Youngstown’s decent people deserve better from leaders

Youngstown’s decent people deserve better from leaders

EDITOR:

I agree somewhat with your April 9 How We See It piece on how, after 40 years, violence still prevails here in Youngstown. As a taxpayer, citizen, parent, teacher, and East Side resident, I’m sick of the lawlessness that has been allowed to permeate the very fabric of this city.

Everyday, especially in that drug haven know as the McGuffey Plaza, near Tiny’s (what a nuisance), the afternoon/nightly congregation of urban terrorists meet and greet. Where is the outcry about these loitering rogues?

To this writer, the East Side has become a forgotten part of town by these weak leaders downtown. More violence, more open drug trade, mules on literally every corner and thuggery. And this is how it was during those silly zero tolerance phases, while, we, the decent folk were pulled over time after time. Yet we weren’t (and still aren’t) safe in our homes nor on the streets from this brand of urban terrorists?

The warm months are coming fast and the thugs have indeed declared war here. I agree that this next phase of zero tolerance have some teeth to it. Whenever these leaders get on TV harping about grants for crime fighting, don’t they realize these thugs are laughing at them time after time? They don’t fear the law, and they know they can get away with it.

This next phase will need every, and I mean every available resource possible to make these streets safe again. This is not Beirut, so why are we forced to live like hostages because the thugs, punks, rogues, mules are having OK Corral gunfights in the streets, and innocent people are getting in the cross hairs?

Where, oh where, is the outrage here? Where are the coward council people? Where are these preachers? We, the decent people here, deserve better.

ABDUL HARRIS

Youngstown

Stop listening to the rabble

EDITOR:

Talk radio and cable TV have fractured the two party system into five parties. Democrat, left wing liberal, conservative, right wing conspirators and the undecided independents.

Left wing liberals will promise you a free lunch knowing the cardinal rule of economics — there ain’t no free lunch. Everything has a cost and everything has a consequence. An acronym popularized by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein.

The mean-spirited right wing conservative will tell a genuine homeless person to get a job when there are none available.

Americans must close their ears to the rabble rousers on talk radio and cable TV and persuade the good Democrats and good Republicans who can work together on a nonpartisan basis to balance the budget, end the war in Iraq, universal health care, fix social security, and keep America safe from terrorism.

There are good Democrats and there are liberals. Let’s don’t confuse the two.

There are good Republicans and there are the talk radio holier-than-thou Republicans. Let’s don’t confuse the two.

It’s Congress’ duty to legislate the above in a timely nonpartisan manner.

If Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John McCain can bring that kind of change to Washington, it will be in America’s best interest.

STEVE KOPA

Weirton, W. Va.