Letters to the Editor

How to save the Sunoco refinery

If U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan wants to find a solution for saving the Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook ("Small handful of buyers," Dec. 20), I suggest he start thinking outside the box. Why not use eminent domain, which gives the state the right to take private property at fair market value for public use when it is needed for the public welfare?

Sunoco claims that it can't profit from this refinery, so the state should offer them a low-ball figure for the plant and equipment, which are not located in a high-value real estate market area. I am sure that the current workers, who have created the value of this plant over the years, can figure out how to operate profitably in an era when the fuels that this plant produces are in such high demand.

John Kovach, Wallingford, KovachJ@chc.edu

Federal Reserve on wrong course

Bill Dunkelberg's Dec. 19 column ("Low interest won't drive the recovery") makes an excellent point. While the Federal Reserve actions in 2008-09 were appropriate as a short-term measure to provide liquidity and calm the markets, leaving rates low indefinitely is counterproductive.

People saving for retirement or depending on fixed-income returns are punished by rates below inflation. All the cash created by the Federal Reserve weakens our currency and raises inflationary expectations. Does anyone really believe the reported 2 to 3 percent annual inflation? A visit to your supermarket or gas station paints a different picture.

In the absence of fiscal leadership in Washington, the Federal Reserve is playing a dangerous game in trying to fill the void.

David Good, North Wales, dgood@franklincleaningequipment.com

How to explain these sentences?

I am stunned by the sentencing verdicts for the three men who beat to death David Sale Jr. after a Phillies game in October 2009, all over a spilled beer. What is wrong with these judges? Those three got sentences ranging from two to 18 years.

And then there's the judge who sentenced Rod Blagojevich to 14 years in prison for allegedly selling a U.S. Senate seat. You can kill someone and receive less time than for selling a Senate seat or failing to pay all your taxes. What is wrong here?

Denny Belt, Ambler, dennybelt@verizon.net

Conlin case reveals systemic flaw

Where is the justice in the judicial system? The statute of limitations means doing nothing to the molesters. How does that help the victims?

Bill Conlin is accused of ruining the lives of several young people. If the charges are true, imagine what it was like for them all the years they saw his name in print as a leading voice in baseball.

The statute of limitations on molesters should be challenged and changed. Maybe some good can come out of this tragedy. Perhaps families of young people who are currently being molested will come forward and alert the police so that justice can be served.

Gloria Gelman, Philadelphia

This week's flavor is ...

Who will be the flavor of the week this week in the Republican contest for president? On the leader board (to borrow a golf tournament phrase) over the last few grueling months, we've had at various times Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Perry.

Considering that there are millions of Republicans in this country, there has to be someone who can capture, for more than a week or so, the imagination of those potential Republican voters.

It's very easy to criticize President Obama. It's not so easy for candidates standing on a stage or traveling in our various states to tell the American people how they will correct what they perceive to be the wrong direction that our country is heading in.

Paul S. Bunkin, Turnersville

A Jewish view on 'sharia' law

We concur with the sentiment expressed in Patrick Kerkstra's article "Sharia law as bogeyman" (Dec. 21). Such efforts feed on a general fear of Muslims and the inaccurate belief that Islamic law is infiltrating the American court system.

Kerkstra's article claimed that, "a number of Jewish groups have opposed the anti-sharia movement almost as vocally as Muslim organizations, largely out of fear that the legislation could infringe on the use of Halakha, Jewish religious law." While some Jewish organizations might feel this way, the Anti-Defamation League opposes them because they pander to prejudice and fear. ADL opposes all forms of bigotry and promotion of threats that do not exist. Islamaphobia has no place in American life.

Barry Morrison, Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League, Philadelphia