Editor, the Forum:

In a recent attempt to send an e-mail to the White House, I discovered that the system has recently been changed. It is now necessary to choose one of the listed topics (none of which seemed to have any relevance to my e-mail) and to state whether or not I support or oppose the Bush policy (the site does not state the policy). The site has multiple web pages and is almost impossible to navigate.

I can only assume that if I say I am opposed to any Bush policy, my e-mail will automatically be routed to the trash bin. Mr. Bush has figured out how to avoid hearing from people who disagree with him.

It is predictable that future press releases will report that "no dissenting e-mails on any topic have been received by the White House; the public supports all of the Administration's policies." Next time I'll try phoning!

-- Angela Bradshaw,Los Angeles, Calif.

• The housing boom seems unsustainable. It wouldn't take much decline to wipe out much homeowner equity.
  
• The ease with which employers can substitute low cost foreign employees for US employees, both in manufacturing and services, can mean rising US unemployment even during an economic recovery. Free trade assurances won't sit well with Americans forced out of higher paying into lower paying jobs or into unemployment.
  
• And tax cuts will be discredited if Bush's program is overwhelmed by stronger, off-setting forces.

7/18: Questions for Rumsfeld involving known and unknown

Editor, the Forum:

We knew it all along, but now former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and Greg
Thielmann, a former director of the State Department Bureau of Intelligence, have confirmed that Bush based his claims of WMD's on information which he knew or should have known to be false, and then convinced Congress, the people of this country and other countries that his information was correct . . . and continues to maintain that the invasion was the right thing to do.

My only question (to Mr. Rumsfield, using his own terminology) is - was the
purported uranium contract with Niger a known, an unknown, an unknown that was known to be an unknown, or a known that was unknown, or any other kind of known or unknown?

-- Charles Prendergast, Texarkana, Texas

7/18: Feels that for the president, the buck stops there

Editor, the Forum:

How stupid do George W. and Ari Fleischer think we are? They have Cheney send Ambassador Wilson to Africa at the beginning of 2002 to check whether Iraq bought uranium. Wilson comes back and states that the document claimed to be a contract between Niger and Iraq is a blatant forgery.

Various CIA officers, including Greg Thielmann, discuss in many meetings that this document is a forgery, and a year later, Bush uses the forged document, with visions of "mushrooms clouds" as an excuse to declare war on Iraq. Then when he realizes that he's been busted, blames the inclusion of the forgery in his State of the Union address on George Tenet. Yet he says he still has faith in the CIA and trusts their judgment.

Bush says that he has now moved on and thinks that the country has moved on. Think again! We want answers. What was the reason to invade Iraq and put our boys at risk? Simply sticking the blame for the inclusion of this document in the speech on Tenet is not enough. This was supposed to be the whole rationale for going to war! Bush, the buck stops here!

-- Estella Bloomberg, Los Angeles, Ca.

(Editor's Note: Ed, I guess if you are the parent of a soldier in Iraq, all you want is to extract your son or daughter as fast as possible. You are hoping that the USA doesn't add even one more before they are brought home. And many wish the USA had extracted itself from Viet Nam sooner, therefore question Iraq quicker.-eeb)

7/11: Build outer Loop or not, but put indecision behind

Editor, the Forum:

"The Outer Loop, Outer Perimeter, Northern Arc, Gwinnett Loop!"

All are names of a proposed road that passes nearby where I live. If it's built, it might increase my property's value; it might not.

It it's not built, it might increase my property's value; it might not. Unlike many, I'm not opposed in principle to the road, nor do I strongly favor it.

However: do it or not! Decide. Kill it forever or build it now. This road has been in planning for over 20 years and now has reached a point where the uncertainty is causing more problems for me and my fellow property owners than building it will. I've had to put plans for my property and my life on hold because of corrupt, namby pamby politicians and NIMBY subdivision homeowners. Build it or don't: I don't care. But put it to rest one way or the other.

-- Lee Hutchins, Hog Mountain

7/8: Still waiting

Editor, the Forum:

We now have a branch of Government Homeland Security whose job is to "alert" the public of all kinds of possibilities. I read an article where there has been 209 major alerts and not a one has happened.

The latest, 10 days ago, is "unknown people" are going to "mess up" a "lot of data." Of course, Homeland Security does not know any of these people, or what or how they will do this. Homeland Security has a perfect record of being wrong every time.

