By KERA News
Dallas, TX – In the final weeks of this historic election year, KERA's Voter's Voice project wants to hear from you. What issues are important as you go to the polls? Are the candidates addressing your concerns? Sharing your opinions with our listeners and web audience is an important part of staying connected with our community.
Click on the Voter's Voice Tell KERA button. Send us an email. We'll post your comments on our Web site and may use them in a radio broadcast.
Here are the submissions we have received so far:
I appreciate leaders with a strong educational background. Most upper level positions in this country require a Master's degree or beyond. We encourage our teenagers to obtain advanced degrees in order to adequately prepare for these positions and to round out a person's knowledge base. The Republicans do not demonstrate such value for a strong educational foundation, especially in their VP pick.
As we vote, I hope this country recognizes the importance of higher education as a standard for the top two offices we elect, and as standard for being competitive with other countries who value education. Highly educated countries will be the leaders in technology development and energy technology development, which our future depends on as a whole. In the end, your education level just may make the difference in keeping a job here or awarding it to a better prepared person from another country.
Vanessa
North Texas
PBS is just as biased as any of the networks. As far as Jim Lehrer and crowd is concerned there are only two parties in this country. Ralph Nader and Ron Paul are non entities.
This is shameful and disgraceful. Can if be that PBS has now joined with the major networks as a puppet of either the Republicans or the Democrats or both?
William
Denton
I am having trouble pinning down my exact feelings at the Palin nomination and yesterday's [acceptance] speech.
I was outraged at her nomination and lack of experience. My other female office-mates ALL felt the same. Wednesday morning we were actually screeching in the hallways. These are all college educated women, most of whom are raising or have raised families. We are not wild-eyed feminists.
Why the outrage? One of the women stated that it was an insult that this is the best woman that the GOP can find. She has family issues--and I am sorry--we do not share her issues. She has just a BA in journalism, hardly a degree fit for running the country. She has little experience. Our local college district is bigger than her town, and our college president has more experience. Running Alaska is still not the same as dealing with a large state with serious urban issues, poverty issues, and the poor economy. "The GOP pulled out someone who appeals to the religious right" to quote many of the pundits, but does that mean the GOP has chosen to find a woman who is not fit to lead just because she is a woman. I can neither identify with her nor approve of her as a choice for a person who is just a "heart-beat away from running the country.
My feelings after Palin's speech were of depression and anxiety. Is "hockey mom" one of her skills as either a vice-President or a political office holder? I don't understand the use of "hockey mom" as a rally cry for the GOP. My PTA group is all hockey, or football, soccer or baseball moms; and yet, none of us would consider that we are qualified to be vice-President.
As I have taught my students, it is often more what is not said than what was said, and Palin's speech is a perfect example of this. Where was her address to poverty, to health care, to the war, to immigration, to the economy and lost jobs? No, she described herself as a "bulldog with lipstick." I found her speech to be sarcastic, ill-informed and silly. I applied for a job this summer (and got it) and I promise I did not put on my resume that I was a soccer mom.
Cheryl
Fort Worth
This has become a life or death situation and is a major concern of mine. Over 100,000 people die yearly (unnecessarily) in the US due to lack of insurance or insurance denials. Costs are out of control, and it sounds like the solution for the large mass of baby boomers soon to retire is to have them spend every cent they have saved for their retirement on Medicare coverage, gap insurance, pharmaceuticals plan, and long term care. After every penny has been squeezed from them, Medicare will warehouse them in an institution until they die. What is most distressing is there's a solution, but it's a well kept secret, even though it is slowly gathering support.
It's the United States National Health Insurance Act, congressional Bill HR#676 - Medicare for all.
I'm sure you are familiar with it, as NPR IS THE ONLY STATION THAT HAS HAD THE COURAGE TO COMPARE OUR HEALTH CARE (SHOULD BE LACK OF HEALTH CARE) PROGRAM WITH THE REST OF THE INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES.
I am concerned about the war, and the economy, but health care continues to get worse and people continue to die due to the greed and corruption. Please do an in depth report on HR676. It could the save the life of someone you know.
Louise
The Colony
Religion should not be a political issue in this country but, sadly, it is. Primarily, this is true because the Republican Party has successfully exploited Christian 'anti-abortion' feelings. The following is convoluted but bear with me a moment, please. I am not a religious fanatic although I am a Baptist.
God said, 'Thou shall not kill (commit murder)." The commandment against murder (and, therefore, abortion) is a personal Commandment between man and God...not men (government) and God. God used the term "Thou" in a personal way; speaking directly to each of us. The decision to end a pregnancy is a personal decision.
Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. He took personal action to rid the temple of money lenders and he also stopped a crowd from stoning an adulteress. Jesus wasn't afraid of confrontation. Nevertheless, he never rallied a crowd against nor personally confronted the Roman government about crucifixions. This form of lethal, government-sanctioned action was not uncommon...after all; there were 2 other prisoners on crosses with Jesus.
Jesus understood the need to separate the inherently dirty, secular world from the pristine spirituality of faith. To willing blind oneself to an otherwise ruinous (economically, ecologically, socially) platform of a political party because one plank smacks of biblical truth is to show a complete lack of biblical discernment.
Molly
Azle, TX
I went grocery shopping today, an experience that is usually extremely pleasurable: gazing at the colorful produce, admiring those lovely thick steaks, reading the labels on new products, thinking how luscious those frozen dinners looked and how if I bought one, I wouldn't have to cook.
I saw folks of all ages going up and down the aisles peering at the packages, cans etc. and trying to calculate how many meals they could get out of that package or piece of meat. The Elderly can't go the vegetarian route - not with tomatoes, in the middle of the growing season sold at $2.83 a pound, green beans over $2.00 a pound, a cucumber at 90-cents per. Lettuce - some varieties - are well over a dollar a head and bingo, there go the salads. Spaghetti is relatively cheap, but not the sauce. The good old standby, chicken? 99 cents a pound for legs and thighs.
We are encouraged to have vegetable gardens, but only people with houses can do that. Apartment dwellers could have contained gardens, but many apartment dwellers are elderly, disabled, or city dwellers who never grew a tomato in their lives. Community gardens? Good idea. But you need a car to get to your patch - if you're in the suburbs. It's difficult to take a load of fertilizer on the bus, to say nothing of the tools you would need. The lucky people who have houses with a garden are even in danger. With the state of today's economy, those homeowners may lose their patch of dirt.
Just a few years ago the Elderly had a choice. They could either get their Meds or eat. Now that choice doesn't exist any more.
Low-income folks, people on food stamps, the Disabled and the Elderly are suffering. Our Food Banks can no longer supply the demand. Citizens are coming to our Food Banks who never in their wildest nightmares thought they would have to ask for help.
We live in a country with air we have difficulty breathing. We have cars we cannot get gas for which would enable us to get to work and earn money for the food we can't afford.
Some of our food problems date back to the Reagan Administration. During that time the Consumer Price Index was adjusted. This is a periodic governmental procedure. However the costs of both food and gas were not adjusted. There have been no adjustments to the Index since then. This means that the Consumer Price Index still reflects the costs of pre-Reagan.
According to a recent news article "Changes are set to take effect soon." One of these changes will have the standard deduction on a food stamp application indexed for inflation.
In just this past decade "the cost of groceries has increased by a third".
I have such a sense of d j vu. I lived at the time of the Hoover/FDR elections. There were bread lines, a stock market crash, the "Dust Bowl", the unemployed, mortgage foreclosures and veterans who still had not adjusted after WW I. And I personally resent having to go through that again.
But the irony of all this is that not one candidate for any office, State or Federal, has said one word about the cost of food.
Adell
Arlington, TX
In recent elections we often heard people say "it's the most important election or our generation" and they were usually talking about supreme court nominees. I think this election that comment is true. However, the importance of this election reaches far beyond supreme court nominees.
I believe the best thing that any candidate can do for our country is to help change our collective mood and the tone of politics. This is not a political ad for Senator Obama, but he seems to be the one candidate who fully understands this. The word "change" has been tossed around like the word "values" in recent elections and it can become tiresome, but the difference this time is, it has substance. If we can change our mood about the economy, the environment, the war, health care and all the other issues that drive us, we can move out from under this pessimistic cloud of cynicism that has overcome our country.
Stephen
Bedford, TX
The issue that concerns me most this election season is the rampant disenfranchisement and blackout of 3rd party and independent candidates. Their issues, their views, and their policies are just as important and just as valuable as those of the two main parties. The marginalizing of these candidates and these parties does not start with the voters, it starts with the media outlets. The media outlets take it upon themselves to provide viewers and listeners with the information they find most important and avoid the rest at all costs. Sure, not every single candidate under the sun can get his or her moment in the spotlight, but I've heard from some of these candidates so much I can do their stump speeches in my sleep. I would very much appreciate media outlets across the country, including yours, to give voters ALL the information they need to make an educated decision when choosing our elected officials.
