America is trapped in deep ideological divide We can no longer govern ourselves. Our government and our people are locked in the most severe and intractable ideological divide since Lincoln was inaugurated.
The principles defining this divide are simple — economic theories that govern us have produced an ever-increasing chasm between our wealthy Pharaoh class and ordinary workers. Jobs, plants and capital investments are leaving at ever increasing rates.
Our K-12 system, controlled by self-serving teachers unions, has decreed that every kid should go to college — whether financially or intellectually able to do so or not. We have no vocational or apprentice programs worthy of the name, so 50 percent of our kids leave school as virtually unemployable functional illiterates.
Our Congress, executive branch and even our courts have been corrupted by bogus economic theories and special-interest lobbying. Statesmanship, patriotism and journalism are dead. So is justice; not one CEO has gone to prison after causing this economic collapse.
Richard C. Kreutzberg
Bethesda
First lady enjoys private flight at taxpayer expense
Re: “FLOTUS leaves D.C. while POTUS pays his respects,” Aug. 9
There is an dichotomy between the actions of President Obama and his wife, Michelle. At the same time the president is demanding a tax on corporate jets, the first lady takes a luxury trip on Air Force 2 to visit her brother at the taxpayer’s expense.
Perhaps it is time that the frequent trips taken by the members of the president’s family be subjected to the same charges the average American citizen pays for taking a flight, with appropriate mandated taxes.
Nelson Marans
Silver Spring
All Chicagoans are not gangsters
The corrupt, dirty politics of President Obama and his henchmen is sometimes described as “Chicago-style politics”. Such implied guilt-by-association must make any past or present Chicago resident of decent repute cringe.
The number of criminal miscreants account for a relatively small percentage of Chicago’s total population, yet the news media seems to impute criminality to everything and everybody associated with the Windy City.
Let’s put the blame for gangster politics upon those who are engaged in them and stop attributing the nefarious deeds of the few to all the denizens of Chicago.
Lawrence K. Marsh
Gaithersburg
