Letters: Letters

You properly note ("Rethinking Nader's appeal," Dec. 26) the unfairness of Ralph Nader being hit for $81,000 in court costs because of defective signatures in his 2004 bid to make the Pennsylvania ballot.

You also rightly point out that Democratic operatives were paid state salaries and bonuses for the political job of trying to keep Nader off the ballot.

Yet somehow you missed the obvious point when you say that Nader's problem was that his "campaign supporters . . . filed nominating petitions from the likes of Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, and other fictitious signers."

Is it not obvious that the entire Nader campaign was sabotaged by a dirty-tricks campaign organized by operatives of the Democratic Party? Is it not obvious that the sabotage was at both ends, not just in using taxpayer money to challenge his signatures, but in filing transparently fraudulent signatures as well?

Gregory Kafoury

Portland, Ore.

» READ MORE: kafoury@kafourymcdougal.com

Kudos to Melissa Dribben for her fine reporting on the tragic suicide of 23-year-old Zal Chapgar ("A life of promise, frustration and tragedy," Tuesday). Exemplary reporting such as this helps humanize mental illness and encourage sufferers to seek help for these treatable brain illnesses.

Ruth Z. Deming

Executive director

New Directions Support Group

Willow Grove

» READ MORE: ruthdeming@comcast.net

I take exception to Steve Young's contention ("Valuable life lessons from Palin, Utley, O.J.," Wednesday) that Chase Utley should be included with the likes of O.J. Simpson and Sarah Palin's "embarrassing, sometimes disastrous" blunders.

After all, Simpson's blunder was criminal and Palin's blunder was that she was a fraud. Utley's so-called blunder, on the other hand, was pure joy.

There are many words in the English language that Chase could have used, but none could have conveyed the deep feelings of elation that the Phillies and the fans were experiencing on that glorious celebration day.

I seldom curse and find it very disturbing that the

word

is used so freely these days by both adults and young people, but on that day it was sweet music to my ears and I loved it.

As for the children who were watching, I am sure that they sensed that Chase meant no harm. It's not the

word

that is offensive; it is the meaning behind it.

Carol DePrisco

Philadelphia

» READ MORE: cadeprisco@comcast.net

On behalf of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, I would like to thank the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Fairmount Park Commission, and the more than 1,000 community volunteers who helped plant 1,000 new trees in parks, in yards, and on the streets of 30 city neighborhoods over the last two months as part of the TreeVitalize and Tree Tenders programs.

At a time of economic hardship, these affordable trees are a true gift and will provide benefits to residents' mental and physical health for years to come. I encourage residents to enjoy their new trees and consider joining PHS Tree Tenders and community plantings in the new year. For more information, please visit

» READ MORE: www.pennsylvaniahorticultural

society.org.

May we all breathe easier in the New Year.

Mike Hardy

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Philadelphia

» READ MORE: mhardy@pennhort.org

I suppose it was too much to expect The Inquirer, even after gleefully publishing a cartoon mocking our president having shoes thrown at him, to leave the guy alone in his last days in office. In Tuesday's editorial "Bush shares blame in Gaza" you couldn't resist dragging up the old canard of his waging war on Iraq "over his desire to find WMD" and to topple Saddam Hussein in the hope that it would bring peace to the Mideast.

Might I remind you that most of the world's intelligence services, as well as the CIA, believed Hussein had an ongoing weapons of mass destruction program and was close to going nuclear?

Almost all of the Democratic Party leadership - including Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi, to name a few - made the same assertion and voted for the war. And the first president to say that Hussein should be toppled was Bill Clinton.

Nick O'Dell

Phoenixville

» READ MORE: nickodell5@comcast.net