Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

‘It Doesn’t Get Much Better’
The New York Sun deserves high praise for its sports coverage. It has been a long time since we turned first to the sports section to read Red Smith or Jimmy Cannon [“It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This,” Tim Marchman, Sports, September 30, 2005].
Nowadays, sports writing is often just an extension of a politically correct agenda, as when the New York Times pushes for “gender equity,” or seeks to discern racial injustices invisible to the naked eye.The games are secondary for these postmodern ideologues.
I would single out two of the Sun’s writers for special praise: Tim Marchman for his superb baseball analyses, which combine a quantitative, statistical approach with a novelist’s gift for portraiture.
Along with Steven Goldman, who also employs a thorough knowledge of research findings to buttress his strong opinions, Mr. Marchman has made the sports section of the Sun must reading for those of us who are fans of the games as well as of good sports writing.
STEPHEN RITTENBERG, M.D.
Larchmont, N.Y.
‘Serbia Calling’
Thank you for your willingness to listen to and discuss any Serbian point of view in deep contradistinction to the vast majority of mainstream Western newspapers [“Serbia Calling,” Editorial, October 5, 2005].
Regarding any possibility of Serbia joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO will first have to compensate Serbia for the billions of dollars in damage caused by NATO’s wholly illegal and vicious assault on the country in 1999, which poisoned the entire Balkans with depleted uranium and cluster bombs, destroyed petrochemical facilities, and destroyed the economic engine of the Balkans.
Regarding Kosovo, Serbs will never accept the loss of their “Jerusalem,” no matter the cost. Any illegal granting of “independence” by the West against Serbian wishes will merely cause yet another flashpoint for violence in the future (as happened in the former Yugoslavia). Currently, Kosovo is the black hole of Europe where sex-slave prostitution, drug running, ethnic cleansing, and slaughter of non-Albanians (mostly Serbs) and other Albanian Mafia-esque activities are rampant.
Due to NATO’s unwillingness to confront the terrorist menace that it has created in Kosovo, the Serbian province is a “safe haven” and training ground for Islamic extremists who mostly hail to Osama bin Laden.
Independence for Kosovo would be too dangerous for the region as it would likely bring conflict between Greece, Bulgaria, and Macedonia as Albanian nationalists seek to form a “Greater Albania” encompassing parts of all of these nations. It would also encourage Bosnian Serbs and Croatian Serbs to seek independence in their own territories, further worsening the Balkan imbroglio.
In the worst-case scenario, the province should be partitioned with the mostly Albanian southern portion controlled by the United Nations until the leadership is more mature and the northern portion going back to Serbia. The West must admit its disastrous mistakes made in Yugoslavia since 1990 and start ac knowledging and factoring in the Serbian positions on the civil wars before any reconciliation can ever occur in the region.
MICHAEL PRAVICA
Henderson, Nev.
‘Black Voters’ Independence’
As a citizen registered to vote in the New York State Independence Party and a possible candidate for Independence Party State Committee, 77th Assembly District in the Bronx, June 2006, I take exception to the letter [“Black Voters’ Independence,” October 7, 2005] posted by Evan Edwards about John P. Avlon’s opinion piece.
While I do not condone Lenora Fulani’s alleged anti-Semitism, I do not wish to criticize her, either, and wish to remind the author that child abuse allegations are just that – allegations, to be investigated and if necessary acted upon by qualified, trained child abuse/neglect personnel only.
The vast majority of the 300,000 plus voters registered with the Independence Party are citizens who genuinely want reform and are fed up with the two-party system that has failed the citizens of this city, state, and country for over four decades.
The Independence Party has brought such groundbreaking issues as initiative and referendum, non-partisan elections, and participation by non-affiliated voters in party primaries to the forefront. Does it make for screaming editorials every time a member of the press utters a racist statement?
And as for Thomas Ognibene being the only real Republican on the ballot, I’d like to remind Mr. Edwards that the only issue I heard Mr. Ognibene speak on was the smoking ban, and that Mr. Ognibene was unable to garner enough signatures to be on the ballot as a Republican.
NATHAN F. WEINER
Bronx
Please address letters intended for publication to the Editor of The New York Sun. Letters may be sent by e-mail to editor@nysun.com, facsimile to 212-608-7348, or post to 105 Chambers Street, New York City 10007. Please include a return address and daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited.