Appalled at Bush Administration Legacy

Dear Editor: 

I wish to underscore for your readers the need to give careful consideration when voting this November. My wife moved from West Virginia here to Ireland two years ago and last week mailed in her vote for John Kerry. We are appalled at the legacy of the Bush administration. We yearn for an America that is once again respected overseas. 

We have noted with some sadness a diminished number of American tourists to our home town of Killarney this summer usually a haven for America. I fear they are not being made as welcome in recent times because of the negative impact of the past four years. It is time for change. And you are, all of you, always welcome here in the Emerald Isle. 

Sincerely, 
Sean O'Donoghue
Killarney, Ireland 

Listen to Bishop

Dear Editor:

Real Catholic voters should pay attention to what the bishop (Archbishop Raymond Burke) is saying. Nothing that a politician proposes trumps the murder of 40,000,000 of the most innocent, the unborn.

Conscience is based on intellect, judging right from wrong, the natural moral law which is inherent in human nature and is identical with the Ten Commandments. If a candidate holds positions opposed to the natural moral law: i.e., abortion, euthanasia etc. It is not permissible to vote for that person.

A Catholic who votes for a pro-choice candidate makes them an accomplice to abortion, a mortal sin.

Sincerely,
Jerome Kavaney
Fairchild, Wis.

Help Register to Vote

Dear Editor: 

Please encourage people to register to vote, and to start thinking about it now instead of later. JohnKerry.com has some really useful tools for registering and for requesting absentee ballots. My hope is to see a change that will help a friend's son not be able to stay in Iraq for eight months, as is the plan now. But the site is useful for everyone, does give many interesting bios, and will help everyone register, no matter what their party. Thank you. 

Sincerely, 
Alison Bentley
Beacon, N.Y. 

Homeland Security Funds Not Allocated Properly

Dear Editor:

I support senators John Kerry and John Edwards, the Democratic candidates, for two key reasons. First, it is a well documented public fact that homeland security funds apparently have not been allocated properly, according to the assessed threats/targets. 

For example, if funds were allocated properly, according to a recent Time magazine article, areas like California (a Democratic state), the Boston-Washington sector (a Democratic area) and the Detroit to Chicago sector (a Democratic area) would receive more funds per capita than Midwestern (Republican) states. This is not the case. A Democratic administration would be more likely to distribute homeland security funds fairly and on a non-political basis. As a result, the homeland would be adequately protected.

The second area is the energy independence within 10-year goal, that has been stated by Sen. John Kerry. Let’s face it, if the current 

republican administration was going to take care of this problem, it would already be taken care of. instead, we pay higher prices at the pump and become more energy dependent. In early 1981, when crude oil and gasoline were decontrolled, the project officers on many key programs were lost. 

The Carter administration political appointees would have left anyway on January, 19, but the entire era agency staff was dismissed following decontrol. Although certain functions were shifted to other individuals, the institutional memory of the primary managers and action officers were lost. 

That can be regained, in part, by a Democratic president, who could get many of the key Carter administration Democratic political appointees, and key action officers who worked with them, back to pick up where they left off in January of 1981. They were icons in energy and were total professionals in their fields doing jobs that no longer exist. 

Sincerely,
Ralph E. Stanley
Vienna, W.V.

United States Less Safe

Dear Editor: 

Invading Iraq has made us less safe and distracted us from finding bin Laden. The war in Iraq has diverted resources from the real war on terror that could have been used to find Osama bin Laden and shutdown al-Qaeda. The CIA released a report in July laying out the three scenarios in Iraq. Each likely outcome range from bad, worse to civil war. 

Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel has said we need to be honest with our evaluation there. "The fact is we're in trouble. We are in deep trouble, in Iraq..." Wisconsin voters need to hold the president accountable of poorly planning a war. Republican Senator Richard Lugar has stated the lack of planning is apparent. There was no plan to win the peace. 

Their main concern was not having the oil wells destroyed. If we truly wanted to bring democracy to Iraq we could have taken our time and done it right with a broad coalition and with the consent of congress. President Bush refuses to admit that his primary ! reason for going to war was a false one. President Bush should not be able to pass problems on to future generations so that he could reward any company a no bid contracts like Halliburton. 

Sincerely, 
John Donnelly 
Niantic, Conn.
 

