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CAX TTS. alicelecrer /Renghattiioe Co While growing | THE PuBLIC FORUM Ruzicka’s shifting whims The news mediafirestorm regarding the Jensen family and the state’s in volvement have once again brought to the forefront the opinions of self declared “champions offamily values” such as Gayle Ruzicka. “Activists” such as Ruzicka are trumpeting the parents’ rights anthem, which momentarily in creases their perceived relevance The only problem with getting in volved with the current parental rights The state of Utah and the United Phone Number: (801) 257-8888 States operate in whatis called a “free Tribune Fax: (801) 257-8525 (Please send text only, attachments will not market society.” I agree with this con cept, but there can be a few exceptions. Having the city dictate whether a department store can moveto a different be opened) mall is not one of those exceptions. Mail: Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, Crossroads Plaza and The Gateway are E-mail: jetters@sltrib.com P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110 numbers. Only the nameand city ofresidence are published. Letters maybe edited cheaper for length, grammarand accuracy. Due to Through Nordstrom’s decision to move to The Gateway, we can assumethat the owners of Crossroads havefailed to do this. The Salt Lake City Council now needs to let Nordstrom move to Gateway. The ownersofCrossroads can then improve their mall and entice a Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ikea or any of a dozen other potential stores to locate in Crossroads. As for the city, a departmentstore in issue is they are negating one of the letters of up to 250 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address and day and evening phone volume, not all submissions are published. greater importance than the rights of Thou shalt not kill the parent/mother In the wakeofthe Sept. 3 execution of Paul Jennings Hill, his supporters have praised him as a martyr. Killing an abortion doctor does not make Hill a martyr. He is devoted to his religious beliefs, but no one who professes to be a Christian should find justification in killing another person, regardless of that person’s “sin,” Before receiving the lethal injection, Hill said, “If you believe abortion is an evil force, you should opposethe force and do what you haveto do to stopit.” Whetheryou areforor against abortion, waging violence is never the best answer. The sixth of the Ten Command ments in the Old Testament states, ironically, that “Thou shalt not kill.” There is no official addendumto that commandment saying, “except for when Bert Ek. ANKROM EagleMountain Moredangerous a According to The Tribune's Sept. 6 editorial “Guns at School,” allowing concealed weapons on campus in creases risks rather than security. I re cently caught up with a friend from Ma rine Corps boot camp and Infantry Training School. Following training, this unimpeachably courageous and dedicated Marine served a tour as a military policeman aboardaship. After serving his four years, he landed a job as an armored-transport guard His truck was robbed early one morning while making a routine bank delivery. Despite having completed someof the best marksmanship training in the world, the bad guys got away un harmed. My friend succeeded only in shooting up the windows ofthestrip mall across thestreet. Out of concern for what might have resulted had the rob bery occurred later in the day, he promptly quit that job If such a well-trained, levelheaded professional can find himself creating more hazard than benefit in the heat of battle, what might we expect from someone whose résumé amounts to a few hours of dubious firearmstraining and a collection of Charles Bronson movies? And beyond underestimating the overwhelming level of stress and fear involved in actual armedconflict, “great reward in heaven.” I cannot imagine someone receiving a reward froma deityfor cold-blooded murder. Supporters of Hill have allegedly warned they might replicate his action. If these supporters continue what Hill started, it will create a mess that could divide this great nation in avery serious way. Killing another manis unlawful, un-Christian, and inhuman. NATHAN BARLOW Taylorsville Grateful for what? Wayne Newman's letter (Forum, Sept. 11) is just one morein alitany of bashing people who don’t support George Bush. He claims we should be grateful for our president. Grateful for what? For a warin Iraq that has done nothing to stop terrorism? For a war that has actually created more terrorism? For an administration that falsified evidence to support a war that was nothing more than a cleanup of a past Republican administration’s mistake? or better parking. is not going to save anything. As the city did not chooseto locate thelibrary with its attachedretail space on Main Street, then let’s work on attracting a high caliber museum, park or other civic attraction on