America’s artless war

Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military strategist, was famous for always being victorious. His rules for defeating enemies were compiled in “The Art of War.” It has proven valid through the centuries.

One especially effective tactic was to draw the enemy out of its homeland to wage war in far away lands, thus depleting its resources, impoverishing its citizens and leaving the homeland less secure. It seems Osama Bin Laden (“We will draw them out and drain them”) read “The Art of War.” Obama apparently has not.

Sun Tzu did not specifically warn against destroying your own military (and their families) with repeated deployments. He probably didn’t imagine any leader would be that stupid. But he condemned unnecessary wars and leaders whose decisions placed egotistical fantasies of personal prestige and profit above their nation’s well-being.

While we go broke, Maine’s 2nd Congressional district poured $1.2 billion into Iraq and what Gen. McChrystal calls “ a bloody disaster” in Afghanistan. This does not include future costs for lifetime care of veterans, but these will be high because of the extreme rates of physical and mental trauma.

For the same money, we could have provided 63,000 college Pell grants for one year, or over 8,000 firefighters or medical care for 300,000 children, according to www.nationalpriorities.org.

Sens. Snowe and Collins express concern about fiscal matters and our military. They should read “The Art of War,” then work to bring our war dollars home. For information, visit www.bringourwardollarshome.org.

Carole Whelan

Military Families Speak Out

Hope

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‘Bork’ Kagan

It is the responsibility of our esteemed senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, to vote against the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court if they truly want to keep another judicial activist off the highest court in our great country of America.

The hearings on Capitol Hill are proving to be another Comedy Central with Ms. Kagan turning the majority of questions into an opportunity to produce a joke, thus laughing off the most serious of nominations we have.

We even had some Democratic senator referencing the recent movie “Twilight” during this time of “grilling.”

The Republicans are not giving this woman the grilling that is necessary, either. Consider Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas, who were most qualified for this prestigious position, and how the hearings went on forever with a liberal questioning firing squad that was beyond the scope of reason. Justice Thomas was voted in; Mr. Bork was not.

It is time for common sensed Americans to call into question this travesty of justice in Washington, D.C., and for common sensed Mainers to demand that our two senators vote against the confirmation of Elena Kagan, judicial activist, who will not be following the Constitution. She will be following the Obama law of the land.

Ms. Kagan should be “Borked.”

Sharon I. Rideout

Hermon

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Seek, and ye shall find

I wish the young gentleman from Dover-Foxcroft the best of luck in finding an opportunity in locating employment (“head South, young man,” June 25). It seems to me that he is walking the wrong way, hoping that someone will knock on his door and offer him a job with all the fringe benefits that will take someone years to achieve.

I’m surprised that while he was in Virginia he did not find employment, if the grass is greener there. His impression to me is that he will be waiting to file an application to work as a bartender.

Maine is still feeling the theft when it was a bountiful state for textiles as well as big industry and agriculture. But when Richard Nixon took office, he gave away all the textile factories to China.

Perhaps if the letter writer traded that bar stool for some old college go, go, go, he might show his resume. “Seek, and ye shall find.”

Jim Koritzky

Bangor

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The TVA lesson

The June 26-27 BDN told us how Kay Phaneuf, 53, died after National Grid shut off the electric to her oxygen machine. She hadn’t paid her bill. The Boston Globe mentions she was a grandmother, cancer survivor and went to St. Joseph’s parish in Salem, N.H.

The Columbia Missourian reported that 30-year-old Nathan Graham Curry died of hypothermia in his home on Dec. 4, 2009, after his power had been shut off in September.

Michigan Welfare Rights representatives claim 18 people died last winter in Detroit because of DTE Energy shut-offs.

Some people might wonder about our nation. Not I. Jesus tells us we’re offspring of vipers in Matthew 12:34. So what’s that electric guitar distortion pedal shiver when we hear the first illegal fireworks on the Fourth? Could there be fine fruit too?

On MPBN, Libby Mitchell said: “We have entrepreneurs in Maine who are struggling to start photovoltaic and geothermal industries. The high cost of energy is one of the biggest barriers to businesses.”

It appears having lived in the South, Libby learned the lesson of the federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority which bea.gov says added an estimated $3 billion into the federal budget receipts in the first quarter of 2009, producing inexpensive electricity for 9 million people in seven southeastern states.

Tva.gov says its industrial rates in 2008 were 16 percent lower than the U.S. retail average, commercial rates 9 percent lower and residential rates 20 percent lower. Hit the juice.

Keith C. Taft

Van Buren

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Have cake and eat it too

The BDN’s recent editorial echoing Sen. Snowe’s position to pass the extension of unemployment benefits separately (“Unemployment and Taxes,” June 27) was spot on.

With national unemployment hovering just below double digits and Maine’s unemployment rate holding stubbornly at 8.4 percent, Congress should extend these benefits for the 1.5 million Americans who remain unemployed and in need of help.

It is right to help our citizens until the economy turns around.

However, the extension of benefits should not come at the expense of small businesses and family owned partnerships. As you noted, the bill that would have extended the unemployment benefits also would have raised taxes on businesses and investors, thus hindering their ability to grow and create more jobs that are so desperately needed in Maine and elsewhere across the country.

If Congress continues to expand unemployment benefits while at the same time enacting policies that will hurt new job creation, the positive impacts of the unemployment benefits will be negated.

Congress should stand up for small businesses and job creation, as Sens. Collins and Snowe have done here in Maine, so that small businesses can grow and prosper.

Garet Adolphsen

Appleton

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