LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Kasich not pro-life nor pro-Ohio

7/24/2011

Gov. John Kasich's respect for life begins at conception and ends at birth ("Kasich signs late-term abortion ban," July 21). The most recent proof of this is House Bill 78, which requires a doctor to determine whether a woman may have an abortion after 20 weeks' gestation.

Supporters say that this bill will reduce the number of abortions a year by nearly 200. This means the number of unsafe, illegal abortions will increase by 200, putting the lives of these of women and their unborn children at risk. This is not pro-life.

Mr. Kasich is not pro-life, he is not pro-family, and he is not pro-Ohio. He should go back to Wall Street and let Ohio women make their own decisions.

Elisabeth Ampthor

Sylvania

Abortion, breast cancer link ignored

While raising awareness about breast cancer and raising funds for research and treatment, the Susan G. Komen Foundation refuses to recognize and inform people about the link between breast cancer and abortion ("Bishop of Toledo bars assistance to Komen group," July 12).

Some studieshave found an increase in the risk of breast cancer among women who have had an abortion.

A report from a National Cancer Institute workshop in 2003 stated: "Induced abortion is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer." But in 2009, the chair of that workshop, Dr. Louise Brinton co-authored the findings of a more recent study that said, in part: "Induced abortion and oral contraceptive use were associated with an increased risk for breast cancer."

How can an organization dedicated to preventing, treating, and eradicating breast cancer refuse to educate women on this issue?

Lois Welch

Shakespeare Lane

Kaptur ignoring responsibilities

Our nation is less than two weeks away from what Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said could be a "catastrophic" default on its debt. Yet U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) doesn't seem to mind ("President calls on both sides to bend," July 17). At least that's what the staffer answering the phones in her Washington office has led me to believe.

I called her office on July 7 and 18 to ask about her position on the debt. The first time I called, the staffer said he wasn't sure what Miss Kaptur's stated position was. He offered to take my name and number, check with her, and give me a return phone call.

After 10 days without a response, I called again. The staffer told me that Miss Kaptur had no official position on the negotiations.

This debt-reduction negotiation is the most important issue that Congress will deal with all year. Miss Kaptur was sent to Washington as our district's representative to fight for our well-being. Instead, she is touting TARTA's solar panels and ignoring her larger responsibilities.

Samuel Evola

Sylvania

'Cut, cap, balance' same old snake oil

Republicans in the U.S. House are trying to get the American public to believe they are saving the country from ruination with their "cut, cap, and balance" plan ("Ohio representative led budget proposal; Jordan put together 'Cut, Cap, and Balance Act," July 20).

Were these Republicans paying attention when President George W. Bush's "tax breaks for the rich, deficit spend, and war mongering plan" was peddled to the American public? They happily went along with him as he plied his fiscal policies and ran this country into the ground.

This current "cut, cap and balance" plan is just another name for the same snake-oil fiscal policies put in a different bottle. Retired Americans and the middle class will shoulder the burden, while the rich and privileged continue ro prosper.

Mel Pommeranz

Lakeside, Ohio

Low taxes don't translate to jobs

In the battle over the debt ceiling, Republicans refuse to consider raising taxes. It is better, in their estimation, to default on our debts than to raise a tax or close a loophole.

The reason they offer is that raising taxes, even on the wealthiest, will cost jobs. Few Democrats appear willing to question this logic.

If the Republican logic is correct, the higher the top marginal tax rate -- that levied on the uppermost earners -- the higher the unemployment rate. But in comparing top marginal tax rates with unemployment rates back to 1948 I have found the correlation to be positive, but trivial.

I'll grant that the top marginal tax rate is a simplistic indicator of taxation. But this is one among many pieces of evidence showing that the trickle-down theory doesn't work.

Republicans aren't concerned about jobs; they're concerned about keeping taxes low on their wealthy campaign contributors. This does no good for the rest of us.

Gary Lee

Bowling Green

Put party aside to help taxpayers

I have a suggestion for our members of Congress: Leave your donkey and elephant buttons home; put on red, white, and blue shirts, and do what is right for the taxpayers, not what the lobbyist who bought you dinner last night wants.

Jon Fournier

Delta, Ohio

Budget talks are politics at its worst

There's talk about slashing the budget but not touching the well off ("Latest debt plan advances in House," July 19). This is politics at its worst.

Where was the Republican outrage when George W. Bush raised the debt limit six times during his presidency?

Ray Szymanski

Coolidge Parkway

Drilling in state parks is sadly wrong

Opening up our state parks to oil drilling is so terribly wrong ("Kasich signs measure allowing guns in bars; Governor also OKs drilling in state parks," July 1) that it brings me overwhelming sadness. Any natural area should be valued for being a place of divine diversity, a place where we can celebrate our natural heritage.

Our state, like many others, and even the federal government, faces financial crises. We don't like being dependent on foreign oil. Instead of constantly feeding our consumerism machine with more and more fuel, future development needs to preserve the enhancements that comprise our quality of life. At the core of these are our natural areas.

We need to work together to find ways to conserve without destroying what is at our core. This is the America I believe in, the one where if we are united, we can accomplish anything. If we lose nature, we lose our soul.

Patty Toneff

Goodhue Drive