Letters

The pope has not spoken

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Colleen Domi O'brien, Manchester

Headline writers and some of our legislators have been claiming that the Catholic Church has sued the Obama administration. It has not.

Please note that Cardinal Timothy Dolan is not "the Catholic Church" and does not speak for the church; only the pope can do so officially.

The pope has not so spoken, either on the U.S. Affordable Care Act or the universal health systems common to other Western countries. Thirteen out of 195 U.S. dioceses have filed lawsuits. The other 182 have not. Thirty-two out of thousands of Catholic affiliated organizations in the United States have filed suits.

Leave the decision to patients, doctors

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Robert Sharpe, Arlington, Va.

Re "Legalize the medical use of marijuana" (Monitor editorial, May 23):

While there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and it helps them feel better, then it's working.

In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life decision best left to patients and their doctors. Drug warriors waging war on non-corporate drugs contend that organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. Their prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors should not be dictating health-care decisions. It's long past time to let doctors decide what is right for their patients; sick patients should not be jailed for daring to seek relief from marijuana.

ROBERT SHARPE

Dangerous despot

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Ronda Macleod, Durham

I read that the state Republican Party is calling for the Monitor to issue an apology for Mike Marland's May 23 "Hitler" cartoon. They want it retracted and claim outrage. What's outrageous, though, are House Speaker Bill O'Brien's own actions.

I was taught that actions speak louder than words, and that words cannot hurt you if you know they are not true.

I would ask that each of these representatives look at how they and the speaker are acting. This legislative body is introducing ill-conceived, spiteful laws aimed at squelching our rights and doing nothing to create jobs or improve the economy.

O'Brien is indeed acting like a spoiled and dangerous despot. I take solace that he is only a state representative and cannot do damage on a larger, national level. If he does not like being compared to a disgusting, tyrannical lunatic, then perhaps he should act more like a responsible leader.

Truth hurts

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Virginia Kozlowski, Hooksett

Those demanding retractions and apologies for Mike Marland's May 23 editorial cartoon of the House Speaker Bill O'Brien with a Hitler mustache are no different from fundamental Islamists who demand death for cartoons of Mohammed.

I commend the Monitor for standing up against such protests, as they do not understand the basic need for true freedom of speech. Such howls of protest are prompted because the truth hurts.

VIRGINIA KOZLOWSKI

Hooksett

Wrong time for a backward step

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Sidney Schoeffler, Concord

I am alarmed to learn that Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which is the basis for the military's great work in support of clean, efficient, and domestically-sourced energy, may not be upheld in the U.S. Senate.

The United States is still far short of an acceptable position both in the adequacy of environmentally tolerable supply of energy and in the efficiency of its utilization. The current dramatic upswing in the supply of domestic natural gas is a large plus, of course. But what is still needed is a much-improved technology of using that gas, and cleaner sources yet, in accomplishing all three of our large national energy-related tasks: assuring the security of the country, protecting the environment, and re-building the economy. Accomplishing any one of these tasks would be quite a challenge. But accomplishing all three really needs all the intellectual resources we can muster.

'Sharp turn into the gutter'

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

In their Own Words

State GOP officials denounce cartoon

Mike Marland's editorial cartoon in yesterday's Monitor, depicting House Speaker Bill O'Brien with a Hitler mustache, drew an angry response from Republican officials yesterday. Below are three reactions: The first is from state Republican Party Chairman Wayne MacDonald. The second is from Laconia Rep. Robert Kingsbury. The third is from House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt and 39 other state lawmakers.

Retract it, apologize

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Wayne MacDonald, Republican Party Chairman

The Concord Monitor's far-left editorial slant took a sharp turn into the gutter today with a cartoon that is insulting to the institution of the State House and which should offend all New Hampshire citizens.

We strongly urge the Concord Monitor to retract this cartoon and apologize to Speaker Bill O'Brien.

The Monitor can choose to ignore the GOP accomplishments of cutting spending, lowering taxes and eliminating unnecessary regulations, but today the paper took its partisan blinders to a new low. If the Monitor watched the State House last week with an unbiased focus it would know that O'Brien swiftly addressed the reprehensible actions of Rep. Steve Vaillancourt and stood up for the decorum of the House.

The only reason the House was not united in this corrective action is because of the failed leadership of Rep. Terie Norelli, the House Democratic leader, who chose once again to divide along party lines.

Sad and shameful

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Rep. Robert Kingsbury, Laconia

When I was 18 years old I was a rifle man for Gen. George S. Patton. I was the first scout of the rifle squad; there were no American soldiers in front of me. In my division there were 3,000 rifle men and among those 3,000 rifle men and their replacements, we had 15,000 causalities at the hand of men who commonly said "Sieg Heil."

We are shocked and disgusted

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Reps. D.J. Bettencourt, Harry Accornero, Al Baldasaro, David Bates, JimBelanger, Regina Birdsell, Ralph Boehm, Spec Bowers, Gene Chandler, JimCoffey, Duffy Daugherty, Beverly Ferrante, Jack Flanagan, MarilindaGarcia, Edmond Gionet, Peter Hansen, Ken Hawkins, Greg Hill, DickHinch, Edith Hogan, Shawn Jasper, Norman Major, Paul Mirski, PhilMunck, Charlie Moore, Janine Notter, Will Panek, Betsey Patten, JoePitre, Michael Reed, David Russell, Frank Sapareto, Pete Silva, CharlieSova, James Summers, Pam Tucker, Jordan Ulery, Carol Vita, Lou Vita AndSteve Winter

To Monitor Editor Felice Belman: We are shocked and disgusted by the lack of judgment and decency shown by the Concord Monitor in publishing Wednesday's editorial cartoon. To compare any figure in American political life today to Adolf Hitler is outrageous, insulting and insensitive to those who suffered the horrors of the Holocaust.

While we have grown accustomed to the constant hate and vitriol toward this Legislature in the your editorial pages, this cartoon sinks our political discourse to a sad new low.

While you may disagree with our policy decisions, comparing the speaker of the House to an individual responsible for the murder of 6 million people is unfathomable.

We demand that you denounce this cartoon and issue an apology.

While Mike Marland is entitled to be provocative in how he makes his point, he should be ashamed of himself and apologize to the speaker as well. And so should you.

The solution? Lower corporate taxes

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Letter

Warren D. Hastings, Concord

The Monitor editorial fulminating about Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin moving to Singapore to reduce his tax liability ("Tax code playing millions for suckers," May 21) is emblematic of what causes people like Saverin to leave in the first place.

It's not rocket science to figure out that capital will flow to the areas where it is best treated. This old axiom is constantly being tested within the United States. Note that California continues to hemorrhage economically as business after business flees to friendlier (less taxing) states like Texas.

Likewise wealthy New Yorkers continue moving south to escape that state's fiscal shackles. The Monitor's support of the idea of banishing economic expatriates from our shores begs the question why they left to begin with - and is somewhat akin to pouring gasoline on a fire to put it out.