A Bush win is exactly what terrorists want
Over the decades of reading New York Times syndicated columnist William Safire, I've made peace with his regrettable loss of nonpartisanship. His usually astute and sometimes moderate political analysis has at least made him an interesting read. But now he seems to be losing his grip on even these redeeming qualities.

For example, his take on the Iraqi rebels ("The Comeback Prez: Why Bush Is on the Upswing," Sept. 7) sloshes somewhere between classic double-think and just plain soft-headedness. Safire figures that the Iraqis want to defeat Bush by increasing U.S. casualties in October. Newsflash: Al-Qaida gets CNN. What's more, they understand it. The fundamentalists wouldn't want to defeat Bush. He's their best recruitment tool!

Maybe Safire doesn't understand because he's grown stubborn and he doesn't want to understand: Iraqi rebels are on the offensive because they know that in American war politics, Bush benefits from our boys in Baghdad body bags. In the twisted world of international politics, when Bush benefits at home, terrorists benefit abroad.

Having just returned from two years abroad I can report that up until now, foreign moderates have been able to implore, "Blame Bush, not the American people!" A popularly elected President Bush could unleash the perfect storm that terrorists have been praying for.

REV. D.V. McFARLAND
North Side
Editor's note: The writer is a minister at Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church.

Appropriate tribute
Complete outrage came to me while I read a letter by Brandon McCarthy ("GOP Exploitation of 9/11 Was Disrespectful, Disgusting," Sept. 4). I cannot believe this man's interpretation of the convention! The tribute to the victims of 9/11 was very fitting, considering it was almost the three-year anniversary of that terrible day.

Mr. McCarthy says he was expecting a distorted view of the "facts" and a misrepresentation of Democratic views. I saw none of that! To actually write with a straight pen and say this was an "emotional rape" of the memory of the victims is inhumane to me! The Republicans were trying to get a point across with their messages: No one will get away with terrorizing our people or our country!

Yes, it was the most awful thing that happened that September day, three years ago, but thank God we had a president who knew exactly what to do and did it well!

To suggest that Republicans have no souls is unreal to me! If Republicans have no souls, then Democrats are really in bad shape!

CAROL AMENTA
Avalon

Empty rhetoric
I saw the bashing of John Kerry by the Republicans at the Republican National Convention. There is an old saying: An empty drum makes the most noise. The Republican campaign offers no new hopes to my America.

From the surpluses, the president and his rash policies have put America back on the defensive. The Iraq war has been badly handled with more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers and more than 15,000 Iraqis dead. Though sometimes war is necessary to win peace, I do not see any signs of peace in Iraq.

This president failed as a leader to evaluate and lead the country in the disastrous war in Iraq. Lost jobs, recession, deficits and Halliburton scandals are what this president has to offer.

VIVEK GHAI
Coraopolis

Healthy action plan
I read the letter by David Roth of Dormont ("Candidates, Give Us Solutions to the Health-Care Crisis," Aug. 11). A brief summation of Mr. Roth's concerns are as follows: a two-day hospitalization ultimately cost him more than $32,000, more than double his gross yearly earnings. Obviously, expresses Mr. Roth, something needs to be done about the exorbitant cost of health care in this country.

Mr. Roth's concerns about the cost and quality of health care are more than valid, and the call for a presidential candidate who will address such concerns has been made by innumerable individuals across the nation. Sen. John Kerry plans to answer the call of those crying out for affordable, quality health care.

John Kerry and John Edwards plan to cut family premiums by up to $1,000. The Kerry-Edwards plan also will give every American access to the range of high-quality, affordable plans that they truly deserve. Their plan will fight to erase the health disparities that persist along racial and economic lines, ensure that people with HIV and AIDS have the care they need, end discrimination against Americans with disabilities and mental illnesses and ensure equal treatment for mental illness in our health system.

Sens. Kerry and Edwards plan to reduce prescription drug prices by allowing the re-importation of safe prescription drugs from Canada. This will overhaul the Medicare drug plan, ensuring low-cost drugs and ending artificial barriers to generic drug competition.

The plans made by the Kerry-Edwards campaign ensure more affordable and, most importantly, better and farther-reaching health-care coverage for all Americans.

JESSEL COSTA
Forest Hills

Less than holy
Regarding Tony Norman's Aug. 24 column, "A Political Smear of Biblical Proportions": I am finding it hard to equate Sen. John Kerry with Israel's King David (as Mr. Norman seems to do). Having heard some "unholy" remarks coming from Sen. Kerry when he was unaware of the microphone, I would hardly say that he is a "man after God's own heart" (I Samuel 13:14).

As for the Kerry/Vietnam War issue, both views of this piece of history are equally passionate. One way to resolve the argument would be to have the senator open his military records for all to see. I wonder how "swift" he would be in doing that.

BEVERLY M. COTO
Penn Hills

Theory, not fact
I almost fell off my chair when I read the letter from David Klahr, professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University ("Exhibit A"). He seems to assert that everyone should believe in the theory of evolution because science says that it's so.

It's a theory, professor, not a fact. Ah, the arrogance of science.

ARLENE DiCENZO
Shaler