Big Government

Our freedoms and free markets have created the world's broadest middle class, and it is so exceptional because the keys of economic and political liberties belong to the individual. Big government and leftist Ideologies have repeatedly failed, with the tragic loss of tens of millions of lives, because they greedily kept power for themselves and suppressed the freedoms for which people have fought over the ages. That is also why America is mankind's last, best hope. Mike Nieman, Annapolis

Gov.Martin O'Malley's wind power bill is the economic hocus pocus play that you guys back up for whatever reason ("A better wind bill," April 2). You start by portraying the finances as positive - "wind will remain free" and "cost overruns will be borne by the developers not the ratepayers. " Then in the last paragraph the truth comes out: "the deal likely depends on the extension of federal subsidies and loan guarantees. " Once again, the middle class and our children will be responsible for paying this bill.

Tell The Sun's correspondent in D.C., "Comrade" John Fritze, that the congressional rhetoric is not "anti-government" ("Local federal agencies a 'growth industry," Feb. 13), it is "anti-big-government. " Those of us with common sense are opposed to the size of a government that borrows 40 cents out of every dollar it spends and has increased the deficit by $9 trillion over the last 10 years. Keep your editorial views to the editorial page. I know it is hard since the New York Times does the same thing.

Are there no limits on government's power, no places where it cannot go? New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a former (thankfully) Republican, has decided to limit food donations to city charities, including homeless shelters, because the government is unable to measure the nutritional value of the food. Who in city government believes that a homeless person with no access to money other than what he or she might panhandle cares about the nutritional content of food? If they are able to scrounge up a few bucks on the streets, does anyone seriously think they're headed to a grocery store to buy carrots and arugula?

It's ironic that Republicans in Congress blast Michelle Obama for her initiative on obesity and healthy eating because "government should stay out of our personal lives" -- yet they continue to inject said government when it concerns a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion. Do they really think they can have it both ways? Muriel Shefrin, Pikesville

The Great Recession has caused a seismic shift in how ordinary Americans view their government. Perhaps you saw the story this week about an Arizona sheriff who, in speaking about the Justice Department suit against his state's new immigration law, said, "Our own government has become our enemy and is taking us to court at a time when we need help." Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu elaborated in an interview with CNSNews.com, saying, "What's very troubling at a time when we in law enforcement and our state need help from the federal government, instead of sending help they put up billboard-size signs warning our citizens to stay out of the desert in my county because of dangerous drug and human smuggling and weapons and bandits and all these other things and then, behind that, they drag us into court with the ACLU."

T he economic story of the decade for Maryland? Nope, it wasn't electricity deregulation, although that's a competitor. In a period with terrible news for jobs, investments, safety and housing, there was one development that painted almost every piece of the Maryland economy with a brighter hue. The federal spending spigot got twisted to fire-hose volume after Sept. 11, 2001. The era of big government was back shortly after President Bill Clinton said it was over, and that meant a windfall for states next to big government's headquarters.

Gov.Martin O'Malley's wind power bill is the economic hocus pocus play that you guys back up for whatever reason ("A better wind bill," April 2). You start by portraying the finances as positive - "wind will remain free" and "cost overruns will be borne by the developers not the ratepayers. " Then in the last paragraph the truth comes out: "the deal likely depends on the extension of federal subsidies and loan guarantees. " Once again, the middle class and our children will be responsible for paying this bill.

BOSTON -- What sticks in their craw is the polls. The numbers are too large to swallow. The data is too tough to dice no matter how the knives are sharpened. Put this president in a Cuisinart and he comes out whole, bigger than ever.Here is a man who's been impeached. He's on trial in the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors. Yet when the camera pans the seats at the State of the Union address, it's the Republicans who look dour and dyspeptic, as uncomfortable as actors in the Immodium-D ads.And the morning after, his polls are elevated into that 76 percent stratosphere reserved for either our own mothers or the late Mother Teresa.

