Letters to the editor

Editor, The Times:

Once again, President Bush has pulled off a highly skilled magic trick, this time making deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove disappear from public view, from the pages of our local papers and from the television news programs.

The timing of the nomination of a Supreme Court justice was all it took and we have, via our media, seemingly forgotten about the [questionable] behavior carried out by Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. We will perhaps not notice that Bush has backtracked from his promise to fire anyone involved in outing undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame ["Plame ID marked 'secret,' " Times, News, July 21].

I can only hope the public and the media are not fooled by this sleight of hand and will keep their eyes on the man behind the curtain, who continues to make a mockery of his pledge to bring morality and honor back to the White House.

— Doug Selwyn, Seattle

Anything of substance is in plain view

Editor, The Times:

Although many local and national Democrats have spent the past week saying Karl Rove leaked to journalists the identity of Joseph Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA operative, it may have been the other way around, according to sources familiar with grand jury testimony.

Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper in an e-mail recently provided to the grand jury shows he reported to his magazine bosses that Rove had described Wilson's wife in a confidential conversation as someone who "apparently works" at the CIA.

Joseph Wilson on Thursday belatedly acknowledged his wife was no longer in an undercover job at the time Robert Novak's column first identified her.

"My wife was not a clandestine officer the day that Bob Novak blew her identity," he said.

Frustrated by the lack of red-meat issues, left-wingers returned to chewing on themselves.

— John Hession, Redmond

Interconnecting rings

Joseph Wilson is a Republican. He was not sent to Niger by his wife. And he did not lie with regard to the authenticity of the claim that there was a deal to sell Saddam Hussein yellow-cake uranium from Niger. The request for an investigation of this claim appears to have originated from the vice president's office to the CIA.

Valerie Plame was contacted by her superior and asked if her husband was able to do this as a service to the Bush administration. It was only after Wilson did not support the president's false assertion in his State of the Union address that the deal for uranium was true that someone in the administration, in an obvious attempt to punish his honesty, outed his wife.

Plame was listed as "covert" by the CIA at the time this occurred and as a result, the CIA initiated the investigation into what it believes to be a crime. Documentation is easily available via public sources and refutes those claims made to the contrary.

— Timothy Murphy, Sumas

Beneath the shell

To win future elections, Democrats must successfully differentiate themselves from the Republican Party. Yet once again, Democratic Party leaders are squandering a ready-made opportunity to do so. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is casting the issue of President Bush's back-step from an earlier commitment to fire anyone involved in the outing of a covert CIA operative as a "credibility" problem ["Bush raises the bar for firing aides in leak case: breaking the law," page one, July 19].

It is not primarily a credibility issue. It is an ethical issue.

Karl Rove has admitted he discussed Valerie Plame's identity with reporters. Regardless of the legalities, his admission certainly raises questions of this administration's commitment to ethical behavior. And so do countless other political tactics this administration systematically employs.

That is where Democrats could gain some moral high ground, if only our party leaders can muster up the smarts to take full advantage of this most recent opportunity the Republicans have handed to us. Repeat after me: It's about ethics. Ethics! Ethics! Ethics!

— Christine Hill, Redmond

Top hat and tales

Some right-wing sycophants are claiming that those who exposed the CIA employment of Valerie Plame are patriots and deserve some kind of medal. Ironically, others use the threadbare charge of "political motivations" by "liberals," when in fact it was Karl Rove and company's political motivations that led to the [leak] in the first place.

Back in the time when the "Party of Lincoln" was still the party of integrity, the aforementioned Mr. Lincoln remarked "... but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." If his unworthy successors expect us to believe their latest batch of horseradish, then Bill was helping Monica with her homework.

— Emily Salisbury Keene, Seattle

The new switcheroo

It would be a credit to George Bush's integrity if he would rule with the same moral principles within his ranks as he does with those outside his circle of trust.

He now changes his commitment from firing any person involved in leaking the name of a covert CIA operative to firing any person found committing a crime.

This has a couple of benefits. It keeps his friends and colleagues at a safer distance from being held accountable for any wrongdoings (a mild term) and Bush at a safer distance from being held to his word.

It is admirable to proclaim devotion to wonderful morals. It's also easy because, evidently, it is quite difficult to live up to them.

What is most troubling about how transparent the schemes of today's politics are is how little they offend the entirety of the American public, regardless of party affiliation. Loyalty is the new "truth" and brazenness, the new "courage."

