Florida Supreme Court was political, too
Regarding Daniel Schorr's Dec. 15 column, "The supreme fix was in": I am curious as to why Mr. Schorr's concern about a "fix" does not apply to the Florida Supreme Court's decisions as well.
Without their reckless interference, this matter would have been settled weeks ago. Schorr laments that the five conservative justices have selected a president while ignoring the fact that seven liberal jurists on the Florida court tried their level best to the do the very same thing in clear violation of the law.
Arun Tirumalai Issaquah, Wash.
I would like to congratulate Daniel Schorr for "calling it like it is" in his editorial. My husband and I feel exactly as his opinion stated.
The people of the United States have been taken for an ego-ride by the Supreme Court. We feel that justice got a swift kick in the teeth, freedom took a crushing blow to the head, and we are in much worse shape than before the election. It isn't only Al Gore who lost - the American people lost, too.
Edward and Boni Parker Port Ludlow, Wash.
Daniel Schorr seems to think every vote should be counted a third time, hanging chads pulled off and counted, pregnant chads punched out and counted, until the mutilated ballots are again hopelessly mutilated by the counters.
Mutilated ballots were accepted all over the US, except in selected counties of Florida. Looking at this from the perspective of the rest of the country, the Supreme Court had to stop the tragic comedy before a few vote-counting officials with divine judgment pulled off enough hanging chads to elect their favored candidate.
William J. Ragsdale Pampa, Texas
Making guns the safe way
I was interested in your Dec. 15 story about lawsuits against gun manufacturers, "Gunmakers not about to run up white flag." Particularly interesting was a comment by Lawrence Keane, the vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Mr. Keane said that Smith & Wesson's promise to lock guns up while in the store, or to train employees on the idiosyncrasies of their products, wouldn't decrease illegal gun sales.
The whole point of gun lawsuits is consumer safety. Just because the Constitution enshrines a right to own a certain product does not give the manufacturer impunity from the rule of law - or sensible safety requirements. Sooner or later the gun industry has to realize it is just that - an industry.
Matt Osborne Florence, Ala.
Victims of drug abusers
People who refer to drug use as a victimless crime are missing the big picture (Dec. 11 opinion piece, "The Robert Downey Jr. problem"). They do not see the families that drug use destroys, the problems created by drug abusers who lose their jobs and are supported by taxpayers, and the cleanup costs of methamphetamine labs that put the community at risk and pose a huge cost to taxpayers.
To say drug abusers are only hurting themselves is a farce. Let's just consider the children who are at risk because mom or dad are too high to take care of the children.
What about when these children are taken by the state, disposed of by their parents because drugs are more important. Who wants the responsibility of caring for a "crack" baby? Read this opinion piece again and tell me that drug use is a victimless crime.
Elaine L. Walcroft Meridian, Idaho Senior Probation/Parole Officer
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