Main Street to aet as an anchor and stay out of the free market Republic what wat the most gression United S Now, Haveyou no pride? society. MATTHEWPLATT Salt Lake City Weneed tolerance It is Merlin Ross's opinion that “one sure sign of a numbed conscience is when someone takes action to ... remove God out of sight and mind,” (Forum, Sept. 5). As an atheist, I beg to differ. Moralsareoften, but not always, tied to religion. I try my best to be a good person. | admire and follow many Christian morals, without needing encouragement fromagod. In the end, every person's conscienceis found within themselves, not withina religion. The fight over Alabama Chief Justice Moore’s monument is not about religion and morals. It is about tolerance. Some people would love for everyone to act like atheists; others would like everyone to be Christian. We don’t need an atheist government or a Christian one we need tolerance! I would like to offer an alternate so lution to this problem. It’s called the “Golden Rule.” Let Chief Justice Moore have a monument to his religion if he will allow others to do the same. Any visitor to the courthouse could be com forted by the presenceoftheir religious, agnostic or atheist beliefs. Everyone would benefit from a celebration of our country’s wonderful religious diversity. JENNIFER KOH “The Church’ has spoken are adamantly vocal against the bill changing the child exemptiontax, I offer the following: As a parent of one child who chose not to participate in free public education, I gladly agreed to help pay for your first two children’s education. When you came to me with outstretched hand asking me to help pay for the third, I quietly handed it over. When you came to me for the fourth, I muttered something about personal responsibility and paid up. When you cameto mefor the fifth, I have to wonder how many times you could ask for some of my family’s money. Have you no pride? Then you tell me that any govern- ingly Re But tl maybee came si reconstt ——_—— There are two things in the newsrecently that I can’t quite understand. First, I cannot understand how a monument to the Ten Commandments in a public place is restricting my con- stitutional right to worship asI please. Does someone stand by the monument with a gun and makepeopie read whatis written? If more people read and practiced the Ten Commandments, life would be muchbetter. Second, who gave the protesters at the Main Streetplaza the right to judge the Mormons? Did God give them this right? Seems un-Christian to me. The Bibletells us not to judge our neighbors or we will be judged accordingly. ment intervention in yourfinancesis an I am not a Mormon. I havelived in attempt to dictate family size, yet you validate the same government’s claim to a larger share of my family’s money than of your family’s money. Have you no shame? Finally, as you have demanded my Salt Lake City for more than 50 years.I love this city. Whenever I have out-oftown visitors, I take great pride in showing off the beautiful temple grounds and the flowers that are growing there almost year-round. When I money these many years I have never once been offered a “Thank you.” Have you no manners? PAUL TANNER Bountiful Celebrate the cone For the past four years, our family, friends and other associates have been trying to get a U.S. postage stamp issued on Sept. 22, 2003. This would celebrate the 100th birthday of the ice cream cone and honorItalo Marchinoy, who has the U.S. patent for the ice creamcone. It looks like this is not going to happen. So we wish to thankall those that wrote letters or helped in any way. We feel that the ice cream cone should be honored because it is something most Americans enjoy. The ice cream cone is as much an “American ing when Saddam was using chemical weapons onhis own people. Mr. Newton also seemstoforget that it was the same administration that had the CIA train Osama bin Laden. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, and it seems the conservatives of this country have a very short memory ebrating the ice cream cone. Since Sept. 22 will be on a Monday, it would be greatif all families had anice cream cone on that date to celebrate the 100th birthdayof the ice cream cone. Rosert HAMMER KEVIN W. SPRINGER A. Jog VeLrri GorpDON CHRISTENSEN FAMILY Salt Lake ( % West Valley 54 Salt Lake qty KYysville ’ gression Judge not tyle. The article quotes Utah Sentencing Commission member Paul Boyden: “The statement should assuage law makers who might erroneously believe that the [LDS] church condones the doctrine of blood atonement.” Let there be no question, the lawmakers may now vote, knowing “The Church” has spoken. than benefits. gearing | relativel term ne: Sim GILL ons. The same administration did noth- presents far more dangers publican Salt Lake City prosecutor very typical of Utah politics and lifes- on campus or eise- nation. | crat Bil I found this commentxenophobic, offensive and an injustice to mi- with