What Others Are Writing ... Letters To The Editor

Zell Flip-Flops; GOP Slithers

John Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending, was one of the gems from Zell “flip-flop” Miller. The GOP forgot to mention what he had to say about Kerry back in 2001. I will quote him: “One of this nation’s authentic heroes, one of this party’s best-known and greatest leaders — and a good friend . . . (Kerry) has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment . . . (that he, Kerry) has fought against government waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington.”
Sounds like Karl Rove and Ashcroft must have had some incriminating information on poor ol’ Zell (dead woman, live boy?) to get him to scream the GOP’s talking points, or perhaps Miller thought that he might get a consultant job at Halliburton as payback for his good deeds.
I thought that the GOP had slithered to the very bottom of the snake pit with Miller’s performance, but they struck new lows when Dick Cheney declared that Kerry was “unfit” to be president. Kerry’s two (count ’em) tours in Vietnam obviously doesn’t add up to the stature of Cheney’s five (5) deferments. Dick said that he had “other priorities” at the time.
As I was gagging on Cheney’s tripe, I found myself in absolute “shock and awe” when they passed out the “purple heart Band-Aids.” This incredible insult to John Kerry is just as much an insult to every veteran and fighting man and woman in the United States. The sheer gall of these people who “had other priorities” when it was their turn to serve, and then mock those of us who served WITH HONOR is the most disrespectful, denigrating insult of all.

Wolf Grulkey
ADJ-2, U

source: http://www.swtimes.com/archive/2004/September/23/opinion/letters.html

'Pro Life' Not Just One Issue

I’m wondering these days what some folks mean by “pro-life.” The Catholic Church teaches that ALL life is sacred from conception to natural death. That means that it is inappropriate and unjust to characterize the whole content of our faith in a single issue, as is sometimes done by the media and a few of our religious leaders.
The “pro-life voter,” it seems, must seriously consider the wide range of issues and discern which ones promote life and which ones diminish the dignity and rights of the human person. Essential issues to a “pro-life voter” would include, it seems to me, war, abortion, capital punishment, denial of health care, scandalous poverty, mistreatment of immigrants and prisoners and racism and manipulation through scare tactics, to name but a few.
Are we consistently “pro-life” when we choose to engage in a war in which 1,000 of our troops have died and 7,000 seriously wounded? And God only knows how many thousands of innocent Iraqis have been killed and mutilated in a war that Pope John Paul II and other religious leaders repeatedly called unjust and unnecessary.
Don’t all faiths call us to embrace life and hold it sacred?
It seems to me it would be tragic for this to be a one-issue election.

Sister Rosalie Ruesewald
St. Scholastica Monastery
Fort Smith

War In Iraq Big Mistake

I would prefer not to write this letter in consideration of our military serving in Iraq. However, I can’t stand to see this lie continue!
This war was a big mistake and diversion from those truly responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Despite what this administration and overpaid “talking heads” have implied or asserted, there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. In fact, as a Republican congressman recently “let slip” on a talk show: The Baathist Party and al-Qaida were bitter enemies.
Now, who was the leader of the Baathist Party? Saddam!
Al-Qaida wanted Saddam removed so as to establish an Islamic state in Iraq. Saddam intended to keep Iraq a secular state! Brutal and mean? Yes, but not stupid! Remember those al-Qaida training camps reported in northern Iraq? Who do you suppose was supporting them? The Kurds! Now I wonder why Saddam would want to increase his unpopularity with the Kurds by gassing them? Connected any dots yet?
Who else is our enemy and was Saddam’s enemy? Answer: Iran, who is now building nuclear bombs to use against us or Israel!
The Shiites also control over 60 percent of the population of Iraq and are now receiving financial/military support from Iran, a Shiite country. Now, if al-Qaida and Iran can just outlast us in Iraq, their long-awaited goal of control over Iraq will be realized, the worst possible outcome!
Osama and Iran should send their heartfelt thanks to George W. Bush for removing Saddam for them! Wouldn’t it have been wiser to completely defeat al-Qaida, capture/kill Osama and deal with Iran first?
So, is George W. Bush really that stupid or just using “fear politics” to retain power, while in the bulging pocket of big oil and corporate war profiteers?

Paul Blagg
Greenwood

Let's Quit Being World's Police

The war in Iraq is predestined to failure, as is the war on terror, if we do not change our ways. This is true for several reasons:
1. The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists came from Saudi Arabia, and the money to finance them came from Saudi Arabia. So we attack Iraq. Is that reasonable?
2. There have been wars in this region since the beginning of time. There will be wars in this region until the end of time. We are like the man who jumps into the middle of a large family fight to help one side. The whole family will frequently attack that man, including the side he was trying to help.
3. We have lost more than 1,000 soldiers in Iraq while killing 10,000. The mullahs that hold power in the Islamic world are more than willing to trade us millions of martyrs at this price. How long will we play this game?
4. President Bush is an elephant that is trying to fight a billion ants. If he kills a million today, 2 million will take their place tomorrow.
The real reason we are so hated in the Islamic world is because we are financing and supporting the descendants of the two southern tribes of Israel (the Jews) in their war against the Palestinians (the descendants of the 10 northern tribes).
This war will continue until the end of time or until we go broke. We need to change direction and quit discriminating against the people of the Islamic world. We need to respect the rights of all people. We need to stop trying to be the lone ranger policeman of the world.

