President Barack Obama initiated hundreds of drone strikes against foreign territories and instrumentalities without first seeking a specific authorization from Congress for the use of military force. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at that time opined that Obama was not mandated to proffer such advance warning to Congress.
As commander in chief, Obama was entitled to the flexibility necessary to effectuate tactical strikes without congressional intervention or operational restriction.
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Now President Donald Trump has taken decisive action to neutralize a known terrorist responsible for more than 600 American deaths and an indeterminate number of life-long catastrophic injuries to true national heroes — American GIs.
But Trump gets blasted by these same Democrats and the mainstream media.
The war powers resolution passed by the Democratic-controlled House this week, though not legally binding on the president, limits his powers as commander in chief to direct tactical military operations.
What a useless waste of time.
Earl Beal, Terre Haute
Free property taxes for retirees
I never gave much thought to property taxes until the early 1990s when I was out of work a lot, and then here comes the property tax bill.
I thought, wait a minute. I’m not working. I was even getting unemployment checks for a while. And you want me to pay property taxes, too?
I learned then that two thirds of my property taxes went for schools. Obvious answer: Schools should be funded by the income tax, not a property tax. The state should decide a minimum dollar amount per student, and this should be raised through an income tax.
If school districts want to spend more above that amount, they should be free to raise more, but property taxes would still be substantially lower than they are now.
In Illinois, this money would need to be kept separate from the general fund, otherwise the state will use at least some of it for other things.
Now I’m thinking about property taxes again, because they want to tax us out of our house. I am not working again. (I don’t say retired, because that sounds voluntary.) We have lived in our house for 45 years, but now we may have to move because taxes keep going up. Oh, they have a senior freeze for the poorest seniors, but you just can’t keep raising taxes on people who are not working. Not only is it absurd, but it’s cruel.
If we have to move, my wife would really love to move to Michigan. We vacation there, and she has family there.
When people are retired, their property taxes should be frozen. Period.
Larry Craig, Wilmette
