Robert W. Schmidt – 8/8/06

This page was last updated on August 8, 2006.

Think for yourself; Robert W. Schmidt; Beaver County Times; August 8, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Regarding Nancy Hunter’s letter about what a great man Bush is, and her facts (‘Bush is right on life issues,’ Monday).

“It’s no wonder we have such bad government in this country when you have people like her that has absolutely no idea of what she’s talking about.”

[RWC] Mr. Schmidt shouldn’t be throwing rocks.

“First of all, Sept. 11, 2001, was caused by Saudi Arabians, not Iraqis. That is a well-known fact published everywhere in the world.”

[RWC] Not exactly. Of the 19 terrorists, 14 were Saudis, three were from the UAE, one was Lebanese, and the leader was Egyptian.

“As for Dec. 7, 1941, who does she think bombed Pearl Harbor? Now, what country blew up the World Trade Center?”

[RWC] Yes FDR declared war against Japan, but he also declared war against Germany. At that time, Germany had not attacked the U.S.

Regarding the WTC, to which time does Mr. Schmidt refer? The convicted chief conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Ramzi Yousef, reached the United States with an Iraqi passport. (Note: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is an uncle of Yousef.) The bomb maker – Abdul Rahman Yasin (an American citizen) – ended up in Iraq after the bombing.

Also, while Saudis made up most of the terrorists, they didn’t represent Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the answer to “what country blew up the World Trade Center?” is “no country.” A terrorist organization brought down the WTC, not a foreign government, and these terrorists reside in most countries around the world. In the case of Pearl Harbor, a sovereign country was responsible for the attack, not a terrorist group.

“As for stem-cell research, if it’ll help someone walk again, or in some other way, why not?”

[RWC] The Bush administration has been funding stem cell research for five years. He’s the first president to do so. Both Ms. Hunter and Mr. Schmidt were really talking about embryonic stem cell research, but neither made that distinction.

“And as for Bush saying ‘no’ to the importing pharmaceuticals into this country, what a laugh. The drug companies would stand to lose millions if we were importing the drugs from Canada. They try to scare us by telling us that the drugs may be tainted. Didn’t bother the Canadians, did it?”

[RWC] Mr. Schmidt is comparing apples and oranges. The issue isn’t with importing drugs. Not all drugs sold in the U.S. are made here. Just as with drugs imported into the U.S., drugs imported into Canada for sale by legitimate outlets are imported by the manufacturer or licensed distributors.

The issue is the ability for individuals to purchase drugs from foreign sources via mail order. There is no way for U.S. customers to verify the trustworthiness of foreign mail order sources and that is the problem.

“As for Slick Willy, she evidently hadn’t been investing any money during his administration because the market was very good, there was no war, and unemployment was way down. These are the real facts. Check them out.”

[RWC] Ms. Hunter didn’t write anything bad about the stock market, war, or unemployment during the Clinton administration. But since Mr. Schmidt brought them up, let’s address them.

Regarding the economy, it certainly did well during most of the Clinton administration. That said, a recession began in the last year of the Clinton administration.

Regarding unemployment, it was never bad during the Bush administration. In fact, for most of the time it’s been at or below a level the press called “already low” during the Clinton administration.

Regarding “no war,” while that may be technically correct, it’s misleading. Consider the following.

· 1993: World Trade Center - six dead civilians

· 1993: U.S. peacekeepers in Somalia - 18 dead soldiers

· 1996: Khobar Towers military barracks in Saudi Arabia - 19 dead soldiers

· 1998: On February 23^rd, Osama bin Laden declared war on the United States.

· 1998: U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania - 224 dead African civilians

· 2000: USS Cole - 17 dead sailors

In other words, while we may not have been at war with terrorists, terrorists were at war with us.

We shouldn’t forget our involvement in the Balkans/Kosovo.

“It amazes me to no end how gullible we Americans are. We evidently cannot think for ourselves. Just look around. Our school systems are terrible, no matter what the administrators say. Our politicians are, to say the least, corrupt.

“I could go on and on, but what’s the use. There are people out there who just won’t think for themselves, and that is a shame.”

[RWC] Remember, the guy who wants people to “think for themselves” wrote a letter telling us to “vote out all incumbents, state and federal.”