Absurd Letters to the Editor

They made the choice to be gay

2010-02-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

Mike Keefe's Feb. 8 editorial cartoon asked: "Can you tell which of these bullets was fired by a gay soldier?"

Answer: They were both were fired by gay soldiers.

The normal soldiers were ashamed to show their faces after being forced to spend the night in a pup tent with these unnatural people who violate the laws of God and nature.

I don't hate gays. I pray that they will recover from their sickness. They say God made them that way. I say it was their choice. Do we let thieves and murderers get away with saying God made them that way?

A.J. Henson
Bartlett

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Obama definitely knows what he's doing

2010-01-21T06:47:00.000-08:00

Naivete leads otherwise astute people to insult our president's intelligence by saying, "Obama doesn't know what he is doing." For enlightenment, Google that phrase. Obama knows exactly what he is doing.

He is a disciple of Saul Alinsky and the Cloward-Piven strategy developed by lifelong members of the Democratic Socialists of America. That strategy implemented by Obama's ACORN foot soldiers helped drive the high-risk mortgage lending that precipitated our economic meltdown. Major media ignored Obama's radical associations, experience and background that prepared him for his messianic mission of transformative "change."

Like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, he fully understands that tax cuts create prosperity and jobs. But unlike them, his goal is to grow big government, destroy our capitalistic system and replace it with a socialistic, Marxist totalitarian government. He has adopted the philosophy of Friedrich Engels, who collaborated and helped Karl Marx write the Communist Manifesto . Engels saw three major obstacles to the socialistic vision: private property, religion and traditional marriage.

No objectively moral person could have voted for Obama and other liberals who destroy the common good with the intrinsic evils of abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, etc. Their "fundamental option for the poor" is to imprison them on the government plantation and torture them with class envy, false promises and foolish hopes.

It takes more than 300 words to educate patriotic Americans, whether Democrat, Republican or independent, and inspire them to recognize and drain the stinking swamp being deliberately created by Obama, his czars and the current breed of power-mad Democrats. I therefore encourage every one of goodwill, especially our religious leaders, to Google "Cloward-Piven" and to read the following: www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=6967.

Liberal ideologues -- especially ministers, priests and bishops -- need to finally confess that their beloved Democratic Party of old has abandoned them and America.

Paul W. Rosenthal
Augusta

Source: Augusta Chronicle

Two thumbs up for Sarah Palin

2010-01-18T06:21:00.000-08:00

Last week I finished reading Sarah Palin's book and that lady has the most God-given intelligence I have ever read. She knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

If anyone can help right this nation, if she doesn't listen to the wimpish GOPs she can do it.

All I ask is that the GOP who knows what the barbarians are doing to our nation will help her. Then we can restore our rightful position from which the communist czars have tried to tear us down.

Elma B. Pirani
Olive Branch

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Obama didn't deserve prize

2009-12-15T05:20:00.000-08:00

President Obama said in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech that others have been "far more deserving of this honor than I" ("Obama accepts Nobel prize with 'difficult questions' about war and peace," The Oval, USATODAY.com, Thursday).

Truer words were never spoken. As a matter of fact, Obama's ongoing attempts to appease terrorists, state sponsors of terrorism and dictators make peace less likely.

By his coddling of the radical Islamic regime in Iran, Obama makes the outbreak of a catastrophic nuclear war more likely. Those who cheered when al-Qaeda terrorists blew up the World Trade Center are now doing another victory dance.

Douglas Miller - Franklin, Mich.

Source: USA Today

Debate calls for real science

2009-12-13T07:09:00.000-08:00

It would be almost comical, if it wasn’t so serious. The Environmental Protection Agency’s decision that global warming from man-made “greenhouse gases” endangers Americans’ health is not only irresponsible but is much more deadly than the declaration itself (12/8, A1, “Stage is set for tough controls; The finding suggests the White House will push for costly changes with or without the help of Congress”).

Have you seen our automobile industry lately? It’s basically nonexistent. It’s definitely not to the level that it should be. And rulings like this will kill it. If what we breathe out of our own bodies is a pollutant, what won’t be regulated?

This is basically nonsense, as CO{-2} in the atmosphere is so minuscule that it can’t affect the temperature of the planet. A real science discussion needs to take place on some stage — in a courtroom, maybe a congressional hearing. If we had a true science debate on this issue, it would be no contest. And the man-made global warming agenda would be shown for the fraud that it is.

Dyrk Dugan
Overland Park

Source: Kansas City Star

A Christmas wish for Tiger

2009-12-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods is undoubtedly one of the wealthiest persons in our country and likely the greatest golfer of all time.

With all his wealth and fame, something is still missing. One could tell from the many times the TV captured his taking the name of the Lord in vain after he hit a bad shot that God was not relevant to him and his recent escapades show us that his life was not fulfilled.

Followers of Jesus Christ, though not rich nor famous in the world's eye, can know that we have value and are rich and famous in God's eyes because He sacrificed Himself so that we can spend eternity with Him.

Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came so that we could have an abundant and meaningful life. My prayer is that through these times of trouble, Tiger will find true fulfillment through salvation in Jesus. What a wonderful Christmas gift that would be for us all.

Tom Bruce
Cordova

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

2009-12-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

God's promise after the flood (Genesis 8:21-22) was that He would "never again ... curse the ground because of man" or "destroy all living creatures, as I have done." He said, "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." For those of us who put our trust in God vs. man-made global warming, here is our comfort.

Cindy Owens
Collierville

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Solution may be a pro-life nation

2009-11-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

Based on the Life Choices Annual Report for the fiscal year 2007-2008, there were 8,530 abortions-on-demand in Shelby County. Since all of these are performed in three inner-city clinics, I assumed most are African-American babies that are murdered. I was right. Based on the statistics by the state, 81 percent are minority children that are killed.

Now tell me: Why does the black community allow such a genocide of their unborn? Maybe because the Democratic Party is being bankrolled by Planned Parenthood, who runs these clinics. We know that President Barack Obama, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen and many of the Democratic politicians have received millions of dollars in campaign contributions from abortion groups. They will never rid Memphis of its holocaust of the unborn. It will take the actions of pro-life Christians to fight against the wicked abortion supporters.

One of my solutions is for all red states to withdraw from the Union and form a pro-life nation where babies of all races will be protected by the original U.S. Constitution and the Bible.

Keith Proctor
Oakland

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Session on homosexuality fails to present other side

2009-11-24T05:29:00.000-08:00

The Spirit and Place Festival recently ended. The event certainly has a number of intriguing experiences to offer Indianapolis each year, but I have a complaint. Two years ago I attended a session on homosexuality at which a Presbyterian minister explained that the Bible does not really consider homosexuality a sin. When I got a chance to comment after the talk, I suggested that the Spirit and Place organizers ought to present both sides of an issue if they were going to deal with something so controversial. But for at least three years now the Polis Center, which organizes this event, has presented homosexual-affirming talks, never even hinting that there is another point of view.

For the Polis Center to present only one side of the picture does a grave disservice to homosexual people, some of whom would love to know that the homosexual lifestyle may not be their only answer.
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Stephen J. Martin
Indianapolis

Source: Indianapolis Star

Suffering from Palin envy

2009-11-21T05:25:00.000-08:00

What is it about Sarah Palin that gets liberals all bent out of shape? Is it because of natural beauty (doesn't have to have a "Nancy Pelosi Botox makeover")? Or is it because she is cordial, witty and always smiling, instead of grimacing and angry like Hillary Clinton?

I suspect it is because she offers planning and progress, instead of blaming all of our ills on Presidents George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

A.P. Rollins
Olive Branch

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Red praise not surprising

2009-11-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

Anita Dunn, Barack Obama's White House communications director, recently praised the Communist butcher Mao Zedong. Dunn was awed by his taking over China against all odds, and said Mao is one of two philosophers that she "often goes to." However, Dunn should know that Mao could not have succeeded were it not for the interference of President Harry Truman and his representative, George C. Marshall.

U. S. State Department leftists demanded that Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists form a "coalition government" with the Communists. "Coalition governments" permit the Communists to "take over," and Mao predicted that a coalition would destroy both Chiang and American imperialism.

Marshall imposed an arms embargo on the Nationalists while the Communists were supplied by the Soviets. Marshall boasted that he had disarmed 39 of Chiang's divisions with "the stroke of a pen." Free China was turned into Red China, which butchered 60 million of its own people.

Praise for a Communist butcher by an administration official is not surprising. Consider that communist enemies of freedom such as Castro, Chavez, Ortega and Putin, have praised Obama.

Associations with radicals of ACORN, Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Father Pfleger, and appointment of the communist Van Jones and assorted other radicals permit us, in the words of the noted columnist, Thomas Sowell, "to connect the dots and stop denying the obvious."

