Letters to the Editor
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‘Small Price To Pay’
Andrew Ferguson has written of the demise (possible) of our American penny [Oped, “Small Price To Pay,” September 1, 2006].
As a newly arrived visitor to New York I’m afraid at first I only noticed this city has a lot of babies and dogs. But then I noticed it also has many pennies sunk in the city’s streets.
Like dinosaurs subsumed by the La Brea tar pits, the coins drop into the soft black streets and leisurely die.
The thin copper coating strips to zinc, the profiles and monuments turn blurry; often the penny sinks further, leaving only a slight sliver of a moon against the oily black.
JOHN DONNELLY
New York, N.Y.
‘Anna Politkovskaya’
The murder of the journalist Anna Politovskaya [Editorial, Monday, October 9, 2006] only emphasizes another miscalculation of President Bush who euphorically praised the “character” of Vladimir Putin. This person is an example of the KGB mentality of Russia’s rulers past and present, and the West trusts such tyrants at its peril.
How can we hope to deal effectively with the likes of Iran whose lies and connivings are supported by Mr. Putin?
If history proves anything it is that leopards don’t lose their spots and “le plus ça change, le plus c’est la même chose.”
JEROME STARR
Professor Emeritus
School of Visual Arts
New York, N.Y.
‘Stewart Lawyers Accuse Government Of Withholding Evidence at Trial’
Even more astounding than the trivial 28 month sentence Lynne Stewart received for abetting a convicted terrorist in his efforts to spread still more hate and death around the world [New York, “Stewart Lawyers Accuse Government Of Withholding Evidence at Trial,” October 8, 2006], was the resounding ovation she received on the court house steps after the sentencing.
One can only wonder at the thinking that led a group of presumed fellow New Yorkers to laud a woman who saw fit to assist a group of people that would rain death and destruction throughout the city if given the chance. One would think that, at the least, their own sense of self preservation would override their instinct to cheer a hero of the Left in this instance.
In another time when humility and decency were still seen as virtues, Stewart would have been left to slink off around the corner of the court house after sounding a note of contrition for this crime against her fellow citizens.
Instead, New Yorkers who are endangered by her warped and reckless notion of “client service” are left with their mouths agape at this spectacle of celebration by people who appear utterly blind to the threat represented by the terrorists Stewart saw fit to aid.
The misplaced priorities so clearly on display on the court house steps are a perfect example of why liberals have so little credibility on security.
BRIAN HOREY
New York, N.Y.
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