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How much longer will the world hear the threats made by the mad president of Iran about annihilating the State of Israel — while claiming that his 6,000 centrifuges enriching uranium will only be used for peaceful purposes — and do nothing?
Who is naive enough to believe President Mahmoud Amedinejad’s pronouncements on his nuclear program while he refuses to comply with the international community?
He is just trying to gain time to perfect the weapon he intends to use to perform the crime he has already declared he wants to commit against Israel.
This would be a first step, of course, and other enemy countries would be Iran’s next targets.
It’s high time something is done, such as the very timely Operation Moses against the Iraqi nuclear plant, since economic sanctions will not curb the Iranian government’s murderous determination. Iran’s nuclear program must be frozen — one way or another!
Potomac
Keeping church, state separate is not rocket science
Re: “Colorado officials failed to keep faith with Constitution,” Aug. 8
Quin Hillyer’s column on a recent federal court ruling regarding Colorado’s denial of support to a “pervasively sectarian” college got it wrong. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled nearly 40 years ago that public funds may not be used to aid “pervasively sectarian” colleges.
In 1967, Maryland’s highest court laid down criteria for determining which church-related colleges are pervasively sectarian and which are not in the Horace Mann League case. These criteria were used by countless church-related colleges nationwide to sufficiently secularize so they would qualify for public funding. It’s not rocket science —and it’s not an improper intrusion of government into internal church affairs to use care to avoid violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
Further, the Colorado Constitution clearly prohibits tax aid to sectarian institutions. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that state constitutions may have stricter church-state separation provisions than the U.S. Constitution. Upholding church-state separation is in no way hostile to religion or religious liberty. Indeed, it protects the religious liberty of all and protects religious institutions from government interference.
Judge Michael McConnell should know that the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have frequently had to make rulings involving religion. There is no way to avoid them when church-state controversies arise.
President,
Americans for Religious Liberty
Obesity study is heavy on oversimplification
Re: “Most Americans could be too fat by 2030, study says,” July 29
If the recent dire predictions of future obesity rates are right, 100 percent of us will become overweight or obese in a matter of decades. Think about that. According to the study from Johns Hopkins, no one in America — not supermodels, not Olympic athletes, not a single movie star — would be normal or underweight.
Fat chance.
This study drastically oversimplifies weight gain, assuming a steady continuation of previous trends. (It’s like imagining that based on recent trends, smoking rates will soon drop to zero — an unlikely scenario.) In fact, the latest federal study found that child obesity rates haven’t increased in almost a decade and the rate among adults has slowed considerably.
Apocalyptic (and bogus) statistics of “skyrocketing” rates of obesity only serve to justify the increasingly intrusive government regulations sought by activist groups and overeager health officials.
Thankfully, individual decisions — not statistical models — determine our individual health.
Trice Whitefield
Senior research analyst,
McCain’s nuclear proposal needs further scrutiny
Desperate times call for prudent measures, not panic. We need to stop talk about new drilling for oil by U.S. companies, and instead talk about the need to do a scientific study about the long-term environmental effect the 45 new nuclear reactors proposed by Sen. John McCain will have on our health.
It is estimated that a single reactor costs upward of $12 billion, so 45 reactors would cost $540 billion.
But we still do not know how many billions more it would cost taxpayers to deal with the resulting environmental and health problems.
Democrats, Republicans, and independents need to unite and focus on scientific results which may affect the health of our children and grandchildren.
Cargill Kelly
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