Letters to the editor
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The Muslim world must act to stop terrorists
Thomas L. Friedman's bold call for Islam to marginalize its murderous minions ("Take to the Streets," Dec. 4) stands in lurid contrast to the Post-Gazette's craven cliches on the Mumbai massacre ("Asian Terror," Nov. 30). Words like "Islam" or "Muslim" appeared nowhere in your predictably preachy piece. Yet all signs, then and now, clearly pointed to Jihadist terror.
Post-Gazette moral cowardice desensitizes and distorts perspective -- demeaning the deaths of innocents and abetting civilization's enemies.
You're right: "The age of terror, unfortunately, is far from over."
But it will end when Islam decides it will.
DAVID L. VERES
Pleasant Hills
Thank you, council
I would like to extend my personal thanks to City Council for doing what the state Legislature refused to do, namely, passing the ordinance making it a criminal offense not to report the loss or theft of a gun ("City Council Approves Stolen Gun Ordinance," Dec. 3). I agree with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl that it's going to be difficult to enforce such an ordinance, assuming he doesn't veto it; still, the bill acknowledges what we all know to be the truth: that people intent on possessing guns illegally will conspire with other desperate people to obtain them.
Often, those "desperate" individuals are straw purchasers, or people with serious drug addictions, who sell the weapon to a 16-year-old hoodlum, pocket the money and worry little about the tragedy that often follows in the wake of such transactions.
Although I don't personally care if we as a society permit responsible and decent people to own enough guns to fill a corn silo, the minute one goes missing, the rest of us need to be alerted to that fact. Perhaps what we will find, as an unintended consequence of the bill's enactment, is that responsible and decent people who own guns will take even more stringent measures to safeguard them from loss, theft or unauthorized use by family members.
Let's hope that County Council can step to the plate and do the right thing, too.
RICHARD SWARTZ
Friendship
Useful first step
As a physician who wishes to prevent injury, I am astounded that there can be any public sentiment against ordinances that aim to reduce the number of guns on our city streets. Such ordinances do not affect the law-abiding gun owner.
Whether or not a particular ordinance is effective depends on many factors, but certainly it is not a waste of resources to take the first step of passing these ordinances.
DR. B.W. BRANDOM
Highland Park
Policies and life
Even though the election is over now, I believe that some Catholic bishops will continue their one-issue approach to presidential politics, hoping to be more successful next time. Some have said it was a sin to vote for a pro-abortion candidate. Others said they could not see how one could do that in good conscience.
However, the bishops themselves in their document on conscience and the election stated clearly that a Catholic could vote for a candidate who in fact was "for abortion" if he or she felt that the accumulated arguments against the other candidate outweighed that fact (actually, it is incorrect to say a candidate is "for abortion" merely because he chooses another way to deal with the problem, e.g. reducing poverty and supporting unwed mothers).
The Bush/McCain team has brought us to the verge of World War III by immorally invading a country and infuriating the Muslim world. They have alienated our friends; attacked the environment; cut programs in the so-called safety net; given tax cuts to the wealthy; failed to oversee banks, real estate companies and insurance companies; and finally brought our economy to its knees by their misguided policies or incompetence.
I voted for Barack Obama and I am dumbfounded that people supported John McCain. In my opinion as a priest and pastor for 42 years, a Catholic could easily vote for Mr. Obama as the true pro-life candidate. The bishops' own document supports this opinion.
REV. NEIL McCAULLEY
Hazelwood
Has our support
I felt compelled to write after your Nov. 13 story about Trooper Samuel Nassan ("State Trooper in Ellerbe Case Sued").
Unfortunately, as police officers we have become all too familiar with people who, despite breaking the law, ignore their misbehavior and blame an arresting officer. This recently happened to Trooper Nassan.
It's time for people to stop blaming police officers for their predicaments and accept responsibility for their behavior. As president of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, I speak for all of our more than 8,000 active and retired members. Trooper Nassan has our unquestioned support because he is a man of courage and integrity. Trooper Nassan is like all of our troopers -- he wakes up every day ready to selflessly sacrifice his life for others.
BRUCE A. EDWARDS
President
Pennsylvania State Troopers Association
Harrisburg
Example of special
As I read the article "Family's Giving Tree Adorns the City" (Dec. 5), I could not help but recall WQED-TV's documentary "Pittsburgh A to Z." At the end of that program people are asked, "What makes Pittsburgh special?" The unanimous answer is obvious to all of us living in Western Pennsylvania -- the people.
I would like to say that Eugene Wind, donor of this year's city Christmas tree, certainly proves that point. Thank you, Mr. Wind. You are an extra-special person in a city full of special people.
JAY WALTERS
Belle Vernon
Disrespected citizens
In her Nov. 27 letter "Bush Deserved Better," the writer states, "I maintain, no matter what, the president of our country deserves our respect, regardless of party."
I always have maintained that same opinion. I recall an incident when a woman waited in line at an airport to shake hands with President Clinton, but when he approached she shouted, "You suck!" I was horrified, and remember my mother pointing out how disrespectful and tasteless that woman's actions were. She had raised her family to respect the office, no matter our personal belief or opinions.
However, for me that sentiment changed with George W. Bush. He showed no respect himself for the people he had been "elected" to serve. He had his own mind-set and agenda and pursued it with no regard for the effects and ramifications on the American public or the world at large. While I certainly would not shout profanities at him in public because it would be poor etiquette, I would not wait in line to see him and I most certainly would not shake his hand.
George W. Bush will go down in history as the worst U.S. president to date, and that is exactly all he deserves.
BARRY SOLARCZYK
Friendship
Gay couples cannot provide for the survival of civilization
Dick Marshall's Nov. 28 letter ("Marriage Should Be a Right Available to All") was a very provocative appeal for same-sex marriage. He, in invoking our compassion, does not acknowledge the civil rights he and his partner enjoy and the decisions that have led to his current situation:
• The decision by the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders;
• The legalization in most states of the homosexual act;
• The civil rights extended to homosexual couples;
• The cooperation of the media in achieving the homosexual social agenda outlined in the book "After the Ball" (Kirk and Madsen, 1989);
• The general cultural milieu, which de-emphasizes the positive community benefits of children and tends to accentuate the personal benefits. (It is not this writer alone who takes note of the lack of sufficient present and future generations to support our social systems.)
Mr. Marshall has achieved the right to be with the person he loves. One would suspect he has found acceptance in his social environs. But the right to marriage? The state of marriage carries within itself the potential to engender children. That is a benefit without which society cannot continue to exist. It is the basic reason that marriage is, and has been, recognized as a relationship between a man and a woman. It is the reason the right of marriage has been granted to a man and a woman who have the promise of giving civilization the gift it most needs -- survival.
He is not justified in asking for the right to marriage, because he and his partner are incapable of entering a state that has the capacity for granting civilization its most critical need.
DOLORES S. JARRELL
Peters
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First Published December 10, 2008 12:00 am