his chemical and biological weap- correct. The prospect of armedcitizen gest poli norities who cannot be so narrowly excluded. Mr. Pignanelli may wantto re-think his name being attached to this narrowvision. There are racial, religious, political, social, and economic minorities, to name a few. Exclusion is driven by ethnocentric hubris. Discrimination debases ourcollective nobility. It wants to be the only voice. Mr. Gallegos, your voice cannot speak for menorforall minorities. I did not have to be Jewish, gay, lesbian, or African-American to understand that the Holocaust, gay bashing,or racial profiling are wrong. I only have to be human. When Martin Luther King Jr. talked about not being judged by the color of one’s skin but by the content of one’s character, he spoke to minorities like me and our multicultural landscape. Dr. King’s words transcend the narrownessof groups like RAZ/PAC. It is no irony that a lesbian would be excluded by your group’s rationale. There are no minority qualifications. Justice rejects Mr. Gallegos’s only-people-like-us mentality I am not Hispanic, but I have been called “wetback” and “spic.” At no time, Mr. Gallegos, did anyone stop because I was an Indian. Mysin was my Indian color. | am a personofcolor, but not the color of choice for Mr. Gallegos. When it comes to discrimination, RAZ/PAC mightlearn a lesson from Pogo: “We have met the enemy and heis us.” Tothe people with large families who Hethen goes on to claim that people who do not support the president are ignorant. Yet he seems ignorant of the fact that it was the Reagan-Bush adminis- The | Utah's 3) District| I must respond to your Sept. 11 newsarticle, “RAZ/PAC backs Frank Pignanelli for SLC mayor,” and to RAZ/PAC Chairman Bob Gallegos’s statement implying that I am not a minority because I wasnot born here. As reported in The Tribune, Mr. Gallegos said that | am “not even an American minority. He’s Indian from India.” an enclosed mall at one endofthestreet Salt Lake City For an economy that is stagnant? Republic. Minority status I believe the article, “Church speaks on firing squad” (Tribune, Sept. 5) is situation actually warrants deadly force? The Trib’s editorial is absolutely where it feels right.” Hill neverfelt remorse for what he did evenup to the timeofhis execution. He even mentioned that he expected a rent | trations that helped Saddam Hussein how many permit holders are truly qualified to properly determine when a interventions shopping centers, and therefore equals. So, what we have in Salt Lake City is two shopping mall ownersfighting each other. It is up to the owners of Crossroads to persuade Nordstrom to stay in their mall, through a remodeled facility, Letter Guidelines: The Tribune welcomes other battle cries that always seem to bring the Eagle Forum to the forefront, the issue of abortion. The Eagle Forum maintains that a parent should have no right to decide what methods ofbirth control should be madeavailable, citing that the abortion should be illegal and the rights of an unborn child are of Ofcoursethis is in direct opposition to the current stanceof Ruzicka regard ing the Jensen family. In the Jensen sit uation, Ruzicka declares parental rights are more important than the child’s, even if parental rights and opinions compromise the health and safety ofa child If media reports are to be trusted, Parker Jensen will most likely die without chemotherapy, but Ruzicka is silent on the rights of Parker to receive potentially life-saving treatment. | have come to the conclusion that, in Ruzic ka’s view parents should have no rights priorto birth, and children should have no rights after birth. Thankfully we have a Constitution to declareour rights instead of the shifting whims ofa few LETTER OF THE WEEK Let Nordstrom move Howto reach us dates vyi nominati overlooki that coul Andtl memorie tradition” as baseball, apple pie and the U.S. flag. As a family tradition for 16 years, our family has had a birthday party for our friends and neighbors cel- walk through the temple grounds, no one comes up to me with a gun or other weapon to force me to become a Mor- mon. If walking on the Main Street plaza bothers you, then crossthe street andlet the Mormonsworshipas theyplease.It is their right. GLENACE FRITz Salt Lake City Tarred and feathered My comments are prompted by the Sept. 7 Aaron McGruder Boondocks comic strip (the George Bush doll). Perhaps the gap between me and the people who defend and enjoy The Tribune’s comic strip Boondocks is much, much wider than I thought. Any decent American living underand protected by the laws and governmentof the United States of America should be appalled at the subversive slime this “comic” portrays. The Salt Lake Tribune should drop this strip and Mr. McGruder should be stripped of his citizenship, tarred and feathered, and shipped out — after being read his rights and advised of his civil liberties, of course. ’: Don JusTEsEn Prioe LE ‘POOR COP |
