Abortion kills more innocents than war

Re: “War in Iraq is also unregulated killing of the defenseless,” from readers, April 23

Drawing a moral connection between the war in Iraq and the abortion industry is a dubious exercise at best. Whether one agrees with the Iraq war or not, the soldiers in it are volunteers and they at least have a chance at defending themselves.

War by definition involves some degree of chaos, but to characterize the Iraq war as an “unregulated killing industry” is misleading and irresponsible. There are laws in place that govern the conduct of war, plus the soldiers, to their great credit, have brought some degree of order to Iraq.

By contrast, helpless babies in utero never volunteer for the procedure and cannot defend themselves. An abortion can be obtained for no reason other than convenience. This mass murder of the innocent generates billions of dollars in revenue for the abortuaries.

Comparing war — where the death of mostly adults is expected and unavoidable — to abortion — where the targeted death of babies is arbitrarily ordered — quickly shows which is the truly egregious moral outrage. Melanie Scarborough was right to highlight any prospective leader’s stance on this shameful murder industry.

Angela McIntosh

Frederick

Hillary victory sends the wrong campaign message

Re: “Clinton nabs needed win in Keystone,” April 23

Hillary Clinton’s win in the Pennsylvania primary shows that you can get ahead by tearing others down, cheating, manipulating and all of those other things that a moral society teaches children is wrong.

We have more than a presidential primary at stake here. Our votes are answering the unspoken election question about the moral fabric of our society. Will we vote for a society without morals, where anything goes and people get ahead by tearing others down, or do we want a society full of hope, fairness, dignity and prosperity?

If Clinton wins the nomination, we’ll have a choice between a president who will stay 100 years in Iraq or one who will start a nuclear war just to show how tough she is.

Deirdre Glascoe

Lanham

Wal-Mart getting away with ‘greenwashing’

Three weeks ago, Wal-Mart unveiled a new “Earth Month merchandising and marketing campaign” in an official press release. While Wal-Mart claims the marketing blitz “takes ‘going green’ mainstream,” the campaign’s keystone is a massive buy of print advertisements, weighing in at nearly one-third of a billion pages.

I don’t believe a mountain of wasted wood pulp celebrates the spirit of Earth Day.

It seems clear that Wal-Mart’s “Earth Month” promotion is just one symptom of a broader problem. Wal-Mart is greenwashing — and getting away with it.

The long-anticipated Wal-Mart sustainability report cited a significant global increase in CO2 emissions in 2006 after the company’s green campaign began.

Even worse, at a recent conference, Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott flatly declared “we are not green” to an audience of economists.

Despite these facts, Wal-Mart continues to generate positive headlines with its enviro-marketing.

Matt Young

Washington

Where’s the Clay?

Re: “Compromise is America’s lost civil virtue,” April 21

Senior Andrew Rys of Oakton High School must have been proud to see The Examiner print his prize-winning essay on the importance of compromise in the Constitution throughout America’s history, particularly the role of Henry Clay as “the Great Compromiser.”

But I suspect Mr. Rys was as amazed as I was to see his essay printed just beneath a photo of Patrick Henry. What on earth were you thinking?

Lucien Carter

Washington

Government subsidies keep prices lower than they could be

Re: “Thanks to our Congress, crude oil prices are kept artificially inflated,” From Readers, April 23

Lester Via could not be more wrong when he writes, “Thanks to our Congress, crude oil prices are kept artificially inflated.” 

Studies show just the opposite: Without congressional tax and program subsidies, the cost of gas would be anywhere from $5.60  to more than $15 per gallon. 

For decades, the U.S. government has pursued a policy of artificially reducing the cost of energy.  Many Europeans are now paying more than $8 per gallon for gas because their governments are not keeping the prices down.

Randy Clark

Fairfax