Letters to the Editor 11/3

Never too early

I appreciate The Tribune’s front page and thorough coverage of Cal Poly athletic scholarships from a tobacco company (Oct. 28).

Regardless of the outcome, it is a potent reminder to parents and teachers, both of the health dangers of tobacco use and its tempting presence aimed at our youth. Tobacco-related cancers remain the largest cause of cancer deaths, even though they are the largest group of preventable cancers. As you know, getting a young child convinced to never use tobacco is a simpler job than the worthwhile but difficult task of breaking a subsequent nicotine addiction — an often lifelong and expensive battle.

Your article on college students reminds me that it’s never too early to begin speaking with our children about tobacco addiction dangers. If you wait until they reach college it’s probably much too late.

Jim Longo

San Luis Obispo

Our best interest

Recently, President Obama’s men and women were out spinning the administration’s Afghanistan war story. According to Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and others, a troop deployment strategy is impossible until there is a “credible” Afghanistan government.

A few days later while channel surfing, I landed on CNN as a reporter was repeating the talking points almost verbatim. So what’s wrong with the Obama spin, and why did the CNN reporter, and presumably other reporters, not question it?

There are a variety of opinions on why American troops should or should not be in Afghanistan. More than one reporter, and more than one politician, including the president, have said that we are in Afghanistan to get Osama bin Laden. We should all reject that as nonsense, as is the spin about “credible” Afghanistan government. America’s best interest is the only reason for troops or no troops in Afghanistan.

President Obama should stop the “spinning” and “dithering.” He needs to firmly decide, and then explain, not spin, what is in America’s best interest. We the people want to know, need to know and deserve to know clearly what he expects to accomplish by having American troops continue to fight there and die there.

Pat Moore

Morro Bay

Is this the change?

Anita Dunn, White House communications director, expressed admiration for one of the most prolific mass murderers of the 20th Century. The forum was the June commencement address at a Catholic High School in Potomac, Maryland. She referred to Mao as “... one of my favorite political philosophers.” Breathtakingly, the other was Mother Teresa!

In part she said, “... when Mao Zedong was being challenged within his own party, people said ... ‘how can you do this?’ And Mao said: ‘You fight your war, and I’ll fight mine.’ ”

Undoubtedly, Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin might have answered similarly. Would they, with Mao, be the “(un)holy trinity” of her belief system?

With a rich database of uplifting quotes in Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, why quote Mao? Frank Sinatra’s, “I Did It My Way” would have been a far better choice.

Coming from the official White House spokeswoman, might we surmise that the same cavalier attitude that can condone the slaughter of up to 40 million Chinese will also blithely ignore the euthanizing of our seniors? Presidential advisors Robert Reich and Ezekiel Emanuel are on record favoring letting senior citizens die.

Is this the change we can believe in?

Joseph E. Brocato

San Luis Obispo