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Thursday, March 2, 2006

I have read Mr. Dunbar's mundane ramblings many times, but today I had to respond.

Like so many liberals, Dunbar has twisted facts, left out important information and literally wrote his version of what he wanted us to hear about the vice president.

First of all, like so many journalists and airhead celebrities, we do not want to hear their political views. Stick to telling us about his escapades around home and on vacation and maybe he will spark some interest. For starters, he does not know what has occurred during the case of Scooter Libby and The New York Times issue on Valerie Plame. The case is ongoing and everything about it has been sealed.

What he is writing is what he has acquired from other news sources and what he would like us to believe.

If he knew anything about court rules, he would understand that everyone is to remain silent as long as the investigation is ongoing.

Obviously, he is ignorant of the rules of the court. Dunbar then went on to give us his expertise on Dick Cheney's hunting accident. He stated the vice president mistook a 78-year-old lawyer from Texas for a small, scurrying bird and said the entire thing has been a comedy writer's dream. Too bad he is not a comedy writer. Only those thirsty for news would have thought it humorous if Mr. Whittington had died and he certainly could have done that.

As for getting his facts, he gets a whopping zero for his effort. The accident took place around 4 p.m. Feb. 11, 2006, not at 6:50 p.m. as he stated. At 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 11, a call came in to the Kennedy County Sheriff's Department with a report of the accident to Sheriff Ramon Salinas from a deputy.

On hearing that the accident involved the vice president and his friend and that it was clear it was an accident and Mr. Whittington was in the hospital and in stable condition, Sheriff Salinas agreed to talk with them in the morning.

Not only are Dunbar's times incorrect, but he implied that no one contacted the police department till 9 a.m. Sunday morning.

The police report states that Cheney had a beer with lunch and that no drinking occurred during the hunt later in the day, so no one needed to "sober up," as Dunbar also implied.

Dunbar is nothing but a Bush-basher. The bashers hate Bush, Cheney and the whole administration. If it were not for wiretapping domestic citizens in the U.S., we would not have heard about the three would-be terrorists from Toledo. The liberals can pretend to care about the war on terror, but we know they do not believe there is an enemy.

I know Dunbar has access to the Internet. All this information is out there for anyone to access. What was the title of his article, "Despite appearances, there are rules"? Maybe next time he'll do his homework.

Claudia Sullivan

Reynoldsburg

It's time for GOP to stop exploiting 9/11 attacks

Once again, Vince Dunbar tells it like it is in plain English ("There are rules that apply to everyone," Feb. 23). I applaud Dunbar's comments about Bush's illegal spying on American citizens and the complicity of the Republican-controlled Congress.

Republicans rail about the incompetence of the federal government, yet they're willing to allow that same government to snoop into your private life with zero oversight by Congress. Whatever happened to the system of checks and balances that our founding fathers designed? Or did 9/11 "change" that, too?

I think it's time for us to put the 9/11 attacks into perspective and stop letting Bush and the Republicans exploit that horrible day to score political points and grab power. Fewer than 3,500 American citizens have died in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil (2,967 on 9/11, 168 in the Oklahoma City bombing, and six in the 1993 World Trade Center garage bombing). Each and every one of those lives was precious. And so are the lives of the more than 38,000 Americans who die on our national highways every year. More than 10 times as many Americans die every year on our highways as have ever been killed in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

And yet, in response to the 9/11 attacks, we are suddenly willing to give unprecedented power to the president. We are willing to allow the rights and civil liberties that we are entitled to as American citizens to be undermined or, in some cases, completely cast aside. 9/11 was horrific. It rightfully changed some things about how we live. But it should not "change everything" about our way of life and the value that we, as Americans, place on freedom.

We absolutely must defend our great country from terrorist attacks. But we don't have to choose between defending our country and preserving our civil liberties. We can do both at the same time. If we allow 9/11 to "change everything" about the American way of life, then the terrorists really have won.

Jenny Saboley

Worthington

March set aside to honor social workers

Whether you realize it or not, a social worker has some how made an impact on your life. Disaster recovery areas, nursing homes, hospitals, and schools are just a few places a social worker can be found making a difference in the lives of those that need help the most. The thousands of people in this profession, working countless hours on life's tough issues, deserve gratitude and recognition for the selfless work they do each and every day.

The ultimate goal for each social worker is to improve the lives of our community's most vulnerable citizens, such as children and older adults. Social workers connect people with the critical services they need, such as getting food and locating appropriate shelter; obtaining treatment services for people suffering from mental illness or addiction; and finding children safe, healthy homes.

ADAMH's system of care provides treatment and prevention services for Franklin County residents through the help of dedicated social workers. I would like to extend my appreciation to each of the social workers in our system who restore and improve people's lives day after day. Not only do you help by connecting people with necessary services, you offer hope to those that have lost their way.

March is National Social Work Month. Join me in recognizing and honoring our community's social workers and the vital services they provide.

David A. Royer

CEO, ADAMH Board

of Franklin County

OCALI clarifies its mission

Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) is a statewide, federally-funded project under the direction of the Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children (ODE-OEC). It was established to provide information, resources, training, and technical assistance to families and school districts to improve the education of students with autism spectrum disorders and low incidence disabilities statewide.

A Feb. 2, 2006, article in ThisWeek stated, "The district (Columbus) plans to work with Children's Hospital and the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) to being its own autism school next fall ... ," with the indication that OCALI would partner with Columbus Public Schools to open an autism school.

To clarify, OCALI does not partner with public school districts or private organizations to establish schools but serves district and agencies to provide training and technical assistance regarding best practices as supported by current research.

OCALI's role with Columbus Public schools is consistent with its mission, to provide training and technical assistance in best practices to Columbus staff as it would provide to any district or programs around the state.

Shawn A. Henry

Executive Director, OCALI