To the editor:

In a letter Oct. 6, Jim Watson correctly quotes the preamble to the Constitution. That quotation is about the last correct thing Mr. Watson states and he does dot even seem to comprehend what "We the people" or "Commonwealth" mean.

The old line, "you can't legislate morality," was used by segregationists and Barry Goldwater in their fight against the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Dr. King, Ralph Abernathy and others fought for and attended the bill-signing ceremony. Maybe in some right wing realm reality unemployment was 15 percent and mortgages 18 percent, but according to the U.S. government (run by Republicans for 20 of the last 28 years) unemployment was 5.8 percent and mortgages 11 percent in 1979 (high, but lower than the 16 percent in November 1981 and again in 1982 under "saint" Ronald). "We the people" means we are all in this together; kind of like "yes we can," not let's divide everybody so we can win an election.

The reason some agencies aren't doing their job is that under Reagan and the Bushes, people were appointed who are against these agencies and want them to fail. For the right wing it's a win-win; you make government fail and then blame the government. It is no coincidence that unemployment peaked in 1958 (6.8 percent, Eisenhower), 1975 (8.5 percent, Ford) , 1982 (9.7 percent, Reagan) and 1992 (7.5 percent, Bush I) and that 90 percent of our national debt of over $10 trillion (way too many zeroes) has come with the "voodoo economics" of Reagan and the two Bushes (it was about a trillion when Reagan left office and Clinton had surpluses). McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis was head of the "Homeownership Alliance" which lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and his economic adviser Aguiles Suarez was chief lobbyist for Fannie Mae, and no one who lived through it should have to be reminded of McCain's close ties to Mr. Keating and the S&L debacle.

Bill Darcey Foxboro

Times like these call

for outstanding leaders

To the editor:

In this time of financial and political uncertainty, it is more important than ever to have extraordinary people in government; this is why I am supporting Devin Romanul for state representative. He is a lifelong resident of Mansfield, a graduate of Mansfield High School and Trinity College (where he served as president of the student government) with a degree in political science, and he has worked on many local political campaigns. As chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, I've had the pleasure of watching Devin bring an incredible work ethic to this campaign, as shown by his personally visiting over 5,000 households so far. In an age where many elected officials on Beacon Hill are lawyers or business owners while concurrently receiving their state rep salaries and benefits on the taxpayers' dime, Devin Romanul is fully committed to serving as your full-time state representative.

Devin is a new leader for a new time with a long-term vision of government. He wants to see Massachusetts become the national leader in new energy technology while at the same time advocating many energy and cost-saving proposals to more wisely use your tax money. Jobs, economic concerns, and government efficiency are the very highest of his priorities. I have watched this young man sit in living rooms and hear the stories of thousands of people and what they truly need out of government. This is the quality and attentiveness we need now in the Statehouse, as he exemplifies the best of our past great leaders and will work tirelessly for you.

In the next few weeks I will be working as hard as I can to elect Devin Romanul to be your full-time state representative, and I urge everyone to learn more about him by visiting VoteDevin.com and to vote for him on Nov. 4.

Kevin Doyle

Mansfield

I'll pick party that puts people first

To the editor:

What is patriotism? I love this country and I would like to consider myself a patriot, but I have one problem: I'm a Democrat. I am very confused by this notion that only Republicans can be patriots.

Is it true that Republicans are the only ones to put country first?

If so, what are Democrats putting first?

Maybe Democrats are putting economy first by sponsoring government regulation on big corporations to keep them from taking advantage of Americans.

Deregulation has led to the biggest housing crises our country has seen since the Great Depression.

Actually Democrats are probably putting security first because they disagreed with the Iraq War and wanted to spend all of our efforts going after Al Qaida and Osama Bin Laden.

Spending everything in Iraq, and neglecting the war in Afghanistan, allowed Al Qaida to grow in strength.

No I know what it is, Democrats are putting people first by sponsoring government aid to actual struggling Americans rather than big corporations.

Democrats will raise taxes on those who can afford it and lower taxes on those who need it.

If you make $40,000 a year, could you use an extra $1,000? And if you make $3,000,000 a year could you afford to pay $700,000 in taxes to help your fellow Americans?

