Letters to the Editor 10-04-2004
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Weapons Ban - Gun Issues - Truth About War - Cultural Problems
Weapons Ban
Editor, Times-Union:Senator John Kerry recently criticized President Bush for letting the ban on assault weapons expire. Perhaps the junior senator from Massachusetts needs to check his job description, found in the U.S. Constitution.
As a member of the legislative branch, it is his job to introduce, debate and pass new laws. As a member of the executive branch, it is President Bush's job to sign or veto bills presented to him by the legislative branch.
Since a bill extending the assault weapons ban never reached the Oval Office, President Bush did not have the opportunity to "let" the ban expire.
If John Kerry was a leader, he could have at least tried to push the extension through Congress. But that means he would have had to make a decision and stick with it. A decision that would alienate the central Pennsylvania blue collar sportsman. He would rather whine than lead. If he cannot lead in the Senate, how can he expect to lead in the White House?
Earlier this year 98 senators voted for or against the Defense of Marriage Act - two senators denied their constituents a voice in this important issue by not bothering to vote - the two senators were John Kerry and John Edwards. Judges from Kerry's own state brought the issue to national importance. But John Kerry failed to lead on the issue. A vote for means he would alienate the Missouri mom who believes marriage should be defined as one man and one woman. A vote against means alienating his left-wing base. So, no vote - no leadership.
In these trying times, we need a president who is a proven leader - not an elitist whiner!
Brad Green
Warsaw
via e-mail
Gun Issues
Editor, Times-Union:Re: Harold Kitson
The basics: I've never supported an overall gun ban. I support the right to have weapons - even for you, Mr. Kitson.
But I also support a ban on guns that have no place in hunting or self-defense, namely assault weapons, and the previous ban was at least a start.
"Even 64 percent of gun owners support the ban, realizing that outlawing weapons that feature flash suppressors, silencers, folding stocks, bayonet mounts and large-capacity ammo magazines is not an attack on the Second Amendment - it's self-preservation" (Arianna Huffington). Overall, 71 percent of all Americans wanted to keep the ban in place (University of Pennsylvania National Annenberg Election Survey).
Clinton's 1994 ban was largely toothless due to loopholes. But let's not forget the end-arounds gun manufacturers made after the ban went into effect to mimic the banned weapons. The 2002 sniper used a Bushmaster rifle in killing 10; the weapon was a knockoff of the banned AR-15 rifle.
Statistics show a 45 percent drop in the number of assault weapons traced to crime scenes (Crime Gun Solutions). Deaths caused by guns have dropped from 38,505 in 1994 to 29,573 in 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA Today). Coincidences?
Do't forget California in 1997, when robbers armed with assault weapons (some modified to be fully automatic) held off 350 cops for two hours. Or closer to home, where a semiautomatic rifle killed an Indianapolis cop this past summer. More than 40 police officers - three in Indiana - were killed with assault weapons like the AK-47 and SKS, a knockoff, from 1998-2001. The FBI reported that the same style weapons were used to kill 10 of 52 officers nationwide in 2003 and five of 32 this year (Indianapolis Star).
I can blame your president for letting this ban lapse because he did nothing to keep it going. When Bush wants something - tax cuts, Medicare, an oil war, he lobbies members of Congress to act. He made zero calls in support of this extension, according to his press secretary. Not one. All it would have taken was a strong voice to get it going, and he was mute. Why?
"The NRA has promised to deny its coveted 'A' rating - and the millions it contributes to those who receive it - to any candidate who votes for extending the assault weapons ban" (Huffington).
Many of my "Democrat friends" did support extending the ban. In March, the Senate voted 52-47 to extend the ban, but the provision died when the bill it was attached to was defeated (USA Today).
The weapons ban had problems, but the answer should have been to close the loopholes and give it teeth.
And thanks for the compliment ("You've got all the answers, Matt"). I'll try to do as the Martha Stewart made-for-TV-movie says - "That's why I'm here; not to sink to your level, but to raise you to mine."
Consider it my compassionate liberalism.
