Letters to the Editor

Donation demand is inappropriate

Something's rotten in Philadelphia: the stench produced when money and politics are intimately involved in deciding who will serve on our courts.

Judicial retention elections are nonpartisan, uncontested, yes/no elections in which the public decides whether a sitting judge should continue to serve. These elections offer the opportunity to evaluate whether a judge has issued fair, impartial decisions and treated those who come into court with respect.

Retention elections are not supposed to be political contests decided by party affiliation. That's why judges do not run on a party label, but rather are listed separately on the ballot.

Unfortunately, the Democratic Party for many years has requested "contributions" from retention judges in return for support on Election Day. This year the party's requests skyrocketed ("Campaigning Philadelphia judges say Democrats sought $10,000 donations, Sept. 30").

Lawyers, bar associations, civic groups, and those who care about good government and fair courts - including the media - must ensure that retention elections are what they were intended to be: a referendum on the judge's performance on the bench, not another political contest.

The party's greedy "request" is a reminder that judges shouldn't be elected in the first place. Judges and money should not mix. Politics should stay out of the courtroom.

Lynn A. Marks and Shira Goodman, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, Philadelphia

Bert Brandenburg, Justice at Stake, Washington

Why the silence about this pollution?

I must commend the environmentalists who have taken it upon themselves to help protect our water supplies. However, I cannot understand how they set their priorities. I've watched as they protested at the recent natural-gas convention in Philadelphia, but am dumbfounded as to why I don't see them protesting the pollution from nearby Reading, where the antiquated sewer system puts millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Schuylkill River. The river is a major source of water for Philadelphia and other cities downriver. The raw sewage contains all sorts of chemicals and pharmaceuticals that people flush down their drains. These discharges are a lot more dangerous than the fracking fluids used by the gas companies.

Ron Grzywacz, Royersford

No good candidate yet for 2012

There is significant media coverage about who will get the 2012 Republican nomination, but there is no media discourse on challenging the Democratic Party to come up with a new and viable challenger to the current president.

As Ron Suskind points out in his new book Confidence Men, President Obama was not ready, and unfortunately is still not ready, to effectively lead the country. The country needs a better alternative than the current president or a Republican tea-party teetotaler, since neither party is representive of the great moderate majority.

For all our sakes, I hope a Democratic challenger and pragmatic, non-partisan third-party candidates get in the fray and give us better choices in 2012.

Joe McCaffrey, Bala Cynwyd

If health-care choice is good . . .

Throughout his article on the Patient Protection Act, Steven Pozza argues for the protection of autonomy and right of conscience for individuals ("Patient protection act poses serious threat to our autonomy," Sunday.) How can he then argue that the individual's ability to choose contraception and sterilization should be removed from health care coverage?

David Westerfer, Philadelphia, davidwesterfer@msn.com

See other side of casino's 'success'

The Sept. 26 editorial "Don't need another casino" was right on target: Philadelphia does not need another casino. SugarHouse is indeed successful - successful in creating hundreds of gambling addicts, dysfunctional families, lost work hours, bankruptcies, white-collar crime, and financial hardships for many homeowners.

There is a flip side to former Gov. Ed Rendell's boasting about the success of slot machines. Many who cannot afford to lose one dime at these casinos are now big-time losers, increasing the cost to social-welfare programs.

Rep. Paul I. Clymer, Perkasie