Letters |

Tom Ferrick Jr. and others talk about the revenue the casinos will generate, only to leave out any mention of the increased costs ("Why casinos won't ruin Philadelphia or the riverfront," Dec. 16). At the very least, there will be an increase in police costs to maintain safety around the casinos, and a greater need for social services to deal with the rise in alcohol and gambling addictions.

My husband and I chose to live in Pennsport, where we were both born and raised. We could have moved to Havertown or South Jersey. Instead, we made a commitment to the place that gave us so much. Two children and 13 years later, we face the prospect of living in the shadow of a casino.

This is a vibrant, thriving community of blue collar and white collar, lifers and newcomers, all wanting a safe neighborhood with a real sense of belonging. We say thanks, but no thanks, to Foxwoods. We don't want - or need - what you have to offer.

Patty Griffin

Philadelphia

» READ MORE: griffincommunications@comcast.net

To depend on gambling to strengthen the economy is a desperate move (Inquirer, Dec. 16). An economy will be sustainable when it produces more goods and services than it imports and when it circulates the dollars among local businesses and wage earners. Casinos don't produce either real goods or services.

In the last 40 years, the residents of Atlantic City have not been lifted by the rising tide of casino riches. Why should residents of Philadelphia believe they will realize any benefit from casinos?

Gerry Givnish

Philadelphia

Chris Hedges contradicts himself in the Currents article "Is Bush stopped in his tracks on Iran?" (Inquirer, Dec. 16). If Israel "prefers to speak to its adversaries in the language of violence," why is it so restrained as to use sanctions when rockets are being fired upon its civilian population?

If rockets were to be fired on Hedges' loved ones, would he shun violence and simply cut off the attacker's electricity? Should there be no consequences for targeting innocents for murder?

Nancy Cohn

Ardmore

A Scranton woman curses her overflowing toilet loud enough so that a 12-year-old neighbor hears and tells her father. He asks the woman to tone it down, is cursed out and calls authorities. Now a judge says "colorful" language isn't illegal ("Potty-mouthed woman not guilty," Dec. 16), and her lawyer praises the ruling.

Anyone faced with a similar bathroom catastrophe might use "colorful" language. What's wrong is making other people, especially kids, listen to such language.

The joy of the ACLU in again lowering the bar for decent behavior saddens me.

Margie Enverso

West Chester

The Somalia refugee crisis tears at the heart ("Beyond the brink of collapse," Dec. 16). The article says one 25-year-old mother has three children, and two other women have seven children each. One-quarter of the refugees are younger than age 5.

Why are the relief agencies handing out food, when they should be handing out condoms and birth-control advice or even, dare I say it, free (voluntary) sterilization?

Is it beyond expectations to plan that far ahead? Or has our faith-based government successfully hobbled any effort to view the population problem rationally?

Mike Space

Coopersburg

» READ MORE: mike@spacefamily.net