Democrats are the party of the rich

All my life we have been lead to believe that the Republican Party was the party of the rich. It now appears that the political party that has been pounding this into our heads has been misleading us. In Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz’s Democratic opponent has raised over $70 million to fund his campaign. In my state of North Dakota, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp has raised over $27 million for her re-election campaign.

To my knowledge, there is no Republican running for the United States Senate that comes close to raising this kind of money.

Figures do not lie. The Democratic Party is the party of the rich and it appears that they do not mind spending their money so they stay rich.

Ray Zajac,

Lidgerwood

Better debate needed on taxation

People across the state of North Dakota are seeing their property taxes going up this year. This comes at a hard time especially for farmers and small business owners as well as homeowners. Farmers were hit by a drought a year ago, and now are being hit with too much moisture, low prices for their grains and tariffs.

Property tax was supposed to receive some relief from the state Legislature. In 2015, however, the Legislature chose to give tax relief to the oil companies instead of continuing their commitment to provide property tax relief to schools and other governmental entities.

In 2015 the Legislature changed the oil production tax from 6.5 percent to 5 percent. They could have eliminated the trigger on the tax but chose to reduce the tax instead. The result has been a loss of revenue of some $274 million that first biennium. In 2018 the loss of revenue to the State was about $24.5 million every month! That amounts to $295 million in lost revenue, and the forecast is another $235 million next year.

Oil production in North Dakota is important, but not more important than our farmers, small business owners nor citizens. In my opinion, oil production would have continued and expanded even with the 6.5 percent tax rate on oil. Did those big oil companies really need their tax lowered more than our farmers and citizens?

We need a better debate in our Legislature as to how best to have fair taxation.

David Smette,

Jamestown

Knowledge of freedom and liberty

From the beginning of recorded time and human history, mankind has sought after knowledge. In our human desire to be a “know it all”, Genesis recounts the temptation presented to partake of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil. What appeared good to the eye and the words sounded good to the ear was, in reality, an invitation to disobedience to seek after being “as smart as” God. The belief entered in that we humans are capable of choosing what is best for us individually, and as a society, without any standard of what is morally right or wrong. This belief has literally become an issue of life and death for the young and old, as well as those who are mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually in need of true mercy.

In personally coming to understand that what I once believed was kind, good and acceptable was instead cruel, evil and deadly was a humiliating, life-changing experience. My thoughts, actions and feelings were wrong! I had “bought the lie” that I knew better than God! I was wrong! Deathly wrong, along with the 70,000 North Dakotans and the 77 million Americans who once believed (or still do) that abortion on demand is good. I repented! Coming to the Knowledge of Salvation by receiving the forgiveness for wrong thinking, wrong feeling and wrong acting is true freedom and liberty! Confession freed me from the guilt and lies I had once believed. My prayer is that Dakotans and all Americans will also be freed to vote, live and act in the true biblical knowledge of what is good.

Sharon Maulding,

Jamestown