Wright comparisons

miss the point

To the editor:

The Sun Chronicle seems to be missing the point regarding Barack Obama and his pastor, Rev. Wright. The issue is not what Rev. Jeremiah Wright said, regardless of how vile. It is the fact that Barack Obama, a candidate for the most powerful position in the free world, sat in a pew with his wife and two little girls, week after week, year after year listening to and presumably absorbing sermons by Rev. Wright, a self-proclaimed black liberation theologian.

Those sermons included a sermon about a government-sponsored AIDS virus to eliminate black Americans, likening American soldiers to terrorists, and blaming 9/11 on American terrorism. It also included a speech titled "the Audacity of Hope" in which the reverend includes statements about white greed. Mr. Obama gave his book the same title. Does Mr. Obama share the same views? Not necessarily. It looks to me like he made a bargain with the devil for political expediency. Comparing other preachers who have made outrageous comments to Rev. Wright is missing the point. The point is that Barack Obama had a 20-year relationship with a preacher who is a blatant racist. Doesn't this reflect on his character?

Loretta Cathcart

Attleboro

Media hypocritical,

Democrats dangerous

To the editor:

The hypocrisy of the national media is out there for all to see. Bill Maher, part-time comic, full-time political activist, called the Catholic Church a cult that supports pedophilia and the pope a Nazi. He then retracts the Nazi statement, but actually goes further on the cult/pedophilia comments.

If this idiot had made similar statements about Judaism, or the Muslim faith, or Budhism, or any faith other than Catholicism, the outrage from the mainstream press would have been non-stop. Unfortunately, unless you watch Fox News, you'd hardly know he said anything. Unlike when Imas made a bad joke, there were no calls for this man's firing. The reason is because Christian-bashing is an art form truly accepted by the mainstream media.

Meanwhile, in a last ditch attempt to win the Democrat nomination, Hillary says she would nuke Iran. This is the perfect example of saying anything it takes to win. Hillary is trying desperately to portray herself as a hawk yet history just doesn't bear that out. Her eight years in the White House consisted of constant misuse and under-utilization of our military. If she and Bill had done their jobs, there would be no Bin Laden and we would have had no 9/11. Her eight years in the Senate have been no better. In hearing after hearing she belittles our brave men and women and their commanders instead of trying to find out what they feel they need. I'm not a big Obama supporter, but at least he has the integrity to stake a position and stick to it. He would be a Jimmy Carter, and go around the world speaking to terrorists. She would tell you she's going to "get those terrorists" but when push comes to shove, sit back and do absolutely nothing just like her husband. It doesn't really matter which of these two gets the nomination. If either of them becomes president, America is doomed.

Joseph Chabot North Attleboro

Bush can take credit

for host of problems

To the editor:

Anna DeMarinis responds to my note of April 20 and informs me that our economical trouble is not a result of the Bush White House. It's all supply and demand, according to DeMarinis.

Yet she failed to react to the number of dead soldiers that week, and the cost to all Americans.

So here we go again: 4,052 American soldiers dead because of a war that Bush and top military leaders admit was a blunder and unnecessary. That is the fault of the president. 29,829 soldiers wounded because of the two wars we are engaged in, and many at Walter Reed were living in filth until the disgusting conditions were exposed. That is the fault of the president.

A recent Associated Press story notes that over $100 billion of Iraq reconstruction contracts were not completed. That adds to the ever-increasing deficit. That is the fault of the president.

Millions of gallons of oil from the Alaskan pipeline are going to China, not America. That is the fault of the president.

Billions of dollars have been borrowed from China to finance the nightmare in Iraq. That bill will come due and our economy will suffer even more. That is the fault of the president. Congress asked Bush to stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia unless they lower the cost of crude oil. Bush refused and prices went up. Bush and his friends want the price of oil to go up, because it means more money for him and his Texas oil friends. That is the fault of the president.

There is speculation that gas can reach $10 a gallon. I guess I can recognize DeMarinis at the pumps: she will be the only one smiling and saying "It's not the fault of the president."

J.M. Hammond

Attleboro

Don't fix the dams, let the rivers flow

To the editor:

In today's Sun Chronicle was a story about a dam that might cause some destruction if it had a mind to fail. This dam is in Seekonk and is owned by the Old Grist Mill Tavern. It floods the Firefly Golf Course on occasions when there is a lot of water flowing from the dam. The developer is suing over risks at the dam.

I wrote a letter to the editor several years ago about these dams that are relics of the Industrial Revolution and really are not of any value to modern day living. Instead of repairing the dams they should be removed and let the rivers run the way they were before the dams were built back in the seventeen or eighteen hundreds. They were used for water power to run the machines of the earlier times. There is little call for water power now. Most machines are electric.

To keep these dams is like keeping Motel T Fords to run on Interstate 495 or 90. The Model T was capable of perhaps 45 mph at top speed if you could keep it on the road at that speed. These highways are designed for 65 mph and faster and what would be the need for them if we all had Model T Fords? I know that many ponds built up behind those dams are pretty for the homes built around them, but shouldn't these people who own the houses around the dam pay to get the dam fixed? If they will not, then open the dam and get rid of the danger that these old dams cause. This is a matter of some importance to the taxpayers of Massachusetts. Instead of arguing about who should pay for what, open the dams and pay next to nothing for having better safety.

Charles W. Jones

Norfolk

Teen council candidate supports paramedic rule

To the editor:

The ordinance proposed by City Councilman Bill Bowles to require the mayor to hire only paramedics as firefighters sent a strong message to the city when the official ordinance became law. Voting the ordinance into a law at last Tuesday's city council meeting shows that Bowles and the city council really do care about the safety of the constituents.

I believe it's important that every firefighter be certified because they are normally the first ones at the scene, and are most likely the ones reporting to a call. I don't know why anyone would vote against such an ordinance; as a candidate for city council, I support this law. I care about the safety of the residents of Attleboro and I am glad that the mayor and the city council do as well. The city was awarded a grant from the state in the amount of $421,000 for the fire department to hire four new firefighters; that means by July the city will have four more firefighters that are certified paramedics. This is not a loss to the city, this a great win towards meeting our public safety goal to protect all citizens equally.

Joseph Lazzerini

Attleboro

THIS WRITER is a candidate for city council in the 2009 election and is youth coordinator of Bill Bowles' campaign for state representative.