Racial profiling doesn't keep us safe from terrorists

The writer of the Aug. 21 letter "Go for It" assumes that racial profiling has been "proven successful in stopping terror threats," is necessary for keeping the writer's family and neighbors safe, and that anyone against it has something to hide or is selfish.

Tell that to Getu Tewolde, one neighbor who was arrested as a terrorist here in 2002 without any evidence. After a yearlong campaign by more of our neighbors, who have nothing to hide in their unselfish outcry against racism, Getu was released and cleared of the terrorism charges.

In the last year newspapers have been full of stories of more of our neighbors of color who have been released after being held since 9/11 without charges because the government admits they were not criminals but victims of roundups. Taking away your neighbors' rights based on race has nothing to do with making anyone safer and everything to do with racist anxieties whipped up by sensational rhetoric and headlines.

Racism hasn't worked in the "war on crime" and the "war on drugs," and it's not working in the "war on terror." Profiling and shakedowns feed into racism and demagoguery; they have nothing to do with protecting anyone from crime, drugs or terrorism, and definitely have nothing to do with spreading freedom and democracy.

If you don't speak out when they come after your neighbors, there will be no one left to speak out when they come after you.

S. SALEH WAZIRUDDIN
Wilkinsburg

The writer is chair of the Anti- Discrimination Committee
of the Islamic Council of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Preying on fears

I would like to add a few points to your excellent Aug. 13 editorial "What We Know /A Deadly Airline Plot and Failed Bush Policies."

In addition to noting that the policies of George W. Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress have made the country no more secure, it must be added that they have blatantly used threats of terrorist attacks to smear those who disagree with them -- witness the comments of Vice-President Dick Cheney and Press Secretary Tony Snow.

President Bush and those who speak for the administration have only one strategy for the 2006 elections and that is to prey on the fears of Americans. There must be accountability for these shameless actions.

As they cast their votes in November, Pennsylvanians should remember the lack of ideas emanating from the Republican Party.

MARC KNEZEVICH
Squirrel Hill

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English, please!

I really enjoy reading Maureen Dowd's column. She is bold in her writing with emphasis on the witty and satirical along with a great sense of humor -- that is, when I can understand what she is saying.

As an example, I had to reread her Aug. 17 column ("The Height of Absurdity") several times to understand it, aside from several trips to my dictionary. I must be out of the loop. Her commentary on "Talladega Nights" had me wondering what that was. Are Gitanes cigars? Never heard of "L'Etranger" either.

What I did finally get out of her column was her ridicule of "W" reading Camus rather than Grisham. "W" is the object of ridicule by TV hosts and cartoonists. That is a fact and it's also a fact that he remains thick-skinned.

I remember trying to read Camus in high school but had difficulty with it -- why would he want to read it? Ms. Dowd got it, though, and was trying to pass on the ridiculousness of the situation to the readers.

All I can say to Ms. Dowd is ... please, in plain English, no French existentialism, Camus and Sartre. If I was that clever, I too could write for The New York Times.

DOLORES WAX
Squirrel Hill

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Not paperless

Your Aug. 21 editorial, "Trust, but Verify," is based on the oft-repeated fiction that electronic voting machines used in Pennsylvania are somehow "paperless."

This is completely untrue. Since 1984, when electronic machines were first used in the commonwealth, every such machine, without exception, has had the capability to produce a paper record of every vote -- not merely final totals, but the full ballot of every voter. The Pennsylvania Election Code requires that an electronic voting system "shall provide for a permanent physical record of each vote cast," and every system used in Pennsylvania for the last 22 years has met this requirement.

The record does not have to be exhibited to the voter, and the machines do not do so to preserve voter privacy, but they are by no means paperless.

MICHAEL I. SHAMOS
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
Oakland

The writer has been an examiner of computerized voting systems
for the secretary of the commonwealth since 1980.

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A good laugh

Two letters have appeared expressing outrage at Alan Van Dine's poem, "Fender Fields" Aug. 5.

As a lover of poetry and the daughter of a World War I veteran, I must confess that I got a good laugh out of the poem.

I learned "In Flanders Field" as a child in Meridian School, where we learned a poem each month, then recited it before our classmates.

I can still recite it, but at my age I can't remember what I did the day before yesterday.

NORMA COCCARI
Butler

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Lieberman reached out and GOP didn't

If the recent Democratic primary in Connecticut was simply about a long-standing senator becoming so caught up in national politics that he lost touch with his constituents, that would be a tragedy.

If it was simply that a man was too proud to admit defeat and now risks splitting his party's vote and handing his seat over to his political opponents, that would truly be regrettable. But the real tragedy lies even deeper than all of that.

True, Sen. Lieberman embraced an unfavorable position. And, yes, in the eyes of many, his actions and attitudes became more like those of the current administration than of the loyal opposition.

However, the real tragedy in all of this is the betrayal of the American people and our system of government by this administration. After all, it came into office six years ago with talk of uniting the political landscape. But it was Sen. Lieberman who reached out in support of the Iraq war. The Republican Party has failed to reach back.

Many Democrats expressed support of national security issues and the Iraq war and received nothing in return. How can true bipartisan government become a reality if only one side reaches across the aisle?

Theirs is not a recipe for unity, but one for assimilation. Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Melhman talks of adapting to win. But what of adapting to lead? The current administration has betrayed the trust of the American people and that is the greatest tragedy of the Connecticut primary.

ELIOT SCHMIDT
Belle Vernon

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Democrats at fault

I strongly disagree with Jim Burn's Aug. 17 letter, "This Administration Vilifies Those Who Seek Change." Mr. Burn criticized Bush administration officials for commenting on Ned Lamont's win over Joe Lieberman for the U.S. Senate nomination in the Connecticut Democrat Primary.

Yet Democrats viciously ridicule Republicans and President Bush every day, often implying that the president is stupid. But when Republicans mildly criticize Democrats, it's a federal offense. Well, I got news for Mr. Burn, freedom of speech is for everyone, not just for Democrats!

Mr. Burn also wrongly accused Republicans of politicizing the war when it is really the Democrats who are playing politics and undermining the president's courageous efforts to fight the War on Terror.

Politically motivated nagging by blowhards like Ted Kennedy and John Murtha to cut and run from Iraq is encouraging the insurgents in Iraq to hang on and wait for U.S. public opinion to change.

If it were not for the Democrats' constant politicization of the war, terrorist activity in Iraq would have subsided by now and many of our troops would be home. Shamefully, the Democrats are putting the lives of our troops at risk.

As local chairman of the party that has controlled this county for over 50 years with policies that have resulted in bankrupting the city and causing several hundred thousand people to leave this area in search of jobs due to that party's anti-business policies, Mr. Burn has little reason to criticize President Bush.

DAVE MAJERNIK
Plum