On a side note, is that little mutt that bothers you to the point of writing a letter about it more scared of you now with your beloved assault rifle? Just wondered.
Matt Perry
New Orleans, La.
via e-mail
Truth About War
Editor, Times-Union:I assume the network and 24-hour news cable channels no longer hire "journalists." They now hire newsreaders. If you don't inform yourself through print and online news sources, the result is an uninformed public. There are more unbiased sources in print and on the Internet than on television.
Afghanistan! Have we departed Afghanistan in the darkness of night and I missed it? Are women walking alone in the streets wearing jeans and T-shirts instead of burkas? Are children back in school, girls as well as boys? According to U.S. television media, yes, although the majority of the public knows the real answer is no. There have been at least 136 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan and at least 504 seriously injured.
Alliance nations have lost at least 25 soldiers and around 95 seriously injured, not to mention the 30 U.S.-led alliance civilians killed. Don't our troops in Afghanistan deserve any mention? An estimated 9,091 Afghan troops died, and 27,273 seriously injured. There have been close to 4,000 Afghan civilians killed and almost 6,300 seriously injured.
Are we to believe their families don't grieve?
The question of the media's coverage of Iraq will be answered throughout history as being the first casualty of the war. Should the media judge that the public is so fragile we cannot be told the truth? The media must report the facts so we can form our own opinion. There have been at least 1,192 Coalition troop fatalities. Estimates of 157 Coalition contractors have been killed as well. Nearly 16,000 wounded, injured or sick U.S. soldiers have been evacuated to Landstul, Germany.
According to the Pentagon, nearly 7,400 were wounded in combat. The estimate of Iraqi civilians killed is 13,000 to 27,000 with 21,227 seriously injured. Tommy Franks has estimated 30,000 Iraqi troops died and 54,000 were injured when we zoomed into Baghdad. More than 100 foreigners have been taken hostage in Iraq.
Here is my message to the media. First, we are not fools so stop treating us as if we are. Do you really think we rely only on the U.S. media as our source of information? There are more than enough alternative news sources to inform ourselves of the facts, even the facts I wish I didn't need to know.
Second, do not censor your reporting. Unless your paycheck is signed by the U.S. government you do not work for them, you work for us. It is your responsibility to tell everything that you know.
Third, if we are responsible for the deaths of 55,842 in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as 114,391 seriously injured, tell us and we will digest that in our own way. The heartless fools will laugh and yell "hooray," and those of us that still have our souls intact will deal with it. Report it when soldiers have died or been injured with the total given, not just the daily numbers. Show a bit of respect to their families and recite their names. They deserve no less from you. They have families and friends and it's criminal to make them feel their loved one's life was not worth the few seconds it would take you to pronounce their names. We should feel the pain for what we have done and it is your job to help us realize we do.
D. Colleen Parker
Warsaw
via e-mail
Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit stated in our Letters Policy.
Cultural Problems
Editor, Times-Union:What is the greatest problem in American culture today? The answer has to be "emptiness." Too many adults and youth are bored, searching for something. You can see it in their faces. A girl, after two years in college, came home and spoke to her wealthy dad, "I am sick of my life. I want something, but I don't know what it is. College life isn't helping, but hurting me."
Proverbs chapter 8, verses 32-36 reads "... Blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death."
This Bible reading tells each of us, all of us, that the moral foundation of life is an expression of God's own nature, and is basic for us. Everything is governed by it. When we break God's moral law in the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20, and the Sermon on the Mount , Matthew 5, guilt come to us. Guilt, or sin, has consequences: insecurity, tension, hunger for approval, despair, condemnation and pain. This was very evident in a young lady, member of the church choir, who asked her pastor before Sunday worship, and in much anxiety, "How do I get forgiven for what I let happen on a date last night?" After the sermon and invitation to come to the altar rail, she tearfully came, bowed and asked God's forgiveness, then arose in gratitude and relief, realizing that Jesus' death on the cross made possible her cleansing. Beloved, this is available to us all.
Here is the answer to your and my "Emptiness."
