Let us celebrate

Let us celebrate

EDITOR:

Mr. Tom Humphries op-ed article on Jim Traficant was an aimless, contorted personal opinion and he is entitled to it. But, let’s be fair to Traficant, to his many friends and acquaintances and the thousands of Valley voters that supported Jim in his multiple elections to Congress. There are still many standing by to support him again. The outstanding factual book, “Target: Traficant,” by veteran AFP correspondent M.C. Piper, explains how the FBI and Justice Department, both guilty of many cases of high level corruption, were out to crucify Traficant. Is it remotely possible they were upset because Jim beat their best Harvard educated attorneys in court? In Washington, there has been much dishonesty and a grave breach of public trust.

Humphries has tried to be dogmatic and tries to reassure us that Youngstown is on its way to recovery, thanks to a few local politicians and a few amorphous programs. Tom, perhaps, had better realistically assess our irrefutable issues. Forbes magazine has called Youngstown “America’s Fastest Dying City.” Education in our school system is contemptible. Youngstown’s population has diminished double digits every year since 1960. In 1960, Youngstown had 166,688 citizens. In 2008, it was only 72,925. There is double the national average of violent crimes in our streets. Urban decay and deterioration are advancing. In spite of these dismal statistics, we are thankful to Humphries for his optimism and public efforts. He faces Herculean tasks, but he really should leave the etiquette of celebrating Traficant’s homecoming to anyone who chooses to do so.

ANTHONY DeGIDIO

Youngstown