Duke's Message
Editor: Well, the liberals are at it again.
First Sen. Ted Kennedy says he's appalled that new restrictions on student loans mean the loans will actually have to be paid back.
What a travesty.
Then, social services workers and the American Civil Liberties Union are incensed that welfare recipients must assume certain responsibilities in order to continue collecting their monthly stipend.
What in the world are we coming to?
And, of course, the burgeoning government bureaucracy, including the education system, has grown so large, and its influence so powerful that legislators don't dare target it for budget cuts.
That leaves only those of us in the middle-class -- white collar and blue collar alike -- to pay for this "keep throwing tax dollars at the problems" syndrome.
No wonder David Duke carried such a powerful message.
& John A. Woodfield.
Forest Hill.
The True Heroes
Editor: I believe that each American shares in the joy and relief that all American hostages in Lebanon are now free. However, let's not forget that those men became hostages after repeated warnings by the State Department to leave Lebanon. They had either worked or had actually moved to Lebanon.
thoughts are especially with the families of Col. William Higgins and William Buckley. Colonel Higgins was a member of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force and William Buckley was working for the C.I.A. They were the true heroes, so let's not forget them.
! Ray Alcaraz Jr. Baltimore.
Prison Mothers
Editor: I am prompted to write after reading Sheridan Lyons' Dec. 14 article, "Send Mommy home for Christmas."
I believe there must be a better way to punish women who have committed non-violent crimes than incarceration.
Ms. Lyons states that there are 1,217 children in Maryland without their mothers. Aren't these innocent children being unfairly punished and isn't the burden of caring for them falling on the father and relatives and society?
The time has come to re-evaluate the justice system and to find a more creative and effective way to rehabilitate these women and to control the over-crowded penal institutions. Let these mothers come home for Christmas and every other day.
& Louise T. Goldman. Baltimore.
Too Many Deer
Editor: The only thing I didn't like about Roger Simon's recent column was the way he portrayed hunters as unintelligent, greedy, blood-thirsty killers.
Many hunters are well educated and feel an obligation as conservationists to help maintain a healthy deer population.
As a professional biologist, schooled in wildlife biology as well as population ecology, I'm keenly aware of the dilemma wildlife managers face in Maryland's over-populated deer herd.
Man continues to build, and wildlife becomes more confined; and as with our own species, the deer continue to reproduce. Our remaining wild areas have a finite carrying capacity, and as that carrying capacity is reached, the negative effects become more and more apparent:
Increased road kills, damage to cultivated crops and landscaping, incidents of deer disrupting classrooms and playgrounds to mention but a few.
Mr. Simon misused statistical evidence to further his opinion that hunters on the whole are blundering, near-sighted idiots. No one can refute that hunting accidents have and will occur, but 300 accidents is a small percentage of the successful hunts. There are thousands of automobile accidents yearly due to driver error, yet the inference that all drivers are near-sighted, blundering idiots is as ludicrous as Mr. Simon's assertion.
Maryland has worked hard for years to maintain and, yes, manage the deer herd. Keeping up with deer's high fecundity and man's incessant need to "develop" the land has become more than a full-time job. Until someone comes up with a better solution, however crude it may seem, hunting remains the most viable alternative.
I have a problem with the underlying tone of the "Bambi syndrome." Had Walt Disney released a cartoon based on the trials and tribulations of a young bovine growing up on the farm, we might well be reading editorials on whether to slaughter cows. Deer are not humans. Deer are a natural resource, just as cattle are a resource.
I respect the writer who says: "I'm against hunting because the thought of seeing one of God's creatures being shot and killed turns my stomach." To hide that belief behind a facade of sarcasm and misinformation is just as inane as the hunter who claims that he does it just for sport, or meat, or a conservationist's obligation. Hunters kill for a variety of reasons, not just one.
The fact remains that there are more deer in Maryland than in decades. There are more people than ever. Neither of the populations will cease reproducing and the result is a clash of habitats.
We have the obligation as conservationists and managers to see that wild animals are managed to insure healthy populations for years.
Neglecting that obligation means certain starvation and disease within those populations. Habitat clash will increase and the human population will demand a solution.
Eric C. Hadaway. Baltimore.
Alive and Well
Editor: As the dean of the University of Maryland's College of Business and Management at College Park, I'd like to comment on a recent story about our school ("Business school faculty lured away by better pay," Dec. 16).
While the reporter was right on the mark in describing the present and potential disastrous effects of the state-mandated budget cuts on the college, I fear she left readers with the impression that the faculty of our nationally ranked business school is like so many rats fleeing a sinking ship. Nothing is farther from the truth.
Yes, some professors will succumb to the full-court-press recruiting tactics employed by other schools.
But by and large, the majority will decide to stay at College Park and wait out the economic storm.
Because even though times are tough now, most faculty are deeply committed to the school and its students.
They realize that they are part of an outstanding educational institution, one that is highly regarded for the excellent quality of its teaching and scholarship.
In other words, Maryland's College of Business and Management is alive and well.
Limping slightly because of budget problems, perhaps, but determined to maintain its forward progress come hell or high water.
& Rudolph P. Lamone.
College Park.
Gun Sales
Editor: The argument supporting the right of all persons to bear arms has long since passed the point of reason.
It is past the point of reason when argued that a police record of criminality is of no importance. It is beyond reason to say that alcoholics, dope addicts, psychotics and 12-year-old children have a right to bear arms.
Yet that is what we are being vigorously told by gun-bearing supporters. We have long since passed the point of rationality on this issue.
There are people who have lost the right to walk the streets for a host of offenses including burglary, pyromania, assault, fraud, etc. Yet the potential to maim and take life is regarded as of little importance.
Gun sales restrictions, with police review of records and adequate time to do so, is a vital need. Our legislatures, state and federal, should get busy on this now, again, and with the support of all echelons of government including the White House.
& Victor H. Savadow. Baltimore.