Endorsing Miers was premature

10/14/2005

Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine recently gave a strong endorsement of President Bush's recent nomination to the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers.

As a Catholic, Senator DeWine could have considered measuring Ms. Miers against criteria set forth by Bishop William Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a letter Bishop Skylstad sent to President Bush regarding Supreme Court nominations.

That letter asked the President to consider qualified jurists who support the protection of human life from conception to natural death, who are cognizant of the rights of minorities, immigrants, and those in need, who respect the role of religion and religious institutions, who recognize the value of parental choice in education, and who favor restraining and ending the practice of the death penalty in the United States.

There is no evidence at all that Harriet Miers has developed a track record on any of the issues in the framework set forth by Bishop Skylstad, nor would she be considered a qualified jurist. As the confirmation hearings on her nomination move forward, our hope is that she is called to accountability on her lack of a record, and asked to explain more clearly her positions on issues at the heart of Catholic social teaching.

Senator DeWine's lackluster voting record on Catholic issues should raise serious concerns for not only Catholics but for Ohio's voters.

Before making a rush to judgment on Harriet Miers, Mr. DeWine should examine his own positions on the death penalty, helping those in need, a consistent ethic of life, and the rights of immigrants and minorities.

If he finds a level of comfort then, which we suspect he would not, he should endorse. If not, then he should withdraw his endorsement and seek answers to the positions raised by Bishop Skylstad.

ERIC McFADDEN

Chairman

Ohio Democratic

Catholic Caucus

Dublin, Ohio

As I drive through my North End neighborhood, I am disgusted and dismayed by the ever-increasing gang graffiti scrawled on signs, businesses, and homes. But I am even more dismayed to realize that a group of racists are using a minor dispute between neighbors to promote their Nazi agenda, drawing attention away from the real problem, and onto themselves.

Good people live here and raise their families here, but we are increasingly being forced to move to the suburbs to escape falling property values, because the graffiti is not removed and the local public schools are not rescued from their deplorable state.

We love our neighborhoods, our century-old homes, and, usually, our neighbors.

How sad that the picture currently being painted of this historic area is very different than the one I have seen in my eight years as a homeowner in this wonderfully diverse part of Toledo.

Cynthia Stroud

North Superior Street

The Nazis are coming to Toledo and, because this is America, the land of the free, they have a right to say what they like just as we have a right to shake our heads and say they are wrong. If the Nazis were to achieve their goal of domination, the peace rally that is being held a mile away would be illegal.

The Nazis ruled by fear, intimidation, and the systematic elimination of any and all dissenters. They appealed to the commonality of a feeling of disenfranchisement and hopelessness, not just among the young but the country as a whole.

Their ultimate goal was to conquer the whole of Europe to give themselves breathing room. This was their birth right, their version of "Manifest Destiny." This would allow them to plunder resources while enslaving the Poles, Slavs, Gypsies, Jews, Catholics, and Communists to build their empire.

It saddens me to read on the Nazi web site (if it is to be believed) that as a result of this rally, they have received 12 new members and dozens of letters of support as they spread their form of hatred.

The best form of defense is a strong offense. A campaign of education on what Nazis really believe and what their ultimate goal is would be the best way to react to this.

If we do not teach our children what has happened in the past we will all be guilty if it is repeated.

MICHELLE M. McGARRITY

Haughton Drive

As a minority living in the central city it doesn't surprise me that public records indicate we are targeted by police officers more often than not.

Yes, large amounts of drugs have been seized by the Ohio Highway Patrol and it all looks good on paper (or in the paper), but you can't judge the success of these stops unless you know how many stops didn't turn up a thing and how many innocent people were subjected to these illegal actions.

It sounds good if a quarterback passes for five touchdowns unless you know that he also threw 10 interceptions.

Perhaps a recent Forum contributor would feel differently if he were stopped every time his tire touched the white line or when he didn't use his turn signal and the dogs were let loose on his car just because of the color of his skin, not because of any illegal activity.

Maybe we should allow officers to search every car at will if it is driven by someone other than a Caucasian, but is that any different than what goes on today?

Another letter stated that troopers "must not let their politically correct superiors coerce them into believing that they should give up the chase when they see that the driver of the car is either Hispanic or black."

Obviously the gentleman doesn't understand that profiling has nothing to do with what happens during the chase, but everything to do with why the chase was initiated.

I would think that the millions of dollars worth of drugs seized from minorities is only a fraction of the drugs being transported. Hmmmm, I wonder who transports the rest.

Christopher Gary

Scottwood Avenue

Bill Clinton, a poor boy from Arkansas, received a legitimate college draft deferment during the Vietnam War. He thus evaded being drafted, as did Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, and many others who are now our leaders, both liberal and conservative.

George W. Bush, a rich, well-connected playboy with a very prominent business and political heritage, is somehow able to garner a National Guard slot ahead of a long list of candidates.

There is no dispute that many joined the Guard at that time to avoid active service. There is controversy about Mr. Bush's sense of duty, and evidence that he was sometimes absent to support conservative political office candidates.

A recent Forum contributor sought to demolish the left by writing "He [Mr. Bush] joined the National Guard while Slick Willie got a phony deferment."

Surely this one is a draw. Neither one wanted to fight. But Bill Clinton is not the true draft dodger. And simple declarative spin (he joined the National Guard) does not make Mr. Bush whole in this matter.

What was the writer's message anyway?

That you can't criticize President Bush because Bill Clinton got a phony deferment 30 years ago?

Look on the bright side: If George had been more serious after "joining the guard," he might not have needed Donald Rumsfeld when he started his own war.

D.H. Popp

Perrysburg

Talk about inflation.

I almost had a heart attack when I walked into a fast-food place for my customary morning coffee and found I didn't have enough money on me to cover the new price, which had doubled from 50 cents to a dollar. The gasoline increase is bad enough, but when they mess around with my coffee, that's going too far!

Carl Taber

Winston Boulevard