To endorse or not to endorse should be left up to Williams

To endorse or not to endorseshould be left up to Williams
EDITOR:
You've got to admire columnist Bertram de Souza. He has developed to a fine edge his ability to tell elected politicians what to do, in a way that lets him say & quot;I told you so! & quot; no matter what happens down the road. The latest example is his June 18 essay advising -- nay, instucting -- Youngstown's Mayor Williams to immediately endorse either Ken Blackwell or Ted Strickland for election as Ohio's next governor. His argument seems to be based primarily on maximizing state-level pork for the Mahoning Valley or, as he crassly put it, "(by) determining who, as governor, would be least likely to punish Youngstown for not receiving Williams' backing."
The article didn't name names, but it didn't need to. Strickland is a gentleman who appears unlikely to "punish" a city whose mayor didn't endorse him. Blackwell, by contrast, seems to be a bit of a shark.
To support his argument, Mr. de Souza cites the deal in which former Democrat Congressman James Traficant reportedly voted for the re-election of Republican Congressman Dennis Hastert as speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives. Traficant's reward was several million dollars that have been used as partial funding for an arena whose long-term benefit to the community remains unproved. This was a good deal for a few individuals, but perhaps not for the area or the nation.
I have never met Mr. Williams, but I've read about him and talked with people who respect him highly. It's my guess that he will do what's right for the Youngstown area and for all Ohioans. If that means a delayed endorsement for governor, or none at all, so be it.
ROBERT D. GILLETTE
Poland
There is no meth epidemicin Ohio, reader argues
EDITOR:
Maybe reporter Patricia Meade missed it, but an in-depth investigation by the Toledo Blade found that there is no methamphetamine epidemic in Ohio or anywhere else for that matter.
The "Meth Epidemic" is a myth created by the Office of National Drug Control Policy and certain zealots in Congress to boost their drug-war gravy train. And did I mention the national crime statistics put out by the Justice Department also showed no increase in methamphetamine arrests or prosecutions?
"Meth is on the rise in Ohio and the Valley" from the June 18 Vindicator is yet another example of lazy investigative reporting. Perhaps the reporter can tell us where she got her information because there is no evidence of a meth epidemic anywhere -- except in newspaper accounts -- which are always devoid of source information. Comments by local law enforcement are always the same, too: "It's not as bad here as it is everywhere else."
Yes, some people use meth, but there is not now, nor has there ever been, an "epidemic" or anything close to it, anywhere, ever, period.
JIM WHITE
Oregon, Ohio
The Vindicator series to which the reader refers was headlined, "Approaching an Epidemic." Sources in that series that showed an increase in meth lab seizures in Ohio rising from 14 in 1999 to 331 in 2005 were the National Clandestine Laboratory Database and PBS.
A good investment
EDITOR:
The funding of PBS and NPR by the federal government is a great investment of our tax dollars. No where in the electronic media are current events, news, politics, history and science covered in such depth, clarity and balance as on PBS and NPR. PBS children's programming is unparalleled and our local NPR affiliate already works extremely hard to raise money from the community as do all other local public radio and television stations.
With all the money Congress wastes on much less important and useful expenditures, picking on our public radio and television is just a political cheap shot given the relatively tiny amounts granted to these important and much appreciated informers and entertainers of the American people.
RAY NAKLEY
Youngstown