Unfettered Letters

Carter years worse

Why is it that The Star and other news organizations never challenge the statement used by politicians and liberals alike when describing our current economy as the “worst since the Great Depression?”

Do you not remember the double-digit inflation and double-digit interest rates of the Carter years??

True, we are in a real recession, as we have been several times since the Great Depression. However, to call this the worst simply is not true.

But don’t worry. The statement about the economy being the “worst since the Great Depression” will eventually come true as President Obama guides us into the depths of economic hell. But even that will take 12 to 24 months.

David Scott
Lee’s Summit

Comparing Obama to Carter

Andrew Reiz wrote a great opinion (7/14, Letters) about how young people should be aware that Barack Obama is repeating Jimmy Carter’s presidential run in 1976 by promising to work for change to create a better future.

Reiz stated that youths today have no idea that “Carter also promised to solve all our problems” but “froze in his ivory Oval Office.” He is so right. We should ignore his inauguration speech, when Carter assured that “our great nation has its recognized limits, and that we can neither answer all questions nor solve all problems.”

And Carter accomplished nothing during his term. Forget that he froze the accounts of the Iranian government and then ordered rescue attempts of the hostages at the American Embassy. He should have bombed “Tehran into talcum powder” as Reiz stated. This would have obviously solved every problem in the Middle East and put fear and submission into the “Muslim world.” They wouldn’t have questioned our will or power ever again.

So we shouldn’t try for change. No, obviously things have been going great for America recently, so why listen to Obama promise a forward motion to a different future? That’s crazy talk.

Tim McManus
Kansas City

Like most war enthusiasts, Andrew Reiz deals with the consequences of war by ignoring them. Had President Carter bombed “Teheran into talcum powder,” he would have also vaporized all the American prisoners.

So what kind of respect does Mr. Reiz have for his fellow countrymen and those serving his nation?

Richard Asmus
Lee’s Summit

Dropping the A-bomb

Diane Marshall (7/18, Letters) offered praise for President Carter. She is right to bring this up, for he was a truthful man and is one of the few who has done something useful with his life after he was out of office.

However, I take exception, as an insane WWII veteran, to her statement that to this day no sane person is proud of dropping the A-bomb on Japan.

I am sure that many insane WWII military were proud and glad the bomb was dropped.

Robert L. Laskey
Overland Park

I believe I share with a whole lot of WWII veterans that we believe we are sane and we are really proud that Harry Truman was president and decided to drop those bombs.

It is my understanding that this act ended the war quickly. Had that not been done, the war would have lasted for years and probably, most historians agree, would have cost millions of additional lives, both American and Japanese

I also believe that President Bush was correct in entering the Iraq war and that we are and have been safer as a result of that decision.

Achilles V. “Skip” Wheat
Kansas City, Kan.

Carter gained respect abroad

I feel compelled to protest Andrew Reiz’s letter (7/14) attempting to put down Barack Obama by comparing him to Jimmy Carter. I lived in England during the Carter administration, and President Carter — unlike George W. Bush — was highly respected abroad. I recall that the British were generally surprised to hear that Carter got so little respect at home.

Thank God that President Carter did not “bomb Tehran into talcum powder” as Reiz recommended. We did that to Hiroshima and Nagasaki with far greater “just cause” than 52 hostages held in the embassy, and to this day no one sane is proud of dropping the A-bomb.

Until the debacle of the war in Iraq, our restraint of our obvious military might gained international respect for America.

Diane Marshall
Independence

Obama: The new Jimmy Carter?

I am certain most people have felt that history was repeating itself.

I get this feeling when I hear Barack Obama selling l himself for the candidacy of president. Remember Jimmy Carter? He was an obscure governor of a southern state who presented himself as a Washington outsider, a fresh face who had no ax to grind, beholden to no one.

The young people of today who are smitten by Obama’s eloquence and charm don’t know that Carter also promised to solve all our problems.

I must remind them how Carter froze in his Ivory Oval Office for 444 days when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard overran the American Embassy in Tehran, took the American Embassy Staff hostage and humiliated the U.S.

