Regarding Jack Till's Oct. 11 letter, "Rep., stay in background": Oh, for heaven's sake! If Till wants more troops sent to Afghanistan, fine; he should go! Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who was elected by people aware of his dedication to New Mexicans' interests, and who relentlessly listens to his constituents, is speaking for me. Enough young men and women sent to "fight for our freedom" already!

President Barack Obama, like Rep. Luján, is weighing the costs and benefits of continued sacrifice and is expressing a different approach to solving our problems in Afghanistan than simply putting more troops on the ground. Surely we cannot send troops to all the countries who may harbor terrorists, including our own cities, towns and countrysides.


In contrast to reader Jack Till's derogatory and uncivil chiding of Rep. Ben Ray Luján for opposing "President Barack Obama and an Army general" in their requests to increase U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan, I commend our freshman congressman for courageously standing up for his convictions on this very complex issue. No outside armies have won in Afghanistan in more than 1,000 years, and it is highly unlikely that the U.S. and its U.N. allies will have any better success than the many earlier efforts.

What is certain is that an escalation of this war will result in the deaths of more soldiers, many more civilians, and will increase the dislike of these troops and their governments, whom many in the Afghan public consider to be foreign invaders, not saviors. I hope that the rest of the New Mexico congressional delegation will agree with Rep. Luján, and oppose Obama on this critical matter.


Park proposal

Regarding "National Park Service offers best future for Valles" (Oct. 11): Phil Young proposes adding the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the national park system.

This is the best idea. Under the National Park Service stewardship, the preserve would serve, inspire and inform all the people. The spectacular beauty, biodiversity, prehistory and history would be protected. In addition, this exceptional heritage, wildlife and wildness offers opportunities for educational and youth programs. Let's make this unique area a gift to the American people and to future generations.


Slicing the budget

We don't have a state budget deficit. We have bloated spending. We need less government. I urge my elected representatives in the Legislature to support
$650 million in spending. And that includes education.



Regarding the state budget deficit, it would be nuts to raise tax rates. States with the highest tax rates, like California and New York, have the biggest deficits. What happened is that rich people quit work or moved to states with no state income tax, like Nevada, Washington, and Texas. To raise more revenue, California is finally getting smart by cutting tax rates and flattening the tax brackets.

I want education spending to be slashed. Spending has skyrocketed in the last few years because the teachers' union has a stranglehold on our Legislature. We would better educate our children for half the cost if we went to all charter schools.


Regarding to Oct. 11 article, "Budget Battle Escalates": Lawmakers would like us to think that cutting money from teachers and schools is the only option in these lean economic times. Baloney. The Rail Runner was planned during depressing economic times and it cost $1 billion to build. It will cost $20 million a year to operate. How did Richardson and company (lawmakers) find the money?

Vision. If you want something bad enough, you find a way. If you don't want something, you make excuses the public won't understand (because they aren't true) about how the economy, raising taxes, etc., won't let you do it.

Lawmakers pushed the train and space port because they wanted them. Cutting expenses from teachers and schools in not acceptable. We want them. Where there's a will, there's a way.



Pay cut or tax increase? Because of the mishandling of funds by the state Public Employees Retirement Association board, public-school teachers have been made to contribute an additional 1.5 percent of their salary to cover losses. Now we are told by the state Legislature to expect a 2.5 percent cut in pay. Together, this amounts to 4 percent of our total salary.

Few, if any, New Mexicans pay more than 4 percent of their gross income in state income taxes. The Legislature is effectively trying to solve its budget woes by increasing taxes more than 100 percent on working-class families. Could this increase be shared by all taxpayers? Almost every classroom in New Mexico begins its day with the Pledge of Allegiance, which as you know, ends with the three words "justice for all." I hope I don't have to burst into laughter each morning as my class recites the pledge.