Mal C. Mauney
Cordova

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

How now Mao?

2009-10-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

President Obama picks Timothy Geithner for Treasury secretary —someone who has trouble with his own tax return.

Anita Dunn, White House communications director, says Mao Zedong is a favorite political philosopher of hers.

Ron Bloom, manufacturing czar, says he agrees with Mao that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun.

I wonder if these Obama-ites agree with Mao’s cultural revolution when millions of Chinese were slaughtered? Is this the United States of America with leadership like this?

Wake up America! This is not a story. These people can make decisions that will ruin our culture and gut our freedoms.

Charlie Birmingham
Spring Hill

Source: Kansas City Star

Rams need Rush Limbaugh

2009-10-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

Liberals are trying their best to make conservatives into second-class citizens. If you believe what our Founding Fathers believed in, such as personal responsibility, the right to succeed (or fail), the right to life, limited government and, with God’s help, a better nation, then you are labeled a bigot, racist and a right-wing extremist.

For example, Rush Limbaugh rose from a job with the Kansas City Royals to become the most successful talk show host in the country. Yet in his efforts to become an NFL owner, he was smeared and vilified for his conservative views, many taken out of context by liberal elitists.

In my humble opinion, Rush could have made a last-place Rams’ team into a contender because he knows how to motivate people to a higher level of commitment and excellence.

Wilson Winch
Independence

Source: Kansas City Star

Our world is slipping away

2009-10-19T15:34:00.001-07:00

When I see an election in Iran stolen and watch the world do nothing, I weep. When I see a religious fanatic madman, convinced he is the chosen one to usher in the return of his "messiah," ruling Iran with nuclear weapons at his disposal, I weep.

When I see the corruption of the world's leaders in the U.N. ruling the world, I weep. When I see the corruption in the U.S. that lets groups like ACORN and its hundreds of subsidiaries not only break the law but get funding from our government for years, I weep. When I see trillions of taxpayer dollars spent with our government growing, and the homeless are still homeless, the jobless are still jobless, and the poor are still poor, I weep.

When I see the world favor terrorist nations over Israel, a nation merely striving every day just to exist, I weep. When I see a world starving so much for change that it will follow anybody willing to go there, even if it might be the wrong direction, I weep.

When I see our soldiers fighting and dying for a cause our government does not really support, I weep. When I see the greatest nation on Earth slowly dying before my eyes, I weep. When Jesus' friend died, he wept. He then resurrected his friend.

I pray to God that He would resurrect the moral fiber, integrity and ethics of our world before it crumbles before our eyes. Perhaps it has to die first before that happens. Perhaps that is exactly what we are seeing.

Could the return of Christ be near? I say yes.

Steven G. Dugger
Germantown

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

A tale of two slaves

2009-10-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Re: "5 generations: Slavery to White House -- Researcher traces Michelle Obama's roots, starting with young girl in bondage," Thursday news story.

This may be a tale of two slaves. Let us imagine that, in the early 19th century, European slave traders captured a group of peace-loving black people from Africa. Among the group were two brothers, both trying to escape back to their homes.

One brother was put onto a slave ship and sold into slavery in America. His descendants resulted in the first African-American first lady. That is a source of pride for the black race and for America.

The other brother escaped the slave net and returned to his home in Africa. His descendants were among the millions of African blacks who were murdered, and worse, during the last two or three decades.

Who, then, was better off? We can be proud of the Obamas and their ancestors, and feel sorrow for those who remained behind.

John Q. Atchley, Dallas

Source: Dallas Morning News

2009-09-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

I consider myself an independent but have been unable to vote for a Democrat because their leadership has swung so far to the left that anyone to the right of Karl Marx is considered an extremist.

If I could trust the GOP, I'd be in the party of no -- no to socialism, no to the economic and political suicide of a nation that until now said no to tyrants. The party of no is preferred to the party of death -- death to the unborn, death to liberty, death to the Constitution and death to national sovereignty.

Watch what happens a year from now. This fight is just getting started.

Chip Edwards, Plano

Source: Dallas Morning News

The issue is morality, not skin color

2009-09-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

Recent letter writers said Tea Party and 9/12 protest participants are racist and hate our president because he is black.

President Barack Obama is half-white so he is a mixture of both races, not black as so many say. While a few of the protesters are racists, the majority are not.

Most of you who complain about us don't understand we are Christians with strong moral values who are opposed to reckless spending by our leaders, 47 czars with questionable reputations advising our president and persons such as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barney Frank who have way too much control over our government.

If some of you would listen to Fox News, perhaps you would be better informed.

Peggy Davis
Germantown

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Our burgeoning socialist state

2009-09-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

The people on the left support failed socialist programs we have had in the past; Medicare, Cars for Clunkers and the prescription drug plan where they take taxpayer funds and give those funds to others. Now they want to implement the largest socialist program in U.S. history with nationalized health care.

All the hard core Communist countries started out with what in their minds was only fair -- redistribution of the fruits of the successful to the unfortunate who did not apply themselves and refused to participate in a capitalist economy.

Naturally, mankind refuses to give credit earned by hard working individuals to those who had no part in the process, thus the earners will eventually resist the state's confiscation of their profits and the socialism begins to find widespread resistance.

When this happens, the only survival for socialism will be force by the state. Remember, Communism is only Socialism at the point of a gun.

The most famous example of extreme socialism was the Nazi party in Germany. The word Nazi is a word derived from the German word: "Nationalsozialist" that simply is translated in English to: "National Socialist".

If you look at the strict definition of the word Nazi, you will find the Democratic Party's actions of late are closer to Nazism than the American citizens expressing their right to question their government. In 1939 Germany, if their citizens questioned their government, they found themselves incarcerated, facing potential fatal consequences.

This health care plan is just another step in the slippery slope to bigger and more terrifying things to come if we don't take a stand right now.

Robin Wallace
Cordova

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

For Democrats, it's all about power

2009-09-15T08:27:00.001-07:00

What President Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are doing has nothing to do with health care or taxes. It is all about their ability to continue to wield this massive amount of unchecked power that they are gathering. By listening to what they say, watching what they do and who they surround themselves with, you can see that they are changing (as fast as they possibly can) America's capitalist society based on freedom to a socialist society where freedom is limited, and ultimately to a communist society where freedom does not exist.

It's not too late to save this country if you will only open your eyes and speak up about what you see.

Lee Underwood
Greenwood, Miss.

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Let's make a deal

2009-09-09T06:10:00.000-07:00

As a West Point graduate, I know full well the importance of a quality education. As such, I'd typically commend any president who encourages our nation's sons and daughters to work hard, practice good study habits, respect their teachers and earn a quality education. However, our current president crossed the line and politicized what should have been a perfectly appropriate address.

A suggested lesson plan to go with the speech encouraged students to learn more about Barack Obama and "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president." First, how are our students supposed to learn more about Barack Obama when he continues to hide his past and is spending exorbitant amounts of money concealing his college transcripts and other educational records? Why? What does he have to hide?

Second, I don't want my children being told to write letters about how they can help the president when I vehemently opposed Barack Obama's irrefutably socialist policies, radical leftist appointments and conflicting values and beliefs.

However, I'm a reasonable guy. Since Barack Obama likes to appease and negotiate, I'll make him a deal. If he releases all of his college transcripts and educational records, I will consider letting him address my children on the importance of a quality education. Otherwise, I'll spend that classroom hour teaching my children the importance of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States of America.

MIKE VARGO
South Park

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Society plays a role in devaluing human dignity

2009-09-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

It has been four weeks since the tragic events at the LA Fitness center in Collier ("Four Dead in Fitness Center Shooting," Aug. 5), and I haven't read a good explanation to answer Connie Moneck's question (Connie is a sister of Heidi Overmier, one of the women killed) on "why someone would do this to perfectly innocent people." I'm not foolish enough to believe my reasoning will do that, but I believe the explanations as to why George Sodini thought his actions were justifiable are deeper than easy access to guns or lack of a physical relationship with women.

Why would he violate a moral precept that is inherent in every human being no matter what their cultural, political or religious background? That precept is: that it is always wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being. The only way this precept can be violated is if the human being who is being killed is not seen as a person and thus relegated to the status of a sub-personal object.

The widespread acceptance of pornography, sexual relations outside of marriage and artificial contraception corresponds directly to a devaluation of the dignity of sexual relations between people and leads to the objectification, for the most part, of women and children. Mr. Sodini mistakenly saw women as objects causing his unhappiness, so it was acceptable to him to eliminate them.

