By their acts shall ye know them
Re: "Southern by the Grace of God" by Kevin Griffis (July 9-15)
I maintain that the Bush Republican Conservative Christians are neither conservative nor Christian.
We are known more by our actions than by our words. Let us apply this analysis to Conservative Christians. I consider myself a Constitutional Conservative. I believe in "government of the people, by the people and for the people."
By their own actions, the Republican Conservative Christians demonstrate that they believe in government of the wealthy special interests, by the wealthy special interests and for the wealthy special interests. This is not conservatism; it is fascism.
Next, the Republican Conservative Christians passed a tax cut that benefited almost exclusively the wealthiest part of our population, and they paid for it in part by cutting social services that are the safety net for the poorest part of our population. This is not the action of a Christian. This is the act of a greedy materialist and nothing else.
—Joseph Clary
Tampa
Repeating history?
Re: The War in Iraq, ongoing
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, in his appearance on Meet the Press, repeatedly used the phase "after the war" in describing the current status of our military involvement in Iraq. I fear that the situation in Iraq is becoming too similar to the situation in Vietnam in the early '60s.
I know because I lived it! I joined the Army right out of high school back in 1969. I served in Vietnam in 1970 and 1971.
As the Patriot Act erodes the U.S. Constitution and Bush's folly in Iraq rages on, I am deeply saddened. When President Bush declared that "major combat operations are over," it was front-page news. Today nightly attacks and the American body counts are on page four or five.
Ten years from now will Iraq war veterans be fighting for decent VA hospitals? Fifteen years from now will Iraq war veterans be campaigning for funds to build a memorial to their fallen comrades?
The physical and emotional scars that war veterans carry for the rest of their lives had better be for a damn good reason, and not just on the whim of a few foolish old men.
—J.J. Carney
Seminole
More Than Skin Deep
Re: "In Pursuit of Perfection" by Scott Harrell (July 2-8)
I very much enjoyed your article. As a pageant judge (within the Miss America system and beyond) and titleholder, I thought your perspective was wonderfully balanced, humorous and fair. You also addressed many of the stereotypes associated with pageantry. Bravo!
I wanted also to let you know that some ladies can and do win who are overweight (by pageantry and the American standards) and not stereotypically attractive. I am an example of one of those ladies. However, through persistence and dedication, I have won and do make a difference with my titles. Pageants have driven me to discover my true self and to recover from the fear of public speaking and anorexia.
—Dr. Diana Santoro
Mrs. Galaxy 2004
Tampa
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2003.