Homeland sent out 9,120 e-mails and letters to every news media they could locate. I got one. I deleted it. I am waiting on the letter.

The Augusta paper printed it. If Ridge is running for vice president in 2004 he should resign now...not get name recognition with these phony press releases.

Why on a Sunday? Mr. Ridge, why refer to the villians as "people"?

It would be interesting to see if I eat my words.

-- Jim Boyd, Duluth

7/8: Likes piece written about school resource officers

Editor, the Forum:

Your position that school resource officers should not work for the Gwinnett Board of Education is correct.

I've seen first-hand what happens, and doesn't happen, when a school policeman works for an unprincipled school principal. The same would happen if another unprincipled "educrat" in a county system were substituted for a principal of my experience.

Under a closed system, the incentive for job retention lies with the school officer doing nothing---like reporting a student crime or other serious incident- which might make his/her supervisor look bad.

Yours is the best piece I've read as to why public schools don't need to be in the police business. Your early June piece on GCBOE disciplinary reporting deserves dissemination. So doing could save a lot of kids and teachers a lot of heartache----and that's an opinion founded upon 32 years of school work.

-- Dr. Craig Spinks, Augusta

7/3: CID is just another means of taxation for consumers

Editor, the Forum:

At what point does the taxpayer say enough?

The recent article on the Gwinnett Place CID is yet another example of how we are "duped" into paying another form of taxes.

Recently the buzzword is "CID", "Community Improvement Districts". A group in an area gets together to form a CID in which property owners agree to pay an additional tax to improve the area that they are in. The businesses operating within these districts will pay an additional tax that will be reflected in the prices paid by the consumer that patronize these places.

These businesses and the consumer are already paying taxes to the county, so why doesn't the county allocate funds for these improvements? The underlying theme is that this is just another form of taxation in disguise. In good times and bad times, politicians are always looking for another means of taxation rather than looking at how to better utilize existing revenues.

-- Lee Baker, Lilburn


7/3: Yellow ribbons have special meanings at this church

Editor, the Forum:

Your treatment of the yellow ribbons was a bit harsh, but thought provoking.

My church, First Baptist of Duluth, uses the yellow ribbons in a more positive, uplifting manner. To honor the dozen or so church members who have served in the Iraqi conflict, we have a ribbon for each one in the worship center. Upon the safe return of their family member from duty, each family comes forward and removes the ribbon.

Each time is a very moving and honorable occasion for the church family and the family of the person being honored. This past Sunday we welcomed back Eric Wilson, who was with his wife and two daughters. He saw a church family which appreciated the sacrifice that they all had made over the past few months. It's also a way of saying, let's don't ever let what happened after Vietnam, occur again. We can separate public policy from service to our country and show our appreciation with something as simple as a yellow ribbon!

-- Charles Summerour, Duluth

7/3: Belatedly finds "Band of Brothers" especially well done

Editor, the Forum:

Beause of a recent surgery, and being out of work since mid-May, I"ve had the opportunity, finally, to rent the videos and watch the HBO series "Band of Brothers". It is especially meaningful that I viewed it as July 4th approaches and considering the war in Iraq and that our soldiers are still in harm's way there.

What a well crafted series this is....and it's true! Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg outdid themselves producing this one. It is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances.

At the same time, I've been reading David McCullough's book, "John Adams" and reminded how much was given by men (and their families) who were willing to dedicate their lives to the founding of this incredible republic.

We are a much blessed nation, then and now.

-- Barbara Smith, Tucker

7/1: How to view the people before onslaught of war

Editor, the Forum:

This was said by way of an explanation as to how the people were persuaded to declare war on a much smaller, weaker and essentially unarmed country:

"Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob . . . want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back . . . in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America . . . . That is understood. But, after all, it is the
leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, a fascist dictatorship or a Communist dictatorship."

The interviewer pointed out that "in a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."

The response -- "Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any
country."

These callous words were spoken by Reichsmarshall Herman Goering, whom
Hitler had named as his successor. Hitler had instilled fear in the German people by telling them that Germany, with its huge, highly mechanized army, was in danger of being invaded by Poland - which at that time possessed only horse cavalry. The beginning of WWII.

And you thought it was somebody else, didn't you?

-- Charles Prendergast,Texarkana, Ark.