Conflicting Words

(In response to "No Faith for Libya" in the March 31-April 6 issue of the Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Wow, awesome. A column where Rall actually makes sense. But I'm wondering how does he square this with last week's column ("A Fate Worse Than Japan's"), a plea to intervene in Tajikistan to defuse a killer lake, which if the dam breaks, will apparently flood half that country.

According to Rall's logic, it makes no sense to fire missiles in Libya (and at a whopping multi-million dollar cost per missile) or intervene there militarily, but it will be -- in his words -- "our fault" if we don't pony up a couple of billion to Tajikistan so they can defuse Lake Armageddon.

In other words, we have no strategic interest in either of these countries and we did not cause the coup in Libya nor the earthquake in Tajikistan. I agree that we should not have intervened in Libya. But neither should we globe-trot off to central Asia to hot-cash-fix another broke-back, hole-in-the-wall country for no other reason than it would be a nice thing to do. Don't we already have enough debt?

--Todd Kreigh

Dunce Hat

Teachers need help dealing with the lazy bones, the potty mouth, the motor mouth, the spoiled, the sleeper, the jerk, the bully, the frequent flyer, the "I've gotta use it." So Okie public schools need a state law holding parents accountable for their students' misbehavior in the classroom.

Mommas and poppas should be ticketed and required to pay a $100 fine to the County Clerk whenever their student is found to do any of the following: 1. Stopping a teacher from teaching. 2. Stopping another student from learning. 3. Doing anything that is not in his or her best interest or the best interest of the class. 4. Playing electronic devices in class. 5. Bad manners on school grounds (sagging pants, etc.).

Only when parents are penalized in the pocketbook for their children's misconduct will the child's behavior change significantly. Misconduct referrals to assistant principals and suspensions from school won't cut it.

When children come to school without receiving discipline training at home, the school can't enforce much discipline without parental consent and support.

This parental fine will replace the paddle as the instrument forcing students to straighten up and fly right. Principals, teachers and security guards would be empowered to write tickets for school misconduct just like highway patrolmen and local cops do for speeding.

Failure to pay the ticket could result in parents serving jail time. Appeals from the tickets can be heard by municipal court judges.

--Virginia "Blue Jeans" Jenner

Bang Bang

Gun control doesn't work for the good of the people. History has shown us that this is true. In several countries including The Soviet Union, Turkey, Germany, China, and Uganda, after strict gun restrictions were implemented, hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of people were rounded up and killed. It's time we say no to anti-gunners and support the 2nd Amendment and our gun rights so that we may defend ourselves from all foes, both foreign and domestic.

--Devin Gagliardo

Higher Power

Keep-a-going; keep-a-growin'; The Old Testament days are gone, New Testament days too, yesterday, an hour ago, a minute ago, a second ago. God is not about yesterday. God is about now and all the tomorrows to come. If all the religion you know is about the past, then you are gone too.

God is God of the living -- not the dead. God is about the Good you can do. God is about now -- not then. We are only as good as our good words and good deeds. Life is a book of living. Each second a page to be filled with love, kindness, humility and truth. Endure in knowing good and leave the rest to God. The gift is all -- the gift is life promised before the world by the God that does not lie. There is no death -- only change, and the perpetual knowing of the Undying Mind of God.

--J. Ray Hunt

Taking Action

The Libyan people rose up against their dictatorial and murderous president, and asked for world help to overthrow the tyrant and establish a democracy in Libya, but the world, including the U.S., delayed taking any action. The western world wanted to study the situation.

Finally, about a month later, the U.N. agreed to impose sanctions, including a no fly zone around Libya, and coalition missiles and planes attacked Gadhafi's military forces. They were able to halt Gadhafi's drive to retake Bengazi and eastern Libya. The opposition forces in the east were saved from annihilation, but unfortunately Gadhafi's forces had penetrated many cities and the opposition on the run.

The dithering and dathering by the U.N., including the U.S., inhibited the momentum of the rebel forces, and it has resulted in a potentially long drawn out stalemate in Libya. The stalemate might be broken if we employ helicopter gunships against Gandhafi's military in and around the cities; and provide the rebels with anti-tank weapons.

The U.S. finally acted to avert a humanitarian disaster in Libya, and we continued our quest to promote democracy in the region. We also might have contributed to the establishment of some stability in the Middle East, which is necessary to calm fears of disruption to the flow of oil, and the impact on world oil prices

It is our duty to provide leadership to countries and populations in the world who cry out for help when they are threatened by the dark forces of totalitarianism.

--Donald A. Moskowitz