I agree we can't rely on the government to legislate morality, but a government needs moral citizens to function properly. The problem is that, when a government passes laws that violate the dignity of a person (abortion, destructive embryonic research, physician-assisted suicide), it weakens the ability of communities that produce moral citizens (families, church and civic groups) to accomplish that task. These laws also teach society at large that it is acceptable to treat certain human beings, as Mr. Sodini did that horrible night, as sub-personal objects.

DANIEL A. IRACKI, M.D.
Upper St. Clair

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A 21st century revolution

2009-08-12T22:49:00.001-07:00

Today we face another revolutionary period in the history of America. We are in a pivotal battle to determine the future course of the nation. Will we become a hopeless socialistic morass, as it now appears, or will right-thinking, Godly Americans rise to meet the challenge and set our nation back on the right track?

The U.S. government now controls 80 percent of the largest insurer (AIG), controls the largest auto manufacturer (GM) and has repudiated GM's legitimate creditors. Now this same government wishes to force socialized medicine upon us all, with a plan so obscurely written as to be almost impossible to interpret on close reading. For our elected officials to pass 1,017 pages of legislation of such huge impact which they have not read, without proper debate and study of the cost, is treasonous.

Our president asks during the summer recess that we snitch on each other and report people opposed to his plan. So now it appears we are sliding toward fascism as well? The president won't need a snitch to find me -- I am violently opposed to his plan.

It is time for the vast majority of Americans, people of faith, to arise and make their position known. Men and women of Christian and Judeo-Christian character can change the course of the nation. We have reached a point where failure to act will sink the ship into a hopeless morass.

W. Percy Galbreath
Germantown

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

‘Commanding’ the U.S. economy

2009-08-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

When the Bolsheviks took power after World War I they realized, per Marxist theory, they needed to attain the commanding heights of the economy. For the Soviet Union it was heavy industry, steel and weapons.

In today’s United States of America, the commanding heights have changed. The Obama administration has already seized control of the banks and auto industries, with their next target being health care, almost 20 percent of the nation’s GDP. President Obama and the Democrats are attempting to use government to control the economy and increase governmental controls on our everyday lives because of their belief that government, not the individual citizen, knows what is right.

I can only hope we all see what is happening and realize we must not let our federal government control key economic power as the Soviet Union did. Questions of morality, life and death and basic issues of American ideals are at stake.

Tom Allen
Leavenworth

Source: Kansas City Star

Sick of dialing 1 for English

2009-08-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

Why is it that everywhere I go I find that all businesses give you the option of either English or Spanish? Do we not live in an English-speaking country?

I have filed complaints with several companies but have not seen any results. I think it is time that we as Americans stand up and be counted. I have not seen all of the other languages displayed for my use. Are the Spanish-speaking people the only ones who have migrated to the United States? It looks like it is only for those who have come here illegally.

Allen Broadbent
Blue Springs

Source: Kansas City Star

The nitty gritty of health care

2009-07-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

The current controversy over President Obama's health care proposal, distilled to its essences, is this:

Who do you want to determine whether your grandma lives a little longer or not -- Uncle Sam or United Healthcare?

I don't have full confidence in either, thank you.

Health care and, indeed, life itself, has always been rationed and it always will be. Whether we are talking about elders dying on a hunt in Africa, an Eskimo fishing expedition in the Arctic or by the decision of a committee of "experts" in the United States, it all amounts to the same thing -- rationing.

Spartans rationed life for newborns if the newborns were "too weak" to survive. Americans today ration the lives of newborns depending on whether or not the newborns are a financial or a time-consuming nuisance.

Whole social movements sprang up over the idea of health care rationing or the rationing of life itself. The American eugenics movement moved to Nazi Germany and the idea of rationing children was institutionalized by Communist China.

The rationing of health care will always exist.

I don't trust any of its current overseers and "bean counters" all that much. I don't know that I could do much better, either.

The whole issue is a tragic part of the condition of human life. There's no really great solution in sight.

Jay Schechtman
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Obama's 'changes'

2009-07-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

Will we have a presidential election in 2012 or will that be another constitutional right that gets thrown under the Obama bus?

All of the ingredients for a totalitarian government are evident in America today. Our president, under the guise of "looking out for the American people," states there will be universal health care because he wants it. Frau Pelosi has her underlings in complete submission; she rules the U.S. House like an iron maiden.

The silence from the Republican Party officials is deafening. The only exception is when Sarah Palin riles up their masculine egos with her down-to-earth sensible ideas.

The American people are apathetic, engrossed in their quest for instant gratification and oblivious to the fact that their freedoms are fast slipping away. These ingredients can lead to only one conclusion: the loss of our American ideals and freedoms.

Welcome to slavery, everyone!

Mary Jane Frontone
Wellsville, Ohio

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Liberals love notorious killer, promote bad-boy behavior

2009-07-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

Leave it to the Greencastle liberal Ken Bode ("It would be a crime to miss this Dillinger flick," July 10) to extol a movie celebrating a common thief and murderer. John Dillinger looked nothing like Johnny Depp, the early '30s were not Hollywood Technicolor and the actors stayed dead on the pavement.

I don't need to support the coffers of Tinseltown when a movie with a bad message comes out. There are enough idiots out there who will do it for me. Dillinger was a cop killer, plain and simple.
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Bode and his liberal crowd love to glorify, promote and celebrate bad societal behavior, whether it be in the Capone '30s, the drug-infested and socialist '60s or the gangsta rap '90s. Whenever such people tell me I must see a movie, I know to stay as far away from that theater as possible.

Tom Smith
Carmel

Source: Indianapolis Star

Get the facts on homosexuality

2009-07-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

In reading Thomas' latest column, I wish she had taken a course in theology or psychology or logic or sociology or physiology or anthropology.

From a theological aspect, homosexuality has been forbidden behavior in Islam for over 1,500 years; in Christianity for 2,000 years; and in Judaism for over 6,000 years. Especially in the pre-Christian and pre-Islam religions of Africa, it was rejected.

From a psychological aspect, the American Psychological Association regarded homosexuality as a behavioral disorder until the mid-1970s. It took the position, not based on any valid study, but because it didn't want to be judgmental about a behavior pattern that didn't seem to harm its participants. This was when homosexuality started the slow climb into being acceptable, and condoning it became politically correct.

From a physiological standpoint, what is the primary function of sex? Procreation. Therefore, the function of a homosexual relationship is only about pleasure and hedonism. Also, if you are born with your sexual identity, how do you know if you are born to be a "butch" or a "queen"? Your total identity is learned, unlearned, reinforced from first breath to last.

From a sociological standpoint, a marriage has been between a man and a woman for thousands of years. A heterosexual marriage was conceived to form the basic unit of society. It has worked moderately well in most societies. The concept of marriage was not established to get a tax break, provide hospital visiting privileges or medical benefits.

Finally, homosexuality is not logical.

John Baker
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Judging a lifestyle is not about hate

2009-07-15T06:59:00.001-07:00

We often hear about what love supposedly is, but rarely does anyone consider what love is not. Love is not telling someone (or a group of people) that everything is OK when it simply isn't, as Commercial Appeal columnist Wendi C. Thomas has insisted on doing numerous times, especially in her most recent piece, "The straight and narrow/Black churches use Scripture to reject gay lifestyles, hypocrisy to accept 'conventional' errancy," in Viewpoint July 12.

Most people who oppose the homosexual lifestyle are not advocating hate, nor are they proposing aggressive action against the gay community. In virtually every case, excluding a diminutive faction of radicals, their drive is based on Biblical mandates given to us in the Old Testament book of Leviticus, and the New Testament books of Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians and 1 Timothy.

Opponents can say what they want of the Bible, but the warnings provided by its authors are proven and true. Only those who refuse to see it will remain blind. It's usually ill-advised to pass judgment, but it is increasingly apparent that Thomas prefers a cookie-cutter kind of Christianity that allows her to overlook the Scripture's forbiddance of the so-called alternative lifestyle, replacing it instead with the echoes of an adulterated version that only leads to disaster.

Even more tragic, it's only a matter of time before what I have written will be deemed by law as a "hate crime."

Adam M. Woodford
Bartlett

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Fast track to tyranny

2009-07-08T06:47:00.001-07:00

The Obama administration moved into Washington, D.C., with promises of hope and change.

My hope was that I would be proven wrong about the type of change I thought it would bring. I thought it would move our country in a direction that would gradually lead to socialism.

I have been proven wrong. This train to socialism is on a high-speed rail system unlike anything before. It may not be able to stop at the socialism station and might have to move on to something even worse.

Having taken virtual control of the banking/mortgage industry and the auto industry, the administration has moved toward control of nearly every other industry with the recent House passage of the cap-and-trade bill, and it intends to bring us universal health care, under which bureaucrats will determine who will be worthy of care or expensive procedures.

We now have unelected "czars" with extraordinary powers to affect various facets of our lives. These powers are given to them by President Obama alone, without congressional approval.

