Specter's move shows he serves himself

Congratulations, Mr. Specter. Your cowardly decision to change parties has broken your contract with not only me but also every other Pennsylvanian who voted for you in the last election ("Specter Stuns Senate by Switching Parties," April 29). This brazen move is nothing more than a survival tactic that proves, once again, in your eyes it's all about you.

Your move has the added benefit of disenfranchising more than half of our country's citizens by giving the current administration a filibuster-proof majority. So much for checks and balances. I'm sure you will get a cushy chairmanship on a committee, as that's the way Washington works. It's not about serving your constituents but just about serving yourself.

To my fellow Pennsylvanians, I say, is this really what we want? Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, can't we all agree that a turncoat is someone we don't want representing us? What does this say about Mr. Specter's character?

In the upcoming weeks we will all see Mr. Specter's attempts to explain this move as being due to his conscience. He will throw the Republican Party under the bus and blame it on the far-right mentality. However, we all know this is just a shameless move by a career politician.

To Mr. Specter: Shame on you, sir. To my fellow Pennsylvanians: Can't we do better than keeping this self-serving individual in office?

BRIAN K. FOSTER

Mt. Lebanon

Single-issue GOP

Sen. Arlen Specter did not leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left him. For the past two decades, the GOP has painted itself into a political corner. It has become a single-issue party - anti-abortion. All other issues have become secondary. It ignores moderate conservatives and no longer deserves their support.

RALPH HORST

New Kensington

Degree’s context

Bishop David Zubik's comments on Notre Dame's upcoming honorary degree for President Barack Obama ("Bishop Says Notre Dame Wrong to Honor Obama," April 23) are a clear example of the modern lack of perspective and willful ignorance shown constantly by those on the far right. Even intelligent people can fall for single-issue politics, as the bishop has demonstrated well.

If Notre Dame were honoring Mr. Obama for his policies, he'd be given this accolade at the end of his term, but rather it is choosing to give Mr. Obama this distinction at the beginning of his term, which clearly says to anyone paying attention that they intend to note the historic and unique event this is for the millions of black Roman Catholics around the world and, yes, even the black Pittsburgh Catholics for whom Bishop Zubik is supposed to be speaking.

Mr. Obama's presidency, when examined from a historic viewpoint, is a major point of pride for all Americans. After all he's not merely the 44th president of the United States of America, but the first black one. Bishop Zubik should consider context before trying to lead his flock.

DAN SHEVOCK

Swissvale

Appropriate honor

It was with sadness that I read about Bishop David Zubik's position on the commencement address and awarding of an honorary degree by the University of Notre Dame to President Barack Obama ("Bishop Says Notre Dame Wrong to Honor Obama," April 23). As a graduate of Notre Dame, I believe the bishop misses the mark.

When my daughter applied to Notre Dame some years ago, as part of the application process, she was to write a report on one of a selection of books. She chose "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In it, Dr. King envisions an America that is a better place by advancing the acceptance and equality of all America's people. It is inspiring. Including this book as part of the admission process says volumes for the university about its mission of promoting unity among all Americans regardless of race, color or creed.

Now the university has invited the president to deliver the commencement address. Barack Obama is the fulfillment of the dream of Dr. King as he wrote from the Birmingham jail years ago. President Obama has persuaded a majority of Americans to look beyond race in electing him to lead our nation. He has restored our international relationships, recognized science as fact-based and nonpolitical and disavowed torture.

As a non-Catholic, Mr. Obama may hold different religious beliefs and is free to do so. The university is and should be proud to honor this president.

JOHN F. BECKER

Green Tree

Safer walking

I am writing to address the issue of pedestrian safety. I am so happy finally the Pittsburgh police are taking this seriously and taking action.

I am a Pittsburgher who has dealt with this problem for quite a while. I have always taken the bus and have to use the city crosswalks, for years encountering the problem of not being safe due to drivers speeding and not caring about my safety. Their concern is to get to their destination, but we need to also arrive at ours - having the right to feel safe doing so!

I deal with this often in Oakland, where drivers speed, not letting pedestrians walk, either by blocking our crosswalks or seeing us walking and nearly hitting us. I have a friend who got severely injured in Oakland near Montefiore hospital. Every time I cross there, I remember this and am scared. I hope the police continue to monitor Oakland.

