To the editor:

Financial institutions are crumbling because of lack of simple requirements of mortgagors, such as carrying for a few years the mortgages they originate.

Thank people like Phil Gramm, who McCain says he wants for Treasury Secretary, for this deregulation, too, in addition to oil futures and electricity deregulation, which the 7/17/08 WSJ headlined “Deregulation Jolts Texas Electricity Users.”

We need reregulation. “The Buck Stops Here” (at the President) isn’t just a Truman truism, but true for federal spending, taxes, and debt. We should be concerned about the fundamentals of government policy.

Federal debt as percentage of the economy decreased from 125 percent of the economy in 1946 to 33 percent by 1980, as federal spending was under 20 percent of the economy.

Reagan and George I increased federal spending to 22-25 percent of the economy and the federal debt to 100 percent of the economy. Clinton reduced federal spending to 20 percent of the economy and the federal debt to 65percent of the economy and l eft office with a projected $5 trillion surplus, which George II turned into $4 trillion additional debt and increased federal spending back up to 21+ percent of the economy.

McCain-Palin accuse Obama of getting earmarks for Illinois and that they are earmark reformers.

Actually, Illinois citizens pay into Washington about $1,500 per person more than Illinois receives while Arizona receives $1,450 more than its citizens send in and Alaska $8,500—making Alaska easily #1 at the federal trough.

Where is western rugged individualism without having hands out for more dollars from Washington?

It is even more outrageous that Palin would try to fire a librarian for not going along with her suggested book ban (no specific books mentioned originally) or for being disloyal by supporting her election opponent.

Librarians usually hold non-political positions and have the right to support any candidate; they also don’t earn enough to move with every change in city leadership. I had thought that only Fascists and Communists banned books, but the American Library Association has a

Banned Books Website: www. ala.org/bbooks.

McCain and Palin favor Ukraine and Georgia becoming NATO members without consideration of the consequences. How would the U.S. feel if Russia was encouraging Mexico into a pact with Russia and if Russia was placing missiles there? This is how unnecessary wars start, and this one would probably involve nuclear weapons.

Roland James

Seguin, Texas