He had the perfect opportunity and excuse — if it was even needed — to bomb Tehran into talcum powder, but instead he did nothing. It was at this point that the Muslim world got the impression that the U.S. was weak and they could damage us grievously with no consequences.

Had Carter acted decisively like a president of the U.S. should, we would not be facing an Iranian nuclear nightmare today.

Andrew Reiz
Overland Park

Kudos for Carter

Michelle Malkin’s commentary on Jimmy Carter (4/25, Opinion) has to be the most mean-spirited and narrow-minded column she has ever written.

Former President Carter and the Carter Center have done more to foster world peace and brotherhood than the saber-rattling far right ever dreamed of doing.

The policy of our State Department, confronting our adversaries with a peace sign in one hand and a saber in the other, is just not working. President Bush and Condoleezza Rice need to begin greeting the world with an open heart and mind and forgo their supper egos and hidden agendas. They need to stop talking out of both sides of their mouths and put politics aside if they are truly seeking peace.

Bill Mace
Overland Park

Defending Jimmy Carter

I disagree with Marilyn Crews’ comments(4/19, Letters, “Criticism of Jimmy Carter”). She says Mr. Carter “travels the world putting down the United States” but fails to identify the putdowns.

If “putting down” means that he is critical of actions taken by the Bush administration, then please recognize that the right to criticize leadership is part of living in a democracy.

With respect to his visit with Hamas: Mr. Carter recently announced that what he did was submit a written question to Hamas leadership. He asked that if the Palestinian people voted to accept a peace agreement with Israel based on recognizing Israel as a state and pushing property lines back to what they were before the 1967 war, would Hamas agree? He gave the request to Hamas leadership, and after hours of consultation among themselves Hamas leaders said yes to accepting such an agreement.

Please acquaint yourself with the work of the Carter Center before you condemn him.

Jerry Nowak
Lee’s Summit

In response to recent criticism of former President Carter’s statesmanship, I would respectfully suggest that he may be held in far greater global esteem than some of our present leaders, who seem to understand diplomacy as negotiating behind the barrel of a gun.

Carter has long supported Habitat for Humanity in the United States and overseas, and he established an institute that promotes global health, democracy and human rights. He is known and respected for his work in monitoring elections around the world. He brokered the Camp David accords in 1978, in an effort to bring peace to the Middle East, and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. This is surely the background of a humanitarian and a statesman.

I would further suggest that the reason he is currently receiving criticism in Israel is that his remarks may be very close to the truth.

Keith Hustings
Leavenworth

Criticism of Jimmy Carter

Citizens of the U.S. should be able to expect statesmanship — displays of wisdom and skill regarding public issues — from former presidents. Jimmy Carter travels the world putting down the United States and is now heading to Syria to confer with the Hamas terrorist-in-chief.

Carter wasn’t a first-rate president and he is a worse elder statesman.

Marilyn Crews
Kansas City

Work for the people

Carole Damon (5/24, Letters, “Carter’s comments”) has the right idea about the Bush administration but stops short of the “I” word. Why are we so afraid to say they must be impeached? That is the only logical next step. It will also serve as a warning to the rest of our elected officials who are no longer responsive to the people. Somewhere they have lost the connection to those who elected them. If you watch the newscasts, you can tell that a lot of them are still afraid to speak up. This is due to the post-9/11 motto: Either you are with us or against us. We need to write our elected officials and demand that they stand up for us and stop acting like sheep.

Tony Otrosko
Olathe

Carter on Bush

I read and hear considerable concern over former President Jimmy Carter’s comments regarding the present policies — especially foreign policy — of the Bush administration. It should be noted that Carter did not criticize President Bush, personally, only his policies (or lack of).

Many are offended than an ex-president found opportunity and need to criticize the workings of a sitting president. The degree of “offense” assigned seems directly proportional to the political posture of the critic.

The critics do not address the timeliness or accuracy of Carter’s criticism.

None mentioned an (arguably) unnecessary war, a badly mismanaged conflict, the absence of coherent foreign policy or the fact that Uncle Sam is now hated by many.

History will be our judge. We have invested considerable blood and treasure in this adventure. When will it end?

R.W. Johnson
Olathe