Last modified: Monday, October 29, 2007 1:13 AM EDT LETTERS: Keep targeted selectmen on board in Mansfield; Property owners need friend on city council; Provide arbitration for televised sports viewers; Follow the hypocrisy in Reid-Limbaugh flap; NAFTA supporter poor choice for president Keep targeted selectmen on board in Mansfield To the editor: It upsets me greatly to see two honest, capable, hardworking public servants like Mansfield Selectmen Louis Amoruso and David McCarter being recalled for doing the job they were elected to do. They acted on the advice of counsel for the benefit of all of Mansfield's citizens. Keith Purrier would have us believe that Mr. Amoruso and Mr. McCarter should have immediately dismissed Town Manager John D'Agostino for ably doing his job as he has since he was hired. It is my understanding that the sexual harassment suit against Mr. D'Agostino did not pass muster from the outset. Also, the payment of the settlement will not raise our electric rates as was erroneously reported. What a colossal waste of taxpayers' money this "witch hunt" is! Mssrs. Purrier, George Dentino and Karl Clemmey simply want to eliminate any opposition on the board to their plan to get rid of Mr. D'Agostino. The intelligent thing to do would have been to simply wait until the next election and campaign for their own cronies for the positions. They probably realize they would lose, again; that's why they decided to falsely accuse Amoruso and McCarter of abusing their positions as selectmen. May cool heads prevail and Mr. McCarter and Mr. Amoruso be allowed to complete their terms of office. Margaret E. Flannery Mansfield Property owners need friend on city council To the editor: In her recent letter ("Ordinance author no friend to city animals"), Ellen Parker proves not only that she doesn't get what it takes to be an effective city councilor, but that (once again) she has little regard for the rights of homeowners. Kudos to Councilman Brian Kirby for listening to the legitimate concerns of his constituents. He has simply asked the question: why should any property owner have to tolerate the daily trespassing and incessant damage caused by pets owned by irresponsible neighbors? All that Ms. Parker has confirmed in her rant is that she is, in fact, one of those irresponsible neighbors. But this isn't the first time Ms. Parker has spoken out against homeowner' property rights in Attleboro. She has publicly supported attempts to prevent certain property owners from demolishing their own property without first waiting six months or unless an appointed board "blessed" the proposed work. Ms. Parker is the long-time girlfriend of Councilor Bill Bowles. And while she brought up the soaring "sewer fees" in her letter, she forgot to mention that Bill Bowles not only voted in favor of the $30 million wastewater treatment plant (which skyrocketed the debt by over 88 percent) but also fought and voted against an independent review of the design which could have reduced the overall cost of the new plant. Ms. Parker and Mr. Bowles may not be friends to private property owners, but Mr. Kirby is. And given a choice between a councilor who is willing to address the concerns of his constituents and one who refuses to even listen, I'll take the former any day. Richard W. Lunt Attleboro Provide arbitration for televised sports viewers To the editor: Many football fans already know that big cable companies are taking advantage of consumers and preventing them from watching their favorite football teams. How do they know this? Because they are being charged extra for the NFL Network or are blocked from watching the channel altogether. Instead of carrying popular channels like the NFL Network, some cable companies are loading their schedules with cable-owned channels like Versus and the Golf Network, claiming that the NFL Network is just a niche market. Tell that to the 222 million Americans who watched NFL football last season. The good news is there's a way to resolve these disputes through arbitration so fans can see the programs they want. The FAN (Fair Access to Networks) Act would establish a fast, fair and cheap process so cable companies doing business in our state can't discriminate against channels like NFL Network and hurt consumers in the process. I hope my state representatives will stand up for consumers and football fans by supporting this common-sense solution. You can let your elected officials know you support the FAN Act by visiting www.iwantmynfl.com. Adrian Gould Attleboro Follow the hypocrisy in Reid-Limbaugh flap To the editor: Two weeks ago, a statement by radio personality Rush Limbaugh was taken completely out of context, which is par for the course when liberals are involved. Harry Reid, exalted ruler of the U.S. Senate, accepted this blatant lie by Media Matters. Sen. Reid convinced 40 of his subordinates to join him in signing a letter denouncing Mr. Limbaugh and demanding a public flogging by the head of the company that broadcasts the show, and an on-air apology by Mr. Limbaugh. Mr. Limbaugh, as he so often does, turns the tables on the Democrats. He publicly offers Sen. Reid an opportunity to come on the show and debate the issue. He is, of course, spurned by Sen. Reid. Limbaugh then takes this letter and places it on e-bay, stating all proceeds will go to a charity that works with surviving children of men and women killed in action. Over a 10-day period, the bidding goes up and up and up, finally settling at $2,100,100, a sum that the "unpatriotic" Mr. Limbaugh will match. During the period running up to the end of the auction, Rush suggests that maybe some of our wealthy liberal senators match his contribution. As usual, no takers. Then, on the Senate floor, Sen. Reid actually gives a speech where he basically takes credit for raising this huge sum of money, saying essentially, what a country we live in when we can put our differences apart for a good cause. He goes so far as to suggest that those listening on C-Span might want to take part in the bidding. He, of course, made no pledge himself. This is just another in a long line of actions that should show to the American people that these people from the left, and I include all of them, are the most disingenuous, the most hypocritical politicians ever to serve in our Congress. Joseph Chabot North Attleboro NAFTA supporter poor choice for president To the editor: Re: "We Ought to get behind movement to draft Gore" (letter, Oct. 21) by Sally Huntington. I have one question. Since Al Gore successfully pushed and passed NAFTA, which put us on this big downhill slide to losing Americans, why would anyone want him for president? Jean Amoral Rehoboth