C.L. Hendrix
Winona Lake
via e-mail
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- Weapons Ban - Gun Issues - Truth About War - Cultural Problems
Weapons Ban
Editor, Times-Union:Senator John Kerry recently criticized President Bush for letting the ban on assault weapons expire. Perhaps the junior senator from Massachusetts needs to check his job description, found in the U.S. Constitution.
As a member of the legislative branch, it is his job to introduce, debate and pass new laws. As a member of the executive branch, it is President Bush's job to sign or veto bills presented to him by the legislative branch.
Since a bill extending the assault weapons ban never reached the Oval Office, President Bush did not have the opportunity to "let" the ban expire.
If John Kerry was a leader, he could have at least tried to push the extension through Congress. But that means he would have had to make a decision and stick with it. A decision that would alienate the central Pennsylvania blue collar sportsman. He would rather whine than lead. If he cannot lead in the Senate, how can he expect to lead in the White House?
Earlier this year 98 senators voted for or against the Defense of Marriage Act - two senators denied their constituents a voice in this important issue by not bothering to vote - the two senators were John Kerry and John Edwards. Judges from Kerry's own state brought the issue to national importance. But John Kerry failed to lead on the issue. A vote for means he would alienate the Missouri mom who believes marriage should be defined as one man and one woman. A vote against means alienating his left-wing base. So, no vote - no leadership.
In these trying times, we need a president who is a proven leader - not an elitist whiner!
Brad Green
Warsaw
via e-mail
Gun Issues
Editor, Times-Union:Re: Harold Kitson
The basics: I've never supported an overall gun ban. I support the right to have weapons - even for you, Mr. Kitson.
But I also support a ban on guns that have no place in hunting or self-defense, namely assault weapons, and the previous ban was at least a start.
"Even 64 percent of gun owners support the ban, realizing that outlawing weapons that feature flash suppressors, silencers, folding stocks, bayonet mounts and large-capacity ammo magazines is not an attack on the Second Amendment - it's self-preservation" (Arianna Huffington). Overall, 71 percent of all Americans wanted to keep the ban in place (University of Pennsylvania National Annenberg Election Survey).
Clinton's 1994 ban was largely toothless due to loopholes. But let's not forget the end-arounds gun manufacturers made after the ban went into effect to mimic the banned weapons. The 2002 sniper used a Bushmaster rifle in killing 10; the weapon was a knockoff of the banned AR-15 rifle.
Statistics show a 45 percent drop in the number of assault weapons traced to crime scenes (Crime Gun Solutions). Deaths caused by guns have dropped from 38,505 in 1994 to 29,573 in 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA Today). Coincidences?
Do't forget California in 1997, when robbers armed with assault weapons (some modified to be fully automatic) held off 350 cops for two hours. Or closer to home, where a semiautomatic rifle killed an Indianapolis cop this past summer. More than 40 police officers - three in Indiana - were killed with assault weapons like the AK-47 and SKS, a knockoff, from 1998-2001. The FBI reported that the same style weapons were used to kill 10 of 52 officers nationwide in 2003 and five of 32 this year (Indianapolis Star).
I can blame your president for letting this ban lapse because he did nothing to keep it going. When Bush wants something - tax cuts, Medicare, an oil war, he lobbies members of Congress to act. He made zero calls in support of this extension, according to his press secretary. Not one. All it would have taken was a strong voice to get it going, and he was mute. Why?
"The NRA has promised to deny its coveted 'A' rating - and the millions it contributes to those who receive it - to any candidate who votes for extending the assault weapons ban" (Huffington).
Many of my "Democrat friends" did support extending the ban. In March, the Senate voted 52-47 to extend the ban, but the provision died when the bill it was attached to was defeated (USA Today).
The weapons ban had problems, but the answer should have been to close the loopholes and give it teeth.
And thanks for the compliment ("You've got all the answers, Matt"). I'll try to do as the Martha Stewart made-for-TV-movie says - "That's why I'm here; not to sink to your level, but to raise you to mine."
Consider it my compassionate liberalism.
