Blind obedience not a prerequisite for patriotism

Blind obedience not a prerequisite for patriotism
EDITOR:
"We show our patriotism when we publicly disagree with policies we think damage the country." -- Charles Levendosky
Our selected president now has an "approval rating" (whatever that means) of about 80 percent. This is probably because he is "our war president." I don't recall when Congress (where such power resides) declared war, but why be a nit-picker? It is, in addition, a unique "war." We have never had such a one before. It is a war against a common noun (terrorism). We shall know, I suppose, we have won it when the word is erased from all dictionaries and vocabularies. I can hardly wait.
Since our country became the strongest nation, after World War II, we, for the most worthy and virtuous motives, have attacked with missiles, tanks, troops or bombs, Korea, Cuba, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Lebanon, Serbia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and now, Afghanistan again. We threaten Iraq, Iran and North Korea, as the "Axis of Evil." We have always acted from the loftiest of reasons, and with God on our side, of course, but, so far, we have not attacked any nation that could strike us back. This could be our good luck, but our detractors could see us as dangerous school-yard bullies and be willing even to give up life to pull us up short.
Where is the valor (or even the cold self-interest) in bombing and killing Afghans who never harmed us? They only refused to extradite to us a person in their land we demanded unless we submitted evidence to them of that person's guilt. I am sure we have done the same thing to other nations but have not been subjected to bombing and invasion.
Where do we stand, for the last year, in the so-far futile quest for vengeance? We have spent billions bombing and killing Afghans, bloated the wealthy by tax cuts, restarted deficit spending, vastly increased "defense" (from whom?) spending and abandoned hope for funds for socially needed projects.
I feel it patriotic to proclaim that our current political leadership is dangerous to the world and damaging to our country. A patriot should urge that our legislators inhibit and repel our current administrative leadership until legitimate election (not judicial appointment) can replace it.
ROBERT B. McCONNELL M.D.
Youngstown
Does Vindicator approve of Judge Markus or not?
EDITOR:
When pressured to name names during the McCarthy hearings the playwright Lillian Hellman testified, "I will not change my conscience to fit this year's fashion." Unfortunately, The Vindicator in its Feb. 22 editorial showed no such integrity. The paper changed its conscience from its Nov. 27 editorial when it scolded Frank DeJute for wanting Judge Markus removed from the MVSD case. The Vindicator wrote then, "There is no reason to have Judge Markus removed." After he issued a ruling contrary to one that would make for better copy, the paper decides that Judge Markus "... should have been removed ... a long time ago."
Now, The Vindicator writes, "We don't presume to understand everything ... ." Why don't you understand everything in this case? Why not hire legal experts to explain it to you? We readers can hear opinions like yours at any McDonald's over coffee. Writing such words as "seems reasonable" is not good enough for us readers of your newspaper. Please take time to understand the case before you opine your own "summary judgment." Note that the attorney general never alleges that the contract was excessive, nor do they allege that Mr. DeJute benefited from the contract. Surely, your readers assume such and that is why Judge Markus admonished the press for your reporting of the case.
Missing from news coverage and editorials has been the cost to taxpayers for the respective lawsuits and audits by the attorney general and state auditor's offices. And why doesn't the A.G.'s office know the laws of Ohio well enough to know a legal contract from an illegal contract before trying in several courts to get the answer they want?
The bottom line is that this case was politically motivated and had no business tying up the court's time. Your editorials should be more reflective of facts rather than what seems to be facts.
RONALD TAURO
Niles
X The writer is the brother-in-law of Frank DeJute. They both work for Tauro Bros. Trucking, Tauro as treasurer, DeJute as vice-president.
Only intellectual fascists oppose intelligent design
EDITOR:
A recent letter-writer repeats several fallacies in his letter decrying a proposal for inclusion of the teaching of intelligent design in Ohio schools.
The scientific method relies exclusively on reproducible, experimental tests and results. Since you cannot go back in time to observe bird-like dinosaurs transitioning into a feathered archaeopteryx, you can guess or theorize or fancy or make a leap of faith that the dinosaurs transitioned into modern birds. That is not science. That is faith. That is religion. As religion it is protected speech under the Constitution; only intellectual fascists insist on silencing ideas with which it disagrees in publicly-funded places like schools.
Modern secularism -- in another age simply called Bolshevism -- is responsible for more horrors in less time than the Crusades or even fundamentalist Islamic terrorism today. One only needs to look at the ruthless oppression characteristic in nations committed to separation of church and state and see just how violent and ruthless societies can be. The neo-Bolshevism which secularists want to dominate in this country shows that stupidity on a massive scale is always repeatable if you deprive people of the capacity for critical analysis in their thinking. If evolution is indeed true and intelligent design is not, smart folks can figure it out for themselves.
Most religious people whose convictions rest on control of others fear an open exchange of ideas in a free academic climate. Secularism as a religious system is no different. Let's get that secularist Taliban out of the public schools. Let freedom -- and free speech -- return to the marketplace of ideas.
DR. WM. DREW MOUNTCASTLE
New Middletown
X The writer is the pastor of the Free Methodist Community church in New Middletown.