In my youth, parents constantly supervised and disciplined their children until they moved out of the household. We now have a 10-year-old being slapped in a theater and a 3-year-old left alone in a hotel room (TNT, 5-23).

Both cases raise questions of where the parents were. That 10-year-old should have had at least one parent at his side at all times, because if that parent was with him, he would not have been slapped by a stranger. That 3-year- old being left in a hotel is more obvious as neglect.

Both cases should result in compulsory sterilization. …

Read more »

Re: Lutheran pastors supporting same-sex marriage (Viewpoint, 5-20).

I have yet to hear any one of them give a biblical basis for support of homosexuality, that is from Bible verses.  All I’ve heard were opinions that are primarily feelings-based and contingent on self.

People refer to Jesus as accepting of homosexuality, because he commands that we love our neighbor as ourselves, but that doesn’t mean that it includes embracing sin.  If we know the truth, then we ought to at least inform our neighbor of it. Remember, the true Christian follows the bible, not his or her fleeting thoughts …

Read more »

Under the auspices of the United States, Ethiopia and India, representatives from many countries will be meeting next month to figure out how to maximize the world’s political will and the necessary medical know-how and resources to save children dying from preventable causes.

How many children under 5 are dying each year? More than 7 million children from malnutrition, diarrhea and pneumonia especially. That is down from 14 million each year dying in 1982.

For the first time, there is a consensus among global health experts that we can end preventable child deaths in our lifetimes. Next month, world leaders …

Read more »

In his Viewpoint (TNT, 5-20), the Rev. Donald Heinz takes to task the majority of readers who believe strongly in marriage as a heterosexual union. He urges readers to reject support for Referendum 74, which petitions Washingtonians to place the same-sex marriage issue on the November ballot.

While I applaud the passion of this pastor, I must question the rationale. He is confusing the person with the behavior. He cites the Roman Catholic Church as leading Referendum 74. The Roman Catholic Church is not homophobic; it embraces all of God’s children. The church questions the use of the word …

Read more »

Re: “Afghan story not a hit with readers” (Karen Peterson column, 5-20).

I so appreciate the front-page account (TNT, 5-17) of the survivors of the recent massacre of Afghani villagers. It is crucial to recognize the humanity of everyone involved in the obscenity of war and to take in the horrors that are suffered by the so-called “other.”

When will we ever learn that there is no “other,” that we are all one human family? Your featured report put a human face on the Afghani victims of our brutal, inhumane folly, and I for one am grateful.

Re: “Strong, true Christians accept and embrace their gay brethren” (Viewpoint, 5-20).

The headline created by the editor on thoughts written by the Rev. Donald Heinz and signed on by nine Lutheran retired clergy was absolutely misleading. Our intent was to speak of toleration and acceptance of all of God’s people. The editor’s chosen headline certainly inferred the opposite of this.

It is important to say that “strong, true Christians” may have varied points of view as regards our sexuality. We are called upon to live without condemnation of each other. The Church of Jesus Christ must have an …

Read more »

Re: “Afghan story not a hit with readers” (Karen Peterson column, 5-20).

Peterson’s piece on reader response to the interviews with the Afghan survivors of the village massacre was sad. I’m pretty conservative, but I never took away from the report anything “anti-military.” I was impressed by the quality of the report and pleased with its balance.

On another note, Patrick O’Callahan’s Inside Opinion blog posting (TNT, 5-22) regarding the death of Walter Backstrom was also sad. Backstrom was a fine writer, and how tragic he died in a homeless shelter, perhaps unknown by the other residents as …

Read more »

Two pieces on the same page (Thomas Friedman column and Viewpoint, 5-22) bemoaned the supposed lack of qualified and trained American workers.

Friedman fell for Microsoft’s old complaint about not being able to find people for thousands of unfilled jobs, and Vigor Industrial’s CEO lamented the fact that he cannot find workers with the requisite skills. Both companies and many others seem to expect that the education and public sector should provide them with “off-the-shelf,” ready-to-go labor with any skill sets at any time.

This is hardly realistic in a complex workplace with increasing specialization and rapidly changing …

Read more »