Crimes while officiating just aren't possible

Before the state commences criminal background checks on prospective sports officials ("PIAA Advances Criminal Checks," Oct. 4), it is worthwhile to remember that 98 percent of all incarcerated persons will return to the free world some day. When they do, the hope is they will become productive members of society.

With the prison population exploding and the recidivism rate near 70 percent, I would think the state would want to remove roadblocks to this goal instead of erecting more. While not specifically stated, the implication is that a person convicted of a crime would be prohibited from employment as a sports official. For the life of me, I can't see why. Even an ex-con bent on committing another crime would find it difficult to do so within sight of the coaches, parents and fans at a sporting event. The opportunity for crime is simply not present.

The Post-Gazette investigation found dozens of current and former officials with criminal backgrounds. How many of these officials committed another crime while officiating?

RICHARD M. SCHULTZ
McCandless

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Anonymous victims

Recent letters have expressed some of the challenges faithful Catholics face in exercising their right and duty to vote. Some Catholics who even consider themselves to be pro-life find other issues that they consider to be of equal or greater importance. Others consider the right to life to be a watershed issue that must exist before any other rights can be claimed. Accordingly, these individuals will be compelled to vote according to this issue first and foremost.

One may wonder how brothers and sisters who profess the same creed find themselves applying that creed so broadly. With all the issues voters (both Catholic and other) face, it is clear that our personal experiences strongly influence our opinions. Many have felt the hardship of a failing economy. Most voters have seen the images of war, and many have lost a loved one in the conflicts. We know well the suffering poor and our hearts are moved with compassion.

But when abortion is considered, for many there are no images and there is no personal connection with the unborn. The images defining abortion don't come to our homes via the television or newspaper. Some individuals are even angered by a verbal description of what constitutes an abortion. We hear terms like "products of conception," which further disconnect us from the personhood of the unborn child. Perhaps this is how some are able to make these political decisions -- by considering abortion as just another issue, because its victims remain nameless and faceless.

ELIZABETH KALEIDA
O'Hara

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His commitment

Once again, it seems, we are experiencing in this presidential campaign season emotional debates over "the right to life." Congressional Democrats have worked on legislation to reduce the number of abortions, such as the Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act (HR 1070, the DeLauro-Ryan bill); the Prevention First Act (HR 819) and the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 (Public Law No: 108-145). The legislation addresses the needs of women who unexpectedly find themselves pregnant.

Studies have documented the fact that offering support to these women, especially the economically vulnerable, will enable them to bear and to care for their children. Many of the women who seek abortions are women in desperate financial circumstances without family or social supports. During the Reagan administration the number of abortions rose significantly, then peaked during the George H.W. Bush administration. By contrast, during the Clinton administration, the number of abortions dropped from the 1.5 million done in the Bush administration to 1.3 million a year.

About three-quarters of women having abortions say they cannot support a child. If we have a pro-life candidate this year, that candidate looks like Barack Obama because of his commitment to seek the resources to provide for children born to mothers without sufficient resources to care for them.

SISTER ELIZABETH McMILLAN
Oakland

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Faithful citizenship

Some Catholics are scandalized because leaders in the Catholic community are publicly explaining why they support the candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama. On the other hand, some Catholics are scandalized because leaders in the Catholic community are just as clearly endorsing the Republican candidate.

From my observations, however, it seems that in this campaign most Catholics are carefully considering all the issues raised in such documents as "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility" by the Catholic bishops of the United States (readily available on the Internet). Good, pro-life Catholics, in other words, will be voting for Sen. Obama as well as for Sen. McCain. Exercising the duty of faithful citizenship seems like a good thing both for the well-being of the Catholic Church and for the well-being of the nation.

REV. CAMPION P. GAVALER
Latrobe

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Pickens: opportunist

I have been amazed to see T. Boone Pickens being depicted as a top oil executive on CBS News, in the ads showing his unoriginal plan to solve the energy crisis and even in letters to the editor and an editorial in the Post-Gazette! This is the man who was largely responsible for bringing about the demise of Gulf Oil Corp. This is the man who wiped out hundreds of jobs in the Gulf Building and at the Gulf Research & Development Co. in Harmarville and in companies that served those offices in Pittsburgh.

His action was summed up nicely in the letter (dated March 5, 1984) to shareholders that appeared in the Gulf Annual Report for 1983, signed by board Chairman James E. Lee and President Edward B. Walker III:

"This should have been the most optimistic letter we have written to shareholders in many years. All of the programs which we have undertaken the past two years to enhance shareholder value came together during 1983 and are working well. Net income rose 17 percent on a per-share basis to $5.83 -- almost a billion dollars in total earnings -- and we increased our dividend payout for the tenth consecutive year. ...

"Yet despite the success, or perhaps ironically because of it, we are faced with the gravest crisis in your Company's 83-year history. For the past six months, we have been engaged in a bitter fight with a group of opportunists, led by T. Boone Pickens of Mesa Petroleum Co., who are bent on seeing the Company bought out at a high price or wresting control of it for themselves in order to break it apart and sell the pieces for a quick gain."

So much for Mr. T. Boone Pickens, an out-and-out opportunist and corporate raider intent on making a fast buck no matter who got hurt. I wonder what kind of a killing he expects to make with his energy plan.

JAMES R. MOONEY
Cranberry

The writer retired as manager of publications for Gulf Oil Corp. in 1983.

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We receive more letters than we can fit into the limited space on the editorial page, so we'd like to share some additional letters with our Post-Gazette Web site readers.

