A slap in the face of legals

Mr. Hering, what part of "illegal" don't you and the 12 million-plus illegal immigrants in this country understand?

You wrote about them in a recent editorial as if it were akin to jaywalking. People here illegally shouldn't have a right to a driver's license, job, public health care, schooling or anything a citizen is entitled to.

Their being here is a slap in the face to the thousands of Asians, Africans, Europeans and yes, even Mexicans, waiting and going through legal means to come here.

People living and working here illegally should be deported and never reconsidered for entry. Those hiring them should be fined and their business licenses revoked.

Randy Mitchell, Albany

Flunking kindergarten

It has become obvious to many members of our community that Lebanon has a crisis. We have elected individuals, to an important position, who are not only failing to garner a passing grade, they are flunking kindergarten. What is their job? The school board.

Board members, a change is long overdue. The taxpayers expect you to represent the interests of all the students in the district. We want ethical, responsible decisions based on facts. We want you to follow district policy and procedures. We expect you to work with the administrators of the district and heed the legal advice of the district's law firm.

We will no longer tolerate displays of disrespect to staff and other board members; flagrant disregard for procedure; frivolous, costly lawsuits; and the pursuit of personal agendas.

It is time to decide whether you can start doing your job. If not, submit your resignation.

Connie Schmidt, D.V.M., Lebanon

Goofy ideas in our economy

When you take a "rugged individualist" attitude and couple it with business managers with impressive degrees in accounting and business management but no hands-on experience or common sense, let alone any compassion for their employees, you hatch ideas like:

• Trading "defined benefit pensions" for 401(k) contributions. This fits right in with those who want to privatize Social Security. I help make space-age metals for the medical industry, the energy industry and the chemical industry, as well as many others. I wouldn't expect a Wall Street banker to do my job. Why would any one expect me to do his?

• Deregulating business on the belief that business is self-regulating. This brought us the S&L debacle in the 1980s. And now it is bringing us the subprime issues of today, along with many others. Business is cyclic. But it is not self-regulating. If not for FDR's New Deal and World War II, we would probably still be in a depression.

• Employers who complain long and loud about how hard it is to compete with companies who don't have to provide medical insurance for their employees and then refuse to even enter the discussion about a

single-provider medical delivery system in this country. I'm surprised business hasn't followed the pattern they're setting with pensions. They could hand every employee a glossy pamphlet and a scalpel and call it self-directed medical service. Wait, they may have to do some more deregulating first.

In truth the vast majority of citizens are better off when the funds designated for pensions and health care are pooled, because this spreads the risks over large numbers of people and long periods of time.

Somehow this rugged individualist thing has convinced even common working people (those who could benefit the most) that this is socialism. And socialism is evil or unmanly. In reality, it's just common sense.

Frank W. Lathen, Lebanon

The real news, please

Regarding the Monday, Jan. 14, edition's front-page news, "Entertainers named in steroid case."

It costs me $7 a day to drive my car. We are in a non-winnable war. There is a presidential primary, and you have chosen to make front-page news that entertainers are named in a steroid case?

Who cares?

Carol Golly, Lebanon