Letters to the Editor - Israel

Kirk Big Oil's friend

Northbrook Star
July 27, 2006

A number of articles have appeared in the Pioneer Press in response to a letter by Renee Thaler, (Kirk a friend of Israel, June 15). Evidently, this letter has been widely circulated after publication. I would like to add my comments, especially for the attention of Ms. Thaler an to my fair-minded Jewish friends and fellow congregants.

Mark Kirk is a friend of big oil companies (he has received $35,900 from the oil and gas industries) and he has voted many times in favor of big oil, and against the taxpayers. So he cannot be a friend of Israel because the countries in the Mideast that supply us with oil use our money to fund terrorists that want to destroy Israel!

Surely Kirk must know all this because he claims to be an expert on the Mideast. DoesnÃ¢â,¬â"¢t he know that the royal family of Saudi Arabia has a 250 year old covenant with adherents to Wahhabi-Islam, a form of religion in their country which is fanatical and seeks to destroy Shi'ite Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Hinduism? When bombs go off in Israel and elsewhere in the world, killing or maiming innocent civilians, Saudi Arabia is still the main source of terrorist money, even after 9/11. All this information can be verified by looking up "Wahhabi" on the Google Web site.

So, why is Mark Kirk and our Republican government in favor of Big Oil companies? Why don't we tax their high windfall profits to pay for a crash program such as the Atomic Bomb Project to research and achieve viable alternative energy sources with the objective of severing our dependence on the Mideast in the shortest possible time? Or use some of the money that goes to pay for pork projects? So far, government sponsored programs are grossly underfunded or non-existant, and existing programs have unreasonably long completion dates.

It's time to replace Kirk with someone who can consider all options in the Mideast, who will not shirk from challenging Congress (which Kirk cannot do because he is Assistant Majority Whip in the House) and who will communicate openly with the public in our District. Congress will continue to support Israel without Kirk, because it is in our best interests to do so. A vote for Dan Seals is a true vote for Israel.

Here's a sampling of Kirk's Votes: April 10, 2003 (HR 6, Roll Calls 130 & 131)- Kirk voted to back tax breaks for oil industry, but not for renewable energy. June 16, 2004 (HR 4545, Roll Call 247)- Kirk blamed clean fuel laws for gas price hikes, a wrong conclusion, and voted against clean fuels. April 20, 2005 (H.Res. 219, Roll Call 112)- In Energy Bill, Kirk protected oil companies from lawsuits on alleged pollution of drinking water by fuel additive MTBE, shifting $29 billion in cleanup costs to the states. Sept. 28, 2005 (HR 3402, Roll Call 500)- After Hurricane Katrina, Kirk voted against making price gouging illegal.

George Rosenblit
Highland Park

Seals supports Israel, too

Wilmette Life
June 15, 2006

In a recent letter to the editor the basis of the letter was that Mark Kirk is a supporter of Israel. I am a Jew, and like a majority of socially minded Jews, this is a key issue. So I went to Dan Seals' Web site to learn about his policy toward Israel.

This is an excerpt from his Website: "The special relationship between the United States and Israel is founded upon the shared belief in democracy and freedom; now more than ever, it prevails as a vital partnership in the war on terrorism. Both nations are built on the conviction that people should live free from oppression and should be able to freely exercise their rights as citizens of a democratic nation. As America's only truly democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel provides a model for other nations in the region to follow - the model of a diverse, pluralistic, and free democratic society. For all of these reasons, I strongly support continued economic and military assistance to Israel, demonstrating America's unwavering commitment to Israel's security."

So let's be clear. These two candidates have very different views of the world, but don't be fooled that Kirk's support of Israel is anything more than his other positions along party lines. If you really want to know the differences between these two candidates, go to Dansealsforcongress.com.

Marcia Fritz
Northbrook

Paid for by Dan Seals for Congress

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