Letter of the month: October

Letters

Web letter: Send Boston suspect’s body home

We bring our fallen heroes home. “Older brother bomber” needs to go back to his own country where, no doubt, they will welcome their “fallen hero” and his mother will be able to visit his grave.Today 3:00 am

Web letter: Officers’ first duty is to uphold Constitution, not enforce laws

The Journal Gazette had an article April 30 (“Sheriff won’t enforce future anti-gun laws”) chastising me for the premise that I would not enforce all laws.Today 3:00 am

Web letter: Newspaper was wrong to dwell on retiring officers’ disciplinary record

I was saddened to read the announcement of two Fort Wayne police officers’ retirement as written in your paper May 7.Today 3:00 am

About the writer

Catherine M. Nowicki, whose letter appeared Oct. 9, has been selected as last month’s Golden Pen Award winner. In the judgment of the editors, she had the most effective letter to the editor during October.
Nowicki, 60, teaches economics and business management and is the department head for the bachelor’s program at International Business College. She is also a contributor to several college textbook updates for McGraw-Hill.
She wrote her letter because the nation is facing the “biggest economic debacle of our times” but people are not holding political leaders accountable.
“I wanted to encourage people to vote and remind people that we do have power to make change,” Nowicki said. “We don’t have to just sit back and allow people to dictate.”
Nowicki received a gold-plated inscribed pen for her efforts. The Golden Pen Award was established to express our appreciation for the contributions our letter writers make to the editorial page.

If we can fix the NFL, imagine ...

In an article written for Fox Sports, Bill Reiter praises America’s “rage and angst and unwillingness to let Roger Goodell and his NFL make a mockery of the game (that) fixed a replacement-referee debacle that had turned football into a national farce.”

Imagine if the same emotions and show of force would turn out on Election Day! Americans daring to tell their elected officials that we, as a society, are tired of the mockery of a “fixed” economy that has turned our country into a national farce.

Imagine if the middle class insisted officials eliminate their lifetime benefits and contribute to Social Security and legislate that all Americans continue to contribute even after the annual ceiling has been reached. Imagine those same officials having to find their own insurance coverage and use public medical facilities and be required to use the same Medicare benefits that the majority they supposedly represent must use.

Imagine if all those people who are unemployed, have had a home in foreclosure or have had to file bankruptcy due to a medical crisis stood up and said enough of this mockery! It is time to fix this national farce!

If this can be accomplished for football, imagine what could be done if the majority of underrepresented citizens told the “referees” of their finances and livelihood – enough!