It was 233 years ago when the Founding Fathers declared independence from the tyranny of England. Will we have the courage to stand up to the tyranny we are about to endure?

August Gatto
Ebensburg

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune Review

United Socialized States of America?

2009-07-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

The way the Obama administration is going, we may as well shred the Constitution. The USA we have now will have to change its name to the USSA — United Socialized States of America — and that is suspiciously close to USSR.

Terry Love
Shawnee

Kansas City Star

Catching on?

2009-06-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

Letter writer Vincent N. Shonka wonders when his fellow Americans are going to see what a bad job Barack Obama is doing ("A Bad President," June 17).

Some people might be starting to catch on. Unfortunately, I don't think the majority will realize that until they wake up one day and discover that most of their liberties and freedom are gone. And that the United States has turned into the former Soviet Socialist Republic.

There might be a glimmer of hope when they realize that the proposed health-care reform is going to eliminate necessary services and will ultimately destroy one of the best medical treatment systems in the world.

Maybe it will dawn on some people that the systematic dismantling of our national security and getting warm and cozy with the Muslim world is going to do nothing but open us up to another terrorist attack. The next one will be far worse than the first.

Maybe there will be hope when they realize that their paycheck could be next on the list of wage control. It won't be confined to just top executives. That one is a no-brainer.

Thank you for your service to our country, Mr. Shonka. Hang in there. There might be a light at the end of the tunnel. However, I do strongly emphasize the word might.

DARLENE WALTER
South Park

Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Left-wing agenda rises to the top

2009-06-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

I've never been as ashamed of an American president as I am of President Barack Obama.

Hundreds of thousands of young Iranians march in the streets of Tehran, dozens are brutally murdered, thousands are injured, hundreds are arrested, and it takes Obama 11 days to back away from his overt support of engagement with this radical dictatorship that is at the core of most of the terrorism and human rights abuses in the Middle East. Presidents are supposed to lead, not be led around, and especially not led around by the "Supreme Leader" (Obama's quote).

Obama has said he doesn't want to "interfere" in the internal politics of a foreign country (no matter what happens?), especially when it is the supplier and safe haven for Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas -- three sponsors of terrorism? Then why does he feel free to dictate border issues and bogus peace agreements to Israel's government?

Speaking of human rights, where is the radical left in supporting the demonstrators of Iran? Where does the local Mid-South Peace and Justice Center stand on this obvious violation of human rights? Not a whimper, not a mention on their Web site.

This just proves that the radical left, of which one can safely include Obama, could not care less about human rights, but are more concerned with imposing their radical left-wing agenda on the majority.

Shep Fargotstein
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Liberal hypocrisy decays America

2009-06-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

The writer of your June 20 letter "Palin panders as GOP fades away" finds irony in Sarah Palin standing up for her family and values. How would he feel if a reporter asked the Obama children about having a father whose mother was also a member of the "I got knocked up" club?

Our social programs provide for countless children born out of wedlock. Does the writer also want David Letterman to make fun of these families?

Americans are the most forgiving, understanding and supportive people on Earth. The letter writer, however, is typical of the liberal hypocrisy that decays America. His hatred for righteousness and principle finds him ridiculing a select class of people while he protects those of the same circumstance simply because they share his misguided, pagan views.

I have no real worry about the demise of any political party. What worries me is the demise of morals, common decency and respect for others that has become commonplace in people like the letter writer.

Tommy Volinchak
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

No mistakes, just choices

2009-06-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

Your June 7 article ("The woman within") about the transgender he/she was utterly disgusting, three pages that talked about a man who lived as a man for 30-some years and then suddenly felt he had to come out, saying he was a woman in a man's body.

God doesn't make mistakes. People are not born gay or lesbian; they choose to be. David/Darlene chose to be what he is, and if all these gay and lesbian people would read the Bible, they would know that homosexuality is a sin and no homosexual will enter heaven. Those are God's words, not mine.

Sondra Henson
Bartlett

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

A bad president

2009-06-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Every day I wake up and wonder when my fellow Americans are going to see what a bad job President Barack Obama is doing. His plan for fixing our poor economy is a joke! Basic logic dictates that you tighten your belt, not spend money you don't even have to spend.

His constant derogatory remarks about the United States just turn my stomach. Being a veteran, I take these remarks personally. The man has no idea what it means to be an American, really. I hope in the very near future that my fellow Americans stop this infatuation or whatever it is with Mr. Obama and see him for what he really is, and that is "un-American."

VINCENT N. SHONKA
Avalon

Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette

G-20: Showcase for city's ills

2009-06-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

Pittsburgh is the perfect place to conduct the G-20 summit in September. It shows the results of what government can do. Eleven steps to where we are now:

1. Close down or chase away all private enterprise through the Environmental Protection Agency, unions, taxes and onerous regulations. Public schools decline but excel in wasting money.

2. Replace for-profit, taxpaying endeavors with nonprofits, health care, educational pursuits and many government jobs, all depending on government funding or outright gifts.

3. Chase away all people who actually contribute with labor and investment, creating a constantly declining population. Use taxation, crime, malaise, Section 8 housing, one-party rule and no real private employment.

4. Get the city into state receivership and oversight, blame previous administrations for everything, create pensions that can't be paid without other government help, and become dependent on the state and federal governments.

5. Convert a longtime Republican professional football team owner to a staunch Barack Obama follower. Make much political hay of this miraculous conversion by appointing a new ambassador to a country that doesn't mean anything.

6. Act like a homeless, shameless tramp; take every bone that President Obama and Gov. Rendell throw your way and thank them for their charity.

7. Raise taxes on everybody who fled the city -- useless suburbanites who pollute the pureness of this ideal city -- under the guise of providing emergency services.

8. Continue to throw money at the transit system to make it more like Europe's, though the population doesn't use it much.

9. Exult in chasing so many people away that Steelers clubs for displaced Pittsburghers, who left to feed their families without welfare and government handouts, exist all over the world.

10. Take credit for the amazing things done to this most American city, which helped win World War II, at one time was the third-largest corporate headquarters city, and had three times today's population.

11. Invite the G-20 conference to showcase deconstructing one of the world's most prosperous industrial areas.

Ed Comer
Perry Hilltop

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune Review

God wouldn't condemn His creation

2009-06-04T06:49:00.000-07:00

In response to the writer of the May 30 letter "Searching the soul yields answers," I don't believe that God makes anyone to be homosexual. The Bible says God condemns this lifestyle as sin, and I don't believe God would make anyone homosexual and then condemn them for it. That's not the God I worship.

Rosalyn Johnson
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Wealth creation in peril

2009-05-28T06:55:00.000-07:00

The executive and legislative branches of our federal government are whining about the injustice of the distribution of wealth? Wealth isn't created or expanded by "distribution." Wealth is created by freedom and free markets.

Wealth is created by an individual's determination, drive, focus, work and sacrifice. Wealth can be perpetuated and expanded by generational commitment to the foundation of such wealth. Wealth is destroyed by confiscation and redistribution.

The evidence of this reality is readily apparent and is easily accessed with even the most minor of research efforts, at least while we still have freedom of speech. This freedom, our First Amendment right, along with all freedoms that we as Americans still have, is being threatened by, and quite deliberately targeted by, the current White House administration and the Reid-Pelosi Democrat Congress.

Wake up! What is going on now in the executive and legislative branches of our federal government is the greatest threat that the United States Constitution has ever faced. We as a nation have watched a systematic deconstruction of our Constitution, but we are now seeing a complete and utter disregard for, and deliberate violation and destruction of, our very foundation as a nation.

Additionally, the current administration and Congress are telling the American people that they're going to take the water out of only one end of the lake, and far too many are buying into such a ridiculous farce.

Vote the Marxists out -- while you still have a vote to cast.

Mark Arena
Fox Chapel

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Obsession with Gitmo

2009-05-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

What’s with the political obsession of our enemies at Guantanamo Bay? And what’s wrong with leaving the prisoners at Gitmo? It seems like a perfect place to me.

What would be gained by bringing them to the lower 48? I suspect this is just a political ploy to appease the need to “blame America first.” It seems that Obama would like to dissolve the U.S. into a world government where the good ol’ USA could do no further harm to the rest of the innocent world.

Has President Obama expressed even one comment in favor of anything the United States has ever accomplished? Michelle Obama isn’t proud of the U.S., except for her husband.

Do you suppose the Gitmo issue would be best left to the military? President Reagan would have delegated this petty issue. Obama has to decide with which cheese to bait the White House mouse-traps.

Robert Patterson
Lee’s Summit

Source: Kansas City Star

Downward moral spiral

2009-05-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

The president (notice I did not say "our president"; those who voted for him can have him) stated at the commencement for Notre Dame that we should be open-minded and fair-minded in the abortion debate. Does that mean that if we don't agree with his opinion on abortion we are not fair-minded or open-minded?

