Letters to the Editor

Thanks for bringing troops home

President Obama's announcement that the war in Iraq is over and that all troops there will be coming home by the holidays was good news and a needed lift ("Obama: Troops in Iraq coming home this year," Saturday). After far too much time, money, energy, lives, limbs, and lost development here, an unnecessary war in the wrong country is finally coming to an end. Maybe now we can get back to rebuilding our own nation. Thanks are owed to the Obama administration and all who worked to see this day.

Rev. David W. Long, West Chester, davidwarrenlong@comcast.net

Iraq withdrawal is a reelection stunt

Do you really think the war is over in Iraq? The only reason President Obama is bringing everyone home is because it is the only reason he has for a reelection campaign. He knows he's going under, and rather quickly, and this is the only way he can get all of those votes that he had the last time around.

Robin Lewis, Skippack

Time to change the primary system

The machinations of several states to advance the dates of their primaries or caucuses in the hope of gaining some influence in the selection of the Republican presidential nominee points up the absurdity of the current process ("Nevada GOP relents, changes caucus date," Sunday). It is time to fix this flawed system.

The Republicans and Democrats should adopt a two-day national presidential primary. All states with primaries or caucuses would hold them on the same day, and all candidates actively seeking their party's nomination would be listed on the ballots.

The top two finishers in each party would then compete in a runoff primary two or three weeks later, with the winner becoming his or her party's nominee. The first balloting could take place in late April, the second in mid-May.

This restructuring would benefit the parties, the voters, election officials, political donors, and the media. It is truly an idea whose time is now.

Robert Devoe, Philadelphia

Forget the facts and just vote black?

According to Annette John-Hall, radio host Tom Joyner thinks that it's not necessary for African Americans to deal with the facts when voting for a president, but more importantly to stay loyal to their black pride and cast their votes based on race ("Call for minority unity draws flak," Friday). Doesn't he understand that we are talking about the leader of our country? Or does he simply not care as long as the person elected is black? If a white journalist were to rally whites to vote based on skin color, you would have the NAACP, Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson all beating a path to his door to make him apologize. It seems that sometimes the people who play the race card are the true racists.

Mike Krakovitz, Drexel Hill, mike@mksremodeling.com

Protest 'leaders' promote diversity

As one who has spent many hours with the nascent leadership of Occupy Philadelphia, I can attest that this movement, while supporting a democratic process that allows for a diversity of perspectives, does not tolerate, much less promote, hate speech ("Occupiers must face the fringe," Friday). While some protesters at the daily marches carry signs of their own choosing, those who speak at and lead the daily general assemblies (primarily those who are actually occupying Dilworth Plaza) are both stridently inclusive and equally intolerant of prejudice. This is a movement that seeks, at its core, to unite all citizens around the causes of democracy, economic equity, and justice. If there were leaders of this movement in the traditional sense, I have no doubt that they would disavow those who promote bigotry.

Rev. Peter A. Friedrichs, Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County, Media, minister.uucdc@gmail.com

A voice for the working class and poor

I applaud the Occupy Wall Street movement and the message it is sending to the world about this difficult economy and the tragic trend we've been seeing against the middle-class and the poor.

U.S. Census data shows the median household income in New Jersey in 2010 dropped 2.7 percent from 2009, and is 2.9 percent less than in 2006. These disturbing figures will likely be exacerbated by Gov. Christie's support for tax cuts for millionaires over property-tax relief for senior citizens and the working class.

The eclectic group that has become Occupy Wall Street has given a voice to the working class and poor and those who are most vulnerable in society against the right-wing, ultraconservative policies that helped bring us this crippled economy.

Solutions aren't easily found to deep-rooted problems, but I urge them to keep making their voices heard.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Ewing

Children learn bullying at home

Yes, school officials need to do more to protect students and maintain a safe learning environment and should have intervened immediately ("First grader beaten by peers," Sunday). However, the other distressing part of this story is the bullies themselves. At only 6 years old, where do these children learn to beat and inflict pain on another child? There's clearly an issue in the home when a 6-year-old can ruthlessly inflict pain on another child.

Many parents (especially low-income) tend to discipline to inflict fear in their children, not to instill respect. A child who receives beatings out of anger does not learn self-control and respect. He learns that might makes right and that physical dominance rules. These children become bullies! Then, when they are old enough and large enough that parents (especially single mothers) can no longer hurt them, they become uncontrollable.

We need to hold parents accountable when their young children inflict pain on others. We need to teach parents that fear does not equal respect, and hopefully their children will learn to respect as well.

Tom Roman, Wynnewood, troman8@msn.com

District not taking bullying seriously

The School District's alleged zero-tolerance policy against bullying has become a horrible joke. Officials say they take the situation "very seriously" and "don't have any tolerance" for bullying, yadda, yadda, yadda. Where was everyone when the parents wrote letters and made phone calls? Where was that little boy's teacher, who couldn't recognize an abused kid when she or he saw one? Why wasn't the child put into a safer school promptly, after the parents explained, again and again, why he had been absent from Patterson for more than two weeks?

It has become appallingly obvious that the School District takes bullying "very seriously" only when the case winds up in the newspaper.

So keep up the great work on the schools reporting. You're not only performing a public service by keeping us informed; you're helping these battered kids and their families.

Janet Summers, Philadelphia

Fine-tune the Verizon Hall seats, too

It's very nice that Verizon Hall has been working to improve the acoustics, but why doesn't anyone ever mention how terrible the seats are ("Verizon Hall gets $1.3M in fine-tuning," Thursday)? My husband suffers with severe back pain when attending the Philadelphia Orchestra's concerts because of the severity of the straightness of the seats. I experience some discomfort also. The seats on the PATCO high-speed line are so much more comfortable. We are seriously considering terminating our 25-year subscription because my husband cannot tolerate it anymore.

Carmella Osborn, Cherry Hill, carmellao@comcast.net