Letters to the Editor
What a wonderful, bittersweet moment for a Democrat such as myself to read about the Pennsylvania fiscal mess that Gov.-elect Corbett will find himself facing in 2011 ("Rendell gives Corbett sweeping info on Pa.," Tuesday). Corbett will find himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place as he struggles mightily to balance a budget despite his campaign pledge to never raise taxes.
How will Corbett balance the budget?
What a wonderful, bittersweet moment for a Democrat such as myself to read about the Pennsylvania fiscal mess that Gov.-elect Corbett will find himself facing in 2011 ("Rendell gives Corbett sweeping info on Pa.," Tuesday). Corbett will find himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place as he struggles mightily to balance a budget despite his campaign pledge to never raise taxes.
How does Corbett say he will address the growing deficit bomb? Why, he will root out "waste and abuse" in government spending. This would be totally laughable if he were not really serious. Has any politician in the past 50 years not pledged to reduce, even eliminate, waste and abuse, and, have any of them ever actually achieved it?
Governing is far more difficult than mere campaigning. The time for the hard choices is rapidly approaching, and I, for one, want to see how Corbett can balance the budget without raising taxes. My hopes and prayers are with you.
Ken Derow
Wallingford
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Angels fulfill security promise
The editorial on the Guardian Angels patrolling parts of Kensington doesn't seem too hopeful about this group being able to provide security ("Angels on alert," Tuesday).
Funny how the "hope" promised by President Obama seemed to stir such feelings of a messiah in millions of people, yet he has not lived up to his promise. The only hope the administration has given us is that he will be out of office in 2013 before he destroys everything great about our country and its freedoms.
Yet the Guardian Angels, who over many, many years have provided extra security and comfort for towns and cities across America, have proven to be the hope that many citizens need in order to feel safe to walk the streets of their community. The Angels have actually caught criminals too.
Connie Waterman
Narberth
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Enough already about Arlen Specter
Spare us the self-aggrandizing long goodbye of Sen. Arlen Specter ("Service is his legacy," Sunday). After more than 30 years of the magic bullet theory, "not proven," the quixotic presidential bid, and the Clarence Thomas hearings, we have had enough. Perhaps someone should tell Specter that under Scottish common law, when the defendant skips the country, his attorney goes to jail. In that context, murderer Ira Einhorn and his onetime lawyer Specter would make excellent cell mates. Think of the esoteric debates they could have.
Laurence Milkowski
Springfield
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Obama a leader of intelligence, vision
Love him or hate him, one must conclude that Barack Obama has accomplished more in two years than his predecessor did in eight. This is not to suggest that everyone must agree with all the administration's wins, but isn't it a pleasure to have a chief executive of great intelligence, clarity of vision, respect for all, including his opponents, and the ability to get things done? Should he be able to extricate us from Afghanistan with some semblance of honor maybe then we can finally begin to heal from the aberration that was George W. Bush.
John W. Jones
Solebury Township
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A belief in creator and in evolution
A letter writer assumes that those of us who accept the theory of evolution will be horrified to know that Charles Darwin believed in a creator (Monday). He even quotes a paragraph from Darwin's
The Origin of Species
in an attempt to prove his point. Sorry, but all he has established is that Darwin believed in both a creator and evolution, a creator who left us with a world and possibilities. It is up to every living creature to make the most of the possibilities offered.
The letter writer should be addressing those who say that the only validity is the Bible as written. He should address those Intelligent Design folk who manage to look the other way every time an inconvenient fact gets in the way.
David Perelman
Lafayette Hill
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Time to select vegetarian options
This has not been a good year for the meat, dairy, and egg industries.
In January, ABC News provided extensive coverage of cow abuse by the dairy industry. The BP oil spill in April called attention to an even larger Gulf "dead zone" caused by animal waste dumped every day in the Mississippi River. A month later, a U.N. report urged a global shift toward a vegan diet to reduce world hunger and climate change.
In June, FDA asked farms to stop routine use of antibiotics that lead to drug-resistant infections in humans. August witnessed the largest-ever recall of more than a half-billion eggs harboring salmonella.
Finally, President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act to replace fatty animal products and other junk foods in school lunches and vending machines ("Demand healthy food for children," Dec. 18). According to the School Nutrition Association, 65 percent of U.S. schools now offer vegetarian lunch options.
For a New Year's resolution, we should all consider following suit.
Allen Shannon
Philadelphia
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A job well done despite the storm
Congratulations to The Inquirer and all personnel. I awoke at 6:30 Monday morning, looked out the window to assess the storm damage, and to my pleasant surprise there in a red bag on top of the snow in my driveway was The Inquirer. A job well done under trying conditions.
Ron Costello
Warminster