Letters to the Editor
It appears that the objective of Karen Heller's column "Pennsylvania: A state where folks stick" on Wednesday was to encourage folks to leave so new blood could move in to spark some kind of renaissance in the state.
Sticking in Pa. because they like it
It appears that the objective of Karen Heller's column "Pennsylvania: A state where folks stick" on Wednesday was to encourage folks to leave so new blood could move in to spark some kind of renaissance in the state.
She makes a good point in her last couple of paragraphs stating that too many Pennsylvanians believe that they need to put up with the governmental mismanagement and corruption in this state. However, does she believe that ridicule and insults will motivate folks to pack their bags to explore exotic places and then return as new creations? Further, does she truly believe that people would want to move to a state that, as she describes it, is the land of ill-bred, uninformed, ignorant, uncultured buffoons, rubes, and old fogies, who, heaven forbid, have never been globe-trotting?
I grew up in Hatboro, went to nursing school in Norristown, and then spent 30 years in the Navy Nurse Corps. Nine years ago, when I retired, my husband and I came back here to settle. We love this state for its beauty and, yes, for those very people that Heller so maligned. There certainly is no call for such stinging barbs and negative portrayal.
Dot Michael
Dresher
nolead begins
Court upheld rule of self-defense
Otis McDonald lives in a dangerous section of Chicago where his home has been broken into multiple times. In the recent Supreme Court ruling, five justices said that the Constitution allows him to own a handgun to protect himself and his family; four justices said it doesn't. Those four wanted the court to tell Otis that the Constitution says that the lives of him and his family are expendable for the general good. Does this hazardous government interference sound as if it comes from a Constitution with a Bill of Rights to protect individuals from the government?
This minority opinion was supported by The Inquirer ("Ignoring guns' toll," Wednesday), which went further, saying that the ruling was due to the court's conservative majority remaining ". . . fixated on expanding the right to bear arms . . . ." "Expanding"? Allowing Otis McDonald a handgun and a chance against the possibly murderous bad guys breaking into his home?
Anthony P. Schiavo
Lafayette Hill
nolead begins
The militias are long gone
Re: "High court limits gun ban," Tuesday:
The Second Amendment says:
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
You can interpret this to mean that today, in the year 2010, every citizen is entitled to carry a deadly weapon. All that is required is that you be a moron. Or one of the right-wing hacks on the Supreme Court.
We don't have militias today (except for right-wing nut groups). If you want to find justification for every citizen to bear arms, look for it elsewhere. Perhaps in that crystal ball that five of our eminent justices used to discover the real intent of the founders, the one provided by the NRA.
John J. Donohue Jr.
Philadelphia
nolead begins
Specter's consistency
Arlen Specter strikes again.
He helped assemble the current right wing, including Clarence Thomas, of the Supreme Court. Then, for political expediency, he switches parties, claiming to be more in tune with Democrats. And now he is "thinking about" voting against Elena Kagan ("Specter says he could vote against Kagan," Thursday).
At least it's nice to know that some things never change. Specter remains an egomaniacal, obstinate jerk.
Bill Lunsford
Haddonfield
nolead begins
Where were parents at school meetings?
With all due respect to the Pew Trusts' Philadelphia Research Initiative ("What parents want from schools," Tuesday), I'd love to know where they found so many parents with opinions to share.
In my 27 years as an English teacher in three public high schools, with five classes a day averaging 30 students, my highest number of parents to show up at report-card conferences was seven.
Edith H. Saltzberg
Merion