Clear Choices Presented in Debates

Dear Editor: 

The Presidential debates have offered citizens of conscience clear choices and concrete data for decision-making in the upcoming election. As a Catholic, educated at Catholic universities and teaching at Catholic colleges over the past 40 years, I have been troubled that President Bush's supposed "pro-life" stance is not pro-life enough. 

As governor of Texas, George Bush presided over numerous executions or "capital punishments." As our president, he is responsible for the loss of thousands of lives: American soldiers as well as innocent Iraqi civilians. Domestic policy that leaves hundreds of thousands of Americans in poverty is not "pro life," I was proud to hear Sen. John Kerry affirm his Catholic background and values-- values that continue to form his conscience on life issues. 

Although he is resolved not to legislate Catholic articles of faith, Kerry's approach is clearly informed by those values, especially the "seamless garment" i! mage-- the interwoven fibers of all life and life issues. You can't be pro life and pro capital punishment at the same time. You can't be pro life for Americans and recklessly negate the right to life of countless Iraqi citizens. 

The academic setting of the debates provided an appropriate atmosphere for intelligent analysis and scientific inquiry. One of the questioners asked President Bush to discuss three mistakes he has made in his first term. In the teaching profession we call this "self assessment," a valuable skill for any educated person. President Bush could not identify any mistakes. At Washington University in St. Louis, the citizen-questioners administered a rigorous final exam. Only one of the candidates passed. Kerry will get my vote. 

Sincerely, 
Mary Beth Duffey
Wauwatosa, Wis. 

Joint Letter From Irish American Groups 
Re: House Bill HR 10

October 26, 2004

Representative Peter Hoekstra
2234 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Senator Susan Collins
172 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

RE: House Bill HR 10

Dear Representative Hoekstra and Senator Collins,

The Irish American community is extremely concerned about the extraneous provisions in House Bill HR 10 that go beyond the 9-11 Commission's recommendations. We write to express our strong opposition to these controversial provisions, which directly threaten the Irish in America.

Under HR 10, Irish immigrants in the US (including permanent residents) would be deportable for pure speech for saying anything the government says endorses terrorist activity or endorses support for a terrorist organization, and for mere membership. Thus, an Irish permanent resident that defends the right of the Irish Republican Army to use weapons, even against military targets only, would be deportable. This bill sets up a dangerous standard of guilt by association, rendering people deportable for wholly lawful and peaceful activity if it supports any group that has engaged in the use of weapons, or has threatened to use weapons.

Furthermore, HR 10 contains court stripping provisions that make it much more difficult for Irish deportees to get stays and appeals. It expands "expedited removal" to allow for deportation without a hearing, and without judicial review, of any non-citizen anywhere in the U.S. that an immigration officer says was not lawfully admitted and has been physically present less than 5 years.

This bill is a threat to our democracy. For centuries, Irish immigrants have come over to the US, either fleeing persecution or looking for new opportunity. Tens of millions of Irish immigrants helped build this country, voiced their political opinions, and contributed to our democracy. We must not pass any legislation infringing on their ability to continue their contribution.

Anti-immigrant provisions and expansions of the Patriot Act were not recommended by the 9-11 Commission and have no place in this bill. We join with the 9-11 Commission, and the many 9-11 families in asking you to remove these extraneous provisions and pass a bi- partisan bill that follows the actual recommendations of the 9-11 Commission.

Yours Sincerely,

Judge Andrew Somers (ret.)
National President
Irish American Unity Conference

Deanna Turner
National Coordinator
Irish Deportees of America Committee

Paul Doris
National Chair
Irish Northern Aid

Fr. Sean Mc Manus
President
Irish National Caucus

Ned McGinley
National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians

Edmund Lynch
National Coordinator
Lawyers Alliance for Justice in Ireland

Jerome Edward Boyle, Esq.
Attorney at Law

Nadya Connolly Williams
Global Exchange Study Tour Coordinator for
The north of Ireland

CC: Conference Committee Members

Responses to this joint letter may be mailed to:

Irish American Unity Conference
National Office
611 Pennsylvania Ave, SE # 4150
Washington, D.C. 20003
Telephone: 1-800-947-4282
Fax: 248-671-0429
Email: iauc@iauc.org