The budget also requests $81.9 billion more for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan making the cost of this war, which can never be won, over $300 billion to date. Let us get out of this quagmire and let both countries return to a dictatorship or fight civil wars among themselves.

My federal and state income taxes are exorbitant and the tax code is so complicated I have to have a professional tax person prepare my tax returns and he requires substantiation of absolutely every item.

I am not ashamed to admit that if I was smart enough to prepare my own returns, I would have absolutely no qualm about cheating on them, since I would rationalize that I was not cheating, but merely making an attempt at fairness.

Donald C. Mehaffey

Lodi