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July 13: Outreach to heroin addicts, flip-flopping or flexibility?, Jackson's gaffe

July 13, 2008

Flexibility a virtue in politics

James Klurfeld's column "A politics of substance, not 'gotcha'" [Opinion, July 10] is right that, "Voters care more about the overall substance of a candidate's position than whether there's been some shift in it as the campaign - and events - progress."

Flexibility is a virtue, not a vice. But, more important, what is the new position that the candidate actually does take? How many people who voted for Barack Obama in the primaries would have done so if they knew he would advocate government funding of faith-based charity organizations - a position considered by many in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state?

Gerald Albert

Hicksville

Rev. Jackson not godly in gaffe

I found it very sad to hear the Rev. Jesse Jackson's disparaging statements against Sen. Barack Obama ["A slip - and an apology," News, July 10]. Jackson didn't know he was on a hot microphone and was being taped when he said what he did about Obama.

Well it seems to me that Jackson is slowly becoming irrelevant. But what really got to me was that Jackson is a minister and is supposed to be acting in a godly manner and not uttering words of hate toward another human being. I guess Jackson is jealous of the success Obama is having, which just goes to show you, jealousy is a strange thing.

Frederick R. Bedell Jr.

Bellerose

Weitzman is off the gauge

So county Comptroller Howard Weitzman has no proof of wrongdoing in the case of a Nassau employee using his county-issued gas card to get 17,000 gallons of gas ["Audit looks at Nassau gas use," News, July 10].

Is he kidding us? What kind of proof do you need? Even though the county pays no sales tax on the fuel that it uses, what car uses $51,000 of gas in one year? Obviously the employee is giving his or her gas card out to family friends and/or family members. The employee should be made to pay back the extra funds and then be fired.

Robert J. Karl

Elmont

Heroin addiction and time lost

I wanted to commend Victor and Doreen Ciappa for their bravery in sharing their daughter's story ["Her parents' love couldn't save her," News, July 10].

I can only imagine how difficult it is to admit to yourself that your child has a problem. But to come forward as these parents have to say, yes, Natalie, like many other young people here on Long Island, was involved in drugs, is commendable.

In a world where people are so quick to judge others, and try and place blame somewhere else, some might jump to question their parenting, or to label Natalie as a "bad kid." But the truth is that teen-agers, even the best ones, sometimes make poor choices.

It is hoped that the lesson learned here is that sometimes those choices can be deadly. I think Natalie's parents have opened the eyes of a lot of other parents to a serious problem.