Sorry about the >'s, but read.
> Small town appeal or appealing small towns?
>
> Sarah Palin has small town appeal. She hunts, rides a snow
> mobile, and did
> not attend a hoity-toity law school in the northeast.
> She's practically the
> girl next door.
>
> Small town appeal is fine, but I want policies that make
> our small towns
> appealing places to live! I have seen small towns turn from
> centers of
> commerce and community into blocks of empty buildings;
> small businesses
> pushed out by big box stores; small farms driven under by
> corporate
> agribusinesses; fertile farmland turned to condos; failed
> schools; and
> increases in crime and drug use. Is this the small town
> America we love?
>
> I want to live in a small town where I can feed my family
> safe, healthy food
> grown by the farmer down the road. I want that farmer to
> make a real living
> without unfair competition from factory farms and pressure
> from development.
> I want to live a small town with a public school that
> provides a first rate
> education. I want my children to find meaningful work in
> our community. I
> want a vibrant rural America!
>
> I went to the McCain-Palin website to see exactly what the
> "small town
> candidates" planned to do for rural America. Rural
> issues were not even
> listed on the webpage! The closest thing were some standard
> answers on how
> to stimulate the economy - lower taxes, etc. - the same
> thing that we've
> heard every election year, but that has failed to change
> anything. We
> deserve better!
>
> Barack Obama has a plan for rural America. He will close
> loopholes so that
> family farms are not competing against masquerading
> agribusinesses. He will
> push for country of origin labeling so that consumers can
> choose local
> foods. He will support a packer ban to allow independent
> beef, chicken, and
> pork farmers access to slaughterhouses so that they can
> sell products
> legally. He will propose tax incentives to make it easier
> for young people
> to afford starting farms. He will work with landowners to
> conserve open
> spaces. He has a plan for the creation of rural jobs,
> improvement of rural
> schools, action to combat meth and more. Read the entire,
> detailed, plan at
> http://www.barackobama.com/issues/rural/.
>
> I have waited for years for a politician to acknowledge
> these issues. Yes,
> these are just campaign promises, but they are the best
> plan I've seen for
> small town America. Sarah Palin is a small town girl, but
> without a plan to
> deal with small town issues, this small town girl says
> "thanks, but no
> thanks".
>
>
>
> -Jessica Vernay Wilson
>
> Monteagle, Tennessee
>
> Sarah Palin has small town appeal. She hunts, rides a snow
> mobile, and did
> not attend a hoity-toity law school in the northeast.
> She's practically the
> girl next door.
>
> Small town appeal is fine, but I want policies that make
> our small towns
> appealing places to live! I have seen small towns turn from
> centers of
> commerce and community into blocks of empty buildings;
> small businesses
> pushed out by big box stores; small farms driven under by
> corporate
> agribusinesses; fertile farmland turned to condos; failed
> schools; and
> increases in crime and drug use. Is this the small town
> America we love?
>
> I want to live in a small town where I can feed my family
> safe, healthy food
> grown by the farmer down the road. I want that farmer to
> make a real living
> without unfair competition from factory farms and pressure
> from development.
> I want to live a small town with a public school that
> provides a first rate
> education. I want my children to find meaningful work in
> our community. I
> want a vibrant rural America!
>
> I went to the McCain-Palin website to see exactly what the
> "small town
> candidates" planned to do for rural America. Rural
> issues were not even
> listed on the webpage! The closest thing were some standard
> answers on how
> to stimulate the economy - lower taxes, etc. - the same
> thing that we've
> heard every election year, but that has failed to change
> anything. We
> deserve better!
>
> Barack Obama has a plan for rural America. He will close
> loopholes so that
> family farms are not competing against masquerading
> agribusinesses. He will
> push for country of origin labeling so that consumers can
> choose local
> foods. He will support a packer ban to allow independent
> beef, chicken, and
> pork farmers access to slaughterhouses so that they can
> sell products
> legally. He will propose tax incentives to make it easier
> for young people
> to afford starting farms. He will work with landowners to
> conserve open
> spaces. He has a plan for the creation of rural jobs,
> improvement of rural
> schools, action to combat meth and more. Read the entire,
> detailed, plan at
> http://www.barackobama.com/issues/rural/.
>
> I have waited for years for a politician to acknowledge
> these issues. Yes,
> these are just campaign promises, but they are the best
> plan I've seen for
> small town America. Sarah Palin is a small town girl, but
> without a plan to
> deal with small town issues, this small town girl says
> "thanks, but no
> thanks".
>
>
>
> -Jessica Vernay Wilson
>
> Monteagle, Tennessee