Planned Parenthood’s Decision
Re: “Planned Parenthood’s Iowa Predicament”
8/7/02

I am in complete support of Iowa’s Planned Parenthood in their fight to protect women who come to them in need of medical help. Judge Nelson’s ruling only goes to show that women’s rights are, in the eyes of the judicial system, only privileges to be revoked whenever those in power feel it necessary. It is an outrage that these medical professionals even have to work this hard to prove that their patients deserve the same protection under the law as others who visit medical professionals at a hospital. I can only hope that others who make the official rulings on this matter feel the same as I do, and that that an important precedent can be set stating that they cannot disregard the law under any circumstances! The law exists so that this kind of injustice does not happen.

Jennifer Lewis

A crime has been committed and the guilty must be discovered and brought forth. Blood test samples and results from the clinic could quickly reveal the guilty party if the guilty person went through that clinic.

TMT
Hawaii

Logging and its Beneficiaries
Re: “Fight Fire With Logging?”
8/1/02

Bait and switch is what it is. I am Native American. The tribes knew we were getting screwed, but the American taxpayer is still an immigrant peasant, buying the crap from the aristocracy that they carried over on their backs.

Don’t wake up the peasants for they too wish to be king.

Alex Gladstone

Whenever “W” supports something, you know it’s either to put money in the hands of industries that supported him, or to make an appeal to a group that he wants to support him in the future.

He has no concept of “environment,” neither as an ecosystem nor as a place to be protected unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. “Environment” simply means a region of possible exploitation by the energy extraction interests. It’s just another way of subsidizing his supporters. You could strike a match and show him how logging leaves behind the fuel for fires; he still wouldn’t get it. Not-logging doesn’t put money into corporate coffers; logging does. That’s his level of understanding.

Poor Dubya. He’s still trying to figure out what’s wrong with “What’s good for General Motors is good for the USA.” Poor us. We have to live under his ecoterrorism. And we have to live under the Ashcroft-Bush-Cheney axis of fear and greed.

James T. Wood

Whom Do We Blame?
Re: “Making the Most of a Scandal”
7/29/02

Thank you for this article. The Dems have been rolling over and playing dead on so many issues since September 11th, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of them. But, in our household, we have made a vow to do just that.

A few weeks ago, our local paper reported that Larry Thompson had been confirmed by the Senate to be Bush’s top official on corporate crime and responsibility. Thompson was a Providian Financial Corp board member and chairman of its audit and compliance committee during a time when Providian was accused of committing consumer and securities fraud; they paid $400 million to settle.

We contacted our representative, Sen. Patty Murray (someone we have supported in the past) to find out if she and/or Sen. Maria Cantwell voted in favor of this man. We learned that both did. We are appalled, and it proved to us that they are as tied to corporate greed as anyone on the right. Very disappointing, but I realize it shouldn’t be surprising. They are all politicians, after all, and as my grandfather used to say, “they’re all fakers”.

Nancy Draper
Tacoma, Washington

Once again Americans who are happy to have a President who has brought respect to the White House have to listen to the likes of Todd Gitlin spewing his obvious left wing bull. I especially liked his lines “Bush’s slick, slimy history of dealmaking,” and the “President’s occasional delivery of whole sentences.” These scandals that are occurring now have nothing to do with this president. This stuff was going on long before Bush…perhaps during the last eight years, when we had a President that could do and say anything without consequences. These CEO’s figure, why not me? I am tired of left wingers who do nothing but bash and name call. It seems like that is all you can do! I am sick and tired of left wingers who talk about big business as though it were the root of all evil! It’s called the American dream.

I have faith in this President. I believe he is up there in Washington working for the people of this country. No politician is perfect by any means, I realize that. But this guy is trying.

Teresa
Knoxville, TN