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PrintRep. Murtha is no expert on all these conflicts
So U.S. Rep. John Murtha wants an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, according to the Aug. 2 article "Once Again, Murtha Breaks With Bush." What a stunning revelation.
I would imagine that the Israelis whose cities and towns are being bombed by Hezbollah would prefer a cease-fire too, as would those unfortunate innocent Lebanese civilians caught in the middle because Hezbollah has chosen to make human shields of them.
And what another stunning revelation. Rep. Murtha lost little time in your article selecting a parallel between the Israel/Hezbollah conflict and our involvement in Iraq. That conflict, of course, is the keystone of his (much enjoyed, I'm sure) rise to national prominence.
Agreed: No one wants innocent deaths on either side of both these conflicts. Also agreed: Get our troops out of Iraq ASAP before more of them die or are maimed trying to make Iraq something that no factions in that war want it to be -- a democracy.
However, since when does being a veteran (even a decorated one) make any legislator an expert on military strategy or give any legislator the right to issue proclamations to foreign countries? Let the congressman rant all he wants on the Iraq conflict. Many of us are to one degree or another in agreement on getting out of that quagmire. What we don't need is an "all-Murtha-all-the-time" view of every conflict that breaks out around the world. He's not qualified to be such a pundit.
LARRY SLATER
Mt. Lebanon
Hollywood's calling
I was wondering what Rick Santorum was going to do after he lost the next election.
Then I saw his new ad on television and I had the answer. He could be the next M. Night Shyamalan and make his own horror movies.
His new ad shows a snarling Arab-type man, people (gasp) burning the flag and I'm sure there are a couple of "those" gay people running around in there as well.
He then promises to save us from "them." He could star in his own movie and be the hero "Super Rickey Farrright" and save us all!
JOAN KOSINSKI
Baden
Swann not ready
Regarding George Will's July 24 column, "Swann's Uphill Battle": Voters in Pennsylvania should decide the gubernatorial election based on the qualifications of the major candidates, not their race. I would support a highly qualified African-American candidate for governor who had a demonstrated, sterling, distinguished track record of accomplishment, achievement and success in the area of politics, business, labor and industry, academia -- someone similar to Virginia's former governor, Douglas Wilder.
Mr. Will fails to point out that Mr. Swann, unlike the Bush brothers, has no viable executive or administrative job experience and that most of his experience has been on the sidelines as an ABC football color analyst and between the two lines as a wide receiver.
Additionally, Mr. Swann's board service on Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports remotely qualifies one to be governor of the sixth-largest state with a budget of $26 billion. Furthermore, Mr. Swann has a questionable ambiguous voting record, which is evidence of poor citizenship.
Quite frankly, I am embarrassed by Mr. Swann's affirmative action candidacy, which is closely tied to President Bush and cohorts. All the Republican capital and the exuberance of the Santorum campaign cannot propel Mr. Swann out of his starting block into the governor's race. Gov. Ed Rendell is really running against Tom Ridge.
Thus, Mr. Swann is merely a "yes" man for the Republican establishment whose campaign is dull, rather boorish and lacks clarity.
RONALD B. SAUNDERS
Penn Hills
Can't we do better?
I met Lynn Swann at the country music festival Downtown, and asked him the question that's been on my mind. I asked if he had ever been elected to anything. The answer was eighth-grade homeroom president. Perfect qualification for governor.
By the way, I'm not an Ed Rendell supporter either. He seems to be a lifelong politician so beholden to special interests that the people are a minor concern, if at all.
Is this the best we can do?
I'm afraid with all the hostility and negativity around politics and politicians, it may be. Who in his right mind would want to expose himself or herself to being slimed by groups supporting the opponent?
SAMUEL CHODOSH
Squirrel Hill
Attack on smokers
The cigarette Nazis are at it again. Now some lawmakers are attempting to discriminate against, alienate and vilify a group of people just because of a personal habit. And if the state doesn't get their way, then the country will try ("County Council, Health Board to Work Together on Smoking Ban," July 28). If not the county then the city of Pittsburgh will take its shot. This is wrong.
The banning of cigarette smoking in public places is a blatant act of discrimination as well as treating a large percentage of the population as though they are second-class citizens.
Why not just have smokers drink out of separate water fountains too? This is the United States of America. There is no place for discrimination of any kind in this country, and banning smoking in all public places is discriminatory.
The way of thinking displayed by the anti-smoking population is no different than the way of thinking used by the Ku Klux Klan. It is derived from contempt, vindication and hatred.
There is no place for that anywhere in the United States, especially right here in Pittsburgh, the place I call home. I urge all lawmakers to vote against the ban on smoking in public places. Stop the cigarette Nazis and their evil plan. It's the right thing to do.
Now, don't go thinking I am a pack-a-day smoker. The words you have just read come from a nonsmoker.
JOHN FLEISCHMAN
Lawrenceville
Religious radicals
Radical fundamentalist religion is creating enormous problems throughout the world, especially in the Middle East, causing unrest and instability across the region. Iran has the mullahs and their theocracy. Gaza and the West Bank have Hamas. Israel has its far-right religious parties and the theocratic ultra-Orthodox. Lebanon has Hezbollah. Egypt has the Muslim Brotherhood.
Radical religious fundamentalists, no matter where in the world they are found, have a common goal: to establish rigid fundamentalist theocracies.
All civilized societies -- East and West, developed and developing, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Shinto -- must keep a careful, continuous watch on radical fundamentalist movements, both within and without, and be prepared to act decisively against them, preferably pre-emptively and nonviolently, defensively and forcefully as necessary. Armed radical religious fundamentalists, the militant true-believers, have no compunction about killing those who disagree with them, even advocating the mass slaughter of different-believers, for after all, true-believers are absolutely, unalterably convinced that they are carrying out the will of their god.
This phenomenon has led to the killing of other-believers throughout history, from biblical times, through the Crusades and the Inquisition, up to the present.
Radical religious fundamentalism is creating untold misery and death worldwide. Beware.
AL K. DeROY
Wilkins
For 38 years, a mom paid into Social Security, but her son gets nothing
The recent death of my sister prompted me to write. She was a single mom on kidney dialysis with a son and she had worked for a hospital for 38 years. Her son, now 20, was considered too old to get any benefits from her death. If he had been 19, he would have gotten something.
So who gets her 38 years of putting into Social Security? The government. If she had been married, her husband would have gotten something. Why can't the next of kin at least get the $255 death benefit? Why is it that being single and a parent ends up as a punishment or as if you never existed to the children you leave behind.
Now there is a son left behind, going to college and trying to get college funds while the government gets her money for working 38 years. Something needs to change in the government!
HEDY GROSSMAN
Millvale