On a side note, is that little mutt that bothers you to the point of writing a letter about it more scared of you now with your beloved assault rifle? Just wondered.
Matt Perry
New Orleans, La.
via e-mail
Truth About War
Editor, Times-Union:I assume the network and 24-hour news cable channels no longer hire "journalists." They now hire newsreaders. If you don't inform yourself through print and online news sources, the result is an uninformed public. There are more unbiased sources in print and on the Internet than on television.
Afghanistan! Have we departed Afghanistan in the darkness of night and I missed it? Are women walking alone in the streets wearing jeans and T-shirts instead of burkas? Are children back in school, girls as well as boys? According to U.S. television media, yes, although the majority of the public knows the real answer is no. There have been at least 136 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan and at least 504 seriously injured.
Alliance nations have lost at least 25 soldiers and around 95 seriously injured, not to mention the 30 U.S.-led alliance civilians killed. Don't our troops in Afghanistan deserve any mention? An estimated 9,091 Afghan troops died, and 27,273 seriously injured. There have been close to 4,000 Afghan civilians killed and almost 6,300 seriously injured.
Are we to believe their families don't grieve?
The question of the media's coverage of Iraq will be answered throughout history as being the first casualty of the war. Should the media judge that the public is so fragile we cannot be told the truth? The media must report the facts so we can form our own opinion. There have been at least 1,192 Coalition troop fatalities. Estimates of 157 Coalition contractors have been killed as well. Nearly 16,000 wounded, injured or sick U.S. soldiers have been evacuated to Landstul, Germany.
According to the Pentagon, nearly 7,400 were wounded in combat. The estimate of Iraqi civilians killed is 13,000 to 27,000 with 21,227 seriously injured. Tommy Franks has estimated 30,000 Iraqi troops died and 54,000 were injured when we zoomed into Baghdad. More than 100 foreigners have been taken hostage in Iraq.
Here is my message to the media. First, we are not fools so stop treating us as if we are. Do you really think we rely only on the U.S. media as our source of information? There are more than enough alternative news sources to inform ourselves of the facts, even the facts I wish I didn't need to know.
Second, do not censor your reporting. Unless your paycheck is signed by the U.S. government you do not work for them, you work for us. It is your responsibility to tell everything that you know.
Third, if we are responsible for the deaths of 55,842 in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as 114,391 seriously injured, tell us and we will digest that in our own way. The heartless fools will laugh and yell "hooray," and those of us that still have our souls intact will deal with it. Report it when soldiers have died or been injured with the total given, not just the daily numbers. Show a bit of respect to their families and recite their names. They deserve no less from you. They have families and friends and it's criminal to make them feel their loved one's life was not worth the few seconds it would take you to pronounce their names. We should feel the pain for what we have done and it is your job to help us realize we do.
D. Colleen Parker
Warsaw
via e-mail
Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit stated in our Letters Policy.
Cultural Problems
Editor, Times-Union:What is the greatest problem in American culture today? The answer has to be "emptiness." Too many adults and youth are bored, searching for something. You can see it in their faces. A girl, after two years in college, came home and spoke to her wealthy dad, "I am sick of my life. I want something, but I don't know what it is. College life isn't helping, but hurting me."
Proverbs chapter 8, verses 32-36 reads "... Blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death."
This Bible reading tells each of us, all of us, that the moral foundation of life is an expression of God's own nature, and is basic for us. Everything is governed by it. When we break God's moral law in the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20, and the Sermon on the Mount , Matthew 5, guilt come to us. Guilt, or sin, has consequences: insecurity, tension, hunger for approval, despair, condemnation and pain. This was very evident in a young lady, member of the church choir, who asked her pastor before Sunday worship, and in much anxiety, "How do I get forgiven for what I let happen on a date last night?" After the sermon and invitation to come to the altar rail, she tearfully came, bowed and asked God's forgiveness, then arose in gratitude and relief, realizing that Jesus' death on the cross made possible her cleansing. Beloved, this is available to us all.
Here is the answer to your and my "Emptiness."
C.L. Hendrix
Winona Lake
via e-mail
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