Ghana
Myles H. Hoenig's letter, Nov. 20, regarding statements I made on Ghana, argues that it is "ludicrous" and "irresponsible" to describe the regime of Ghanaian President J. J. Rawlings as repressive or authoritarian.
I offer the following points to further support my claim:
* According to Freedom House, a New York-based human rights organization, political liberties are on the decline in Ghana, and the general trend toward freedom is diminishing.
* Officials at Amnesty International claim there continue to exist military and other security forces which operate above the law.
* I recently spoke with a Ghanaian journalist who stated that each time he writes an article critical of the Rawlings regime, a member of his family is harassed in some manner.
* The notorious National Investigation Bureau was created and perpetuated to persecute known opponents of the Rawlings regime among the business community. Recently, Rawlings used this bureau to launch a scathing attack on several very successful industrialists who had criticized his rule.
* Hoenig cites a representative parliament as evidence that Ghana is free of political repression. He fails to point out that almost 200 parliamentarians are former revolutionary cadres of the military regime.
Opposition political parties boycotted the parliamentary elections because of evidence of massive fraud in the presidential elections.
In addition, President Rawlings' cabinet is composed of former members of the revolutionary Provisional National Defense Council.
Clearly, there is more wrong today in Ghana than "politics which offend our sensibilities."
Hoenig is correct in asserting that little is known [in the U.S.] about present-day Ghana. However, we should not overlook existing human rights violations because of the nation's recent economic prosperity and the likelihood of American businessmen cashing in on it.
Peter Kosciewicz
Baltimore
Cynical Press
Well, here we go again.
The election was not even certified, and Barry Rascovar's political pundit comparison between Frances Glendening and Hillary Clinton (Nov. 20) started a new and unfair, cynical press observation.
Yes, Mrs. Glendening is taking a lead role in the governor-elect's transition, but unlike Mrs. Clinton the governor has also asked Jim Brady to take a major co-chair role in the transition.
Mr. Brady is a Baltimore business leader and tireless volunteer to the cause of responsible economic development and efficient government. Francie Glendening, for those of us who have worked with her and in my case gone to graduate school together, is a worker to promote good government and a unabashed supporter of her husband.
She also has the capacity to be fair-minded and understands that for the new administration to achieve the vision set forth by the governor-elect during the campaign demands a high caliber of men and women who will manage state government.
If Mr. Rascovar would spend time researching the new governor's style while in local government, he'd find a history of inclusion for many people, including his wife, over his 12-year year tenure, and the county gained respect by this style.
Let's judge others by actions and accomplishments, not by cheap political inference.
Edwin S. Crawford
Towson
Negative Attitude
In David Hess' article Nov. 11 in The Sun, "Tax panel's new GOP chief seeks $190 billion in cuts," the sub-headline states that the "biggest winners would be wealthy."
Why are the media still carrying the negative attitude of the beaten Democratic Party?
In the first paragraph, Mr. Hess states that families with children and the elderly also are affected.
Why not use that as a headline? It just hurts too much to admit that the negative rhetoric of the campaign is what got the Democrats soundly beaten in almost all venues . . .
C. D. Wilmer
bbltimore
No Sanity Clause
The recently announced "Contract with America" as outlined by the Republican Party brings to mind the eternal truth revealed many years ago by the Marx Brothers in "A Night At The Opera."
The exchange took place between Driftwood (Groucho) and Forelo (Chico) in their negotiation over a contract.
Forelo: Hey, wait -- wait! What does this say here? This thing here?
Driftwood: Oh, that? Oh, that's the usual clause. That's in every contract. That just says -- uh -- it says -- uh -- if any of the parties participating in this contract is shown not to be in their right mind, the entire agreement is automatically nullified.
Forelo: Well, I don't know.
Driftwood: It's all right. That's -- that's in every contract. That's -- that's what they call a sanity clause.
Forelo: Oh, no. You can't fool me. There ain't no Sanity Clause!
Newt take note.
M. Sigmund Shapiro
Baltimore
Life in Town
I live my life backward. I live in Baltimore City and work in Baltimore County.
Sure, I don't have kids, a wife or a mortgage. I do have a car payment, auto insurance that is among the highest in the Western Hemisphere, rent and other responsibilities that would be less onerous if I lived in the cheaper county. But I choose not to.
The first reason is presented with perfect clarity each weekday morning as I head north on the Jones Falls Expressway.
My northbound brethren and I all race around the high-speed turns of the JFX while chuckling to ourselves at the sight of hundreds and hundreds of suburbanites crawling toward Charm City -- bumper to bumper from Ruxton Road to Lombard Street.
This exhilarating feeling is duplicated every night as I see the exact same cars trundling along at a lethargic 15 miles an hour back to their homes.
There is nothing like the feeling of escaping the lumbering pack -- and to do it twice a day, five days a week, is positively invigorating.
And there's more traffic-related joy to living in the city. As a resident of Fell's Point, I can walk to one of approximately 100 restaurants/bars/taverns and eat anything from Athenian to Mexican to good old Jimmy's on the Square.
My car stays put after 5:30 p.m. Sure, the weekends are packed with suburbanites, but that's OK -- we let them enjoy our neighborhood because they don't have one of their own.
I have rediscovered the joys of walking to places -- and I get mad when I have to drive 30 yards in the suburbs to get a soda or be looked at like a lunatic if I dare walk across sidewalk-less streets and parking lots, risking vehicular manslaughter.
Living in the city makes me feel better about people. I talk to my neighbors here -- and they answer me. We all treat each other with respect.
The Brotherhood of the City Dweller is alive and well. This holds true in every part of town I know -- with the exception of a certain neighborhood populated mostly by college students.
Sure there's crime. High taxes. Broken syringes in the alleys. Unsavory characters. Poverty. Despair.
But there's life and spirit in the city that is missing in the sprawling tracts of "town homes." People were meant to live in a close social system -- that's the way it's been for centuries.
Man was not meant to live in cluster homes and travel by auto to every destination.
And to me, the suburbs are creepy and uninviting -- the way people who live there feel about my city.
G. Fiske Brown
Baltimore