— John Rankin, Seattle

Levitating his assistant

NEWS FLASH:

Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist steps down, Bush rewards Rove with top-spot nomination.

— Mike Nakamura, Bellevue

People v. Roberts

Case has no merit

Judge John Roberts, President Bush's pick to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, brings with him one of the most impressive résumés any nominee to the high court has had in a generation.

A summa cum laude graduate of Harvard — earning his degree in just three years — Roberts enjoyed a distinguished career as a private-practice attorney and government lawyer before being confirmed to a federal appeals court seat in 2003. He has intimate knowledge of the workings of the Supreme Court, having appeared before its justices nearly 40 times.

Even traditionally liberal newspapers like the Washington Post have applauded his nomination. Yet that's not likely to sway President Bush's political opponents, who are doing their best to distort Roberts' track record with vaguely threatening language about how the judge is "out of the mainstream" in his judicial philosophy.

Roberts is too well-qualified to be denied a confirmation vote in the full Senate, as has been done in the past to deserving appeals court nominees.

— Brent Accursio, Seattle

Grounds for dismissal

Judge John Roberts: We don't know how he will rule on cases during the next 40 years, but we do know where he stands based on the clients that he served and the rulings he made. Here are some glimpses of the man.

On abortion: He helped draft anti-abortion legislation. On schools and religion: He helped argue for prayers at graduation. On race relations: He has argued against racial balancing in schools in certain circumstances and has argued against affirmative action. On the environment: He argued against the rights of the National Wildlife Federation in attempting to stop environmental destruction on public lands.

On corporations: He argued that states should not be able to sue corporations. On criminal justice: He ruled against a 12-year-old girl who was caught eating a French fry within a train station. On the media: He supported Fox television in its attempt to defeat anti-monopoly laws.

On civil rights and terrorism: He ruled that the Geneva Convention doesn't protect terrorists and allows military tribunals. He also ruled that police can search the trunks of cars without reasonable cause.

I don't listen to his speeches — I look at the ground he stands on.

— Victor Bremson, Seattle

Test of relevance

Reinventing the real

Ken Moscaret ["WASL's focus on testing can leave students adrift," guest commentary, July 17], speaks the absolute truth about the wrongheaded approach public schools in Washington and, by extension, other states are taking to prepare students for a rapidly changing world. Corporate America has been masterful in selling its high-stakes test agenda by creating mass hysteria about the dismal economic future of the country.

This is a red herring that Moscaret correctly identifies. The long-playing scare tactics began in earnest in 1983 with the publication of "A Nation at Risk." This mother of all critiques scapegoated public schools for virtually all the ills afflicting the country. Public education has been on the defensive ever since.

The crisis, however, was largely manufactured. What business needs more than anything else are employees who are capable of fitting into the real world of business. The problem-solving ability and critical-thinking skills that are necessary for success are not developed exclusively by math and science.

It's time that we recognize the existence of multiple intelligences, rather than continue along the same deluded track.

— Walt Gardner, Los Angeles, Calif.

A practical meter

I disagree with Ken Moscaret that students should not be held to higher standards in math and science.

To become informed citizens, to operate in our technological society, even to operate as informed homeowners, everyone would be better served to be more conversant with science and math.

Some knowledge of chemistry, for example, is needed to avoid dangerous interactions between household cleaners; while math is helpful in household building projects. And these are just the basics.

For the real-world exposure of students, areas such as product design, development, testing and manufacture, listed by Moscaret, require basic math and science knowledge in addition to interpersonal, teamwork and finance skills, to name a few.

One of the problems in our society is that too few people are comfortable with basic science and math. I do not like the WASL testing system, but if it can ensure some basic level of understanding of these subjects, that would be a plus for all of us.

— Tom Stoebe (professor emeritus, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington), Bellevue

You can lead a horse

Everything else gets lost

I've been thinking about Auburn Republican state Sen. Pam Roach's proposal to make having sex with animals a felony ["Senator proposes bestiality law," Local News, July 20].

Thank God someone finally has the courage to get to the real issues instead of the constant debates about nonsense like replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct before it topples and kills citizens. Or our other traffic problems, not to mention the health-care issues we hear about so often.

With this long-overdue legislation, perhaps now raccoons will feel comfortable roaming our neighborhoods during the daylight hours for our amusement. Animals should not have to feel apprehensive about the possibility of being sexually abused every time they step out.

— Mark Scott, Seattle