Greek philosopher Socrates said "patriotism does not require one to agree with everything that his country does and would actually promote analytical questioning in a quest to make the country the best it possibly can be."

Patriotism is supporting your fellow Americans who are having trouble. Patriotism is defending your fellow Americans from invading enemies.

Patriotism is protecting your fellow Americans from greedy corporations.

I believe patriotism is a love for your country and a passion for it to be the best it can be.

On Nov. 4, I am going to prove my patriotism and I will be putting my country first by voting for a Democrat named Barack Obama.

Paul Gaudreau

Seekonk

If it's about company

that they keep...

To the editor:

Hey, I'd rather pal around on a fund-raiser with Bill Ayers, than pal around with a woman who shoots reindeer (read: caribou) with a high-powered rifle from a helicopter.

Alice King

Attleboro

Beacon Hill does not

need another Democrat

To the editor:

Bill Bowles, once a Republican now a Democrat , Why? There are already enough to pass or reject any legislation to come before the house. Let's keep at least one more voice speaking for the minority .

Vote for George Ross.

Conrad A. Morel

Attleboro

It's time for voter to clean political house

To the editor:

Already defined by the lowest popular confidence in history, Congress displayed itself as a colony of corruption, incompetence and self- interest as it tried to put a Band-aid on the hemorrhaging financial crisis. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, instigators of the banking regulations that started the whole disease, are now the authors of its cure.

The government fences, called Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, cooked the books to hide the problem while kicking back millions to legislators' campaign funds. Eventually these institutions were toppled by the magnitude of loans given to people who had little or no chance of paying them back. Now, these leaders have created a $700 billion pill rimmed with $150 billion of pork that they agreed to jam down the throats of the American taxpayer.

Nowhere in this bitter pill is a prescription of punishment for the racketeers of Wall Street or the loan sharks who swindled the public.

Instead, those punished are the elderly who saved for retirement, small businesses struggling to make ends meet, college students who can't get or can't pay back student loans, and honest families who pay their taxes and mortgages.

America is calling again to its brave citizens. We must unite to 1) Vote out the members of Congress who fell asleep or actively participated in this evil infestation. 2) Urge law enforcement agencies to indict, prosecute, seize assets and jail the criminals who profited from this, and 3) because Wall Street, Congress and the banking institutions have shown they do not possess the moral capacity to manage our money and our trust, strict, ethical guidelines must be established to show them the light and strong punishment must be administered.

In Massachusetts, we can again fire a shot heard around the world by supporting Question 1. It is time for the people of Massachusetts and America to take back their government.

Dave Silvia

Attleboro

Crisis can be traced to Democratic roots

To the editor:

The roots of the current financial crisis harken back to the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 in response for a building demand for "affordable" housing. It was passed by the 95th (Democrat-controlled) Congress, and signed into law by then-President, Jimmy Carter.

After the banking crisis of the 1980s, enacted by the 101st Congress( also controlled by Democrats) and signed into law by President G.H.W. Bush, was the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, which entailed performance evaluations under CRA guidelines. These acts influenced banks to change the way they evaluated risk.

In 1995, the Clinton administration made changes to the CRA that encouraged racial, neighborhood, and income type criteria to be emphasized in determining who got bank loans, as opposed to more traditional fiduciary considerations.

Not coincidentally, the boom in housing began in the mid-1990s. Various groups traditionally considered unqualified to afford mortgages began to purchase homes. Lenders created the adjustable rate mortgages to make initial purchases possible with the expectation that payees would be able to continue making payments as rates went up, and if not, that rising house values would enable them to sell at a profit and get on with their lives in housing they could actually afford.

Fast forward to 2005, the bottom fell out of the housing market, the poor got hit with balloon payments they never should have been expected to make, speculators simply walked away from their mortgages, and Republicans are beginning to warn the people like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd about the impending financial disaster.

Speaking plainly, this is a Democratic party-induced problem. Using the banking industry for liberal social engineering "deregulated" the banking industry, not Republicans, and not free-market principles. Allowing the same politicians to micro-manage the "fix" is putting the fox in charge of the hen-house.

Henry V. Soldat

Norton