He cited parents of children with juvenile diabetes who might support embryonic stem cell research. There is overwhelming evidence that there is no need to create embryos to do stem cell research. In fact, more favorable results have come from adult stem cell research and umbilical cord cells.

Having Barack Obama speak at a Catholic college is like having the Ku Klux Klan speak at a predominantly black college. Would that be considered open-minded?

Catholics are the founders of the pro-life, anti-abortion movement. He should have graciously declined but his arrogance would never allow it. He is a smooth, charismatic talker, though, isn't he? Is this what they mean when they call his followers Kool-Aid drinkers?

I can only hope people will soon see the danger in his deception. We are in a downward moral spiral. The economy may recover, but once moral ground is lost, it is much more complex to recover. This country is in an economic mess because of the loss of fundamental values -- most importantly, respect for life.

Debbie Hildenbrand
North Huntingdon

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Torture? What about Fannie Mae?

2009-05-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Syndicated columnist Paul Krugman is such a hypocrite, but there he was, front and center again on the editorial page (April 25 column, "Can't sweep torture under rug"). "The only way we can regain our moral compass is to investigate what happened and prosecute those responsible." Give me a break. Only Bush hatred drives this. They still can't get over the election they lost.

If Krugman is so worried about our "moral compass," then explain why he hasn't called for the top four recipients of big money from Fannie Mae to come clean.

These include Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., now residing in the White House. And still the first three are mostly in charge with "oversight" at Fannie and Freddie.

President George W. Bush did what had to be done to keep us safe. So did Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, great Democrats. What a trial Krugman would plan for them. No, it is an "I hate Bush" witch hunt, which puts expediency before this country's interest.

Discomfort is not torture. And let's see just who approved of the methods used to extract vital information that possibly saved thousands. You bet it'll reveal lots of your liberal cronies approved.

Virginia Robinson
Germantown

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Seniors beware

2009-05-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

Under President Barack Obama’s proposed budget and executive orders, seniors and any living on fixed incomes will be economically punished and potentially forced out of their homes and into a life of restricted health care and poverty.

The tax increases — both direct and indirect — plus higher costs for food, energy, clothing, health care and everything we buy, will reduce the purchasing power of seniors.

Couple this with the dramatic drop in real estate and 401(k) values, and hard working American seniors will see their life being marginalized.

Where are the AARP and other senior advocate groups?

George Benjamin
Olathe

Source: Kansas City Star

Caterpillar torture mild

2009-04-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

Oh, no! A terrorist attempts to kill thousands of Americans, and we put him in a cardboard box with a caterpillar. I think we "tortured" my 4-year-old sister this way one time.
The terrorist was also slapped, but only hard enough to startle him, and thrown against a specially constructed "flexible wall."
Finally, these detainees were kept up with loud music. I think there may be a CIA interrogation center across my alley.

Stephen Boone, Garland

Source: Dallas Morning News

Peril of spiritual bankruptcy

2009-04-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

In 2006 under President Bush, the economy was booming. Unemployment was less than 5 percent, the stock market was breaking records, 401(k) accounts for millions of Americans were sparking dreams of prosperous retirements. Then the Democrats got control of Congress.

For the past three years they have worked tirelessly to destroy the American economy. They have put us in debt that even our grandkids won't be able to pay. Yes, the Republicans in name only have helped, but the Democrats have been in control of Congress for three years.

There's no question the Democrats have and are making a mess of things, but I can't really set the blame for the problems in this country at their doorstep. Our problems go much deeper. We have become a spiritually bankrupt country. We no longer put our faith in God. We no longer fill our churches, and only a small percentage of those who go to church support the church financially.

The problems we are experiencing will only get worse unless we confess our sins and accept the salvation offered through Jesus Christ. Mowing the lawn Sunday morning only gets a mowed lawn for a few days. How can we neglect so great a salvation?

Ron McDaniel
Collierville

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Is it white privilege or hard work?

2009-04-09T10:29:00.003-07:00

Whatever credibility Wendi C. Thomas had, she trashed with her April 5 column "Erasing privileges not about comfort." The 910 people who converged for the meeting on white privilege deserve to be drawn and quartered. We spend more tax dollars on programs and handouts to minorities than any other nation. Our banks were pressured into making loans to those who couldn't qualify for them honestly. Then, when these idiots defaulted on loans they shouldn't have received in the first place, the government stepped in to provide even more programs. Who will pay my white privileged mortgage?

Mexicans are considered minorities but they always seem to be employed. Did this goofy conference address the Mexi-privilege? Probably not, but I will: It's called hard work and personal responsibility.

I've had it. I won't donate another minute of my time, a penny of my disposable income or one iota of knowledge I have acquired to help a group of ungrateful people who, no matter how much is given to them by fair, hard-working, well-meaning Christian Americans, is never enough.

Tommy Volinchak
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Resign, Mr. President

2009-04-02T06:38:00.001-07:00

Enough is enough. Our president needs to learn the way capitalism works. Provided he's not secretly some Bolshevik from 1984, he should know that communism doesn't work. But that's what he's bringing about.

I can't imagine how he's managed to talk himself into taking over the job of General Motors' board of directors, but he has. In "firing" GM CEO Rick Wagoner, that is exactly what he has done. He has quite literally stepped in and taken their jobs.

Isn't he supposed to be creating more jobs? Maybe after we give him lifetime rule, like Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, we'll just pass up communism. We could just go straight into Obamism, where one man does all the work and philanthropically gives everyone hope out the wazoo.

That's not the way things work. President Obama may be the second coming of Christ, but even Jesus didn't kick down the door and fire the Pharisees. Instead, he died to save them. When it comes to Obama's way, keep in mind that there's always a better way of doing things.

And by the way, I demand a resignation from President Obama.

Matt Very
Hempfield

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune Review

GM CEO’s resignation

2009-04-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Capitalism is now dead in the U.S.A. The final nail in its coffin was the decision by the Obama administration to ask for the resignation of Rick Wagoner, CEO of GM. Actions like this were usually reserved for places like Cuba, Venezuela and the old Soviet Union. Comrade Obama has certainly shown his true colors.

Having owned only American nameplates, I will now have to rethink my future auto purchases. Of the Big Three auto manufacturers, only Ford has managed to not sell its soul to the U.S. government. It will probably only be a matter of time until the Obama administration decides that Ford must also be brought under the umbrella of the “car czar.”

God help America when the government decides what cars should be made.

Source: Kansas City Star

Obama's ideology trumps ours?

2009-03-14T21:42:00.001-07:00

It looks like President Barack Obama simply chose his ideology over other people's. Evidently his ideology is that "science" trumps moral convictions. Other people's ideology, including mine, says moral convictions are sometimes more important than "science."
Seems like we should have learned this in the Holocaust.

Ed Dittrich, Granbury

Source: Dallas Morning News

Seeing red

2009-03-13T15:14:00.001-07:00

Recently, Newsweek had the headline "We Are All Socialists Now."

William Ayers, President Obama's colleague in the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, has referred to himself as "a small 'c' communist."

Are we actually closer to the latter than the former? After all, we have a "troika" in Obama-Reid-Pelosi. In Obama's recent "stimulus bill," only 10 to 20 percent is spent in 2009. But a large amount is spent in 2014, which gives us a "five-year plan."

With the brazen mainstream-media support of Obama in the last election cycle, do we now have a "Pravda" of the West? If "central planning" hasn't yet begun, it will with national health care and cap-and-trade. New "czars" are appearing almost daily. Add to this mix, Rep. Maxine Waters, who threatened to "socialize" our oil companies. Obviously, she meant "nationalize," but couldn't find the word.

And, to complete the picture, each strata of our society seems to contain some "useful idiots." Is it any wonder President Obama is a fan of Abraham Lincoln: "You can fool some of the people all of the time ..."

JAMES CHARLOT
Sewickley

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Rush Limbaugh: smart cookie

2009-03-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am neither a robot nor a dupe. I have listened to radio commentator Rush Limbaugh for over 10 years. He has not forced me to vote one way or another. I don't agree with everything he says all the time, but I do share his conservative views and values. I believe this sentiment is shared by a majority of his 22 million listeners, and they all can't be Republicans.

Rush is a smart cookie, does his homework, is a marvelous historian. He is a champion of the American people and cheers for productivity, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. He truly loves this country and thinks we are all fortunate and blessed to live here.

Rush is not a politician, he is not seeking political office, and he is not the head of any political group. I would encourage folks to listen to him for a few days. Make up your own mind. His show is entertaining, informative and upbeat.

