Speak out ... Muslims who seek world peace should prove it by their actions
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Re “Tragedy of Sept. 11” (Speak Out, Sept. 27): Safaa Al-Hamdani's letter espouses the divinely pristine virtue of the Muslim faith, ad nauseum, in support of his claim that Muslims are unfairly victimized as responsible for 9/11. Sadly, this appears to be the mantra we hear from Muslims rather than their vigorous outrage, condemnation and pursuit of those they imply have hijacked their religion. The outrage of Al-Hamdani and fellow Muslims directed at these terrorists, rather than their victims who seek help from those who “practice what we believe,” might be a good start. God bless all those who love peace — and demonstrate such. Armond “Si” Simmons
Praise for Star carrierOn International Newspaper Carrier Day, Kathryn and John Vanderford are grateful for the consistently dependable service of Carrier Guylene Johnson in Jacksonville.Having lived in a number of places in Georgia and Alabama, we've a basis for evaluating carrier service. Simply stated, Carrier Johnson's service tops our list. Kathryn and John Vanderford
Rule of lawDuring the past five years, the Bush administration has held, and is holding, hundreds of “detainees” without their being charged with anything or having legal counsel. Recently the United States Supreme Court, in the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld ruling, upheld fundamental due process protections that are found in the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Court also affirmed the prohibition on torture and other cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment for any person held in U.S. custody or control.The administration's response was to ask Congress to write laws allowing unfair trials, secret detentions and immunity from prosecution for violations of the War Crimes Act. Anyone responsible for committing human rights violations must be held accountable regardless of the position that they hold in the government. Trials and detentions must be carried out in accordance with U.S. commitments under domestic and international law. America must not sink to the depths of depravity shown by our enemies. Robby Robinson
AEMC fails Alabama againOn Oct. 6, the Alabama Environmental Management Commission met and again failed to move forward a strategic plan for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The vote to send the strategic plan out for public comment will be delayed until at least December. As a result, a vote to approve the plan will occur no earlier than February.In that putting out the plan for public review has been stalled twice, it appears this process is being used to prevent the plan from being so submitted. The commission's expressed desire to make ADEM the “premier environmental agency in the nation” is clearly behind schedule. One longtime member of the commission suggested that the plan should be developed by ADEM, not the commission. The statute that created ADEM and the commission is clear on the division of responsibility, with the commission developing environmental policy and the department proposing rules for commission approval and implementing policy. It appears that some commissioners do not want a stronger environmental policy to guide ADEM and may be more interested in protecting the regulated community than taking action to assure Alabamians the same level of environmental protection as others in the region and across the nation. It is inexcusable that environmental permits written in Alabama can allow a cancer risk of 1 in 100,000 while permits written elsewhere must limit that risk to 1 in 1,000,000. At least one member appears willing to go back to an era when the commission failed to set policy and let that responsibility fall to the ADEM director. Hopefully, reason and responsibility will win over greed and the status quo, and the commission will ultimately do the right thing! Michael William Mullen
No opinionAlabama voters should critically evaluate candidates for the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. In that you could easily sue or be sued regarding a civil complaint, you need to know how our judicial system works.Twenty-three states require written opinions for all cases that are appealed. Unfortunately, Alabama's appeals court has the obnoxious policy of affirming decisions without always issuing a written opinion. One appeals court judge defended the “no opinion” practice by saying, “It would be embarrassing to lawyers to publish opinions that basically say they didn't do their job.” We could amend our constitution and require written opinions or we could vote for judges who will do the honorable thing and issue written opinions for every case. I encourage you to ask candidates for our Court of Civil Appeals if they will pledge to issue written opinions for each case they review. Ray Vaughan is the only candidate that has pledged to issue a written opinion for each case he reviews. That's a start, and if Vaughan is elected, other judges might get the message that Alabamians care about justice and demand that judges tell us why they rule a certain way. Joe Boyett
Reelect Larry B. StewartIn the race for Calhoun County Board of Education, I recommend Larry B. Stewart.Larry and I have been college classmates, fraternity brothers and close friends for the past 40-plus years. In his professional life as a teacher, coach and principal, his first duty was always to ensure better education for the students entrusted to him. As a county board member he has continued to work diligently for the educational welfare of students. He has and always will have the best interest of the students at heart when making board decisions. Your vote for Larry will give him the opportunity to continue seeking ways to increase the educational opportunities for Calhoun County students. Gary L. Brown
Initiative and ReferendumIn the words of Rep. Mike Ball, “It doesn't take a political scientist to sense the swelling distrust and disillusionment toward the political process in Alabama. Many citizens believe the Legislature is controlled by big-moneyed special interests having little concern for the common person with everyday struggles. ... I believe it is time for Alabamians to consider implementing a reasonable version of the ballot initiative. ...”In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt said, “The initiative and referendum should be used, not as substitutes for representative government, but as methods of making such government really representative. Action by the initiative or referendum ought not to be the normal way of legislation, but the power to take it should be provided in the constitution, so that if the representatives fail truly to represent the people on some matter of sufficient importance to rouse popular interest, then the people shall have in their hands the facilities to make good the failure.” I urge you to vote only for candidates who support Initiative and Referendum legislation. Don Seibold |
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