Letters from Sac Bee

Doolittle and morality
Rick Morgan's letter ("Doolittle foes' short memories," July 24) amazed me with its warped logic. Morgan attempted to justify Congressman John Doolittle's immorality by pointing to previous practitioners of sleazy behavior. Yes, politicians of both parties bend rules to their personal benefit, and they should be slammed for it.
Did Doolittle use his wife to skim off a percentage of his political money and put it in his bank account? That was immoral.
Did Doolittle vote for Bush's imperialistic war in Iraq? That was immoral.
Did Doolittle vote for tax cuts for the wealthy while supporting benefit cuts for the poor? That was immoral.
Did Doolittle grease the skids for Indian casinos while supposedly being opposed to gambling? That was immoral.
Did Doolittle vote to give huge cash benefits to Big Oil and Big Drug companies? That was immoral.
Did Doolittle take money from a defense contractor and push through acquisition of a weapon the Pentagon did not want? That was immoral.
Beneficiaries of Doolittle's immorality are glad to cross his palm with handsome checks. That is immoral.
There is a vast difference between illegal and immoral. It's time to put morality back into the public sphere.
- Darrell Walker, Lincoln

Doolittle delivers for Abramoff
Robert Nielsen's letter ("In defense of Doolittle," July 24) says that Rep. John Doolittle's actions are "aboveboard, legal and straightforward. He hides nothing." If he hides nothing, why don't I recall him explaining to his constituents why he thought it to be in their interest to intervene with the Department of Interior in the Iowan Indian gaming issue? I agree with Nielsen, though, on one point: It was straightforward. Jack Abramoff paid him (or his wife, through her customary 15 percent), and he delivered.
- Thomas Cluster, Lincoln

The tax fix is in for the super rich
Re "IRS to nearly halve the number of lawyers who audit the richest," July 23: David Cay Johnston, who wrote the article and also wrote the book, "Perfectly Legal, the Covert Campaign To Rig Our Tax System To Benefit the Super Rich -- and Cheat Everybody Else," unmasks
another GOP technique for transferring wealth from the middle class to the wealthy: Don't audit their returns. Nearly half of the lawyers who audit the richest Americans are being fired. Obviously, halving the audits will halve the number of wealthy tax cheats who are caught. While working- and middle-class wages cannot keep up with inflation, the wealthy are pocketing more and more of the money generated by the economy. The $296 billion tax deficit that the president proclaimed was an improvement over the inflated projection of six months ago fails to take into account the $170 billion generated by Social Security and Medicare taxes. That means an actual deficit of $466 billion.
If this Republican Congress refuses to ensure that the wealthy pay their fair share, the burden falls on the middle class and our children and grandchildren. The choice the GOP is forcing on the middle class is higher taxes or cuts in social programs (Social Security and Medicare). Meanwhile, the wealthy laugh all the way to the bank.
- Linda C. Hall, Rocklin