Letters to the Editor

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Untitled Document We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail [email protected].
OUR GATEWAY TO INDIA I enjoyed reading the article on Indian food [Julianne Glatz, “Springfield’s Indian night,” Sept. 6]. However, while mention was made of certain Indian restaurants in Chicago, St. Louis, and New York, I was surprised that there was no mention of the Gateway to India, right here in Springfield! I’ve eaten there several times and find the food and service very good and at reasonable prices.
Dick McLane Springfield
THREE FATAL ERRORS After seeing No End in Sight, the excellent documentary shown recently at Parkway Pointe, I couldn’t help thinking: This is a president who lost not only an entire city but also a whole country (New Orleans has become known as “Baghdad on the Bayou”). Gen. Eric Shinseki, former chief of staff of the Army, suggested an invasion of several hundred thousand troops. He got only 160,000. There was no plan for an occupation, only invasion and “liberation.” When the looting began, the American military, not having been given any policing orders, just stood around watching. The only building that was protected was the oil ministry. Then Paul Bremer III, who replaced Gen. Jay Garner as head of the occupation, made three fatal errors: de-Baathification, disbanding the Iraqi military, and closing state-owned industries. This resulted in throwing several hundreds of thousands of Iraqis out of work and into the streets, many of them members of the middle classes, including professors and librarians. These three fatal errors, said to have been made with the advice of Iraqi defector and poseur Ahmed Chalabi, took place in May 2003. By the summer of 2003, the insurgency had begun. Improvised explosive devices were already in evidence. The unguarded ammo dumps became the weapons of the insurgency. The Iraqi military forces could have been called back to work in reconstruction. Instead, Halliburton and other private contractors moved in and, in no-bid contracts, hired slave labor from Third World countries to do the work. And what they succeeded in building were 14 permanent military bases and the largest embassy in the world. There should have been a Marshall Plan for New Orleans, as well as [one for] Iraq. Just such a plan for New Orleans was suggested by Republican Congressman Richard Baker of Louisiana. It was rejected by the Bush administration because it was a “government program.” In Iraq now, electricity and potable water are almost nonexistent. Cholera is spreading. At least 2 million people, perhaps as many as 3 million, have fled the country, and as many as 650,000 Iraqi civilians have died as Iraq descends into chaos, while the architects of this disaster — Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Douglas Feith — are nowhere to be found. I conclude that this president cares nothing for the Iraqi people or for the people of New Orleans. Beni Kitching Springfield
WHO NEEDS A WEATHERMAN? The summer of 2007 wasn’t a summer of love but of wildfires, droughts, hot temperatures, and floods in the United States. The summer of 2007 was not from global warming but from the judgment of God in the United States! The word “land” is used more than 1,500 times in the Holy Bible. The god of Israel has a plan for man’s land in the United States. When man keeps sinning and won’t repent, the land is cursed and God’s judgment happens — that is why all this strange weather is going on. When wicked man sows the evil seeds of sin, then God’s judgment is reaped on the land! But when Christian man prays over the land, then God blesses it in his appointed time. See the showers of blessings fall in the future. In the next three years, the Christians will be living in a spiritual Garden of Eden in the United States; the god of Israel will bless the land with supernatural miracles. In the new spiritual Garden of Eden, the Christians will be walking in love, joy, and peace of the Lord in the land when all hell breaks loose in the United States. The desert in this land will be turned into a spiritual oasis!
The Lord has showed me the winter of 2007 will be coldhearted in the United States. There will be lots of ice storms, lots of snows, lots of blizzards, and lots of strong, cold winds blowing from the north. Keep your eyes on God, the creator, and don’t worship the creation. God controls the weather, but man’s rebellion to God’s land plan can change the weather forecast. George Culley Pinckneyville
WORD OF ADVICE Please get rid of Amy Alkon. She is the absolute worst “advice columnist” I have ever, in my life, read. I’ve never liked a single one of her columns. The one that bothered me the most was the one when she went off about children who don’t have fathers in the home and said they were going to be criminals. That’s a paraphrase, but I know it was within the last year.
Amanda Helm
Riverton
DON’T FALL FOR FOOL’S GOLD Politicians and gambling promoters are using a desire for a capital construction plan as an excuse to expand gambling. Legalizing three new casinos will not result in instant cash to fund mass transit in Chicago or pay for large construction projects.
The last such plan — Illinois First — was ushered in under Gov. George Ryan in 1999 and was to be partially funded by a gambling-expansion bill that included dockside gambling and a casino in Cook County (Rosemont). Casinos made “windfall profits,” but the 10th casino license has been tied up in litigation amid allegations of investor associations with the mob. Gambling promises more than it delivers. Did the Illinois Lottery solve funding for schools? Studies show that states with lotteries spend less money for education and have higher taxes than states without lotteries. Tell legislators to stop chasing after the false promises of fool’s gold. Gambling is an unstable source of revenue. We will all pay for this scheme, even if you don’t gamble: addiction, bankruptcy, crime, embezzlement, child abuse, divorce, and suicide. In fact, for every dollar of revenue the cost is $3 for social welfare, criminal-justice, and regulatory costs.
Anita Bedell Executive director
Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems
Springfield

IMPROVING TEEN DRIVER SAFETY With the deadliest months for teen-driving accidents now behind us, it’s reassuring to see legislators and the governor come together to further improve the safety of teen drivers across Illinois. I’d like to thank Gov. Rod Blagojevich for signing the new and expanded graduated driver’s license bill into law, a measure that will better prepare our young drivers for the responsibilities they face each time they take the wheel. As a parent of teenage drivers, I appreciate the passion and commitment to keeping our teens safer on the roads. Although it’s hoped the new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, will reduce the number of crashes involving teen drivers, parents shouldn’t think that stronger laws alone will make their teen safer on the road. A recent survey conducted by the Allstate Foundation Teen Driving Program (www.protectteendrivers.com) found that 60 percent of parents nationwide were, at best, only vaguely aware of their state’s GDL requirements. Sadly, motor-vehicle accidents remain the No. 1 killer of teens nationwide, claiming 5,000 to 6,000 of our young drivers each year, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Expanding the length of time Illinois teens must drive on learners’ permits, limiting the number of passengers teens can have in their cars, and cutting down on nighttime driving hours for teens are definitely steps in the right direction, but we can’t stop there. Parents must still play vital roles in making strong impressions on their children. All parents should model good driving behavior and talk to their children about safe driving early and often. By familiarizing themselves with Illinois’ new teen-driving guidelines and taking the time to explain to their children why smart driving skills are so important, parents can make a big difference. Working together, parents, legislators, educators, and the community play a critical role when it comes to safeguarding our children. This new law will make a difference, but the level of parent involvement will be vital to expanding its margin of success. Denis Bailey Field Vice President Allstate Insurance, Midwest Region Buffalo Grove

CORRECTION International Buffet, winner of the Best Buffet category, is located at 2520 N. Dirksen Pkwy. The address was incorrect in last week’s edition.

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