Dobson doesn't deserve honor
The National Radio Hall of Fame has committed a "felony" by nominating Dr. James Dobson into its hallowed halls. An ignorant, gullible public voted for him over honest, deserving candidates.
The public hears his "gospel of hate" and continues to "worship" Dobson as a Christian leader, to the tune of $138 million in profits last year! In truth, Dobson has no theological training and lives in stark contrast to Christ's teachings.
Dobson is a notorious fear- and hate-monger of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, people. He has been trapped in serial lies pertaining to these minorities, especially distorting research claiming them to be unsuitable parents. He rants, with no concrete evidence, that being "gay" is "preventable, a sinful choice, and is curable," causing untold emotional heartache and worse.
LGBTs have been suicide victims, attacked and butchered as the result of folks like Dobson and his misguided organization, Focus on the Family. Their intentional falsehoods are aired on more than 3,000 North American stations and in 27 languages in 160 countries worldwide. Explore his extreme fear: visit
www.truthwinsout.org and www.soulforce.org.
Scientists and researchers are discovering how Dobson alters and/or misquotes their data to align with his divisive, radical and profitable anti-LGBT industry. Discover the depth and sinister gravity of Dobson's deception. Scientists are lining up demanding public apologies and reparations for his irresponsible misrepresentation of their work: www.respectmyresearch.org.
Inductees are to have "helped guide America" and have "brought us closer together as a nation."
Contact the National Radio Hall of Fame to share your horror over this travesty of justice: www.radiohof.org. A protest is planned to coincide with the Nov. 8 induction at the Chicago-based Museum of Broadcast Communications.
Jeffrey K. Sterling
Utica
Make informed choice on judge
Recently, there has been interest voiced regarding the judicial screening process. Judge Ghaleb, the interim Otsego County judge, participated in the New York State Judicial Screening process. This process is mandatory for anyone interested in filling a judicial vacancy.
The membership of the New York State Judicial Screening Committee is made up of individuals selected by different officials. The committee is tasked with evaluating the qualifications of candidates for open positions, including their "integrity, independence, intellect." Political party affiliation is specifically listed as something that is NOT considered by the committee.
This committee only recommends those candidates who have been designated "highly qualified." According to the Screening Committee's Rules of Procedure, "highly qualified" candidates are in part, "outstanding members of the legal profession in their community; have outstanding legal ability, intellect, judgment, breadth of experience, and highest reputation for integrity." Any candidate who is nominated must then be confirmed by the Senate. Judge Ghaleb's nomination was unanimously confirmed by the bipartisan Senate. Information regarding this process and the members of this committee can be found at www.state.ny.us/governor/judicial/index.html.
One of the great things about a local race is that interested voters have the opportunity to meet the candidates and make their own assessments regarding each candidate's experience and qualifications. The Otsego County judge serves a 10-year term and presides over Family Court, Surrogate's Court and Criminal Court.
I urge everyone intending to cast a vote to meet the candidates and make an informed choice.
Samantha Holbrook
Sherburne
Feeling like it's Doonesbury
Here we go again. Already engaged in two wars, we now involve ourselves in the affairs of Georgia, which borders Russia and is located about 8,000 miles east of Washington, D.C.
The trouble between Georgia and Russia, we learn, relates to South Ossetia, which has a population of about 70,000, most of them unemployed. Georgia claims that South Ossetia is part of Georgia; the South Ossetians claim that they are independent or, if they have to make a choice, are part of Russia, as is North Ossetia.
Georgia attempted to settle the issue with a military attack. Russia responded by invading Georgia. This led The Daily Star to run a series of cartoons that suggest that Vladimir Putin is trying to revive the Cold War.
Putin? I am an American patriot, not an aging fellow traveler, but it seems to me that Cold War nostalgia afflicts us, not Russia. George Bush and John McCain want to make Georgia and Ukraine members of NATO. Obama is vague, but his running mate, Joseph Biden, also wants Georgia in NATO.
One commentator who makes sense is Patrick Buchanan, who is anything but left wing. He warned us, in his Daily Star column of Aug. 22, about "the insanity of giving erratic hotheads in volatile nations the power to drag the United States into war." He is right. If Georgia were in NATO, we would be obliged to send troops there to face the Russians.
But Buchanan perhaps takes these things too seriously. I have been following the adventures of Uncle Duke and son in Doonesbury. They are lobbyists for the putative former Soviet Republic of "Berzerkistan." Perhaps that is why I sometimes have the feeling that living in the U.S. these days is like living in a Doonesbury comic strip.
Wendell Tripp
Cooperstown
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