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PrintWe're not as frightened as our leaders think we are
I, for one, am not nearly as frightened as Congress and President Bush seem to believe.
Through the detainee bill, the president now has the power "to identify enemies, imprison them indefinitely and interrogate them." Those indefinitely imprisoned without charge can include not only those convicted of crimes but also those merely suspected. They can include people suspected not of terrorism but of merely "supporting hostilities." And prisoners have no right to habeas corpus -- the right to appear before a court to determine if one's imprisonment is lawful.
This law is just morally wrong. Nobody should have the power to hold "suspected" enemies indefinitely without trial or the power to use "interrogation methods" so harsh that they are considered torture in most of the world. Perhaps such techniques are effective ... but that doesn't make them right.
America is a world leader, in part, because of her moral strength. If we want our children to live in a world where all nations respect the rights of individuals, then America must continue to lead the world toward that goal, never away from it, even if that means putting aside certain practices that are "effective."
Sen. Rick Santorum voted for this law, as did Reps. Tim Murphy and Melissa Hart. Perhaps they are so terrorized by the bin Ladens of the world that they are willing to surrender their civil rights and America's moral leadership. If so, shame on them. I am not that frightened. This November, I will cast my votes for candidates with a little more courage.
WILLIAM COHEN
Point Breeze
Tyranny, USA
Regarding the detainee bill: With the suspension of habeas corpus we have now become the Land of the Lost, or one nation under tyranny. The citizenry is now beholden to the whim and will of our leaders, with no recourse. This is beyond pathetic.
Since 9/11 President Bush and his cadre of shills have repeatedly told us that the terrorists want to take away our freedoms. In truth, it's been our own government, led by the president, that has relentlessly chipped away at our freedoms and civil rights.
I find it hard to believe that we as a nation have passively allowed the repeal of a right that dates back to the Magna Carta. These are dark days indeed.
JENNIFER ROBBINS
Zelienople
American nightmare
I have always been proud to be an American. But lately my patriotism is beginning to lag. I have been informed that my lifetime home will be destroyed so that the Mon-Fayette Expressway may grace our fair valley.
In a time where everybody has "rights," I'm finding that I no longer have the right to keep the property I've called home for more than 50 years. The Turnpike Commission says it's needed and I have no say in the matter.
I am all for progress, but I fail to understand why our legislators insist on pumping more and more money into a new road project when they cannot even repair/maintain the roads we already have.
Actually, there is no money to build the road -- American money that is. However, an Australian banking consortium might be interested in footing the bill. I don't know about you, but the thought of a foreign interest owning our roadways doesn't quite feel right. Isn't it bad enough that foreign interests control many of our businesses and real estate projects? Do we really want them owning and operating our roadways too?
Is it just me or is there something inherently wrong with this picture? I say let's fix the roads we already have before building any new ones. And let's keep American roadways American owned.
If the politicians we currently have in office cannot do that, I say we find people who can. Election Day is only two weeks away. Voice your opinion at the polls.
BEVERLY M. KOCH
North Versailles
Weak gun excuses
In response to Tom Kerin's letter ("To Those Who Would Ban Guns: How Do We Stop Illegal Gun Users?" Oct. 19), I have to ask him a few questions.
First, I'd like to know how many times he's personally stopped armed criminals from hurting his family. How about his friends and neighbors: Have any of them been engaged in a gun battle with illegally armed criminals?
Second, before Charles Carl Roberts IV packed his truck with a shotgun, a semiautomatic pistol and a rifle and headed to that Amish schoolhouse, he was a working man with a wife and family to feed and protect. He might have made the same argument others do about needing guns to protect his family. Then something went wrong in his head. How do we know that any person is not also a ticking time bomb?
DAVID WALLACE
Turtle Creek
Compare the crimes
It has nearly been two weeks since our dear friend Riyaad Partlow was taken from us in a devastating vignette of jarring violence ("Man Shot, Killed," Oct. 9). Shortly after, Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers offered a $1,000 reward to bring Mr. Partlow's killer to justice ("Reward Offered in Braddock Killing," Oct. 15). To date, no arrests have been made.
On Friday, an identical amount was tendered to apprehend the individual who left a badly injured dog in a Dumpster.
What does it say about us as a society when the bounty for information about a nonlethal act of animal cruelty matches that for information about the killing of a young person from Braddock?
MAYOR JOHN K. FETTERMAN
Braddock
Kilbuck stonewalling
I'm not surprised that last week's Kilbuck supervisors meeting was an exercise in futility for those hoping to get answers for the cause and response to last month's landslide on Ohio River Boulevard ("Kilbuck Landslide Meeting One-Sided: Supervisor Reads Statement, Won't Allow Comments," Oct. 18).
This is a textbook case of what happens when best practices are ignored in civil engineering. History is full of such failures, from "Galloping Gertie," the old Tacoma Narrows bridge that was built too flexibly to withstand the winds that rocked it to fatigue, to the experimental road resurfacing on I-90 around Erie that resulted in manhole-sized concrete chunks that would break loose with heavy truck traffic and be launched across the highway into oncoming traffic. At least in this case no one died.
It's clear that blame lies squarely with the township supervisors who, blinded by the opportunity to cash in on retail development, ignored recommended guidelines in granting variances to permit the dangerous practices that resulted in this landslide.
The township's efforts to stonewall any discussion is a transparent effort to avoid liability for the damage and inconvenience that this closure caused local businesses and residents, as we took hours out of our lives driving around the slide.
The irony here is that had previous Kilbuck officials demanded a stone retaining wall for this project, the current supervisors wouldn't have needed to stonewall critics.
BOB HABERKOST
Ross
Values to support
Regarding the Rev. Chris Stillwell's Oct. 18 letter, "Sick of Partisan Preachers":
After his first paragraph of hate toward Republicans and Congress, he continued spewing his hate toward Dr. James C. Dobson, who has devoted his life to preserving the traditional family that was created by God, because he had the audacity to visit Pittsburgh and point out the danger of electing leaders who refuse to support families, marriage and sexual morality.
The good reverend said he was "sick." I wholeheartedly agree ... he is sick.
ROBERT L. WINGERT
Mt. Lebanon
Rick Santorum has a quality we need: He gets the job done
The Post-Gazette endorsed Bob Casey and called him "good-hearted" ("Casey for Senate: Santorum Exemplifies the Worst of Washington," Oct. 22). I am also "good-hearted," but that in no way makes me qualified to become a United States senator. I don't want a nice senator; I want a senator who can get things done.
Rick Santorum may not be warm and fuzzy, but he gets the job done for Allegheny County.
DAN LIOY
Plum
The writer is a member of the Plum Republican Committee.
