Left-wing nuts hog-tie our military

11/8/2006

Democrats have tried to block every attempt that this administration has made to defend and protect this country They have done nothing but complain and point fingers, all the while praying for our defeat in Iraq because they believe that would somehow make them stronger as a party if the current administration were defeated in battle.

It doesn't seem to matter to them what the consequences of their actions would be by handing the enemy a victory, apparently just to make George Bush look bad. People need to really think about what a Democratic "surrender" to Islamic terrorists would mean.

The Democrats spend more time and energy trashing their own country than working to defeat this global threat. I do believe the United States has made a huge mistake in Iraq.

I would have done things World War II style. When the uprising in Fallujah occurred, I would have leveled the city. Every living being in that rat hole would have been extinguished. I would have marched through that country like a biblical creeping death, waving the stars and stripes. I would have zero mercy or tolerance for the enemy. I would fight like I mean it, and fight to win. This war would be over and gasoline would be 29 cents a gallon.

That is why the United States was both feared and respected after World War II. We were ruthless in combat and we pulled no punches. We devastated the enemy every place we found him. We as a nation have become soft and the world knows it. We may have the best military in the world, but the politicians and left-wing nuts won't let us use it.

Kip Brown

Cherry Hill Court

Ambulance 'plan' could cost jobs

I would like to set the record straight on a couple of issues regarding the firefighters' plan to take over the 911 transport calls from private ambulance companies.

No one wants to see people lose their jobs - firefighters or emergency medical personnel from private ambulance companies. The city's own figures show there are approximately 20 more firefighters per shift than are needed.

Is it better to reduce the number of firefighters or lay off many more EMTs from private ambulance companies, which must meet state guidelines not required of the city? It's likely several of the private ambulance companies will be forced out of business. This will result in a loss of tax revenue to the city. The firefighters' union fails to consider this when calling the plan "win-win." All these layoffs and closures to add only five fire department ambulances to replace 50 or more private ambulances - which would compromise public safety?

The money saved by reducing firefighters who are not needed could go to the police department.

Why mislead the public about the quality of EMTs and paramedics employed by private companies? They all must pass the same rigorous training and the same difficult tests to get their certifications.

Many of the city's firefighters were hired from private companies. Are these firefighters substandard? Many firefighters even work part-time for private companies.

Private ambulance companies have asked officials for years to dispatch private ambulances at the same time as the fire department, reducing response times for ambulances, but they wanted no part of it. If the city is so concerned about the public's safety, why hasn't it implemented this?

Richard J. Bage

President and CEO

MedCorp, Inc.

Team Bush masters photo opportunity

An Oct. 29 editorial, "No lessons learned," wondered if the Bush Administration's recent conference on school safety might be merely "a show for the benefit of political sympathizers."

Is there anything this failed administration hasn't done for show? Need I remind you of the choreographed fall of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad? The fictionalized Private Jessica Lynch capture and rescue? Our proud commander in chief on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln proclaiming "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq (which, as of this writing, was 1,277 days and 2,878 military deaths ago)? Plastic turkeys in Iraq? Photographs of a concerned President helicopter-hovering over a decimated Gulf Coast?

There is but one thing the Bush Administration has accomplished in the past six years and that is the perfection of the photo opportunity.

Patrick Power

East Lansing, Mich.

Why spend money on a new arena?

With the financial shortfalls of all the local governments, I don't understand the talk about tearing down buildings and blocking roads to build a new sports arena downtown, especially one that not all that many people are interested in.

They say it won't cost taxpayers because of the hotel-motel tax, but, still, if we are going to create more revenue I'd much rather see it go toward something that would benefit all of us, or something I could use every day.

How about better roads or actually being able to get a police officer to my home in less than an hour if someone is breaking in?

And don't count on it to be a success like Fifth Third Field. There are many more baseball fans than hockey fans. The Mud Hens get many casual fans looking for something to take the family to outside in the summer when it's nice out. People are not going to load the family up when it's dark and 10 degrees to see something they don't care about.

Lastly, I talk to some Dayton fans who come to the Sports Arena every chance they get. They have a new arena and hate it.

You couldn't build a better place than the Sports Arena to watch hockey - being so close to the action. Let's just refurbish the East Toledo Sports Arena and then the people won't have to feel cheated again. Plus we could keep the original bowl shape around the ice and retain our tremendous home ice advantage.

I'm not going to sit in a 10,000-seat arena with 2,500 people and no noise. Boring!

DEAN BOBZEAN

Tremainsville Road

States make the case for beautiful country

I wonder if I am the only correspondent who loves the magnificent names of the United States in America. On every envelope I send, I write out the full name, and what wonderful names they are! Louisiana, Maryland, California, Oklahoma, Illinois, Ohio!

I understand the speedy shortcuts needed in this fast-paced, highly technical world of today, and I realize the U.S. Postal Service recognizes this, too, so I just want to give a little honor to our forefathers who came up with the individual names of the United States of America. We are beautiful people and we are beautifully named!

ELIZABETH A. FISCHER

Lockwood Avenue

Hard to know what parents are thinking

I was leaving a doctor's office early one recent morning on Woodley Road. The light had turned green and the car in front of me did not move, so I beeped my horn, thinking the person did not see the light turn. After turning onto Sylvania I passed the car because I was running late for work.

When I reached the light at Sylvania and Talmadge the parent behind me sent their child out of the car to approach mine and give me the finger with both hands. He was very young, maybe 7 or 8.

This appears to me as child endangerment. I could have been a person with a gun, or maybe aggressive enough to get out of the car and hurt either parent or child. We live in dangerous times.

The other thought is how will this child grow up? Most likely like his parents. I wouldn't even ask my 17-year-old daughter to do something like that.

Jill Littrell

Benalex Drive

Lady Justice is not blind. As it turns out, maybe the state trooper was not drunk when he killed himself and two others in southern Ohio. But if he had been Joe Blow from Kokomo, who would have conducted an extensive investigation to produce evidence to exonerate him? Poor Joe would have been guilty beyond any doubt.

Douglas Alge

Arlington, Ohio