Whose opinion is it?

I was having a perfect fine Sunday. Good weather and a 4 hour horseback ride. I was ready to sit down with the paper and, as usual, I grab the opinion page first. I have got to stop doing that!

First letter to the editor says he doesn't have anything against Obama except for everything that he has done in the past 100 days. He says that the "redistribution of wealth from the haves to the have-nots is socialism" and against our counties founding principles. He then says that Obama is ashamed of his country because he apologized about something. Ignorance is a sad thing, but what really bothers me about this is that this guy is taking his talking points directly from Hannity, Limbaugh or some other right winger and I will bet he has never done any kind of research on his own. If he did, he would know that Obama is trying to increase the taxes on the rich and decrease the taxes on the middle class. That, per se, does not redistribute wealth. There are costs associated with running a country. Roads have to be maintained, police have to be hired and paid, dog catchers have to enforce dog license so we don't have a rabies epidemic. Health departments have to monitor how many people get the swine flu and if we all need to start wearing those ridiculous masks. Increasing taxes on the rich means that they have to pay more of the cost and I, definitely not one of the haves, will have to pay less. And as one of the 'have-nots' I have yet to receive any money from my rich friends.

And the rich should pay more. Living in this country is what allowed them to become one of the 'haves' in the first place. They use more of what is considered the commons, like roads (Bentley vs. Honda Civic). They should at least be willing to repay the country that made their lot in life possible. And all of us benefit from having a better educated society so our neighbor's children can grow up and get a job because they have an education rather than becoming criminals and stealing our stuff

The only people who will actually get money are those on welfare... yeah, we all hate welfare, but what I would hate more is what would happen if it weren't there. Anyone seen Slumdog Millionaire? India doesn't have welfare, doesn't look like they have a health department or a sewer system either. But they do have rich people rolling around in big cars and those rich folk don't have to share a damn thing. So they live in luxury while the poor live in slums where disease runs rampant and children are forced to beg for food or worse. Taxes are the way that we keep the USA from looking like India. We care about our people and I am happy to pay taxes so that I don't have to drive around areas like I saw in that movie. And since the rich are driving around with bigger cars than me, they should want to pay even more.

As for apologising for what America has done in the past 8 years, someone has to do it. We started a war looking for weapons that weren't there, we have established interrogation camps in other counties, we have tortured. I am sorry and I don't see any reason Barack Obama should be any different.

No one, conservative or progressive, should depend on radio or television for their opinions. Listen to them, but check the facts. Don't repeat what they say unless you have done so and then believe what they have told you. At least then I will know that you have not been misguided and you will have some facts to back up your argument. Just saying you heard it on Hannity is not good enough for me