Many loyal Democrats hold life sacred

5/22/2001

You'd be surprised at just how many of us there are and just who in the Democratic Party stands with us! We are active and loyal Democrats who hold life in all its stages to be sacred.

We're embarrassed by our party's increasing identification with the abortion industry. We're embarrassed by the acceptance of abortion-tainted funds for campaigns.

We want to vote for Democratic programs, Democratic candidates, and Democratic values without having to support the abortion industry.

Make no mistake about it: Abortion is a very lucrative business that preys on women. Though enriching certain doctors, the abortion industry has little to do with health care. That makes it a high-yield cash cow for certain candidates.

We're not about defeating Democratic candidates for office. We're about encouraging pro-life Democrats to run for office. We're about supporting pro-life Democratic public officials. We're about putting the abortion industry out of business by peaceful and legal means.

Did you know that there are 40 pro-life Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives? Or that four of them are from Ohio? Did you know that there are 10 pro-life Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives? Or that five of them (Dean DePiero, Bryan Flannery, Edward Jerse, Mary Rose Oakar, and Chris Redfern) are from our Ohio North Coast region?

Don't let the propaganda and strong-arm tactics of the abortion industry supporters within the party or the propaganda of the other party fool you. There are a whole lot more of us loyal, hardworking Democrats who realize just what is being chosen and what abortion does to the mother (let alone to the unborn) than they want to admit.

MARY ANN CHIMERA

Sandusky

Editor's note: Mary Ann Chimera is acting co-chair of the Ohio North Coast Chapter of Democrats for Life, Inc. She is also secretary of the Erie County Democratic Party.

A recent letter claimed a bill introduced by State Rep. Tom Brinkman would allow convicted felons to legally carry concealed weapons. This is totally false. It perfectly demonstrates how dishonest and/or ignorant the anti-gun, anti-self defense groups are. Felons may not legally possess or own firearms, and this law does not change that.

Presently in Ohio honest persons cannot defend themselves away from their own property because carrying a concealed weapon is, for all practical purposes, prohibited. A vague, unobjective affirmative defense provision in the Ohio law makes an unjust arrest/conviction too much of a risk. This provision, while still in force, has been found unworkable by judges. This is why Ohio law must be changed.

The poll, cited by the recent letter, which claims there is opposition to pro-self defense changes in the law, is typical anti-gun misinformation. The poll asks whether it should be easier to obtain a permit to carry concealed. Since most states have permits, and from the way the question is phrased, one would assume a permit is presently available in Ohio. It is not. Therefore the poll misleads the person about the issue. This poll proves nothing. This is a typical result when improper questions are asked, especially when respondents are not familiar with the issue.

Professor John Lott has done a comprehensive study of the effects of the passage of right-to-carry laws. A decrease in violent crime has been the result. Even prior opponents of the laws have admitted that their fears of gunfights and accidents did not happen.

It's time criminals begin to fear that they are at risk when committing an attack. They are already carrying concealed firearms. Isn't it time the honest citizen is given a chance to survive?

JOHN MUELLER

Colima Drive

So California is looking at Ohio coal for electric energy. But it would take oil energy to get it there. Most Ohio coal is high in sulfur content and, with prevailing winds, it could be returning to whence it came.

RICHARD LEDERMAN

Romaker Road

For every Arab, for every Palestinian, May 15 will continue to be a day that will indeed live in infamy. It was on that fateful day in 1948 when Israeli Jews stormed homes, pillaged villages, killed men, women, and children, and then proceeded to displace an entire group of people.

For the next 53 years, they have continued their onslaught, ignoring international resolutions as well as all pleas to give back the land they took. The Palestinian people have been struggling to achieve this.

Ironic indeed is the timing of this Nakba (disaster). Emerging from World War II were the Jews who had survived the Holocaust. No one was more sympathetic to their plight than the Arab population. No one was more sorry for the atrocities of Auschwitz than the Palestinians. To reciprocate this sentiment, they entered Palestine, killed her people, and claimed her as their own.

One thing they forgot. They could not and will not break the will, nor obliterate the identity, of the people of Palestine. The old cliche that “Israel is the only U.S. friend in the region” is no longer kosher.

Israel's friendship is a 100-0 equation whereby our country gives $15 billion in annual aid. What does Israel give back? Nothing except rhetoric that has now become boring and passe.

May 15 will always be a day of sadness and remembrance, but also of hope that next year, all Palestinians will return to the land of Jesus and celebrate in Jerusalem.

NAJWA ZAKI

Secor Road

The recent article about the Clear Channel group was interesting, as were the comments about Toledo radio. I also noted the letter in the Forum about our local radio programming. We do have intelligent, vibrant, varied radio programming available 24 hours a day. It is called Public Radio!

Our local station, WGTE, 91.3, with several repeater stations in surrounding towns, does an excellent job of providing local news coverage, as well as playing “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition” daily, with classical music filling the airwaves during the rest of the day. Michigan radio, 91.7, broadcasting from Ann Arbor, airs a wide variety of local and national talk shows throughout the day, including “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition.” WDET in Detroit, one of the oldest public radio stations in the country, offers good news coverage including “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition” daily, and a wide variety of music, including my personal favorites, acoustic bluegrass, blues, folk, etc. on Saturday.

I encourage all those whose radios are “permanently unplugged and gathering dust in a corner of the room” to dust them off and plug them in. Public radio is alive and well in northwest Ohio!

HELEN-LOUISE BOLING

Berdan Avenue

Several domestic lumber producers have filed countervailing duty (CVD) and anti-dumping cases at the Department of Commerce for the purpose of restricting the flow of Canadian lumber into the United States.

The tariff they are asking for would be a hidden tax that could increase the cost of an average home by $2,000 to $4,000. We already have a free trade agreement (NAFTA) with Canada. Let's hope the Bush administration and members of Congress will resist the political pressure by the big lumber producers to put a tariff on Canadian lumber.

BOB GOETZ

Adrian Sales Office Manager

Morton Buildings, Inc.

Palmyra, Mich.

We know what causes that

Perhaps semi-trucks doing 70 mph on I-75 through downtown Toledo, as I have seen, might explain why they tend to “lose control”!

RICHARD M. REDER

Foxcroft Road