Netlets for Tuesday, Sept. 23

In the midst of national economic crisis, phony presidential debates The presidential debates begin on Friday. The candidates square off to debate the important issues of the day to help us choose the person who best represents our interests.

I'm joking, of course.

Only the "major" party candidates are allowed into the debates. And there is no real debate, just answers to pre-approved questions. Worse, these so-called debates are controlled by the Republicans and Democrats and large corporations. The Commission on Presidential Debates is headed by Paul Kirk and Frank Fahrenkopf, former heads of the two parties.

During a time of national economic crisis, it is imperative that another voice be allowed into the debates. Ralph Nader, a man who has long predicted the present meltdown on Wall Street, deserves to be included and show the citizens of our country what a real debate looks like.

Barack Obama and John McCain are loath to debate Nader, of course because he would bring up an embarrassing point: Not only are the Democratic and Republican parties both guilty of causing this crisis, but two of the most notorious Wall Street toadies are associated with the Obama and McCain campaigns: Obama's Robert Rubin, a major Clinton administration force behind the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, and McCain pal, Phil Gramm, Rubin's Republican counterpart in that corporate-friendly decision. Further, Rubin was also among the first to benefit personally from it, in moving from his Treasury position to co-direct the newly merged investment/commercial banking conglomerate Citigroup. Rubin and Lawrence Summers of Clinton's Treasury Department were the guiding forces for financial deregulation. Now, President Bush -- with candidate McCain's and a Washington, D.C., bipartisan blessing -- will bail out the Republicans' largest group of campaign contributors, the Wall Street no-risk "gamblers."

Just who is ready to seriously take on the largest and most inequitable transfer of wealth since the land giveaways to the railroad barons during the Civil War era? Not Barack Obama, not John McCain. My fellow citizens, it's time to rise up, question the status quo that says third-party candidates are not worth your vote, and support public citizen No. 1: Ralph Nader.

MARTIN J. SCHOEN, ROSEVILLE

In the S&L crisis, RTC bought S&L assets at a discount using taxpayer funds (about $400 billion). Then private parties bought the assets from RTC for pennies on the dollar, making a huge killing at taxpayer expense. Rumors had it that Bush allies figured prominently among RTC asset buyers. It was never investigated.

The blank-check approach used by Paulson looks custom-made to set up a similar scheme for converting taxpayer funds to private wealth. A bailout may be essential, but Congress needs to assure that proper safeguards are included in the authorizing legislation. We do not want to compound a problem caused by insufficient regulation with a solution that has even less regulation.

ROBERT VEITCH, MINNEAPOLIS

Corporate welfare, and voters will take note The Bush administration that won't provide funds for children's health care, helping the homeowners in foreclosure, scientific research and quality education for our children has the nerve to ask the taxpayers to bail out the Wall Street establishments.

If this is not welfare for the rich and powerful, what else is it? The voters will speak in November to bring back a government that will look after the ordinary citizens and not solely the greedy investment firms.

You wanna know irony? Out in the West Metro, the Republicans have set up their campaign headquarters office in the closed offices of Edward Jones Financial Services. Hmmm? Interesting. Go McCain! Go Norm! Go away already!

CHARLENE TALLEN, MAPLE PLAIN

I'm a confused taxpayer, with a question: Why is it when Hugo Chavez nationalizes a profitable oil company's assets he's considered a flaming socialist -- a menace; however, when Paulson/Bush nationalize a very unprofitable insurance company they're supposedly saving our democracy/economy?

TOM ATKINSON, EDEN PRAIRIE

This past Saturday I was surprised to view a political TV ad wherein the distraught parents of an Army major killed in Iraq blamed Sen. Norm Coleman for their son's death.

Norm Coleman, aided by numerous Democratic members of Congress (a majority I believe) including Hillary Rodham Clinton and a recent Democratic vice presidential nominee, supported the invasion of Iraq. While it seems now that the Democratic Party is a Summer Time Soldier who wishes to flee the field of battle when blood is spilled, the party as a whole is complicit up to its waist in the decision to go to battle.

It ill becomes them to exploit the natural grief the deceased major's parents to avoid their collective responsibility, and blame it selectively on others.