LAURA ANNE STUKUS

Squirrel Hill

Judge for yourself

As editorial director of Monthly Review Press and also a former professor at Pitt-Johnstown, I was delighted to see Sally Kalson's article "Chavez's Gift Gives Surprising Boost to Book" (April 21). The book was published by our Press and has been a steady seller for nearly four decades. I used the book as a teacher, and it always opened students' eyes.

I was amused and not a little irritated by the rather casual dismissal of the book by one of Pitt's professors. The dependency theory he refers to is really a theory of imperialism. To reject the theory, one would have to deny that the United States is an imperialist power, something no serious scholar does.

The rise of the Asian Tigers certainly does nothing to disprove the theory. It was the very closeness of these countries to the United States that allowed them to "take off," although their circumstances these days surely take some of the shine off that word. South Korea, for example, benefited enormously from its support for the war the United States waged, with maximum brutality and a horrendous death count, in Vietnam.

The Press wishes to thank Ms. Kalson for her interesting and informative piece. And we encourage people to read Eduardo Galeano's book and form their own opinions.

MICHAEL D. YATES

Boulder, Colo.

Postal kudos

As another longtime resident of the area, I would like to take exception to Mike Hudak's assessment of the service at the West Mifflin/Pleasant Hills post office ("The Postal Service Needs More Counter Help," April 29 letters).

The service has been consistently good since they moved from the rinky-dink building in Pleasant Hills. The postal employees who work at the counter are professional and helpful. They should be commended.

JAMES D. KINGSLEY

Jefferson Hills

The last thing any household needs is more guns

The "gun" subject has been run into the ground. I have to admit, I was itching to write a letter but decided that some very good arguments had been made. Then on April 27, the Post-Gazette ran a front-page story "Gun Sales at Record Levels." Oh please! Gun-owners are buying more guns.

Is there really a reason for this? Hunters and law-enforcement notwithstanding, does an ordinary citizen need more than one or two guns? Maybe he imagines himself with a gun in each hand, Clint Eastwood style, going after the bad guys. That's a generous thought and, I'm sure, totally inaccurate.

Everyone knows, of course, that gun owners are afraid their guns will be taken away from them. So they buy more. Buying more weapons and stashing them away means there are more dangers at hand in households where there are children. That's a proven fact. And with the present state of the economy, how does a man justify spending money on guns when he already has a supply of them?

Maybe I just have the wrong picture in my mind. But I curdle at the thought of a guy with a stockpile of guns. That's not a masculine image.What is manly, though, is a man who doesn't own a gun. I guess that's becoming a rare breed.

MARGIE SWANSON

Beaver

Torturers must be held accountable

Regarding "Tortured Past" (April 21 editorial): Can you imagine the Post-Gazette publishing an editorial in which it advocated that the best way to deal with a spate of child molestations was not to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators, but to form an independent and bipartisan commission to ... to ... to do whatever those commissions do -- whitewashing being their primary purpose.

The laws that were broken by American torturers (and let's be honest, we're talking first and foremost of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney) are among the most important laws we have. They are the ones that keep us among the civilized societies of the world rather than allowing us to descend into the darkness of totalitarianism.

The editors at the Post-Gazette should at least be intellectually and morally honest. Do you believe in the rule of law or the rule of men? Are the laws against torture good laws or bad laws? If torture isn't a big deal, just say so and advocate for a repeal of all the many laws and treaties the United States has enacted and signed that outlaw it and require that we investigate and prosecute where credible evidence exists of its having occurred.

Simple really, unless of course you believe in a two-tier system of justice.

How laughable that the very day the Post-Gazette publishes this piece of tortured reasoning, a rail-thin, teen-aged Somali "pirate" is hauled into this country, where all men are equal under the law, to face the unflinching and impartial hand of American justice. It must make all of you on the editorial board very, very proud.

BILL STEEN
North Side

Money to spare?

According to our "great" leaders we (they) are going to be able to add more projects on the calender because of low bids ("The Slump's Silver Lining," April 22). Who are they kidding? I don't think any project using federal, state or city money has ever come in as bid. About the only projects to be on time and on budget are ones with private money.

In the end they will have to cancel projects or borrow money to finish what they have on bid now. When they get a dollar they spend five. Guess who pays. Can't you see the sugar plums dancing in their heads?

THOMAS WORRALL
Turtle Creek