In the world of 24-hour news and talking heads, it is a pleasure to turn on the radio and listen to the "truth detector" every day.

Donna Lynn Scearce
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

A president with a plan

2009-03-10T06:14:00.001-07:00

By now we all know that our president is an intelligent man. He understands that if California can fall into the abyss from overspending, so can we all. The only difference is that our country has no one to bail us out.

After our country implodes, he envisions a new country rising from the ashes -- one with the concept of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." What charismatic leader shall be at the helm of this transformed nation? Our president himself, of course.

Is that a little red book sticking out of his coat pocket?

Frances Gildart-Robinson
Bartlett

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

While we sleep, we're being led into fascist socialism

2009-03-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

After reading The Star's Feb. 28 article, "Plan thumps Sallie Mae," I'm wondering when the public will wake up and see American freedom dying right under our noses. Barack Obama's plan to have the federal government take over the college loan industry is only the latest power grab in a systematic "transformation" from free democracy to fascist socialism. By the time the plan succeeds, it will be too late to remind the nation of all the warning signs it ignored.

Federal government control of health care, education, the banking system and the auto industry sounds more like Venezuelan dictator-elect Hugo Chavez than an American president.
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When Obama announced the federalization of college loans, Sallie Mae stock plummeted 31 percent. But this newest distressed company is a casualty in which the administration rejoices. It's a case study in the power of government to vanquish the private sector so that the public has no choice but to turn to the government for salvation.

The Obama administration is poised to do what nations throughout our short history have coveted: Conquer America. It is happening from within and we are accomplices, because in our panic we've made a clear statement: Americans don't want a president, they want a king.

Jason Adams
Sheridan

Source: The Indianapolis Star

Financial terrorists should be brought to justice

2009-02-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

One of the goals of the 9/11 terrorists was to destroy our financial system, and we have gone to great lengths to try to track them down, and rightly so. Yet for all the tragedy and devastation that came out of the 9/11 attacks, it was a mere blip on the radar of the financial markets.

Now let's take a look at the real terrorist -- the "financial terrorist," the company executives and Wall Street elite who feel everything is theirs for the taking and everyone else be damned. What the terrorists could not do with planes used as flying bombs these people have done through pure greed. They have brought the world's financial markets to their knees.

I say let's use the Patriot Act on them, round them up, send them to Gitmo and let them rot there for a few years. Maybe that will cause the next generation of "financial leaders" to pause and think about more than how they can manipulate their company's books for personal gain.

RON LOWREY
Carrick

Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Liberals whine, hostages pay

2009-02-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

I cannot understand why the liberal pansies in this country get outraged because the U.S. military, CIA or NSA pours water on the heads of suspected or proven terrorists/militants head to obtain information that will keep their liberal pansy selves armed with the freedom to whine.

If it will save one American life, and preserve our freedom, why not? I got worse treatment pledging a high school fraternity.

Why haven't liberals been protesting and shouting about the Western hostages, a.k.a. American military, and innocent foreign employees who are kidnapped and beheaded (usually on a video to be shown around the world)?

I would like to see them take their liberal, mealy-mouthed selves to Pakistan, Iran or Iraq and speak against the murderers who commit those atrocities. They know they wouldn't last long.

Fred H. Tate III
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Funny evolutionists at it again

2009-02-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

I had to laugh out loud at the "thought" of the Memphis Freethought Alliance holding Darwin Day with a whopping 50 people in attendance (Feb. 12 article). The poll conducted by the University of Tennessee is revealing indeed. One-half of all Tennesseans don't believe evolution is a well-established scientific theory. And 44 percent believe intelligent design is just as valid. Sounds free thinking to me.

By mentioning the "shock" of people moving here from other areas, this article not so subtly suggested that Tennesseans are ignorant hicks for having the audacity to question a theory over what they believe is Biblical fact. The only thing free about the Freethought Alliance is that you can believe whatever you want, just not the Bible.

As far as "shouting what evolution is," our children get that shoved down their throats in science classes throughout their school years. And if that doesn't do it, they get professors in college like the one quoted in the article who "warns" them of exactly what they will be learning in his class. He goes on to threaten them that if they can't handle it they should leave because "it is not up for debate." Sounds to me like he can't handle the debate.

The fact is, one day everyone will know the truth. On that day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the creator of the universe and all that it contains. On that day, there truly will be no debate.

Linda Berry
Collierville

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Limbaugh critics not playing fair

2009-02-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

The writer of the Feb. 3 letter "Terrorists of like minds" quoted Rush Limbaugh out of context.

The writer has no idea what Rush actually said -- that if wanting the "president to succeed" meant that Barack Obama was going to pass all of his socialist anti-capitalist policies, then yes, he did in fact want Obama to fail. I don't recall any Democrats wanting George W. Bush to succeed since Day 1 of his presidency.

Second, this quote -- "I would call that a form of anti-American economic terrorism. I know someone who agrees with Rush -- Osama bin Laden" is totally ridiculous.

God forbid anyone disagree with the current president's policies.

Maybe we should all be lined up and thrown in a Soviet gulag. I did not know that voicing disagreement with the administration warranted such punishment and likened itself to the killing of 3,000 Americans.

The writer's comments say much about the liberal mindset: Agree with us or be silenced. I compare it to the actions of Stalin, Lenin and all current terrorist organizations.

Daniel Tacker
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

No way for president to speak

2009-02-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

When former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush left the White House, class and character went with them. "I screwed up," shows no class in President Barack Obama admitting his bad judgment.

Mima Hohn, Dallas

Source: Dallas Morning News

A new Iron Curtain about to drop

2009-01-31T06:58:00.000-08:00

The Republicans in the House voted as one against the largest nationalized effort on the part of the socialist Democrats to communize the United States.

If Republicans had recognized their responsibilities during the Bush administration, perhaps we wouldn't be here today.

Having visited behind the Iron Curtain in my youth, I can see what awaits us, and it is not pretty. The next step by the Democrats will be to suspend portions of the Constitution by shutting down "talk radio," disarm the populace via emergency edicts and imprison opposition leaders. Nothing will stop them until we wake up, put aside political correctness and seize the moment. Nationalized mortgages and banks are the precursor of a dead society. We are soon to become leeches upon one another, and bloodshed will rule our offspring.

May God have mercy upon us all.

Mark Estabrook
Cordova

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

God's wrath arrives: Obama

2009-01-30T06:31:00.000-08:00

It wasn't enough that President Barack Obama recently had the FDA approve the use of embryonic stem cells for research and therapy in people with early spinal cord injuries, thus ensuring the death of many embryonic American babies. Now he has rescinded the Mexico City policy (Jan. 24 article). Thus, American taxpayers will have to again subsidize abortions for women overseas.

How many babies does this man want to see murdered? What's next, approval of the whole gay rights agenda in the United States? Institution of Baal worship?

Obama claims to be a "born again" Christian. Obviously, he can talk the talk, but he can't walk the walk. A co-worker told me prior to the recent presidential election that Obama's stance on these and other moral issues will not affect his ability to govern the United States.

Wrong. Moral values by our government leaders do matter and do affect administration policy. The American people have a right and obligation to hold our leaders accountable for their moral policies and actions.

I feel that God is no longer blessing the United States, but is instead beginning to judge it. I will continue to pray for Obama's safety and that he will begin to listen to and obey God regarding his personal life and his policies for this nation.

James D. Tutor, M.D.
Cordova

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Get context correct about Limbaugh's 'I hope he fails'

2009-01-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

Leave it to Leonard Pitts in his Jan. 25 column to take Rush Limbaugh's words completely out of context. He clearly illustrates that he doesn't listen to Rush by getting Limbaugh's "I hope he fails" comment about President Obama wrong.

What Limbaugh meant was that he hopes Obama fails in passing into law some of the decidedly un-American ideas he supports. Giving tax refunds to people who don't pay taxes in the first place is welfare. Raising taxes on those who are productive and successful is communist. Requiring Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and at the same time using public funds to pay for abortions is barbaric (Freedom of Choice Act). Guaranteeing health care and jobs for all (dutifully paid for by the aforementioned productive and successful crowd) is also communist.

Hiding conveniently behind all of President Obama's eloquence is, at worst, communism and, at best, socialism. Not even a week into his administration I have reached overload with the revered admiration (bordering on worship) many in this country seem to have for Obama. As for his policies, I hope they fail as well. The country will be better off in the long run.

Matt McLaughlin
Indianapolis

Source: Indianapolis Star

A catastrophic inauguration

2009-01-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

The 35,000 security personnel and millions of dollars spent on security failed to prevent a catastrophe from happening. Barack Hussein Obama was still sworn in as president.

