Race; Multinational Force in Iraq; Alito

Traveled out of town for two days and came back to a Boston Globe rich with material.

Yes, I have nothing better to do with my time so I sent this letter in response to African-American columnist Mr. Derrick Jackson extolling a professor, presumably an African-American, that was appointed to leadership positions by Pres. Johnson and Clinton, that ranked Johnson and Clinton high on a list of racial healers and President Bush at the bottom.

Editor,

Imagine my surprise that Mr. Derrick Jackson constructed an entire article critical of President Bush's contribution to the Country's racial climate based on an interview with one angry man (Bush's failing grade on racial issues, November 9, A15).

Forty-six point six percent of all African-Americans in the United States have mortgages on their own homes; the highest percentage in the history of the United States.

As a white male, I don't pretend to know what is most important to the African-American community, but I'd appreciate Mr. Jackson or a more responsible spokesperson letting us know if home ownership is anywhere near the top of the list. The highest home ownership rate in history and the grade is failing? Not even a "D", but failing?

Mr. Jackson's article, long on cheap shots but short on substance, did nothing to help race relations in this country. His article was the very thing he was railing against, so I really have to question how serious he is about improving the dialogue. (End of letter)

Next, continuing my theme that President Bush is absolutely a "uniter" (sorry, I keep using facts to support my "charge"; oh, the burden of being supported by facts), I submitted the following:

Editor,

Ms. Cindy Sheehan still won't take my calls, so can someone please let her know that the United Nations "Security Council voted unanimously yesterday to extend the mandate of the multinational force in Iraq for a year (UN Security Council approves another year for force in Iraq, November 9, A11)." As we all know, Sen. John F. Kerry recently gave a speech calling for a United States presence in Iraq for one more year. So, President Bush has the support of a multinational force backed by the UN and Sen. Kerry. So, who, exactly, is denying the President's ability to lead, build consensus and unite? (End of letter)

Finally, on November 3, I posted, "(Judge) Alito does not support spousal notification no matter what the liberal media says; if a law is passed requiring spousal notification, Alito sides with the people; he can find nothing in the Constitution to prevent the people from enacting such a law." On November 7, Ms. Cathy Young, a contributing editor at Reason Magazine and regular contributor to the liberal editorial pages of the Boston Globe, wrote, "Let's clears something up: Just because Alito voted to uphold (spousal notification) doesn't necessarily mean he agreed with it, only that he concluded it was constitutional." I guess you can wait for others to catch up or you can read it here first. Ms. Young is a professional and I'm just "ZACKlyRight".