Joe T. Stroub
Cecil

Republicans' Campaign Strategy: Tell Lies

It’s amazing how simple- minded, gullible people can be allowed to vote, especially those who will vote on only one issue. These are the ones that attack ad/lies are geared toward — people who believe something if they see the lie enough times. I have seen some of the attack ad/lies in the “letters.”
Sens. John Kerry, John McCain and Max Cleland all went to Vietnam and did their duty, but the shills who work for the George Bush campaign spread vicious lies about all three of them, most recently against Kerry. President Bush was taken off flight status in the Texas National Guard in August 1972 for not taking a medical exam, along with a drug test.
One of the lies is that Democrats are for gay and lesbian marriage. J. Edgar Hoover was a cross-dressing gay. Dick Cheney’s daughter is a lesbian, and the Log Cabin Republicans are the gay and lesbian branch of the Republican party. Another lie is that the Democrats are going to take all our guns away. Democrats also own guns.
Some people think Democrats are godless because they disagree with the use of “under God” in the flag pledge. These people need to be reminded that we fought and won WW II without those words.
I am old enough to remember when the words were added, and we didn’t hear angels sing or the classroom get suddenly brighter as we mumbled our way through the pledge in the morning.
After all of the Bush lies have been exposed, hopefully, Americans will be extremely skeptical and won’t take their statements at face value when deciding for whom to vote in November. When President Clinton lied, our soldiers didn’t die.

Frank Newman
Huntington

Bush Drags His Feet On Some Things

There have been several letters concerning the presidential candidates, abortion and same-sex marriages.
George Bush says he is against both. After four years, he, just before the election, passed a law banning partial birth abortion. Why did he wait four years, just before the election to do it? Why didn’t he make it on all abortions? Have our morals improved under Bush? It looks to me as if TV and the Internet are getting more filthy every day.
Bush did mention, after four years, getting a constitutional amendment on same-sex marriage. Is he serious? He has not done it. He knows that it generally takes years for a constitutional amendment to be approved.
If they can pass laws to break into your house without a search warrant, spy into your personal life or even force you to wear a seat belt, then they should be able to do the same on abortion and same-sex marriage.
As a Christian, I am against both. But which would you prefer? One who truthfully tells you he is for women’s choice or one who tells you he is against it, could do something about it, but doesn’t. Which man is most truthful? Actions speak plainer than words.
If you are going to quote the Bible, the Lord said there will be false prophets, and you will know them by their fruits. Don’t forget, it was the hard headed, ill-informed, ignorant, so-called Christians that crucified Christ. To the pretenders, the Lord will say, depart from me; I never knew you.

C.E. Reed
Pocola

Abortion A Moral Issue

Would someone please enlighten me when did God Almighty die and leave Republicans in charge of judging all Democrats as being without values and doomed to hell? The gist is “read the Bible and you have to vote Republican.”
I have three translations, including the King James, and I read it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. Jesus told the crowd condemning the adulterous woman, “those without sin, cast the first stone.” He cautioned the Pharisees about touting how good they were. When the rich man asked him what he had to do to enter Heaven, he said, “Sell all you have and give to the poor and follow me.”
Isn’t it amazing, since it’s nearing election, that Dick and Lynn Cheney now admit they have a lesbian daughter and are against the marriage amendment. The keynote speakers at the convention were all pro-choice, liberal thinkers. Is this a “flip flop” or a weapon of mass destruction?
Ministers are successfully pushing families from the church by portraying George W. Bush as almost God and John Kerry as a man of no values. I think the question of abortion and gay marriage should be addressed from the pulpit, but as a moral issue, not a political one. They have no bearing on running this country, and saying you’re a Christian doesn’t make it so any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Mary Lewis
Van Buren

Bush Isn't 'God's Choice'

The best I can figure, about half the people in the United States think the Lord delivered George Bush to us to “save us from the evil Democrats and stop the murder of unborn children.” Even if stem cell research might save many lives, it is evil unless stem cells that are already harvested are used.
The other half think that George Bush stole an election with the help of brother Jeb Bush and a Republican Supreme Court. They think he did the right thing in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but he has made a big mistake in Iraq. They never saw much religion from him until he realized it would get him votes. They think he lied to us and the whole world and connived to finish a job on Iraq that Dad didn’t.
He is also accused of catering to the rich and big business. There are even some intelligent, deeply religious people that are convinced that if George gets four more years, he will prove to be the beast of which the Bible speaks.
The country has not been this divided since the Civil War. America has separation of church and state, and most people will accept a fair and untarnished vote and cling to their religion, and the rift will heal by and by.
But do we have separation of church and state? There are pastors of churches asking people to vote against evil and give George Bush four more years.
Asking God to give our leaders the wisdom and guidance to lead us should be in everyone’s prayers. Asking God to give us John Kerry or George Bush is just stirring the pot. I do not recall any scripture that says “Blessed be the agitator.” I remember it being “Blessed be the Peacemaker.”

Ruth Wilson
Poteau