Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

Watching and listening to the politicians on the campaign trail is getting absurd. With all the talk, they never really say anything. They all talk about cutting spending. I think they should start in Washington with their own pay first and show me they can really cut something and show me they are serious.

Anything other than that is just more lip service. I have friends in machine shops that are union. The unions want more money in dues from the membership, and the membership has to pay more money for benefits. Why are the unions broke? Why do the unions give so much money to the politicians, instead of investing that money for the benefit of the members? At your next union meeting, you should ask.

G.E. shut down a union shop in Virginia that made light bulbs and sent that plant to Mexico, eliminating almost ten thousand union jobs. Where was the union screaming fowl to the politicians they gave all that money to? G.E. also sent the large home appliance division to Mexico. Where were the sheet metal and electrical unions screaming foul? Where are the unions who are supposed to be there to help those members keep their dues-paying jobs instead of asking for more money from them?

With the trucks coming across from Mexico that do not need the expensive smog and safety equipment and drug testing our American drivers do, where is the Teamsters? They give millions to the politicians. They are the ones who should be pounding on the desk of every politician who held their hand out for money from the dues from our hard working American truck drivers. For nothing.

So, now here we have a governor hell bent on this high speed rail thing. Why is the Railroad Union sitting on its thumbs on this deal? The Governor of California is no different than the head of household bread winner. Mr. Governor, your children are without food and shelter. Why are you out buying yourself a new electric train set, when your children need shoes? He wants to steal the money from the children’s piggy bank, (RDA funds), for a new train. A Chinese train set at that, made with Chinese rail, that the Chinese get to play with and we have to pay for it all in the name of the environment.

The US Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier makes 420,000 gallons of fresh water daily. At one time making fresh water from sea water was an expensive undertaking. Now we have the technology, this can be done far cheaper than this canal deal. At what cost to the environment is it too expensive to make fresh water, than it is to take all the fresh water from the lakes and ship it to Disneyland? Thanks to Boxer, the once green lush south valley is now a desert. At least Disneyland is green. Saudi Arabia has been making fresh water for over twenty five years, and we built it. The machines that dug the canal were made in Stockton in 1978. I know because I helped build it. And, that shop was union.

And now, this Medicare stuff really stinks. We have all seen the commercials on TV. They start out, “If you are on Medicare, we will handle the paper work”. An example of this is the one for the little home scooter. Here is what you do: the next time you see the commercial, call the number they give. Do not give your name, but just ask how much it is to buy one on your own. They will not tell you, period. Then wait a few days and keep checking your mail box. They start sending you stuff to your home address they get from the number your phone gives, with your name on it. These people and businesses like that charge the maximum Medicare allows them to charge, even though it costs thousands of dollars to make, ship, and service. This list goes on, diabetes supplies, catheters, the personal home alert thing you wear if you fall, the stand-up bath tub.

This is giving me a headache ... I need some medical marijuana so I can get rid of this headache and have more confidence in myself. The only problem is there are too many teenagers in line ahead of me making way too much noise. I think I’ll just go watch Bill O’Reilly.

Gary Duran
Manteca
Dec. 27, 2011