Published: August 26, 2008 11:13 am            

LETTERS: Aug. 26, 2008

Responding to war vote column

The Opinions column entitled “What happened to 2006 promise to end war?” by Mark Bennett is one of the most superficial pieces I have encountered in The Evening News and The Tribune.

Bennett’s argument rests on the premise that Democrats attained a congressional majority in 2006. They did not!

In the Senate, there are 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans. One Independent, Bernie Sanders, votes with the Democrats. The other Independent, Joseph Lieberman, votes with the Democrats to organize the chamber, that is to elect committee chairpersons.

Lieberman also supports the Democrats on most domestic issues, but on the key foreign policy issue, Iraq, he supports the President. For that issue, the vote is 49 members of the two major parties and one Independent with each, resulting in a tie. Tie-votes in the chamber are decided by the vote of the Vice President, currently Richard Cheney.

This is not higher mathematics, but evidently escaped Mr. Bennett’s attention.

Even in instances when a few Republicans support the Democrats on a policy, the filibuster rule or the threat of using it requires 60 votes to over ride that.

— Thomas P. Wolf, New Albany



Better protect yourself now

Euthanasia (pronounced “youth-in-Asia”) — meaning the croaking, or murdering, of a fellow primate in order to serve one’s own self-interests. In other words, it is the croaking of someone, other than yourself, for fun or profit. It is often done under the excuse, “He is much better off now!”

The reason I bring this up now is that it was just done to one of everyone’s favorite characters at the Louisville Zoo. They say Frank the ape is much better off now. To add insult to injury, they say how beloved this guy was to so many people. He had tens of thousands of human friends. He was extremely loved by the entire community of man. But he is now dead because he had arthritis and heart disease.

This is scary. This is a travesty on so many levels. There are many of us with the same maladies as those that plagued Frank, and some of us with many more or many worse. It is time for those of us to take action.

Due to this miscarriage of justice, I just ordered a necklace for myself. I highly recommend this action for all concerned parties with afflictions. My necklace is made of fairly inexpensive materials, so as it will be less likely to be stolen when I am rendered unconscious. It is being engraved with the words, “Please Don’t Croak Me Today! I will not be better off! Apply CPR at once and get me off this table now! There is a reward!”

You should do this as soon as possible and make your own life out of season!

— Richard D. Carver III, Sellersburg



Open letter to Mayor England

As president of Kaiser Wholesale Inc., a company that has been in the tobacco business for more than 175 years, I urge you to veto the City Council’s recent 5-4 vote to ban smoking in public venues.

I strongly believe that you are a business savvy mayor who knows that there is a time and a place for smoking.

City hospitality venues, and the businesses that service and supply these establishments, are extremely important to the continued growth and economic vitality of New Albany.

An unreasonable and heavy-handed approach to banning smoking can have devastating consequence on the city’s hardworking business owners – especially during these tough economic times. As you are quoted in the paper, the last thing business owners need right now is more government interference. You are also right in suggesting there are other overriding issues that need attention instead of dividing the community.

I urge you to veto this restrictive and unfair smoking ban.

— John Kaiser, President, Kaiser Wholesale Inc., New Albany



Where’s New Albany ordinance enforcement?

I am wondering what happened to the law I thought was passed, that homeowners may not keep items for sale, out in their front yards?

I pass one home on Eighth Street every day, and there are stones for sale. Along with the stones, there are other items I see people stopping by and looking to buy. There are different items all the time.

Traveling on up onto Grant Line Road, on the left, just past Vincennes, there is a perpetual “yard sale.” This home has washers, dryers, tables, all kinds of stuff right on the road, with a tent over most of it — I would just like to not see these items, sitting out in yards on the street, except on weekends, when most people have yard sales.

Do we not have an ordinance, or law, or whatever it is called, to prevent our streets from being littered up?

I love my hometown, and wouldn’t trade it for another, but I feel this makes our town look trashy and down-trodden.

— Suzanne Canter, New Albany

        

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