Try Bush for war crimes

The Democrats should apologize for being wrong on the surge? (Murdock, Aug. 23). No, Mr. Murdock, it is George Bush who should apologize for dismissing, out of hand, the prediction by General Eric Shinseki, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Feb. 27, 2003, that 200,000 troops would be needed to stabilize Iraq. That is when the "surge" should really have taken place.

George Bush and his gang love to recite the heed to listen to the generals on the ground but quickly dismiss any opinion, if it doesn't coincide with their own self-inflated blather.

Hitler was a corporal in World War I and thought that made him a military genius. Bush was a sometimes lieutenant in the Texas National Guard and seems to have thought he knew more than the highest ranking general in the country.

By invading Iraq, under fraudulent pretenses, with too few troops, our forces were unable to secure Saddam's ammo dumps. Because of this the insurgents were able to strip them of the ordinance that was later used in roadside bombs that killed and maimed tens of thousands of U.S. troops.

It is the Bush gang and their arrogant blundering, far more than any Iranian interference, that is directly responsible for this carnage. It was only with the political reverses and public disapproval in '06 that Bush decided that "stay the course" had put the ship on the rocks and that maybe he should try something different.

Mr. Murdock, it is George Bush who should apologize for the lies leading us to war in the first place. It is George Bush who should apologize for renditions, secret prisons and secret torture. It is Bush who should apologize for inadequate equipment, moldy hospital rooms, extended troop rotations, shredding the Constitution, abolishing habeus corpus, illegal wire taps, back-room war contracts, betraying a CIA agent, politicizing the Justice Department and a trillion dollar war debt to be paid by the grandchildren of those who actually fought the war.

And it is Bush who should be indicted for crimes against humanity and tried in Nuremberg.

-- MICHAEL MATTSON

landlord, furniture maker, general hand, Salina

McCain's the foundation

While watching CNN and Rick Warren's interviews with Barack Obama and John McCain on Aug. 16, I was reminded of a comment made many years ago by a trusted, older friend. It was at the beginning of John F. Kennedy's presidency. His comment was, "We are seeing a politician become a statesman."

John McCain quite ably in that interview displayed that same transformation.

Having spent over 35 years as a practicing physician in Norton, I was committed to doing all that I could do to recognize the symptoms early and establish a diagnosis of serious illness.

It does not take a skilled observer of our country and society to recognize that we are facing a serious CIC (crisis in commitment) NESS in our society. The question is clearly, what will we do about this "CICNESS"? Who will clearly articulate the issues and lead us?

When Warren asked McCain what was the most difficult decision in his life, he gave a brief, moving account of the decision he made as a prisoner in the Vietnam War.

Having endured torture to the point where his physical condition was nearly desperate, he refused early release from prison offered by the Vietnamese. He refused because he was committed to the code of conduct and committed to honor and respect his fellow prisoners, even though he was told if he refused early release his treatment would worsen, which it did.

I am convinced John McCain has the character developed from his personal life experiences and his commitment to our country and our Constitution to address this crisis of commitment facing our country.

The family and faith in God were the foundation of our society, and the institutions of society were committed to this foundation.

The crisis in commitment relates to these foundational values and virtues. They have been for the most part supplanted by the politically correct overarching virtue of tolerance. Tolerance is a necessary virtue for a functioning society, but it is a soft virtue. Societies are most often defined by what they will not tolerate.

I believe John McCain clearly sees the need to address this crisis in commitment and clearly has the character to lead us toward a recommitment to those solid, hard, foundational virtues that will save our country for future generations.

-- MERLYNN COLIP, M.D.

Norton

No foreign policy experience?

I'm having trouble understanding all of the people who say that Gov. Palin doesn't have any foreign policy experience.

She is on the ticket in the No. 2 position. I would also like to point out that those same people elected (thanks to Ross Perot ) a man who had no foreign policy experience and with only 43 percent of the vote in 1992. Gov. Palin has the main thing she needs to be vice president or even president and that is common sense. She believes in states' rights and following the Constitution.

I believe that if we want real change in Washington, we need to start sending people who have done other things in life rather than just being a law school graduate or politician.

-- TERRY OSGOOD retired military, Lincoln

Speaking to all America

As I watched the Republican national convention, I was struck by the lack of diversity among the delegates. As the camera scanned the audience, it was like playing "Where's Waldo" trying to find a minority delegate.

Contrast this to the Democratic national convention, which showed the rich tapestry of American diversity. The Democrats spoke to all of America. The Republicans clearly do not. Get out there and vote Democratic.

-- GEORGE S. JERKOVICH, M.D.

Salina

Respect for all life

I commend all those who identify themselves as "pro-life;" as humans living in a vast ecosystem on Earth, I would hope that we are all for life. My concern is that the pro-life message is so often co-opted by one-issue thinking that it does a disservice to us all.

Surely there are better options than abortion -- adoption being a loving choice. Surely there are better options than bombing innocent civilians, which forces untold hundreds of miscarriages in women who desperately want their babies (I had friends in Baghdad in March 2003 who witnessed this).

Surely there are better options than using white phosphorus (Fallujah) to melt the skin off innocent children. Certainly we can see that the use of depleted uranium, which with a half-life of 4.5 billion years destroys the life and hopes of generations of children, is an abomination against life no less than abortion.

The Roman Catholic Church has strong social teachings promoting a consistent life ethic -- of children, women, the condemned, the dying, in the workplace, of the environment and of those in poverty; not only for the vulnerable, but also for the enlightening of our whole society.

It would be a shame if that great, prophetic message were lost because of a shallow argument on one topic.

-- JANIE M. STEIN, retired physical therapist, Salina

The bus stops here

Recently, my husband and I received a letter informing us that OCCK, in cooperation with the city of Salina, was going to put a bus stop directly outside of our front door. This letter is an attempt again to have our voice as taxpayers, homeowners and citizens of the city of Salina heard.

What protections do we as owners of our home have that the passengers will not disturb, steal or otherwise damage our property? Secondly, assuming there will be some of these people we do not know at all, how do we keep our children and pets safe from harm.

Another major issue we had was liability on our part. Are we liable for these people? Also, we question who is responsible for maintaining this area to prevent these accidents and simply to keep it neat and clean. We would also like to know if this will affect our homeowner's insurance policy? Will OCCK and the city reimburse us our undue costs due to this change?

As you can see, this will greatly affect property owners in these areas. We as a group of property owners affected by this are obviously not happy with the answers that we are being given, or in most cases, not being given.

I feel we overall are being silenced and our concerns overlooked, because after all, we don't have enough money to make your lives as miserable as you are trying to make ours.

-- TERRY and MARSHA BELL

Salina

Change the subject

A democracy has to work, or who needs it?

The buzz saying of every election cycle is, "Are you better off than ____ years ago?" Fill in the blank with your own prejudice.

Apply the same gauge to our current American life and its system since "inclusiveness" -- rather than quality of performance -- became the requirement of all key positions of power and influence.

One need not be a deep thinker, only an observer of our so-called great social institutions. Every strong society has strong social institutions.

Assess: How's our family life and its health care? Our economy? Our religious life (the spiritual part of living)? Our governmental efficiency? Our education? (1,000,000 children drop out of high school each year).

Compare, if you're old enough, with America 30 to 40 years ago.

Let's change the subject.

-- GEORGE MEYER, retired high school teacher/coach, Concordia

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