Leon Sherard
Olive Branch

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

We'll be sorry

2009-01-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

OK, now Barack Obama is on the job. Day one he wants to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison. Kind of reminds me of Jimmy Carter. He gave away the Panama Canal and released all the draft dodgers who deserted their country so they wouldn't have to serve in Vietnam.

What is this, a new Democratic Party that wants to release and forgive all of America's enemies? Watch your back.

RON BARWELL
Finleyville

Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Look to God for guidance

2009-01-20T05:06:00.000-08:00

If he listened to the naysayers, gays, atheists, agnostics and other heathens, I guess we'd have to say our incoming president doesn't have a prayer!

Jack Parnell
Germantown

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

No ruckus over gay bishop

2009-01-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

I see where Barack Obama has asked Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson to open his inaugural festivities on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial. And the entire Democrat Party is ecstatic that he has picked an openly gay, staunch gay marriage supporter to give the prayer to kick off his presidency.
Thousands of Democratic faithful have showed their disgust with Obama's pick of the Rev. Rick Warren to open the swearing-in ceremony. Robinson seems to be amazed that a man of God would follow the teachings of the Bible and his own conscience when it comes to gay marriage. This is one of the many examples of the irony of liberals being tolerant people.
The most amazing part of this debacle is that not a single Democrat has criticized Obama for his selection of Robinson, a pseudo "man of God," to lead them in prayer. When I talk about the "new" Democratic Party and the "radical" views of Obama, this is just another clear example.

Mike Cloud
Lubbock

Source: Dallas Morning News

On the economy: Coincidences? I wonder

2009-01-17T20:02:00.000-08:00

There have always been conspiracy theories concerning government power, financial institutions, etc. Such names as the Trilateral Commission, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation come to mind. They all seemed far-fetched until recently.

How do oil prices go to more than $140 a barrel in a year, then decline to below $40 in less than six months? How can an economy be relatively stable for decades and then be on a brink of disaster within one month? How can a person who was relatively unknown a year ago become president of the U.S., while collecting record campaign donations during that year?

I am not suggesting any conspiracy. I am just asking how all this happens in such a short period of time.

Carl Box
Dallas

Source: Dallas Morning News

Bill will allow unabated infanticide

2009-01-16T06:11:00.000-08:00

On Jan. 22, the House of Representatives will vote on the Freedom of Choice Act. It is no coincidence this is also the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. The bill includes the removal of parental notification of teenagers, the funding of abortions by all taxpayers, and will require all hospitals to perform abortions on demand, which could lead to the closing of Catholic hospitals.

There are not enough Republican and pro-life Democrat votes to stop the bill. The Republicans can filibuster it in the Senate, but I predict it will reach the White House. President Barack Obama, who as a state senator voted for the killing of a child who happened to survive a botched abortion, has no problem signing this bill into law.

It is an abomination and the reductio ad absurdum of this country's principles, which flow not from the sovereignty of an eternal lawgiver, but from human autonomy and do-it-yourself religion, which has led to sheer and naked atheism.

Everyone is so concerned about saving the environment, ending the war to save lives, and saving the lives of baby seals, owls and snail darters, but not for the innocent unborn children slaughtered in the womb by selfish mothers and money-hungry, Godless doctors. And with the passage of this bill, the infanticide of American children continues unabated and with more "freedom" than ever.

Michelle Modesto
Collierville

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Message in scriptures is clear

2009-01-14T06:21:00.000-08:00

A gay Episcopal bishop has been asked by President-elect Barack Obama to say a prayer at an inauguration event, apparently because gays are upset about Rick Warren being asked to say a prayer because he openly speaks out about the sin of homosexuality (Jan. 13 article).

We all know that God loves all and wants all to be saved, but he expects us to live according to his will. A minister of the gospel is supposed to warn and speak out against the sin of homosexuality. A minister of the gospel is not to be actively engaging in homosexuality and teaching others it is OK.

Why is it that some ministers say homosexuality is a sin and some say it is OK? If the word of God says it is sin, shouldn't that settle the matter? (Read what the Apostle Paul said about it in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God, and that is what some of you were...")

Ministers of the gospel of Christ are supposed to be led by the word of God. The word of God says we will be judged by the word of God, doesn't it? (The Apostle John says in the Gospel according to John, John 12:48, "There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.")

These words are words we all must heed if we are going to please God, which is the lifelong duty of all of us. (Ecclesiastes 12:13 "...here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

N.W. Simpson
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Israel's 'support'

2009-01-13T05:57:00.000-08:00

In her recent letter Bonita Veraldi put forth the notion that Israel is historically one of our (U.S.A.) staunchest supporters ("Defending Israel," Jan. 6 and PghTrib.com).

You would think it should be our supporter, considering the fact that we have given it close to $100 billion in aid, not counting joint military projects, since 1949. But its actions often prove otherwise.

According to a four-part 2001 Fox News report available on youtube.com ("Israel Spies on the USA"), Israel conducts the most aggressive espionage activities against the U.S. of all our allies. It also may have been aware of the planned 9/11 attack ahead of time but did not warn us. (Fox News, not I, came to this conclusion).

Israel's lack of support is nothing new. On June 6, 1967, during the Six Day War, Israel attacked the USS Liberty for several hours in international waters with unmarked planes and torpedo gunships resulting in the deaths of 34 U.S. sailors and the wounding of 170 more.

Israel claimed it thought it was an Egyptian ship, one-half the Liberty's size, despite the fact that it was broad daylight and the Liberty was displaying an oversized U.S. flag.

One might ask what Israel's motives for the attack might have been. Only Israel knows, but it's been speculated that it planned to blame the attack on Egypt and draw us into the war on its side.

Not the actions of a "staunch supporter," in my opinion.

Clifford J. Warner
Jefferson Hills

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Celebrity expose

2009-01-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

Hats off and kudos to Jeff Olen for his excellent letter exposing the hypocrisy of liberal celebrity Marxists such as Bruce Springsteen and for speaking out against America's bizarre celebrity-obsessed media and pop culture ("Born to pose," Letters, Dec. 31 and PghTrib.com).

For years now, Mr. "Born in the USA" Springsteen has been spewing his leftist anti-American hatred while reaping the rewards of living in a free country that he and his fellow celebrities insult and despise.

Instead of ostracizing and shunning these phony amoral celebrities, the American public puts them on pedestals and worships them as gods.

America should change its national motto from "In God We Trust" to "In Celebrities We Trust."

Frank E. Doney
Bakerstown

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Climate gospel?

2008-12-29T05:46:00.000-08:00

In regard to the feature that has been appearing in your Magazine section ("Dear Mr. President Elect"), I have noticed an alarming trend. It appears that many children are being brainwashed with the dogma of environmentalism/climate change. It is very disturbing that children are being taught this in schools, not as an opinion but as gospel.

Climate change was once called global warming, but since that can be disproved, the radical left now calls it climate change, which, of course, cannot be disputed because the climate is constantly changing. What nerve these people have teaching children that man causes the climate to change.

There have been many periods throughout the history of the world that the world has cooled and the world has gotten warmer. To put the blame on man is sorely misleading and just plain wrong.

Environmentalism/climate change is the least of America's problems, and since communism has failed worldwide, the radical left needs a new calling card and this is it. It is a shame our country is now ruining our children by feeding them this garbage.

Hopefully the parents of these children are paying attention to what is being taught these young fragile minds and fighting back. If parents are not paying attention and these children become our country's leaders, we will have a country that is like socialist Europe with mind-numbing taxes, and that will create an entirely new set of problems for our country. That is where this is all leading.

GARY W. TROUT
Avalon

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Surely there are worse things

2008-12-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

Your Dec. 23 letter writer ("How not to polish U.S. image") condemns the United States as the "most scurrilous nation on Earth" for not signing a United Nations declaration calling for a worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.

How can someone honestly believe this qualifies the United States for such a dubious distinction? What next, sign a declaration decriminalizing pedophilia and bestiality?

These truly must be the end times.

Scott Feuer
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Duped again by liberal media

2008-12-15T06:13:00.000-08:00

Those of you who voted for Barack Obama should look in the mirror and repeat: "I, a loyal sheep, was duped by a blatantly partisan left-wing media into electing a mere man with a horribly tarnished halo."

The "one" is not a reincarnation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King's dream has been shattered by a mere man who contradicts the core principles King espoused.

The millions of you who could not offer one substantial reason for voting for the "one" aside from his skin color have demolished King's powerful truth that a person should be judged by the content of his character, not the color of his skin.

A person's character may be defined by his associations and by his mentors. Blinded by a monstrous increase in government entitlements, you simply ignored (as did your beloved midstream media) the "one's" kindred friendships and influential tutors. His liberation theologist pastor of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright, the proud-to-be-a-terrorist Bill Ayers, his Muslim mentors during those formative youthful years and his obvious disregard for the poor, aptly illustrated by his neglect of his destitute, hut-dwelling half-brother in Africa and his slum-dwelling illegal alien aunt in Chicago.

