Letters to the Editor

When I was a kid, news on television was dominated by the Vietnam war. I became interested in it because of live combat scenes filmed by an Australian cameraman named Neil Davis. Other important events like the war protests, the civil rights protests and the race for space, filled the broadcasts.

Our military men and women are now dying in one and a half wars. Coverage of Iraq and Afghanistan takes a backseat to that of our jet-setting president. Recently the news was all about him having a couple guys over to his house for a beer. What’s up with that?

In a televised press conference, he responded to a question about the arrest of (black) professor Henry Gates. He admitted that he didn’t have the facts about the situation, but then said the Cambridge police (Sgt. James Crowley) acted stupidly. He went on to talk about racial profiling by police. How is responding to a call about a break-in construed as profiling? Judging past comments by professor Gates, I am inclined to believe that (he) was doing the racial profiling. Profiling by police helps them catch criminals.

The president’s comments were an insult to all police officers. Earlier in the press conference he also offended doctors by accusing them of performing unnecessary procedures to run up their bills. Rather than apologize, he tried to lecture (us) with a “teachable moment.” Sure, racism still exists. Slavery was a terrible thing. But, you know what? I had nothing to do with that. I lived across the street from our town’s only black family at the time. I delivered their newspaper. I participated in sports with their son. They were nice people and I liked them. I applaud the accomplishments of the young black girl on our track team who is frequently in the paper.

The president on the other hand is friends with revolutionary Weathermen group member William Ayers. The Weathermen targeted police stations with their bombings. Back in the Sixties, people like them were chanting “off the pigs.” For 20 years, the president was a member of a church with a “pastor” who expressed hatred for white people in his “sermons.” Who is it that needs a teachable moment?

The president positions himself as “the great unifier.” He thinks his “brewhaha” illustrated this. This is laughable. It was his comments that caused the uproar in the first place. What he did illustrate by intervening in a local police matter is his flawed decision making process. The same flawed process that has been damaging our country for the last six months. After the “beer summit,” professor Gates is still a racist, the president still agrees with him and Sgt. Crowley still believes he was just doing his job. I’ll let you decide who you think acted stupidly in the matter. I’ve already decided. The whole thing was just a two-week distraction from the liberal attack on our healthcare system (the obamanation of healthcare reform).