Views
"Religion, Sexual Orientation and the Law"
Where are the Public Father Figures?
You're Welcome,
Karen Kerin!
You're Welcome, Karen Kerin!
by Steve Stowell
I would like to thank Karen Kerin for giving me the opportunity to point out all of the flaws in her response to my letter. Miss Kerin doesn’t remember mentioning the 2000 Presidential Election results, but her August column stated, “The year started with [the] inauguration of a new president, some of whom thought to have stolen the election because he did not win the popular vote. Alas, our constitutional republic ingeniously provides for a balancing of the votes via the college of electors in such a way as to assure the states have proportional representation rather than a simple majority representation. Most Americans, after all the brou-ha-ha, approved of the new president.”
As I pointed out previously, most Americans did not approve of Mr. Bush before September 11, 2001, because he did steal the election. That was not my theory; it is a fact that anyone interested can read more about in two wonderful books: The Betrayal of America, How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President, by Vincent Bugliosi, and Supreme Injustice, How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000, by Alan Dershowitz. I fully agree that “this is a troubling allegation,” and this fact should disturb us all. I, too, Miss Kerin, am not ready to abandon a legal system that has provided stability for nearly all the life of this nation. I would like to have a Supreme Court that abides by the Constitution, as Justices Rehnquest, Thomas, O’Connor, Kennedy, and Scalia did not.
And Miss Kerin’s illogical comparison of this heinous act with the Vermont Supreme Court granting Civil Unions based on the Vermont constitution is ludicrous. Miss Kerin claims that, “Senator Jeffords did something that was not admirable to anyone, no matter the political persuasion.” Actually, this is contrary to every poll done in Vermont after Jeffords switched parties. Jim Jeffords is not perfect, and I don’t agree with him on every vote he has cast; but he stood up for his principles, the same principles that he ran on. That cannot be said of George W. Bush, who cast himself as a moderate during the election campaign and then aligned himself with the most conservative Republicans afterward. Everyone knew Jeffords’ beliefs differed from the Vermont Republican platform, but apparently Vermont Republicans supported him anyway just because of his party affiliation. I have always voted for Jeffords, even though I consider myself a Democrat.
Jeffords did not run “for office under a false flag.” Miss Kerin just refused to see the truth. When Senator Jeffords realized the Bush Administration was only nominating the most extreme conservatives for cabinet positions, he defected. Jeffords’ act was courageous because he stood up for what he believed in against the grain of his own party. Most Vermonters applauded his decision precisely because it was not out of character. And that’s what made him a hero.
I appreciate Miss Kerin giving me more information about the Kyoto Accord and the Stockholm Rules. Yet, she doesn’t address the concerns of the European Union that the United States would not sign this accord because the Bush Administration decided they needed more information about global warming. I recommend anyone interested in learning more about global warming read Earth in the Balance by Al Gore. There was great discord between the United States and our allies over this. With Senator Jeffords’ party switch, there is a very good chance the Senate would ratify this protocol.
As for the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty, Miss Kerin ignores the fact that German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, French President, Jacques Chirac, and Russian President, Vladimir Putin were all in favor of keeping it in force.
Just because the Cold War no longer exists doesn’t mean that we should build ballistic missiles. If the events of September 11 and what has happened afterward have taught us anything, it is that our enemies will attack us in unconventional ways. Extra missiles would not have stopped the plane hijackings or the cases of Anthrax. We need to work on countering biological and chemical weapons. I hope the Bush Administration will be up to the challenge, but I am so far discouraged. Did we even present our case against Osama bin Laden to the World Court before the US and British forces attacked Afghanistan?
In summary, let me say that I cannot fathom how Miss Kerin can deny the facts about Senator Jeffords and the 2000 presidential election. Does she listen to only the most conservative Republicans? Her comment that I need to “remove the shroud from the light of truth” was ridiculous considering the lies she presented. Karen Kerin obviously does not “choose to be honest and forthright.” Miss Kerin needs to move out of the cave she’s been living in and join the rest of us in the light of truth. Education leads to enlightenment, and I have recommended books to help Miss Kerin in her journey. But given her column in the October 2001 issue, I fear it may be too late.