Civil discourse needed

I write as a concerned citizen and resident of Chestnut Hill who happens to be the Ninth Ward Republican Leader.

Recently my 15-year-old son asked me during dinner, "Are there any other Republicans in Chestnut Hill?" I responded, "Certainly, why do you ask?" He went on to tell me that he had a series of heated political discussions with peers, classmates, and friends. All of them seem to be Democrats or children of Democrats who were extremely hostile to him personally, because he espouses a moderate Republican philosophy and supports the Bush/Cheney ticket. I told him that there were many Republicans in the area, and that he did not stand alone in his support of the President. He then mused, "Why don't they speak up?" He was concerned because he had not heard fighting words from the Republican side of the argument.

His words resonated with me, and I began to think about my experiences recently with Democrats and Kerry supporters. There is a rage out there that I have never seen during the 30 plus years I have been intimately involved with politics.

I wonder why the political debate has become so uncivilized. I am not sure I have the answer and conjecture is unhealthy in the political debate which will determine the leader of the free world for the coming four years.

I have had experiences similar to my son's, and I cannot fully understand the rage, anger, or the hostility being spewed by members of the same Democratic Party which is calling for peace or a "sensitive war."

Recently I was eating lunch when I overheard someone sitting in my vicinity saying that President Bush should be assassinated. He should be killed for taking the lives of so many young Americans. I turned in my seat and observed an animated young man wearing a Kerry/Edwards button lecturing three tablemates. None took him to task. Each seemed to agree. This seditious and extreme comment is reflective of the incendiary banter I have heard about our president.

I have other similar experiences. At a party recently, a professor from a local prestigious university engaged me in a political discussion. I wear no buttons: I initiate no conversation, but I will not shrink from response. She told me that she could not wait until the election so she could vote to oust George Bush from office. I asked her why she believed he was not doing a good job. She responded, "He's a moron, and he lied to us. He is in league with Al Queda, and should be impeached just like Clinton was." I attempted to address her points, but she would not hear my rejoinder. She looked at me and said, "You're a Republican. What are you doing here? There are no Republicans here. We are all supporters of John Kerry." Her diatribe lasted a few more minutes. She then left me. I was left with the feeling that she believed Republicans have no place in polite or academic circles.

These are some of the experiences I have had recently. Engaging in the debate with the other side has never been more difficult. As I write this letter, and continue to wonder why, I can come up with only a few explanations.

The Democratic Party has no platform. They are not addressing the issues. The only issue addressed by the Democrats at their National Convention is John Kerry is a hero. Without issues to discuss, there is only raw emotion to express.

As the time for our casting a ballot grows closer, I ask this community to retreat from emotional, confrontational, accusatory rhetoric and to ask their National Party Leaders to join a debate on the issues which face us in this election/

We should be discussion the future of Israel and the impact upon that country of our capitulation to terrorism. We should be discussing Bush's healthcare proposals as well as his efforts to get prescription drugs for seniors. We should be discussing the education of our youth. We should be discussing our borders, and the Bush proposals to open our borders to illegals. We should be discussing a war that we are now fighting. We should be discussing the future of this war against terrorism.

Only with level heads and an abandonment of rage, hostility, and incendiary comments can we teach our children that politics is not about vehemence and polarization. Politics is about solutions. Even though we may differ, let's join together in ensuring that we find solutions to the major problems begging for them in this America.

Kenneth J. Powell Jr.
Chestnut Hill

Homeland failure

Understandably, since Americans are dying there, the bulk of the presidential debate on Sept. 30 revolved around Iraq, the wisdom of invading, and the means of extracting our soldiers from this mess. What was left largely unmentioned was whether we are intelligently using our resources here at home to combat terrorism.

