Letters to the Editor

George Carlin came into the national consciousness through appearances on the legendary

The Ed Sullivan Show

in the 1960s ("Blinq," June 23), and went on to a long and prosperous career as one of the most talented comedians of all time. It is sad that a man with such an extraordinary gift of making people laugh chose to do so in the cheapest manner possible: thumbing his nose at society as he pushed the envelope, making profanity the focus of his routines whenever and wherever it was permitted. I regret that he was so intent on offending civilization as to render his material unsuitable for general audiences.

Oren M. Spiegler

Upper Saint Clair

The editorial "Leave it to the next president" (Inquirer, June 22) is fundamentally wrong, and Trudy Rubin is right on ("Now is the time to define U.S. presence in Iraq," June 22). The American public wants some definition, and the status-of-forces agreement - one of about 80 SOFAs that the United States has with other countries - would accomplish that. Let's get it done now.

I agree that the second document, the "framework" agreement, is different and should involve Congress. But I don't understand why The Inquirer combines the two, other than to throw in a good soundbite like: "Are they to be treated like those Wild West treaties with Native North Americans that weren't worth the ink used to sign them?"

It's time we admit that we cannot afford to have insurgents, Syria or Iran control Iraqi oil. Look what rumors of instability in the oil supply have done to our economy in the last several months. Can you imagine a major disruption?

Brian Kelly

Jamison

Trudy Rubin's push for an agreement between the United States and Iraq during the waning months of the Bush presidency is truly breathtaking in its audacity ("Now is the time to define U.S. presence in Iraq," June 22). A war that was supposed to be over in weeks has stretched into years with no end in sight.

Are things this tenuous, after more than five years of war, that we need to rush through an agreement, like we rushed into war? I maintain the deal is not about "continuity" at all, but more an effort to tie the next president's hands to a new reason to stay. Most Iraqis want us out of their country, and many Americans feel the same way. Apparently, their feelings count for nothing.

With costs of basics rising quickly for Americans, with incomes, pensions, and investments falling, and with jobs outsourced, our country is standing at the brink of an economic abyss. We cannot sustain this empire, let alone force ourselves into a volatile part of the world where we are resented and unwanted.

Elaine Hughes

Maple Glen

Chris Satullo's column "Sliced, diced and gerrymandered" (Inquirer, June 21) is the fourth time in six weeks that he has discussed the political manipulation done by our pseudo-elected state representatives to ensure their jobs. Any citizen who has ever uttered a word of complaint regarding our government should now be fighting for fair redistricting. I've made my calls and sent e-mails this weekend. Did you? Please act before we suffer another 10 years of "unrepresentation." We can kill the gerrymander.

Dick Lolla

Malvern

One thing John McCain is not, and that's a maverick Republican, different from George W. Bush ("McCain's big balancing act is a tough one," June 22). His views coincide exactly with Bush's on indefinite war in Iraq and probable war in Iran; on privatizing Social Security and gutting Medicare; on continuing tax breaks for the very wealthy, and on supporting torture, unwarranted wiretapping, and other egregious erosions of our constitutional rights.

Yes, McCain spent five years in a Vietnamese prison and his refusal to come home early made him a hero. But that experience and his family military history seem to have warped him. He is, in addition to all of the above, an unyielding militarist who would stubbornly engage our country in yet more unprovoked combat simply to prove he's tough enough to take the heat, as he did in Vietnam.

Allene A. Murphey

Bryn Mawr