Letters to the Editor

Blame Obama for gas prices

Fuel prices have doubled under President Obama's rule. The only thing his administration has done to prevent an even steeper price rise is to follow its foolhardy anti-jobs, anti-prosperity, and antigrowth economic policies, which have put a lid on demand.

Everything else the administration has done - a feckless Middle East policy, a failed alternative-fuels policy, no policy on replacing oil with abundant natural gas, and a just-say-no policy on drilling for oil domestically where drillers might actually find it, like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the deep Gulf - has done nothing but ensure that prices will keep moving higher and stay high for years to come.

The change the gas-price rise needs to effect is regime change in Washington.

Michael B. Hudson, Pottstown

Cartoons are thought-provoking

A letter Wednesday, "Blame editors for cartoons," criticized the editors of The Inquirer for publishing cartoons by Tony Auth that the letter writer finds offensive. If it weren't so frightening, I would find it amusing that a self-professed moral and religious citizen could get so worked up when someone in the press dares to criticize the church or another self-professed moral and religious citizen.

I have always found Auth's cartoons insightful and thought-provoking. His "Gospel According to Santorum" cartoon, while an oversimplification of Rick Santorum's positions, pretty much summed them up. The very idea that anyone could think that this cartoon should not be published violates our constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech. The letter writer accuses Auth of hatred for morals, God, and religion with no evidence but his own disagreement with the sentiment expressed in a cartoon. To me, that sounds more like the moral purity demanded by the Taliban than a society that supposedly tolerates a variety of beliefs and morality.

Paul J. Jensen, Philadelphia

What democracy is all about

After reading the letter "Blame editors for cartoons" (Wednesday), I looked back at said Tony Auth cartoon, and having viewed it again, I wish to thank The Inquirer for giving us Auth's wisdom. As for the letter writer in question, I believe he would do well to remember that we live in a democracy, and expressions of political and social beliefs are the substance of our democracy.

Similarly, political cartoons from all sides of the political spectrum have been with us throughout our national history. Finally, when it comes to democracy, we are served far better if we focus on issues and not on name-calling.

Ian Wachstein, Collingswood

Don't target affordable colleges

Gov. Corbett rightly notes that the cost of higher education in the United States is too high. Thus, in attempting to find a symbolic gesture that would make it appear that he is helping solve this problem, and because he can't force the $45,000-per-year private universities to reduce their costs, he attacks the public institutions that help make education affordable for the non-rich in Pennsylvania.

The State System of Higher Education, which includes West Chester and Cheyney in this area, is one of our state's most affordable college options. After declining public funding for these universities since the early 1990s - including the brutal 18 percent slash last year by this governor - these universities have no alternative but to be some of the most efficient, while still providing solid, personalized educations for students. With the hit to state university budgets proposed by Corbett now, class sizes will get larger, services will decrease, programs will disappear, classes will be harder to schedule, and students will take longer to get their degrees. Such draconian cuts as Corbett proposes serve no purpose but to harm Pennsylvania's working students and families.

Cheryl Wanko, Coatesville

Sacred-cow colleges can stand cuts

Looking briefly online at the financial statements of our state-funded colleges and universities, the wonder is why Gov. Corbett doesn't cut all of their funding. Both Penn State and Pitt make tens of millions of dollars in operating income every year. This in spite of the fact that they dole out salary and benefits increases to their employees that are double and triple the rate of inflation.

In addition, these institutions have endowments in the billions, and each year spend lavishly on new plant improvements and equipment. Clearly, these sacred cows have been living the good life for too long. Corbett needs to keep reining them in until they get the message.

Michael B. Hudson, Pottstown

Just drive, nothing else

I fail to see why hands-free cellphone use is any more distracting than conversing with passengers. What's the next step? Will it be illegal to speak at all, or even listen to the radio and perhaps sing along with a favorite song?

And if so, how will this be checked? By police officers looking out of their windows at drivers to see if their mouths are moving? Wouldn't that be more dangerous?

Phyllis Ralston, Mount Laurel, pralston88@aol.com