Revisiting Gettysburg
In addition to examining what the words of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address really meant, "Gettysburg's Good News" [December 4] served to sharpen our focus on what occurred in and around Gettysburg immediately following one of the most gruesome Civil War battles of all. The humanitarian efforts of the community's citizens to preserve life and to care for the deceased in a dignified manner, without regard to North or South loyalties, are an inspiration to us all and a clear reflection of the values and mores of those who settled this great nation. The only thing missing was the exact date that Lincoln delivered his revered address: Nov. 19, 1863.
CARL J. KANASKIE
Millersville, Pa.
At first, I was not going to read "Gettysburg's Good News." I felt I had read enough about the Civil War, Gettysburg, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address that I could learn no more, nor be entertained by articles on the subject. I was wrong. You gave us a beautiful story, a heart-wrenching reminder of the tragedy, and showed in a new light the greatness of President Lincoln and the boldness of his address at Gettysburg.
JACK GREGORY
Anderson, S.C.
Texas Power Options
In "A Texas Mess Over Coal" [December 4], you rightly point out the dangers of burning coal and the wise opposition from cities concerned about pollutants and greenhouse gases, but you ignore the obvious solution: build nuclear power plants. The history of western nuclear power has proved its cleanliness and efficiency in the United States, Japan, and France, and the plants built today are even cleaner, safer, and more efficient.
RICHARD J. MCDONALD
San Francisco
Texas will surely benefit in the short run from the cheap energy provided by new coal plants, but the next generation will be fortifying against natural disasters and lobbying for funds for medical programs to combat asthma and other respiratory diseases attributed to air pollution. Is the state of Texas truly being "messed with," or are the American people in general simply "messing up"? If the "demand was not there, we wouldn't be building these power plants," as a Texas energy provider articulated in the article. Our energy providers are simply a reflection of this generation's environmental concern: Preserve today's quality of life at the lowest possible cost, and pray for the future of our children.
MANDY WIESER
Washington, D.C.
Today's Iran
In your December 11 editorial, "The Mullah Menace," the stereotypical demonizing of Iran in the pro-Israel press reached new heights. Mortimer Zuckerman accused Iran of every conceivable sin including nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and regional and world domination. Such self-serving vilifications of Iran are hardly surprising yet belied by the following facts: Unlike Israel, which has placed its neighbors under nuclear blackmail for decades and is not a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has renounced nuclear weapons and has a strictly peaceful program fully monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has good neighborly relations with the new governments in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as with all its other neighbors, and is a promoter of regional cooperation through the Economic Cooperation Organization. The caricature of Iran presented by Zuckerman bears no relation with today's Iran and simply fuels the Iran-phobia led by the pro-Israel pundits who bear a main responsibility for the unfolding tragedy in Iraq, which was partially precipitated by their similar alarmist views about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately for them, the world community has learned its lesson and will not be duped by such distorted, warmongering, calculated misperceptions of Middle East realities anymore.
M. A. MOHAMMADI
Press Secretary
Mission of Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
New York
This story appears in the December 25, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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