.cfm

Constitutional System's Checks, Balances Gone

In view of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's announced retirement, we will now have a Republican president, a Republican majority in Congress and a Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. The checks and balances of our government, whereupon rests our faith in the fairness and stability of our government, has just died a horrible death. If this event doesn't scare you, I don't know what would. Our two party system has worked well since its inception, because no party has ever had a majority in all three branches of government. It wouldn't be so alarming, except this administration has a religious extremist backbone, which is firmly connected to blind arrogance and an infallible attitude in all things. Anyone challenging the validity of their "divine" actions is publicly maligned as un-American and "helping their enemies." Our wonderful Constitution, which starts with "Of the People, By the People and For the People," is being transformed into "Of the Republicans, By the Republicans and For the Republicans." You won't hear the rich, big business, Wall Street, or religious extremists complain. They claim "dibs" to the highest paying members of the Republican Party and, not coincidentally, share the biggest tax benefits ever from this administration. There are no effective Democratic, Congressional, or legal safety gates or flashing stoplights left now. Nothing to prevent this Republican train from speeding down its narrow tracks to a totalitarian government. Everything the Republicans have politically coveted in the past will now become a reality. Christian fundamentalists and their religious doctrine are already flooding our legal and public systems while non-Christians are being thrown off the train. School prayer and vouchers, oil drilling in the Alaska wilderness and logging in our national forests are in, while abortion rights, Planned Parenthood and affirmative action, environmental protections and OSHA are all out. Not to mention what is left of our seriously eroded (Patriot Act) individual freedoms. I can only hope and pray Americans will finally stand up and say, "I'm mad and I'm not going to take it anymore." We must take tangible actions to voice our concerns and take action to impeach this corrupt duplicitous administration and restore our authentic Constitutional system of government, the way it was intended by our forefathers.

Paula Benjamin

Williamstown Printed in the Daily Journal, July 9, 2005 http://thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050709/OPINION03/507090320/1014/OPINION

My Cousin's Life Was a Huge Sacrifice

Regarding the June 23 letter, "Let's stop funding NPR's divisiveness": It appalled me to read that the war in Iraq has "only cost 1,700 American service personnel over a year and a half.'' Obviously, the letter writer has not lost a loved one in the war. I did lose a family member in the Iraq war. Approximately three weeks ago, my cousin, Lance Cpl. Robert Mininger of the 2nd Marine Division, was killed. He was 21 years old and due to come home in August, when he was planning to ask his girlfriend to marry him. He leaves behind his parents, younger brother, girlfriend, grandmother, aunts, uncles, etc. Are we proud of him? Without a doubt, yes. Do we feel cheated that he was taken so soon? Most definitely. Do we feel the loss of my cousin's life was a small price to pay? No! It was a huge price to pay. And if the letter writer feels it's such a small price to pay, perhaps he should volunteer to go to the front lines, and pay the price.It's time for our troops to come home. They have done the most admirable job that any country could ask of them, in the most difficult of circumstances. If you truly support our troops, you'll ask your representatives to pressure President Bush into doing the right thing - bringing them home before any more are killed or wounded.

ROBIN BIRTH

Egg Harbor Township

Printed in AC Press, July 7, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/070705LETTERSJULY7.cfm

U.S. Must Not Lose Its Soul

Regarding the two June 27 letters attacking Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for comparing our actions at the Guantanamo Bay prison to those of Stalin's gulags: While Durbin's remarks might have been a bit over the top, the point he was trying to make is valid and is ignored by the two letter writers.The United States should not sink to the same level as the terrorists. When we do, the terrorists win because we will have changed the nature of our own country. When we ignore our Constitution, both by the treatment of prisoners and by the passage of laws like the USA Patriot Act, the terrorists win.If the United States wants to be the example of democracy and justice to the world, and especially to the Middle East, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard than the dictatorships we are trying to change. Finally, there is no evidence that torture works or that the information given under duress is useful. And what of the effects on our servicemen and women who torture prisoners? What kind of guilt will they have to live with?One of the letter writers said that the Democrats have lost their soul. The real danger is that this country will lose its soul if we accept torture and other illegal and immoral actions as just the cost of doing business in the war in Iraq and in our struggles to combat terrorism.