Obama and King differ radically on the issue of civil rights for the defenseless unborn. The "one" chooses partial birth abortion; King chooses life.

Yes, those of you who were shepherded ecstatically into the voting booth will soon realize that the halo the "one" sported in the campaign is indeed irredeemably tarnished.

Tony Barba
Bartlett

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

God deserves credit for cheap gas

2008-12-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

When we turn on the TV or walk into a coffee shop, all you hear is "gas prices are lower" or "the only economic relief is the gas prices." Do we ever hear who to thank? Do we stop to wonder who is behind all this? Well, we should be thanking God. We need to fill up and race to the Lord's House. He has given us a way to get to Him; all we have to do is see past the blessing to God. During our biggest time of need we should be turning to Him and not our government. The answer is a lot closer than Washington; in fact, it is on almost every street you drive on, and it is in the House of the Lord.

Heather Morris
Olive Branch

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

No end to the handouts in sight

2008-12-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

What with ADC, Section 8 housing, food stamps, quotas in college admissions, affirmative action, low or no federal income tax, welfare checks, housing with no qualification and bailouts, it seems we are already spreading the wealth around.

What will Barack Obama and his cronies do next? Maybe he'll ask you to pay your neighbor's doctor bill or make it easier to get an abortion or help us lose a war against people who want to kill us.

The government doesn't have any money of its own, so paying for these social programs has to come from taxpaying citizens and corporations. Isn't that socialism?

America has just elected someone who doesn't believe in capitalism. He wants your money to do whatever he wants to further his socialist agenda. Instead, why don't we let capitalism work as it has for over 200 years and get government out of our lives?

Paul Miller
Memphis

Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal

Shoppers forget the spirit of the season

2008-12-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Jdimytai Damour, a Wal-Mart worker, was killed in the seasonal shopping stampede at the store on Long Island, N.Y. Customers "shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials said they were closing because of the death" ("Wal-Mart worker trampled to death," USATODAY.com, Friday).

I use the word "seasonal" in place of "Christmas" because it is completely appropriate. No "Christmas" shopper would ever be a part of a mob of people who would trample a man to death in the zeal to save $5.

Friends, why would this come as a surprise to any of us in America? When zealous secularists rip the "Christ" out of Christmas, the peace, joy and love are torn out with him. The raw, chilling and hardened behavior of the shoppers is only a foretaste of what is to come for us if we continue on this Christ-less path.

Lisa Clay - Adrian, Mich.

Source: USA Today

Conservatives’ paranoia a necessity

2008-11-29T06:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, Mr. Bookman, we on the right are paranoid. Unlike many of you who have ushered into power the liberal left, we distinctly remember the Jimmy Carter presidency and the economy that resulted. We distinctly remember the utter failure of socialistic and Marxist economic policies in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and we understand the immutable laws of economic supply and demand.

We distinctly remember the attempts by the liberal left to deny us constitutional rights such as freedom of religion in the marketplace of ideas, and gun ownership. We are paranoid and justifiably so because we have already lived the political, social and economic ideas of the liberal left and we find them frighteningly harmful to the concept of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

BRIAN WILSON, Atlanta

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Editorial judgments V

2008-11-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I'll ever lose this sick feeling I've had since Tuesday's election.

I feel especially bad for all those brave men and women who fought and died to keep the evils of socialism, Marxism and communism from ever reaching our shores. Now we have elected a president who wants to sow the seeds of those disastrous philosophies right here at home.

If Barack Obama governs the way he said he would during the campaign, he will succeed in doing to America from the inside what our enemies have never been able to do from the outside.

God help us.

Guy Kosinski
Verona

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

'Dangerous' opinions II

2008-11-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

Amen to the Trib's editorial.

I felt that all U.S. flags should be flying at half-staff Wednesday.

Wake up, America! "REDISTRIBUTION" of the wealth is more commonly known as "S-O-C-I-A-L-I-S-M" and its evil relative "C-O-M-M-U-N-I-S-M"!

Are that many people in this country naive enough to believe that the government should decide how much of our money we get to keep and then redistribute the rest as it sees fit? I hope and pray not.

By the way, Mr. Obama will not be paying for my gas or my mortgage, as I am a CONTRIBUTOR, not a RECEIVER!

Theresa Lakovic
Clairton

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Conservatism will rise again

2008-11-14T06:28:00.000-08:00

That tremor you felt Tuesday night was not the Barack Obama presidential victory but rather Bill Buckley, Ronald Reagan and the Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves.

Fortunately for the conservative movement, they have collectively all rolled to the right. And thus begins the seismic shift in the GOP from the John McCain centrist wing to true conservatism.

McCain's defeat along with additional losses in the Senate and House demonstrate that the supposed lesson to learn from the 2006 mid-term losses necessitating a shift to the left was, in fact, a canard.

Conservatism has its roots in tried and true principles rather than liberalism, which has its genesis in emotion. Acquiescence as such amounts to capitulation, which equals defeat.

With a new generation of conservative pols led by Gov. Sarah Palin, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Club for Growth President Pat Toomey and Rep. Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, the Republican Party will return to the empowerment of the individual citizen over the government.

With Democrat control over two branches of government for at least two years, prepare yourselves for higher taxes, redistribution of wealth, bans on all energy drilling, free speech and gun rights, killing babies and teaching 5-year-olds about Chuck and Bill's marriage.

"Viva La Revolution, comrades!"

A house, like a movement, must often be burned to the ground before it can be rebuilt as it was originally intended. Like the phoenix, the conservative movement began its ascension Wednesday morning. Come 2012 we will be in full flight.

Steven Donnelly
Cowansville

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Disunited on Obama II

2008-11-14T06:19:00.000-08:00

Double kudos to the Trib (Rich Grassel letter, "Editorial judgments III," Nov. 8 and PghTrib.com).

I too just canceled the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after decades. The invective of their editorial board writers during the election was just awful. Thanks, Trib, for giving me a choice; most towns would kill for the choice that we have.

The PG, along with The New York Times, et al., is facing large-scale downsizing and big cuts are in store. Pity it will never get to the main culprits; it's always the little guy!

Maybe those unfortunates who are laid off can see Dan Rooney for work. Now that "Mr. Build Me a New Stadium or I Will Move the Team" is so connected in the new pro-abortion Obama administration, he'll be able to spread some more wealth and get them a job with another taxpayer-funded joke (ACORN comes to mind).

Amazing. Our number-one Irish Catholic family man and patron saint of the American Ireland Fund has also fallen into the left-wing tar pit with the rest of the ex-angels.

Dennis J. McMahon Jr.
Moon

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Welcome to socialism

2008-11-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

Well, Barack Obama is now president of this country.

You can look forward to having your taxes raised, your 401(k) seized, your sacrifice, hard work and success redistributed. You can look forward to having a president who sees our Constitution as flawed, full of negative liberties and essential constraints put there by the Founding Fathers that said what the states and the federal government can't do to its citizens but not what they must do on your behalf, which he has a problem with.

You can look forward to a civilian security force as powerful as the military reminiscent of what they have in places like North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and China. You can look forward to an all-out assault on the freedom of speech of opposing opinions and the 2nd Amendment.

Never have so many been duped by so little as the promise of getting someone else's money which they did not earn.

I would like to personally thank Democrats like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd for magnificently orchestrating the economy to fail as it did. Their timing was superb, their strategy flawless.

We have a new president. Welcome to the USSA, the United Socialist States of America.

Instead of redistribution of the wealth, how about redistribution of the work ethic?

You wanted it, you got it, now live with it.

Welcome to the Obamanation!

Victor K. Hreczkosiej
Sewickley Heights

Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Unhappily, I'm willing to give Obama a chance

2008-11-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

We woke up Wednesday morning having to face the fact the we now have to say, "President Obama." I for one will have a hard time saying that, as I fear we have installed a socialist "Manchurian candidate" into the White House.

But, fortunately, I am a Reagan conservative, which puts me head and shoulders above any liberal Democrat because I have respect for the office if not the officeholder. Therefore, I am willing to give the man a chance and will look forward to seeing if he can make this country a better place.

This is something liberals cannot understand, and the proof is that for eight long years, President Bush has been hammered day after day, with lies and false accusations. This is one example of why conservatives make better Americans. Did anyone notice the Black Panthers intimidating voters at the polling place in Philadelphia? What a fine example of Democratic strategy and excellence at work.

Mr. Obama will have to take responsibility for such actions because Mr. Bush was held to such standards. Let's see what Obama "truth squads" have in store for all of us.

Robert C. Faulkner Jr.
East Carnegie

Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette