LETTERS: Swastika tattoo, Regents scores and more

'Oz' is no defense for swastika tattoo

I am appalled that Jeffrey Conroy is blaming his swastika tattoo on a TV show that aired years ago . I also watched "Oz," and have a butterfly tattoo! I cannot fathom anyone expecting the public to accept this defense. I also cannot understand Conroy's parents believing that he was coming home with them. Their son killed an innocent man; did they think he was coming home for Sunday dinner?

Marie Lippman

Massapequa Park

Scores are up, but are standards down?

A recent article regarding the improvement of Regents scores would come as welcome good news if it weren't for the reality that there are more remedial courses at colleges than ever before and employers are constantly complaining about the poor academic quality of young job seekers.

Statistics don't always tell the whole story. Perhaps a more revealing analysis would be to compare the Regents tests of 20 or 30 years ago with those given today, and the standards by which each are measured.

Elgin Alexander

Smithtown

Palin was on target on nuclear policy

A writer derides Sarah Palin's response to President Barack Obama's impulsive altering of U.S. nuclear defense policy as "folksy," proclaiming that it "proves the righteousness" of Obama's impudence. The writer is either ignorant in his support of the president's carelessness, or did not live through 50-plus years of the Cold War and the age of terrorism.

Since taking office, this president has initiated an ill-informed foreign policy that betrays a mindset that is naive at best. One must conclude that Obama's idea of "change" in this area means that he wishes to leave our own country defenseless and throw our allies under the bus. By any sensible standard, Palin's criticism of Obama is remarkable only in its degree of restraint and civility.

Paul J. Dwyer

Nesconset

. . . and let's hear it for the coffee arty

The tea party is loud and strident, and it's getting much publicity. But it's not the only outlet for those of us who also are fed up with ineffectual federal and state government and want to express ourselves in a firm, yet reasonable manner. Instead, try the coffee party, dedicated to sane, sensible and rational discourse aimed at making our legislators more responsive and responsible to the expressed needs of their constituents. This grassroots movement may not be getting as much attention, but it is proving itself to be just as formidable with its own brand of noncombative communication.

Stan Friedland

Syosset