Columnist Will’s mythical argument
What world does George Will live in? He states there are “mythical menaces to these things”— contraception and abortion. Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965, was about the right to prevent contraception. Has Mr. Will attempted to fill a birth control prescription and been legally denied because it offended the pharmacist’s sensibility? Is this the “mythical menace” to which he refers? Has he attempted to get an abortion in Mississippi recently, or Missouri, the Dakotas, or Wyoming? Is it a “mythical menace” there is only one abortion clinic in each of these states? Excuse me, Mr. Will, for not being mindless and having a thought. You need to have a better argument to change my mind.
RUTH ALEXANDER, ATLANTA
Ferguson protest mischaracterized
Leonard Pitts has done it again — twisting reality to suit his means. In his Oct. 12 column (“Right of peaceful protest holds, even in Ferguson,” Opinion), he makes one believe he was actually present during the “peaceful protest” in Ferguson, Mo. (quite possibly Mr. Pitts has never even been near that city). There was obviously nothing “peaceful” about those initial protests.
Quoting Mr. Pitts, “These were not rioters. These were citizens seeking peaceably to assemble.” Does this description include the individuals who looted, burned and attacked police who were attempting to bring the situation under control, and in other ways violated existing civil laws? I think not. Personally, I think the AJC would be better off by parting company with Pitts and replacing him with a columnist who is a little less color blind.
BOB GRAYSON, CUMMING
Health care federal or state concern?
I am confused. Where health care is concerned, do we want states’ rights or federal power to prevail? Texas has been a strong states’ rights promoter when it comes to women’s health care, yet when Texas Presbyterian Hospital completely bungles widely accepted basic triage and isolation procedures, suddenly health is a national responsibility. Texas folks are free of responsibility, and the CDC takes the hit. I realize a woman’s personal choice and Ebola are very different health issues, but are they different enough to cause a profound collective swing in political orthodoxy? I guess so.
FAYE ANDRESEN, ATLANTA
