Political action to stop war
A while back the President said that he would decide in two weeks whether or not to invade Iraq. Then he said he would decide by mid-March. Personally I find it incredulous that he doesn’t flat out understand that he will never get reelected if he gives the order to invade. It is antique politics that he is engaged in. He is a blueblood from an era long past.
I was pleased to hear about the e mail, telephone, fax effort by a coalition of the Sierra Club, Council of Churches, and NOW that effectively shut down Washington for a day. We must continue to exert such political pressure to keep this insanity from transpiring. It is a turning point in the history of this country. We called ourselves the land of the free. What right do we have to invade a country that hasn’t attacked us?
None. Get on the phone, send e mails and faxes to the White House and your elected representatives. Maybe we can actually preclude this travesty from going further.
Cletis Harry Beegle
Tucson AZ
Americans please save America
The Bush administration’s ultra-right, crazy movement is deliberately moving into a world war. First Iraq, then North Korea what’s next, Pakistan, China, etc? Who is going to believe Saddam Hussein is that dangerous? The real truth is that Saddam is just an excuse to obtain oil and control of the Middle East area for the Bush administration. The world is not blind.
The sentence “the end justify the means” is a sick and dangerous statement. The world does not need another Hitler. The consequences of these possible wars are so negative and dangerous. The economy could be a disaster, deficits a mess, human discontent a fact and terrorism would increase without solution. The solution for terrorism is diplomacy, verification and justice.
Intelligence, diplomacy, humanity, respect, construction, education and honesty are some of the requisites for a good politician, which is the best way to love a country. No more violence! Antagonizing the world is not the answer. Nobody wants another Hitler who was hated by the world.
Please, Americans save America!
Carmen Compáns
Madrid, Spain
Salute to Mr. Rogers
I am sending this message of remembrance for Mr. Rogers, who presented for many years a TV program for children.
Some of you might be surprised: why this Arab Palestinian guy is taking the pains to write a few lines about Mr. Rogers, an American host of a children’s TV program.
When my wife Iftikhar and myself arrived in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1973, we saw Mr. Rogers for the first time on TV. Our daughters: Nadeen in 1974 then Nasreen in 1976, both born in Philadelphia, Iftikhar used to put the TV for the two little girls to watch Mr. Rogers while their daddy was getting his training in pathology at Temple University Hospital.
His calls for less violence on TV, for stronger family and “neighborhood” values, for compassion and love for others and accepting them the way they are, his stories and dialogues on moral and ethical issues were very valuable to us and our children.
Mr. Rogers represents to my family and myself the America we admire and cherish. America which is caring, compassionate and loving. America that is calm and dignified. America which has serenity and responsibility. We had tears in our eyes when we heard about the death of Mr. Rogers. Is he a breed now extinct in America? I hope not.
Our salute to an American gentleman.
Samir and Iftikhar
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Rumsfeld’s harsh face
Don Rumsfeld has become the harsh face of a new America that disappoints even as it frightens the world. Whether he’s stomping off to war, dismissing international law, insulting our friends and allies, threatening aggression against any and all who dare to disagree, Rumsfeld seems to be the militarist mouthpiece of Bush’s foreign policy, even drowning out Colin Powell’s softer rhetoric. Not since Al Haig commanded attention in Reagan’s first term has our nation had such a megalomaniacal personality in top leadership.
It’s a dangerous situation when a weak president allows himself to be so clearly directed by the likes of Rumsfeld and his coterie of Pentagon chicken hawks, who’ve been waiting in the wings for years to hatch their long-contemplated doctrine of America Uber Alles. They seem unable to accept that their imperialist designs have met with such determined domestic and international resistance.
Rumsfeld represents the dying throes of an “old thinking” about the U.S. role in an increasingly inter-dependent global community, so desperate for enlightened leadership. Rumsfeld’s inordinate influence in the White House must be pre-empted. A global coalition is struggling to deter America from needless aggression.
Cord MacGuire
Boulder CO
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