THE Rita Fisher case, in which three adults were convicted of abusing a 9-year-old child so severely that she died, has produced an outpouring of public outrage, not only against the perpetrators, but also against Baltimore County's Department of Social Services, whose director took the hit and was forced to resign.Why didn't social services workers respond to reports from teachers and neighbors? Isn't that what a government social services agency is for -- to protect children against abuse and intervene on behalf of a concerned society?

This election year will no doubt go down in history as a crossroads election. Do people want more centralized, big government micro-management of our lives? Or do we want freedom and limited government under the U.S. Constitution? If you want to send a message to the powerful in Washington, you can do so with your vote. I'm supporting Dave Wallace for Congress in District 8. I've known him for many years. He's earned my trust as a common sense conservative. Dave Wallace is pro-life and pro-Second Amendment.

Tell The Sun's correspondent in D.C., "Comrade" John Fritze, that the congressional rhetoric is not "anti-government" ("Local federal agencies a 'growth industry," Feb. 13), it is "anti-big-government. " Those of us with common sense are opposed to the size of a government that borrows 40 cents out of every dollar it spends and has increased the deficit by $9 trillion over the last 10 years. Keep your editorial views to the editorial page. I know it is hard since the New York Times does the same thing.

The defining political issue of 2012 won't be the government's size. It will be who government is for. Americans have never much liked government. After all, the nation was conceived in a revolution against government. But the surge of cynicism engulfing America isn't about how big government has become. It's a growing perception that our government is no longer working for average people. It's for big business, Wall Street and the very rich. In a recent Pew Foundation poll, 77 percent of respondents said too much power is in the hands of a few rich people and corporations.

Our freedoms and free markets have created the world's broadest middle class, and it is so exceptional because the keys of economic and political liberties belong to the individual. Big government and leftist Ideologies have repeatedly failed, with the tragic loss of tens of millions of lives, because they greedily kept power for themselves and suppressed the freedoms for which people have fought over the ages. That is also why America is mankind's last, best hope. Mike Nieman, Annapolis

100 Years Ago Signatures, please A Times political story included a picture of John Carroll with the caption, "John Lee Carroll, Doughregon, Governor 1876. " The story also mentioned the 1912 presidential election and the "Honorable Blair Lee of Maryland," who was then a Maryland state senator and would, in a few years, become a United States senator. Blair Lee was the great-grandson of Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of the Continental Congress.

Editor: This is in reply to SGM Porter's opinions in the Aug. 12 Open Forum. To begin with, I agree on your stance on eliminating foreign aid, but you omitted withholding funds for the United Nation and evicting them fromNew York. As for white Americans not accepting Obama due to race, most white Americans would support qualified black candidates for president such as Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice who have vast leadership and diplomatic experience. Not an inexperienced community organizer with Marxist - Leninist views.

WASHINGTON -- Democrats among Maryland's members of Congress hailed President Clinton's State of the Union address last night for setting what they see as a progressive agenda to promote America's families.Their Republican counterparts argued that Clinton's speech, punctuated by proposals on hot-button issues, would push the country into a new era of big government.While members of the state's congressional delegation were split along partisan lines, they were unified by a desire to avoid acknowledging the scandals that have besieged the White House.

After all the publicity surrounding Sarah Palin's unique version of Paul Revere's midnight ride, plenty of people in Baltimore are probably wondering about Ms. Palin's take on the War of 1812, given her recent visit to Fort McHenry. In light of her stirring version of those historic events in New England, I was confident that Ms. Palin must have taken the opportunity to weigh in on the events surrounding the Battle of Baltimore — and indeed, I understand that she afforded her eager listeners a dissertation very much like this: "Well ya know, the British were tryin' to get the colonies back 'cause they wanted to start taxin' 'em again.

It's ironic that Republicans in Congress blast Michelle Obama for her initiative on obesity and healthy eating because "government should stay out of our personal lives" -- yet they continue to inject said government when it concerns a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion. Do they really think they can have it both ways? Muriel Shefrin, Pikesville