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.
‘In Defense of Camilla’
As an avowed addict of the great city of New York, though born and bred a Brit, it did me good to read Pia Catton’s article on Camilla Cornwall [“In Defense of Camilla,” Style, November 8, 2005].
I was one of the lucky ones to meet her, and her good humor and comfortable charm was emphasized by her elegance and quiet style. She is not a celeb. Royals are not a celebs, though many Americans don’t know the subtle difference.
They mistook Diana for a celeb (and she may have missed the subtlety herself, on occasions), and it complicates matters for everybody. Camilla dresses as a royal.
Good for you, Pia. And good for us who like to have such commonsense reading in your paper.
The Reverend Canon John Andrew
Rector Emeritus
St. Thomas Church
Fifth Avenue
Manhattan
‘The Fighting 13’
I caught some of Senator Lieberman’s remarks on C-Span in which he confronted his fellow Democrats with a 1945 speech by a Republican senator from Michigan, Arthur Vandenberg, when he said that in times of war, politics ends at the water’s edge. What a difference between those times and these [“The Fighting 13,” Editorial, November 16, 2005].
Senator Levin as interlocutor is too modern a Democrat to be taken in by such old fashioned patriotic rhetoric, and especially so, since our new era Democrats, under President Clinton’s leadership, have invented war as politics by another name.
Taking Democrats at their word, rather than see a favorable outcome in Iraq redound to the credit of President Bush in 2006 and 2008, they would much prefer to see Iraq’s nascent democracy disappear in the flames of car bomb explosions along with the hope for a stable, democratic peace promoting the Middle East with it.
With respect to our modern era Democrats, Mr. Lieberman is a veritable Natan Sharansky-type dissident. Unless I am wrong, there is not another one who does not regard Mr. Bush as the enemy, who supports the war and opposes the withdrawal of American troops until the securing of Iraq as a democracy capable of standing on its own feet is assured.
What Mr. Levin is proposing, in the hope that Howard Dean’s anti-Bush, anti-war rantings become irresistible to the country, with his weasel-worded rationale, is another variation on the theme of cut-and-run to prevent Iraq from turning into another Vietnam quagmire.
It is his construction that unless a time limit for American withdrawal is set as a means of booting the Iraqis in the rear to fight for their own country, they will continue to fight to the last drop of American blood.
Not only that, it sends a signal to our terrorist adversaries that as long as they can prod the Democrats to win the war for public opinion in America, they can still emerge victorious without winning a single battle in Iraq.
That the Iraqis would want American troops fighting their fight for their homeland and their freedom one minute longer than is necessary, is both a cynical and ignoble reading of the gallant way the Iraqi man and woman in the street have endured and defied the worst that the Zarqawi barbarians could throw at them, at the risk of their lives, time and again, to vote in increasing numbers for a truly independent and sovereign nation they can call their own.
Mr. Lieberman’s comments are a moment to cherish for their eloquence inasmuch as they are for a modern Democrat these days so rare.
JULIUS GORDON
Douglaston, N.Y.
‘Pursuing Seamless Cities’
As a resident of the city of St. Petersburg, Fla., I was overjoyed to see that our community’s well kept secret has been exposed [“Pursuing Seamless Cities,” John P. Avlon, Opinion, November 15, 2005].
St. Petersburg is one of this nation’s most livable cities for countless reasons, but our greatest pride now is in our pursuit of becoming a seamless community. Directed by a fearless leader, Mayor Baker, has navigated our city’s direction by landing his interest in St. Petersburg’s impoverish areas.
He has worked tirelessly to ensure that basic services have been delivered to a once forgotten community. A renewed sense of pride has been fostered by the energy of our gentle giant, Mr. Baker, who has convinced developers to take interest and adopt areas in St. Petersburg that have long been ignored.
Residents of St. Petersburg have embraced the vision of Mr. Baker and applaud his ambition to ensure that the needs of all of our residents are met and delivered with respect and integrity.
In a time when partisanship has created the greatest divide in our country, we in St. Petersburg are proud to stand behind an individual (not a party) whose values line up with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you, Mr. Avlon, for reintroducing the face of St. Petersburg in all of its glory. We are truly proud.
TERRI LIPSEY SCOTT
St. Petersburg, Fla.