‘Iran in Our Future’

I have long admired William F. Buckley Jr. and read his column avidly. But it is not his geopolitical acumen with which I am sometimes in agreement, sometimes not, but his prowess as a fearless vocabularian that fascinates me [“Iran in Our Future,” Opinion, April 10, 2006].

There is hardly a specimen that fails to include an arcane term or two that sends his readers to their dictionaries.

I have long maintained a computer file for unusual terms, quotes, and references to hold in memory. I find that over time, Mr. Buckley employs words that reside in my personal dictionary cum encyclopedia, words that I rarely have had the courage to actually use.

Witness yesterday — mullocracy, chiliast. The former I discount as portmanteau but the latter I included, inter alia, in a causerie I wrote. I tick off my recondite words as they appear in his column. I look forward to the time that they all bear ticks.

GOODWIN BREININ, M.D.
Manhattan

‘Bush Censure Gets Yassky Nod’

With so many important issues facing the City of New York each day, it amazes me when members of the City Council find the time to introduce frivolous resolutions [“Censure of Bush Gets Yassky Nod In City Council,” Azi Paybarah, Page 1, April 4, 2006].

Recently, The New York Sun reported on a highly partisan resolution introduced by Councilman (and, congressional candidate) David Yassky of Brooklyn.

Mr. Yassky’s resolution calls for the support of an effort to censure the president of the United States for using wiretapping as a tool in the war on terror — a subject the US Senate began debating on March 31.

While debate and public discourse are central to what makes our country great, endless partisan maneuvers, such as Mr. Yassky’s, have become simply quite exhausting.

Our federal system of government provides ample opportunities for oversight, and the US Senate’s investigation into the wiretapping matter is appropriate.

But where does the New York City Council’s jurisdiction lie on this issue? Nowhere. Sadly, this is not the first time the City Council has entertained equally partisan resolutions.

Just three years ago, the Council passed a resolution condemning the use of force in Iraq.

From education to public safety, there are many issues on which the hardworking, overtaxed residents of New York City deserve the undivided attention of their elected leaders.

Let’s keep our eye on the ball and focus on the real needs of our great city.

MARTIN J. GOLDEN
State Senator
Brooklyn

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