Letters to the Editor

War on words

As a Rutgers undergraduate in 1965, I was personally outraged when history professor and avowed Marxist Eugene Genovese said, "I do not fear or regret the impending Viet Cong victory in Vietnam. I welcome it." However, I was even more outraged when Wayne Dumont, the Republican candidate for governor, called for Genovese's ouster. His attempt to muzzle free speech mobilized opposition to Dumont at Rutgers and caused me to cast my first vote ever for Democrat Richard Hughes.

It's sad that the actions of some current undergraduates have effectively muzzled free speech by preventing Condoleezza Rice from delivering a commencement address ("Rice backs out of Rutgers commencement," May 3).

Ted Robb, Haddonfield

About Benghazi

In a recent edition of The Inquirer, there was not one mention of Benghazi, the four American heroes who died there, or the latest revelations connecting the White House to the lies about what happened in Libya. Shame on the newspaper, its editors, and the ownership!

David Wright, Newtown Square, davidwright12@gmail.com

Lather, repeat

Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi!

Now that Obamacare is becoming more popular with the general public and no longer conjures up sufficient drool for fringe Republicans in search of a red-meat issue, the hibernating cause célèbre awakens, bolting into the limelight for an encore.

The exploitation of four murdered Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, surges yet again with the emergence of a "smoking gun" e-mail, according to some fervent right-wing pundits and politicos. If truth be told, however, what supposedly proves the Obama administration covered up a terrible tragedy doesn't even rise to the level of a cap gun.

Furthermore, the attack on our consulate in Benghazi - not some imagined cover-up - was indeed scandalous. The invisible elephant squatting over this terrible event, yet to be properly addressed, is a Republican-led slashing of funds for embassy security to the tune of almost $250 million.

Lawrence Uniglicht, Galloway, lrunig@mail.com

Two wrongs

The affirmative action programs being exploited and abused by minorities, whether in college programs or in the workplace, are forms of discrimination ("Bigotry isn't cured," April 30). Minorities are angry about past injustices. While that anger is understandable, gaining revenge by punishing other ethnicities won't end bigotry.

Joseph Dougherty, Philadelphia, joesdocpc@verizon.net

Breezes of hope

A recent letter writer was critical of wind power as "an ideology-driven energy source," as if that is a bad thing ("Wind power costs," April 30). If we made all our decisions on an economic basis, we would do all our shopping at Walmart, dine out only at McDonald's, and heat our homes with firewood. Ideology-driven? Maybe. Or you could say that wind power represents one of the best hopes of avoiding an unprecedented ecological catastrophe.

Randy Lyons, West Chester

Of course not

Can Iran be trusted? Of course not ("Can Iran be trusted?" May 2). Any other answer is simply misinformed.

Steven Barrer, Huntingdon Valley, sjbarrer@gmail.com

Press on

Congratulations to The Inquirer for its reporting on the sting investigation inexplicably dropped by the state attorney general, as well as the failure of the Philadelphia courts to provide drug convicts' information to state authorities so that their licenses could be suspended ("Convicted for drugs, driving right along," April 27). The newspaper is a credit to the blessings of a free press.

Leo Iwaskiw, Philadelphia