Letters: Evils of socialism revisited

CHRISTINE O'Donnell's op-ed railing against the evils of America becoming socialist follows the pattern of many GOP anti-Obama rants - they'll take any grain of sand, true or false, and construct an entire castle in the air.

In this case, Ms. O'Donnell writes about "A gentleman defending the Obama bill," who is "shocked" by what he said, and uses this "gentleman" to start in on the evils of socialism. Not only does she leave out his name - so that perhaps readers can find out for themselves - she does not specifically say that this "gentleman" is actually a member of the Obama administration, only that he was "defending" the bill. Anyone can defend an Obama bill - but do they represent the Obama administration?

Obama himself has said that he doesn't want the government owning businesses, so I'm going to take his word for it.

Mark F. Walker, Philadelphia

League seats block view

The order of march for the 2010 Mummers Parade identifies the front of the Union League as the only string band drill location between the judging area at City Hall and Washington Avenue. This is a terrible viewing spot for fans.

In 2009, on the west side of Broad in front of the club, bleachers were erected that blocked the view from the sidewalk. Apparently they are for the exclusive use of club members and they remained 80 percent empty all day since the members understandably prefer to stay indoors close to the punch and hors d'oeuvres.

All the fans on Broad Street are limited to the east side, where in 2009, anyone who arrived after the first band was unable to see a single sequin.

The string bands and the city have essentially made it impossible for all but a few to come to Center City and see the bands on New Year's Day unless they join the club.

Bucky Mansuy, Collegeville

Tiger's lying low

There's this 33-year-old "King of the World," a handsome, virile billionaire who has a few problems - infidelity, alcohol, Ambien and fundamental honesty. Don't worry, though, this man called Tiger is gonna solve everything by not going to work.

This solution is a more ominous sign than the original crime. When Tiger's knee went south, he didn't fix it by getting an operation on his elbow.

This is a smoke screen.

Len Barry, Philadelphia