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• Lodi man rescues elderly woman from oncoming train

• Hoping to succeed Nakanishi

• Galt considers first Farmers Market a success

• John McCain coming to Stockton next week

• Regional Roundup

• Public Meetings

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

• Chase ends in crash

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

November 17th, 2009

• Clarification

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• Regional Roundup

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

November 13th, 2009

• What to expect with new homebuyer tax credit

• Lodi Muslim: Local mosque not involved

• Regional Roundup

• Mayor Larry Hansen points out Lodi's economic progress

• First phase of Lockeford park by 2011?

• Lodi veteran recounts close calls in Vietnam

• Burglary suspects are under arrest

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (154)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (67)
• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise (58)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (48)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Lodi Flames slim playoff chances vanish in setback to Tracy Bulldogs (25)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Public health care is a Christian option (25)
• Nightmares about America's future (23)

ADVERTISEMENT

There is another choice-Independent

As a child and adolescent growing up in America in the 1950s and 1960s, during the Cold War era, I was taught that America is a bastion of Christianity and morality in the world and capitalism was to be promoted and spread around the world as a great and good thing.

On the other hand, Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba and other countries of the Communist Bloc were the epitome of evil that oppressed millions throughout the world and that communism should be eradicated. I never questioned this. As a young man, I dutifully went to Vietnam to fight communism, thinking not only was I fulfilling a moral obligation to my country, but to God as well.

Now, I'm not so sure about all that. I'm not saying I was lied to deliberately. I think the whole country was misled. My doubts sprung from a most unexpected source-the Holy Bible, Gods word, which I hold dearer than the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. As far as I know from what I've read in God's Word-and I have yet to be corrected if I'm wrong-neither is capitalism necessarily "good" nor is communism necessarily "bad," and this is in spite of what so-called religious right-wing Republicans would have us believe.

Now, I am not a communist nor do I plan on becoming one, so don't roll over in your grave Senator McCathy; although I am not impressed with what I have seen as the results of capitalism in our country lately. I'm no Democrat either because I know that what is on their agenda is an abomination to God and man.

In other words, I think many Americans, besides myself, are not only fed up with the Democrats' Godless liberalism but also the Republicans' hypocritical conservatism. So please remember that at the polls.

There are other political parties with candidates running for office. The two big do-nothing-for-the-average-American parties have had their chance too many times and failed. Isn't it about time someone else besides a Democrat or a Republican has a chance to occupy the White House and screw up the country for a change?

John Cooper
Stockton