"Yet there has been one infinitely tragic and destructive departure from those American ideals in recent memory. It was this Court's own decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) to exclude the unborn child from the human family. You ruled that a mother, in consultation with her doctor, has broad discretion, guaranteed against infringement by the United States Constitution, to choose to destroy her unborn child.
"It was a sad infidelity to America's highest ideals when this Court said that it did not matter, or could not be determined, when the inalienable right to life began for a child in its mother's womb.
"Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity.
"I have no new teaching for America. I seek only to recall you to faithfulness to what you once taught the world..."
These words were written by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
I, too, seek to recall our nation to faithfulness - by sharing these words of Mother Teresa with you. If we choose life in this election - Our Creator will take care of the rest. Trust Him!
Joan L. Salvagno
Hagerstown
To many employers, only race, gender, seem to matter
To the editor:
One of the most important issues in this campaign has been about jobs and the economy. I am a former active duty servicemember.
I returned from Kuwait earlier this year and I've applied for hundreds of jobs, but despite being in charge of equipment worth hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and being awarded the Navy Marine Corps Achievement medal and having a B.A. in Digital Imaging, and being highly skilled and talented, the only thing that seems to matter to employers in Maryland is my race and gender.
I applied at a college in the area for a job for which I was qualified and all they wanted to know about was what my race and gender was. Despite my complaints, no public official did anything about it.
It was obvious that they were trying to fill a racial quota through Affirmative Action, which Barack Obama says he still supports. The only way to fix the economy is to put more people back to work.
And surely, since Obama seems willing to deny employment to qualified people like me, that indicates that his approach and his support of an outdated, archaic policy won't fix the economy.
I feel I was denied employment because employers violated the law by asking what my race and gender is, and not one taxpayer-funded public official or agency was willing to lift a finger to do anything about it.
Obama's support of Affirmative Action is morally and ethically wrong. I feel he does not have good judgment on how to fix the economy other than raising taxes and increasing the welfare state.
Christopher Krieg
Hagerstown
Bartlett should keep his promise
To the editor:
Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett R-6th, has only had one good idea and he has forgotten what it was.
More than 16 years ago, I went to a political rally during which Bartlett was introduced as a candidate for Congress from the 6th District.
Bartlett told the audience that he thought one of the major problems was that many members of Congress had been there too long. He said clearly and unmistakably that, if elected, he would only be in the House of Representatives for two terms.
Although I am a liberal Democrat, I felt that a voluntary two-term limit was a good idea. During my long life I have known and respected many conservatives and their ideas. I have great respect for conservative Republicans.
It is the interaction of liberal and conservative ideas that make America great. It is only through honest and truthful discourse that this will work.
I can not vote for a person who tells me one thing and then does something else. If Rep. Bartlett would have just said, I have changed my mind about term limits that would have maintained his integrity.
James C. Haught
Hagerstown
Obama has no faith in citizens
To the editor:
