Regarding the recent letters to the editor concerning a conservative voice in the paper: I think it was a reasonable request. There is a large audience for conservative and libertarian thinking in the Cape Region. My opinion is supported by the fact that decidedly conservative WGMD is our most popular regional radio station, according to the rating agencies.
I took the time to read the letter from Kuenhl, which started the exchange and I was struck by the difference in tone between the Kuenhl and Freeman letters. Where Kuenhl took aim at the Cape Gazette and its able, but decidedly left-leaning Mr. Flood, Freeman immediately launched into derogatory, ad hominem, attacks against Kuenhl, Bachman and Cruz. In his zeal to defame a compelling argument for balance, Freeman decided to cast a wider net, condemning, "nearly all right wing" newsys, the rich and FNC commentators. I'm surprised he did not mention Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and a few other successful conservative voices.
It is obvious Freeman has been long gone from the GOP, as he admitted. So long that he has forgotten, or never knew or read such conservative media luminaries from the tim frame as: Gigot, Will, Krauthammer, Noonan, Ingraham, O'Grady, Malkin, Caroline Baum, Don Bartlett, West, Sowell, Steele, Buchanan, Buckley, Kilpatrick, Drudge, Breitbart, Jason Riley Evans, Novac, Britt Hume, Kristol, John Mcwhorter and a whole host of others.
The most egregious errors however, occurred in his misunderstanding or distortion of the practice of mathematics, statistics and calendar sequence. Rather than dispute all his economic nonsense, I will only point out that there are major differences between monetary policy and the annual budget deficit versus the balance sheet and the long term debt interest payment that is part of the annual budget.
Most folks who "get" economics will recognize that the lower current annual deficit is directly attributable to the FED lowering interest rates to the zero-3.5 percent range and the Treasury and FED refinancing the federal debt with extremely short term and low interest debt instruments. When the nominal rates on the bill and bond spreads revert to mean the interest payment on the debt will trebble or more.
The prime rate on Jan. 2008 was 7.75 percent, currently 2.87 percent. A one-year T-bill .0475 current is .0025 percent. The debt has gone from $10.4 trillion 1/25/2008 to $17.5 trillion today. You do the math. You may verify the numbers here: U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time and here: Interest Rate Comparison Charts - MoneyCafe.com. I won't bother to characterize or cast aspersions toward Mr. Freeman; his letter speaks for itself.
John McDonald
Rehoboth Beach
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