I'm proud of our work as police chaplains

I write in response to the stories "Chief Dismisses Police Chaplains" (Aug. 26) and "Didn't Know Chaplains' Credentials Were Suspect, Police Say" (Aug. 27) and the Aug. 28 editorial "Holy Role: The City Should Do More to Police Its Chaplains." I am disappointed by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police's decision to dismiss me as chief chaplain. I stand behind my decisions in this volunteer position and am proud of the work of my team to provide spiritual guidance and comfort to our city's police officers, as well as to victims of crime and their families.

The articles and editorial included criticisms of my ordination. I am an ordained minister in the Congregational church, as Chief Nathan Harper knew because he received copies of the documents twice. Records of my ordination in 2001 are on file with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, a proper and recognized body.

The articles also repeated attacks on Rev. Keith Smith, one of the chaplains. I stand by my recommendation of Rev. Smith as a candidate and also by the work he did for the bureau. Rev. Smith is also a properly licensed minister, and his background was provided to the chief and the bureau prior to appointment. In fact, the chief and bureau specifically knew that Rev. Smith had a criminal record and viewed it as a positive given the community we served.

I was dismissed from this position, but certainly not for the purported reasons in the articles above.

REV. LARA M. ZINDA
Crafton

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Truly dangerous

Sarah Palin scares me! She is obviously a brilliant and extremely competent woman. But I don't understand how anyone who was hoping for Hillary Clinton could consider voting Republican just because there's a woman on the ticket -- Sarah's views are diametrically opposite from Hillary's!

She is against abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. She is a member of the National Rifle Association and is against gun control. She believes in abstinence-only sex education (it didn't seem to rub off on her daughter). She wants creationism to be taught in schools.

I can see why conservative Republicans are delighted with her, but I'm a Democrat, and in my opinion she's a truly dangerous woman. Sure, I'd like to see a woman in high office -- but not that one!

ESTHER J. TUCKER
Squirrel Hill

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She's no Hillary

In the 1988 debate between vice presidential candidates Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle, Sen. Bentsen told his Republican opponent, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." Two decades later, I say to Sarah Palin, "Governor, you're no Hillary Clinton." Nov. 4, I will be voting for the Obama-Biden ticket.

RONNA L. EDELSTEIN
Oakland

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McCain's experience

Former U.S. Ambassador Dan Simpson, in contrasting the foreign policy experiences of the McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden tickets ("The Foreign Affairs Test," Sept. 3 column), provided useful and important information about Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but left out several important facts about Sen. John McCain.

Most notably absent from the opinion piece was that Mr. McCain has served in Congress for 26 years. He is ranking member of the Armed Services Committee and served on the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. Mr. McCain's knowledge of and experience in foreign affairs were critical to his success in these roles.

Furthermore, since 2003, Mr. McCain has made official visits to more than three dozen nations, including Iraq, Pakistan and Israel as well as other Middle Eastern countries, much of South America, most of Europe and many independent Russian states, including Georgia.

Mr. Simpson's omission of the factual data surrounding John McCain's qualifications in the area of foreign affairs is an unfortunate disservice to the readers of the Post-Gazette.

JENNIFER BECK
Emsworth

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Deciding factor

I have made my decision of who to vote for this election based on a quote from the 1980 presidential debate between then President Jimmy Carter and candidate Ronald Reagan. Mr. Reagan asked this question: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"

A new Pew Research Poll shows that the numbers today look worse than they did even in the depths of that 1980 recession.

PHILIP PAINTER
Moon

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Dems in panic?

Your editorial pages of Sept. 3 were over the top in Republican bashing, even for the usually liberal PG.

Let's go down the list: First, Rob Rogers' third consecutive disparaging cartoon of President Bush, John McCain, etc. He must have been staying at a Motel 6 outside of the Twin Cities or wearing a disguise; I wonder if he actually had credentials for entry into the convention.

Second, four out of five related letters harshly criticized Sarah Palin's selection as the vice presidential nominee, including comments such as "Is John McCain out of his mind?" "a reckless choice," "insult to women" and "condescending to women" with only letter writer William Casey's voice of reason standing out.

Next, we have Jules Lobel's weak comparison of Sarah Palin and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas ("Symbol vs. Substance," Perspectives). Finally, Dan Simpson's typical left-wing opinion, which we all are familiar with, unfairly emphasized John McCain's age and medical history ("The Foreign Affairs Test"). It seems to me that the Democrats can see the writing on the wall and are in early panic mode.

CAL KANE
Butler

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A clear difference

After watching several nights of both the Democratic and Republican conventions, it is unmistakably clear that one party speaks to unity, hope and the American spirit of progress and innovation and the other is simply rigid, mean-spirited and divisive. Pick your future.

LOUISE KRAMER
Squirrel Hill

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Solid advice

Brian O'Neill wrote a good column about losers ("Cough It Up, Losers: The Economy Needs You," Aug. 17). Recently, I was walking across a parking lot adjacent to a convenience store. I noticed three discarded lottery tickets on the ground. A trash can was a whole 10 feet away. I picked them up and found them to be three $20 losers. Even with the prices today $60 can buy a couple of nice bags of groceries.

A long time ago, when I was a lot younger, I knew a bookie. I went up to him one day with a dollar. I wanted to go 50 and a dime on a number. He knew at the time that my wife and I were starting a family and had just taken on a mortgage. He refused the bet. He put his arm around me and said that a dollar does not do much. He then strongly suggested that I take the dollar home, put it in a jar and every day add a dollar to it. "At the end of a year take the $365, treat your wife to a night on the town and start the process over."

Best advice anybody ever gave me.

JACK REYNOLDS
O'Hara

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Communist diet

I will save letter writer Paul Hrishenko ("Nonfat China," Aug. 20) the suspense, and the Health Department from a wasted trip and/or public dollars, and tell you why "capitalist" China (an oxymoron) is nonfat. It's because the Chinese are communists, plain and simple!

The capitalists are a select few -- mostly government -- who benefit, while the rest of the people are slaves and eat rice seven days a week. The Chinese Communists, while being heroes to college professors and liberal Democrats everywhere, run that country with an iron fist -- all for the "greater good of the state" (never the people, though? Hmmm ...) -- and people do as they're told under threat of a bullet in the head.

AARON HALL
Avalon

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Such toxic federal actions only hurt our nation

All those who despise racial profiling, all Christians who have been directed by Jesus to visit those in prison, all people of faith who labor for justice and all who love liberty should be rising up in righteous indignation about the treatment received from our federal government by a citizen of our city and this nation who happens to be a Muslim cleric. The dark poisonous cloud labeled "national security" that envelops dubious actions against individual citizens can poison any one of us, not just Imam Moniem El-Ganayni ("Muslim Scientist Asks Judge to Order Hearing," Sept. 4; "Physicist Loses U.S. Clearance, Job and Right to Fight Back," June 1).

This toxic federal policy is foolish and in the long run dangerous to our well-being. Consider the McCarthy era action against a brilliant Chinese-born post-doc student at Cal Tech, Tsien Hsue-shen, one of the "firecracker boys" who pioneered our rocket and space systems. He was deported to China along with his wife and American-born children because he attended a party given by faculty who were closet Communists. Who do you think developed the Chinese rocket program? Why do we allow the persecution of outstanding citizens and stand by while they are hounded until they take their brains and expert knowledge elsewhere?

Our thanks to the American Civil Liberties Union for fighting for individuals against unjust government actions, and thank you to law firm Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis for standing up for this citizen. What can I do to help this man and his family?

MARTHA D. SMITH
Fox Chapel

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