White privilege

Annette John-Hall's column "Not blinking at the shame" (Inquirer, June 24) reminds us of issues that white Americans too often ignore. It is clear that descendants of slave owners and traders, willingly or not, have received a legacy of privilege and benefits from the actions of their ancestors. But it is also true that other white Americans like myself, whose ancestors came here from other parts of the world after slavery had ended here, also partake of that legacy. Preferential education, hiring and lending have benefited all white Americans at the expense of our fellow citizens who are the descendants of slaves or of black immigrants.

Joan Lukas
Philadelphia
joan.lukas@umb.edu

Congress caves

I was very pleased to see The Inquirer describing the Democratic cave-in on the Fourth Amendment and the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act accurately ("Horse-trading privacy," June 24). It was not necessary and was not a compromise in any meaningful sense. The conservative Blue Dog Democrats and the finger-to-the-wind calculators and triangulators have put principle and the Constitution aside in order to gain very little in terms of meaningful, worthwhile gains in unrelated legislation.

Richmond L. Gardner
Horsham
rlg3526@ix.netcom.com

Budget needs

Your editorial "Rendell budget for mentally disabled" (Inquirer, June 23) ignores more than a half a billion dollars in investments in expanded services. We are steadfast in our commitment to expand services to persons with mental retardation and further reduce the wait list.

Assuming the governor's budget passes as proposed, mental retardation service providers will have received more than a 40 percent increase in funding since 2003. This funding has enabled providers to remove 7,880 people from the waiting lists.

I know providers are under pressure from rising food, energy and other costs, but we can no more pass a law to guarantee every provider a cost-of-living allowance than we can pass a law to give every breadwinner a raise. (Last year the budget included a 3 percent COLA, which was on top of a 2 percent increase in each of the previous three years.)

Absent new funding, the only way to come up with these dollars would be to cut eligibility or benefits elsewhere in the system. Backing our providers is a priority, but not at the expense of services or benefits.

Finally, the assertion that there is $1.5 billion of uncommitted state dollars is wrong. The state budget is now hundreds of millions behind where we planned because of the slowdown in the economy.

Estelle B. Richman

Secretary of Public Welfare
Harrisburg

Obama's race card

I resent Barack Obama's reprehensible accusation on Friday that Republicans will try to instill fear in voters because he is black.

I am not voting for Obama, but not because he's black. It's because of his dangerous foreign policy; his love affair with high taxes; his irresponsible economic plan that mirrors the Carter debacle; and his lack of a coherent, strategic plan regarding energy independence.

The only person who repeatedly brings up race in this campaign is Obama. He consistently plays the "race card" and is the only person in this campaign who has a long-standing association with racists - such as the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright and Louis Farrakhan.

I am not a racist and I will not be made to feel guilty because I choose to vote for the candidate I believe is best for America - and that's not Obama.

Bobbi Spillane
Coatesville

GOP attack machine

With regard to Barack Obama's opting out of public campaign financing (Letters, June 23): Do those of you who criticize him not "get it" that Obama is the first African American candidate who not only will win, but who will inevitably be the constant target of the Republican attack machine, which will use racism in every way possible to defeat him?

Do you not get that? He will be up against the strongest attacks against any presidential candidate in history and needs every resource at his fingertips. Just what is it that you don't "get" about that?

Karen Porter

Team Leader
Chester County Obama Campaign
West Chester
ccobama@aol.com