Paterno comments premature, crass
The commentary in the Jan. 21 Sports section about the NCAA returning Joe Paterno's 111 victories to the Penn State football program was a little premature and unnecessarily crass. Paterno was victim of a rush to judgment. He did the only thing he could do morally or legally -- he reported hearsay information from an assistant coach about Jerry Sandusky's behavior to his superiors. Had he actually said or done anything more that could have been viewed an accusation, he would have set himself up for a personal lawsuit or worse. There are many lawsuits to be adjudicated before the whole story is told about Paterno and the Sandusky fiasco. The NCAA is just beginning to find out what happens when you use unreliable information to make a decision, i.e., the Freeh report and the word of politically motivated individuals. Paterno will be back bigger and better than ever -- including his statue. Some of his detractors already have started to find that out and regret their actions. Just ask the NCAA and some Pennsylvania politicians.
Theodore K. Bell, Madisonville, Tenn.
Armed forces not defanged or weak
A recent letter to the editor stated, "Because our military has been gutted, we are defanged and appear weak," and blamed it on President Obama. Not only is this statement blatantly false, it's an affront to our men and women serving in the armed forces. Currently our military consists of 1.3 million active duty and 800,000 reservists stationed in 150 countries fighting terrorism around the globe. While it's true the Defense Department budget has decreased by a few billion dollars in recent years, this is due to the drawdown of forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. All federal departmental budgets originate in the House, are reconciled with the Senate and sent to the president to sign. To my knowledge, President Obama has never vetoed a Defense Department budget bill. The 2015 budget for the Department of Defense is $585 billion. This is larger than the next 12 countries combined. I don't consider that amount as gutted, defanged, or weak. Fortunately, our men and woman in uniform fight for the right for us to state our opinion, no matter how uninformed it may be.
Brian Watson
Cartoon reflects power Of NRA
The cartoon on the Free Press opinion page (Jan. 22) shows the president of the United States dressed for killing, armed with an assault rifle holding the "rich and not-so-rich" (therefore, all) Americans in his gun sight. The person who drew that image and editors who selected it crossed a line that separates satire from the obscenity of mass murder by gunfire that plagues America today. That line was drawn with blood -- often children's blood, as in Newtown, and all across our country. The cartoon mocks the slaughter that is going on and reflects the power of the National Rifle Association as it takes control of our morals, government and media. By printing it, your newspaper was honoring freedom of expression at the expense of being accountable to your readers.
Faye S. Walter, Sewanee, Tenn.
Gun laws forget revolution lesson
My bumper sticker used to read: "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." Outlaws dance with glee where there are gun laws against law-abiding citizens. These lessen the chances of the innocent being able to defend themselves or their loved ones. Would-be tyrannical governments are equally happy. During the American revolution, there were enough arms in the private sector to take a successful stand against the most powerful army in the world at the time. Our forefathers wanted to keep it that way. They stated clearly in our Constitution the right to keep and bear arms should not be infringed upon.
Dr. Tom Herzog