Letters to the Editor

Let's not rush to sell our own oil

3/14/2012

After reading Thomas Friedman's March 3 op-ed column, "Drill for oil, natural gas while protecting the environment," I have a question: Why are we in such a great hurry to pump our oil fields dry and sell the oil to other countries? It wasn't so long ago that we were almost begging oil-producing countries for oil.

The world supply of oil is finite and dwindling. I don't see a viable substitute for the internal combustion engine yet. So to keep this country running, we need to hang onto our oil supply as long as we can.

As for the Keystone XL oil pipeline: A leak in the pipeline would ruin the water for farmers and ranchers.

John Sabo

Springfield Township

Do U.S. politics mirror Russia's?

Your March 5 front-page article "Putin reclaims power as Russia's president; Prime minister wins big; opponents to rally" had this descriptive segment: "Mr. [Vladimir] Putin claimed victory Sunday night when fewer than a quarter of the votes had been counted. He spoke to a rally just outside the Kremlin walls of tens of thousands of supporters."

Now change "Putin" to "Obama," "Kremlin walls" to "Detroit" or most other venues the President has spoken at. All the other words can remain the same. How many times have we seen the same manipulative scene on TV here?

Jim Brower

Oregon

Political messages sour him on voting

Because of the repeated recorded political messages that I received on my telephone, I did note vote in the recent primary.

I will not let the sun go down on my anger. People who feel the same way should vent their anger by not voting in November, because we can't vent to a recorded message.

Bob Moyers

Liberty Center, Ohio

Melee at mall a sad sign of times

I was disturbed to read about yet another melee at Westfield Franklin Park mall in which at least one of the teens involved had a loaded weapon ("4 teenagers arrested at Westfield in 'large fight'; Police say 1 juvenile had loaded handgun," Feb. 28).

Malls are public places. While it may be difficult to control behavior and clientele, I find it unsettling that we are resigned to this trend and seem to lack the energy to curtail it.

I was especially disappointed in the police sergeant's remarks: "We have this issue all the time," "this isn't anything that's new," and the incident was "nothing out of the usual." Really? I won't allow my boys to go to that mall anytime soon.

It's wrong to approach this with such a cavalier attitude. If our position is passive and dismissive, we are consenting to allow Franklin Park to follow the path of the former Southwyck Mall.

Scott Hayes

Cheltenham Road

Will countries give storm aid to us?

My condolences to the people whose families have suffered because of the recent outbreak of tornadoes (Southwest Ohio deals with storm damage; Kasich mobilizes Guard to aid cleanup," March 6).

I am waiting -- but I'm not holding my breath -- to see whether any countries, especially those we have helped in the past, will offer help or express their sorrow about these recent disasters.

Sam Nadler, Jr.

Densmore Drive