Martin
North Texas
The Real Impetus Of Change
The real impetus of change is our openness to accept the evolution of our common conviction that it is not about what a party could do for our country, but what we could do together as a nation. We need a candidate who understands and recognizes the urgency to resolve problems that divides America and slowly crippling the trust of our people to our government. Some say that change is nothing but a senseless romantic idealism we shall not forget that change is what made America great. Without change we will be trapped again in the patterns of the past-the lies and false promises of old politics. We shall not forget that it was two score and seven years ago when John F. Kennedy initiated the revolution of change; and with Barack Obama-together we will carry on the fight for change. Through his leadership-a new breed of citizens, the new American Majority will be galvanized to carry our nation forward. Barack Obama will be the strength of people of all ages, of all races, of all genders, of all parties and faiths. It is time now for healing and change. Healing and change, symbolizing an end as well a beginning signifying the renewal of our spirits and our beliefs that we can that we can still make this country great again.
Uly
Dallas
What About NASA and the Future of Exploration?
It does not seem to be on anybody's radar, but I think it's time to bring up the future of the US space program. When all the space shuttles are retired in 2010, the US will have at least a few years where we have no way to send crews into Earth orbit (or any place else). The US can purchase a few Russian Soyuz capsules, but until the Constellation class of launch vehicles are ready, the US will be essentially grounded. Some of the candidates have even entertained the idea of delaying development of Constellation and diverting that money to other priorities. To me this sounds untenable. This is something pretty far off everyones radar, but it could be the biggest blunder of the space age since Sputnik to the US by surprise in 1957.
Siedle
North Texas
Dear Fellow Countrymen,
As of the past decade, we as citizens have gotten most of our priorities in life so far out of whack that it's just silly. More than what political party a candidate is loyal to, TODAY, I care more about what a candidate for President is going to do to change the priorities of this countries governance and future. Since September 11th 2001 we have been a nation battered from afar and under a dark cloud of fear. Much of this fear is perpetuated by our own government and our own media. Some have been wincing waiting for another sinister attack, while others continue fighting though every day existence dealing with issues that actually affect them. Some threats in the world call for slightly more attention than others and some election issues certainly call for priority over others.
Let us get our priorities straight in this year of election. The things which really matter to us are those things that aid us in protecting our borders, our national security, and our families. The things that matter are those issues which help us take better care of our children, our planet, and our futures. We must balance those positive causes that make us uniquely Americans. For the sake of our country we as a nation need to unite behind common goals and common human needs. Above all else we need to focus on how to care for each other and how to better care for ourselves as people. Americans from every walk of life are completely insular and FAR too wrapped up in their own little 'Bluetooth' existence to care for a sick neighbor, care for their own health, or help a family rise above poverty.
Yes, we want to be safe from terrorism. BUT, we also want peace with other nations and we want the vast nuclear weapons caches out there to be monitored and secure at all times so that they don't fall into the hands of criminals. I hate to break it to the 'moral majority', BUT, abortion rights and how 'Christian' someone is compared to you, has no place in public discussion. Abortion is a personal, medical, issue between a woman and her doctor. It has nothing to do with the federal government. I'm not saying that I support abortion one way or the other, I'm simply saying that abortion rights and basically the rest of the modern Republican agenda need to be reevaluated and shifted to a more realistic set of goals and priorities.
The rest of the planet may claim to hate us and despise our freedoms. BUT!! let's not forget that it is OUR country that the rest of the planet seems to be attempting to migrate towards- literally and in spirit. It is OUR country that the rest of the planet looks to for innovation, style, freedom, technology, and great achievements. I am proud to be an American. The America I want represented throughout the world has nothing to do with political party, church affiliation, or positions on personal rights. My America is the land of the free, the home of the outrageously daring, and the only place in the world that I want to call home.
I hope that whoever gets elected in November will realize our perilous current status in the world and return us to our rightful place of respect and admiration. With great power comes greater responsibility. We must lead the civilized world by example by conducting our national affairs with care, respect, and dignity for all beings. Not just those whom we have something to gain from.
We need a President who will help us to realize that we all share the same small, sometimes troubled, planet. The powerful nations of the world must ensure that the policies made today help save our planet from aggression and mass destruction. We must preserve our great institutions for future free peoples to come. Either that or..can we just make certain that Dick Cheney and Blackwater don't do anything dangerous between now and next January. Like I dunno? Spark a war with Iran by starting a naval conflict with attack speedboats in the Persian Gulf. That can't happen right?
George
Fort Worth