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Palin deserves respect for her accomplishments

I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Republican fund-raiser last Friday at the Westin Downtown and hear Gov. Sarah Palin speak. As a middle-class mother of two and a small-business owner, I admire her greatly.

The attacks she receives implying she is unqualified are simply outlandish and unfair in my opinion. She has accomplished so much as the first female governor of Alaska and deserves more respect.

She has eliminated corruption with regard to big oil lobbyists and politicians in Alaska and initiated ethics reform that has now become law. She reduced property taxes as mayor and city council member while increasing services and creating a more business-friendly environment. She eliminated half a billion dollars in wasteful spending. She was chair of Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which promotes drilling for oil while, yes, still caring about the polar bears through its conservation efforts!

She initiated a $40 billion natural gas pipeline -- the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history! Energy independence is critical to our economy right now as well as our national security. It was recently reported that Westinghouse hired 3,000 people worldwide due to its increase in contracts for nuclear power plants. I'd like to see Westinghouse continue to prosper and the energy center in Monroeville stay open!

She suspended the fuel tax!

There is no one who can bring about change in Washington like Sarah Palin. She is a woman I want to get behind! (Oh, yeah -- and John McCain too!)

MARY BETH CIRUCCI
Monroeville

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How far we have fallen

It is disturbing that the presidential candidate of a major political party would choose a running mate so clearly intellectually, temperamentally and experientially unqualified. In her folksiness, simplicity, populist rhetoric and lack of command of the issues, Gov. Sarah Palin comes across as a female version of Ronald Reagan. Both evoke smiles and laughs, but running the country is no joke -- the present administration excluded.

This is not a personal indictment of Gov. Palin. Her candor and sincerity about issues such as her family and abortion are a breath of fresh air, and her willingness to serve her country is laudable. The same goes for her family. Her scriptedness is cause for concern.

If she is willing to let her allies manipulate her to the point of obscuring her individuality, how will she deal effectively with the wiles of those she would deal with as a national executive and leader?

In his choice of Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain has raised questions about his competence and character as an executive leader. He apparently prioritizes perception and politics over performance, and pragmatism over principle. This bodes poorly for political appointments or decisions that he would make as president.

The price our country has been willing to pay for extremist ideology, superficiality and mediocrity in presidential administrations is alarming. How far we have fallen. Shame on Sen. McCain, but even more so on America.

KARL SCHULTZ
Brighton Heights

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Why the Palin candidacy is frightening

As John McCain's vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin is clearly an attractive and engaging individual, and she has been very popular on the campaign trail. At the same time, there are increasingly serious concerns about the depth of her knowledge and abilities when it comes to complex national and international policy issues, and these concerns are growing rather than shrinking with increasing public exposure.

Following her debate with Joe Biden, national polls tell us that the majority of Americans now believe that she is unqualified to be president. As it turns out, when it comes to handling national crises, what matters is not whether you "blink" but whether you think. Historically, this has never mattered as much as it might in a McCain administration. At age 72, as the oldest first-term president in history, John McCain would have nearly a 1-in-6 chance of not surviving his first term in office, according to the actuarial tables used by insurance companies.

In a McCain administration, then, the odds of Sarah Palin becoming the leader of the free world are nearly the same as the odds of losing in a game of Russian roulette. Does this frighten me? You betcha.

TOM KAMARCK
Oakland

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Look where 'experience' has gotten us

The issue of experience was raised in the first presidential candidate debate. Sen. John McCain spoke of his longer-term foreign policy experience and wider global travels. Let us examine the value of this experience.

On Sept. 11, 2001, America was attacked by the al-Qaida terrorist network. We justly fought back to defend ourselves against those who attacked us and who had killed and seek to kill many innocent people. America launched the war on terror in Afghanistan, which harbored the evil and cowardly Osama bin Laden and his henchmen. Yet, in 2003, our current president, supported by Sen. McCain, attacked Iraq, which had not been involved in the planning of 9/11 and where al-Qaida had not previously operated.

Since then, thousands of brave American soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq, and hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent waging this war. Moreover, this focused our efforts away from al-Qaida and bin Laden. Concentration of our armed forces in Iraq has reduced those deployed in Afghanistan against bin Laden and al-Qaida, who have been restrengthening their forces while we neglect them. At the same time, our invasion of Iraq has served as al-Qaida's greatest recruiting tool over the past five years. Moreover, some of the excesses in our conduct of the war such as the torture of prisoners, have betrayed America's great ideals and squandered much of the global consensus backing America's efforts after 9/11. Yet despite all of this, from the start of the Iraq war until today, the "experienced" Sen. McCain has supported this war, and Sen. Obama has opposed it.

If the Iraqi tragedy and the failure to admit that it was a mistake is the product of "experience," heaven help America if we must endure four more years of this.

BILL TITUS
Regent Square

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Banning books runs counter to education

The Sept. 23 article "Book News: ACLU, Carnegie Library to Host Banned Book Week Event" struck a nerve. In school, we all briefly discuss the banning of books, but it always seems to be such a decrepit action that we never consider it happens to this day.

Books are meant to be read, not banned. In my opinion, education should not be limited to books that are deemed perfectly moral. It is, instead, those "immoral" works that challenge the readers to prioritize their beliefs. I disagree with the banning of books because it inhibits readers from that opportunity.

I am glad that the Carnegie Library realized the importance of taking a stance on this issue. Its usage of renowned children's authors will instill, I hope, a message in our youth: Books should not be banned.

KATHLEEN EULER
Franklin Park

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