Those who think that the likes of Bush and Specter will make the U.S. safer should consider the following: the Patriot Act allows the government to track what books you borrow or buy, but not what weapons you accumulate. And the GOP was quite happy to let the Assault Weapons Ban expire. Those schoolchildren in Beslan, Russia were not killed with library books; they were killed with automatic weapons and explosives. Another example of how not to fight terrorism intelligently is the following. Arabic, Farsi, Deri and Pashtun are Middle Eastern languages spoken by terrorists. We have thousands of pages worth of intercepts in these languages remaining untranslated because of "lack of resources." Who knows what nuggets these intercepts contain, and what future despicable acts might be preventable. Yet the same Bush Justice Department that does not have the "resources" to pursue these somehow has the resources to prosecute doctors who want to prescribe marijuana for patients in intractable pain, somehow has the resources to fight Oregon's popularly approved assisted suicide statute, somehow has the resources to appeal decisions of three separate federal judges striking down the "partial birth" abortion act. Where are the priorities here?

You do not fight terrorism by swagger, ideology and religious dogma. You fight it by using all your available resources as intelligently as possible. This is why Bush has failed and will continue to fail to enhance homeland security.

Richard Saunders
Mt. Airy

Column misstates facts

Ms. N. Catina Blango has submitted two letters to the Local in support of Impacting Your World church and its plan for development on West Johnson Street. The latest, printed Sept. 30, is in response to my opinion commentary entitled "Ungodly Tactics." Ms. Blango's well written and structured presentation takes an alternate point of view, but contains a number of inaccurate statements and false conclusions.

At no time did I try to make the case that all of Northwest Philadelphia had been polled on the issue. What I did state was from my own experience in attending a community meeting attended by over 60 near neighbors and overwhelmingly in opposition to the plan as described by Reverend Barnard himself. The Pomona-Cherokee Civic Council had previously taken a neutral position but now joins the two other community groups by formally announcing support at the Historical Commission hearing held on Monday Sept. 27. This property was officially designated at that hearing after extensive testimony by both the church and neighbors.

These buildings were never abandoned and in derelict condition. They were fully operational as personal care homes until August 2002, and stood with no evidence of decay and with maintained landscape until very recently. Contrary to Ms. Blango's conclusions, several organizations expressed interest and toured the properties during the first six or seven months they were vacant. The posting of the signs over a year ago implying the Blair Academy was the new owner effectively ended further inquiries, as it seemed as though the future had already been determined through a sale. In fact, two community meetings with Blair brought forth many interested parties from four local community groups and, to our surprise, Blair officials admitted at those meetings that there was actually no agreement of sale in effect.

My suggestion that the comments of Pastor Barnard and his attorney went beyond the pale stand. Despite the inappropriate attempts to bring racist and anti-religious commentary into a nominating hearing of the Historical Commission, they offered no evidence whatsoever of those outrageous claims regarding this neighborhood and its residents. Furthermore the insinuation that the individual doing the nominating was an "outsider" is entirely untrue as he has lived directly across the street from the property for many years.

Of course all buildings with history cannot be saved. The Mayfair House, magnificent as it was, is a case in point. However, the Nugent and Presser buildings have history beyond the structure and quality of construction in the background and purpose for which they were built in the first place.

Several developers with varying plans have expressed interest in those properties. They have yet to be offered on the open market and no signs of availability were ever posted. Their structural soundness has been confirmed and they are serious candidates for restoration. Before we rapidly reduce them to rubble, some serious effort should be made to put them on the open market with historical designation as part of the process.

Jim Foster
Mt. Airy

Closing of drive is inexcusable

I find the prospect of a prolonged closing of Cresheim Valley Drive, due to lack of funds to repair it, inexcusable. Why does a city as large as Philadelphia always sit on its hands when a road or bridge goes down and wait for Uncle Sugar to ante up the money?

This time, the folks down in Florida surely will get priority for flood relief funding, as Philadelphia's problems pale in comparison.

These kinds of disasters have happened before and they are sure to happen again. The City of Philadelphia needs to better plan and manage its resources.

The city should establish in its capital budget a line item of substantial funds that can be drawn upon as a quick response to needs like this. If no disaster strikes, the money can roll over and accumulate from year to year.

A long-range solution, yes. In the meantime, the Philadelphia Streets Department should get its act together and make temporary repairs to open the road pronto.

William Hengst
West Mt. Airy