NORM COHEN

Executive DirectorCoalition for Peace and Justice

Linwood

Letter printed in Atlantic City Press, July 6, 2005 http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/070605LETTSWEDJUL6.cfm

LoBiondo's Phony Patriotism

I was fascinated to read about two votes listed in the June 26 review of the week's activity in Congress. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, voted for the flag-burning amendment and against investigating contract fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan.No two votes better exemplify the phony patriotism and slavish devotion to corporate interests so sacred to most Republican members of Congress. I say most, but not all, because men like John McCain and Chuck Hagel, who have served in combat, do not support the flag amendment or war profiteering, unlike so many in their party. It seems like there's a correlation between combat service (or lack of it) and votes on these issues. The further away you were, the higher you wave the flag and stand tall for Bechtel and Halliburton.By the way, I am a retired Navy carrier pilot who was flying over North Vietnam and Laos while the Texas National Guard protected the Gulf of Mexico.

JAMES F. McCARTHY

Ocean City

Letter printed in Atlantic City Press, July 6, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/070605LETTSWEDJUL6.cfm

Recent LoBiondo Votes

Flag Burning

LoBiondo voted "Yes" on a measure proposing a constitutional amendment that would enable Congress to prohibit the destruction or debasement of the flag without violating free speech rights. Approved 286-130, on June 22, with more than the two-thirds of the members present and voting that is required to approve a proposed amendment. The Senate is expected to take up the matter next month. "Countless men and women served this great country in times of war to protect this symbol of democracy. I've heard from many veterans in the region, and they emphasized how important it is to them to protect the American flag," U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd Dist., said in a statement. The Congressman also does not believe that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment, seeming to distinguish between speech and behavior. If he is interested in the law, we can refer him to a string of Supreme Court cases that clearly state constitutionally freedom of expression is not limited to speech.

Public Broadcasting

LoBiondo voted against the legislation that would restore $100 million that had been cut form the $400 million budget of CPB by the House Appropriations Committee. Sorry, Frank, you lost that one. The measure restoring the funds passed 284 to 140. On the same day, unfortunately, CPB appointed its new president, Patricia S. Harrison, a former co-charwoman of the Republican National Committee.

United Nations Reform Act

LoBiondo voted "Yes" on a bill that would withhold a portion of U.S. dues to the United Nations unless they undertake certain mandated reforms as defined by this House legislation. The measure passed, 221-184, mostly on party lines.

LoBiondo's Votes are Un-American

U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, has been busy the last few weeks. The latest is his vote for a constitutional amendment to take away one's right to express free speech by burning the American flag. While I don't think I will be burning our flag, one has to wonder about LoBiondo's value system when he supports extending the life of the Patriot Act - which calls for such actions as government agents going through your house without telling you, checking into your library books without your knowledge, and arresting you in the night without a real right to a lawyer, without knowing where you are being taken and with no due process for months or even years.LoBiondo also supports protecting the rights of gun owners to the point that the government does not need to keep records of who buys guns, even if they are on a possible terrorist list. Yep, you heard it.However, LoBiondo does support government intruding into family decisions of life and death, gay relationships and adoptions, women's choices and stem-cell research. When he first came to Congress in 1994 with Newt Gingrich, he signed onto the Contract With America, which, among other things, called for term limits, fiscal responsibility and a smaller government. Evidently, LoBiondo has had a convenient lapse of memory.There is no real Americanism in his voting record. To support LoBiondo is to support our increasingly unpopular President Bush. It takes a lot of courage to be a real American. It takes bravery to let other people express their opinion even if you don't agree with their position.

J. DAVID ALCANTARA

Atlantic City

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/070505LETTERSJULY5.cfm

From a Former Independent

I have been a registered voter for most of my adult life. For the first 30 or so years I was registered as an independent. A few years back, I became so upset by the Republican leadership in our community that I registered as a Democrat. Reading The Press on June 29 made me proud of this decision. On the front page I read that President Bush claims the war in Iraq is worth the sacrifice even though more than 1,700 American lives have been lost with no end in sight. I wonder how he would feel if one of them had been his child? I know the effect it would have on me. I would like one defender of this policy to answer this question: When in the history of the world has a religious war ever been decided by an outsider?Then on page three of The Press, I read an article concerning an energy bill that involves the gasoline additive MTBE. This substance has contaminated drinking water in hundreds of communities. House leaders are insisting on an MTBE waiver giving companies and refiners protection against lawsuits over any damage this product causes. They also want to establish a federal fund for MTBE cleanup along with liability protection for manufacturers. Again the taxpayers will pay so big business can make a profit. Then they will yell, as taxes have to be raised to pay for this option, that the Democrats are the tax-and-spend party.I must admit that I am not a died-in-the-wool Democrat, but the current Republican leadership is not the answer either.

RICHARD MILLER

Egg Harbor Township

Letter Published in Atlantic City Press, July 5, 2005 http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/070505LETTERSJULY5.cfm