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Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois
62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com
GLAD HE TOOK A STAND
Fletcher Farrar’s recent commentary is
an example of why Enos Park continues to improve [“Landlord
journal,” Dec. 15]. His rental houses are refurbished into
clean, well-tended homes. He carefully screens the tenants, as he
did his renter Ron, and he gives folks a chance. He also takes the
next step as a responsible landlord by holding people accountable
for their actions and keeping them from being a nuisance to the
neighborhood. Would that every property owner were as involved as
Farrar! Farrar is mentioned several times in At Home in the Park: Loving a Neighborhood Back to
Life because he’s the sort of
resident, investor. and landlord who has made such a difference in
Enos Park’s fortunes. I was delighted to find that my book
was chosen by Corrine Frisch as a holiday-gift pick for
“Hometown talent under the tree” [Dec. 15]. Believe me,
it was an early Christmas present to open Illinois Times and find
myself compared to Garrison Keillor! (Actually, I was aiming for
two parts Erma Bombeck, one part Ada Louise Huxtable, but I’m
more than happy with Keillor.) At Home in the Park dwells on what’s right about Springfield
without glossing over the fact that there are very real challenges.
However, having to toss out a rowdy tenant and cope with nearly
$1,000 worth of damage can happen anywhere. I remain grateful that
Farrar chose Enos Park as the place to take his own stand for what’s best in humanity. Lola L. Lucas Springfield CONVENIENTLY IGNORING THE FACTS
Roland Klose makes his argument on the
impeachment of President George W. Bush from the perspective of
someone who did not want him in the Oval Office in the first place
[“Commentary,” Dec. 22]. He considers only the facts
that are convenient to his argument and ignores those that would
buttress the views of his opponents. For example, when he discusses the fact that
President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to monitor
the private communications of American citizens, he discusses how
this happened under both the Nixon and Johnson administrations but
completely ignores the fact that both Presidents Jimmy Carter and
Bill Clinton ordered similar wiretaps and spying on citizens, such
as that in the Aldrich Ames case under Clinton. By declaring that
Bush ordered spying on American citizens in this current case, he
ignores the fact that members of Congress — Democrat and
Republican — were kept abreast of the monitoring as it
occurred. Another such example of ignoring the facts is
Klose’s claim that President Bush pushed us into the war in
Iraq, apparently (according to Mr. Klose) on the strength of his
own will alone. Klose chooses in this case not to even mention
Clinton’s claims about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass
destruction, let alone all of the statements by various members of
Congress, including Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Did Bush push
us into war? Or was Bush guided by the same intelligence that
guided those before him? Bush was in charge at the time of the 9/11
attacks. Critics now argue that he should have done something to prevent those
attacks. By using all of the weapons legally at his disposal as
commander in chief during a time of war, he is trying to prevent any
future attacks. If something else of the magnitude of 9/11 occurs, Mr.
Klose will be amongst the first in line to blame Bush once again. As
president, George W. Bush has an obligation — an oath — to
protect and defend this country, and I believe — based on the
facts — that he is doing just that. By choosing only the facts that support his
biased argument while intentionally or ignorantly ignoring
counter-facts, Klose does more damage to his own side of the
argument than if he had simply taken a more balanced view. His
argument is thus completely null and void. Keith Housewright St. Jacob CLINTON IMPEACHED FOR LESS
Bravo to Roland Klose for being willing to
openly raise the issue of impeachment of George W. Bush! It was about 10 years ago that Congress began
impeachment proceedings against a sitting president for the acts of
engaging in and lying about sexual indiscretions in the White
House. Today we have a president who, based on lies and
incompetence, has engaged in a preemptive war to the benefit of his
closest business friends, is robbing from the poor to give to the
rich, and is wantonly abusing the civil rights and liberties of the
American population. When looked at from that perspective, which
individual should be impeached? Maybe the call for impeachment in
Klose’s column is not as unrealistic as first appears. Larry Golden Springfield COMPLACENT ABOUT LIES
I want to thank you for your call to impeach
Bush. Every time he steps over the line, I wonder, “Will
Americans finally be outraged this time?” Why has America
become so complacent about being lied to by our president? Jennifer Nahlik St. Louis BLACK EYE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
I am writing to you because I have read the
article about Michael Redpath [Bruce Rushton, “Better than
nothing,” Dec. 22]. I have never been so angry at our
so-called justice system and how impotent it really is in that he
was sentenced to just three years in prison for all he had done. I think that if he comes up for the end of
his sentence, the court system should bring him up on charges for
the other crimes and give him a life sentence without the
possibility of getting out. That he was allowed to do the things he
has done is a black eye for every law-enforcement officer in the state. John Rector Springfield MISS CHESTNUT TAKES THE FALL
For Miss Chestnut, the American Chestnut at
the corner of Cherry and Chatham roads, life came to a violent end
as she was struck down by a
chainsaw. It is thought she was the last of her family
in Springfield and, perhaps, for many miles around. She had lived a
long life. Her exact age was unknown, but it is believed that she
was born at the end of the 18th century or the beginning of the
19th. Her longtime caretakers, the Bale sisters, who recently died
in their late nineties, said that she was there when their parents
built their home. Early in her life she saw most of her family die
of chestnut blight, but her good and rare genes helped her to
survive. Throughout her life she saw many changes. Born in the
woods, she became a part of the front yard of a home on a dirt
road. The road changed to gravel, and bridges were built to the
east of her. She saw her woods become the yards of homes. Within
her view were constructed churches and schools. Many days she
watched as children played in the schoolyard behind her home. The
road changed to concrete both in front and to the west of her home.
One spring she awoke to find a stop light located on her corner.
She watched as the mode of transportation changed from walking to
bicycles, horses, and automobiles. She watched as the houses built
around her were lighted and powered by electricity. Each year she
quietly produced a crop of chestnuts. She saw the time arrive when
her human neighbors lost their knowledge of how to prepare them,
but the squirrel population rejoiced with her each fall as her crop
ripened. Miss Chestnut has no family surviving her.
Among her surviving friends are Taco Oak, many weeping willows, and
several birches, which have shed their bark in sorrow. Prayers are
asked for her repose as she goes to meet her departed family and
prepare a way for her friends to follow. No services or visitation
will be held. Her remains may be viewed from the street. Wendell Walch Springfield EVOLUTION NEEDED CREATION
Creation. Evolution. No problem. There is no
need for conflict. Both occurred, but not by chance. Life and the
evolutionary process had to be created to have a beginning and to
develop. Believing that life and form could result from time,
chance, and the properties of matter is like believing that a
tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747. R.W. Becker Springfield
This article appears in Dec 29, 2005 – Jan 4, 2006.
