Letter: Addressing many issues

To the first question about the name change to “Scarlett Letterman” suggested by Thomas James Alford of Dothan, the ratings from this past Tuesday’s show is proof that despite the hole Dave’s dug for himself both personally and legally, his career is salvageable. I believe the saying about “those who live in glass houses” comes to mind here.

In regards to the question “Is anyone missing George W. Bush yet?” from Tim Forhand of Eufaula, being the Iraq war is in its eighth year, the escalation of the conflict in Afghanistan, a damaged economy, the disclosure of torture and coercion of confessions of prisoners at both Abu Ghrab and GITMO by Americans and other running scandals from the second Bush administration, one has to go out on a limb and give a resounding NO.

Yet here is one item that must be addressed: Since Chicago lost the bid to host the Olympics in 2016 to Rio de Janero, there has been a video popping up of members of the right-wing organization Americans For Prosperity celebrating the loss. In their eyes it seemed like the perfect opportunity to discredit President Obama to the world, never realizing that if Chicago did get the bid to host the Olympics, it would have been a boon to the state of Illinois and the U.S. in regards to tourism, trade, and employment for vendors and in construction. In regards to the at-risk youth in the Chicago area, those jobs would have helped to counter the ongoing wave of violence in its inner city, which claimed the lives of 40 youths in a three-year span. The most recent tragedy to occur was the beating death of high school sophomore Derrion Albert. Chicago and the U.S. are feeling the loss, and it is not the fault of the President or First Lady.

To phrase the campaign slogan of 2008 from Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, is this the AFP’s way of putting “Country First?”

Sanford S. Williams
Geneva