Letters to the Editor

Elena Kagan is a bright, likable person. She communicates very well and has a great sense of humor. The fact that she denied access to military recruiters on the grounds of discrimination against gays is flawed and shows poor judgment.

The facts are that "don't ask, don't tell" is a public law (PL 103-160) passed by the 103d Congress, and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, and not a military policy. I feel a Supreme Court justice must first look at the facts of a case before making judgment. I have great concerns regarding her judgment.

Dennis Hassis

Cinnaminson

dahassis@comcast.net

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I am continually appalled when I send my friends and colleagues articles from The Inquirer online (philly.com) and they read the comments section. The amount of racist trash that people feel is their right to publish for public consumption there is absolutely despicable.

Do you (or, for that matter, any news website) really need a comments section? Are your own reporters so unworthy of their title that people without their expertise need to trump their reporting with outrageous, racist abuse?

Bronwen Everill

Collingswood

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Sen. Arlen Specter had a very excellent idea on the June 29 commentary page ("Is the high court on a campaign?"). Inexplicable decisions made in the last few months by the Supreme Court are causing havoc in a number of states, such as Arizona, that just want to hold elections using public money, so that the voters can feel that the winners are not always the wealthiest persons on the ballot.

The idea he proposes is excellent and badly needed - televising Supreme Court arguments. Cameras have become smaller and less intrusive than in former years. Chief Justice John G. Roberts has said he is willing to consider both TV and radio coverage for the court.

As things stand now, the voters have no idea what caused decisions that seem to be trying to undo the years of work in about six states attempting to use public financing in their elections. Congress is also working on the "Fair Elections Now Act," which would give all the states the ability to do what Arizona has been doing for the past 10 years.

This country is supposed to be free of legal proceedings that violate the citizens' rights. Why not let the court sessions be televised?

Ellen Kadransky

Upper Darby

ellenkadransky@earthlink.net

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Well, The Inquirer never lets facts get in the way of a good muckraking story ("Public's funds, if not feet, fill $1 million jazz fest," Sunday). In two pages plus, the author never managed to mention that it was well over 90 degrees and very humid on the days that the reporter attended (gee, so the crowds were light during the day - what a shock), and you had to read between the lines to realize that the reporter left before evening, when the crowds deepened and the headliners appeared.

We attended Sunday from 4 p.m. to the end, and it's the best time we've had in Philly all year. Was it worth a million dollars of state money? I think so - this is a community that doesn't get much else from the state's arts dollars. We also attend the Philadelphia Orchestra, which is lucky if the room is two-thirds full.

The Orchestra audience is overwhelmingly white and old. The Oak Lane crowd was all ages. We were sitting next to a grandmother with her young-adult granddaughter, and we were sharing memories of some of the oldies that the young folks hadn't heard of.

But all of this news wouldn't help create a scandal, so it was ignored. The only scandal in West Oak Lane that we saw was that too many white Philadelphians stayed away.

Susan Hoffman

Philadelphia

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As an author of a report published by ACTUP Philadelphia, I feel compelled to note that while we would like Mayor Nutter to spend about $3 million now to end the public-housing wait list, all of our research indicates that over time, that initial investment will pay for itself ("Activists lobby for more AIDS patient housing," Thursday).

A 90-day shelter stay for a family with one working parent costs the same as a year of rent vouchers for permanent housing. In addition, other cities that have contributed money to supportive housing for people with AIDS have found that the reduction in emergency-room visits and medical expenses makes up for the cost of providing housing. So the excuse of not having money is just that: an excuse.

Research indicates that providing permanent housing is a better use of the same amount of money, or even less money, than providing shelters and emergency medical care.

Max Ray

Philadelphia

octobermax@gmail.com

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We refused help when the oil spill happened, but we give everyone else immediate help as soon as disasters happen elsewhere.

This is too bizarre. We in this country know how important it is to help other countries as soon as a tragedy occurs. We helped Haiti most recently and immediately sent supplies and billions in aid. We have helped countries as soon as tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, etc., occur

We help others far away, and the help is immediate, and it costs us dearly. Most in this country are glad to help in an emergency.

This oil spill was, and is, an emergency, and other countries recognized it and offered to help right away. President Obama refused.

Something is wrong with this picture.

David F. Lipton

Beachwood