Jobs epitomized what’s right about AmericaRe: “In high-tech tributes, Apple fans mourn Steve Jobs,” Oct. 6 The nation need more Jobs! Steve Jobs that is, not temporary fill-in work or a cash-for-clunkers-type make-work program.
Jobs epitomized everything that is right about this great country: its risk-taking, creativity, persistence, pursuit of excellence, wealth building, jobs building, and incredible transformational change.
Our nationwide STEM educational programs could do worse that spend some time teaching our children about Jobs, his life and his philosophy: stay hungry, stay foolish.
Dick Larson
Lexington, Mass.
No proof al-Awlaki was a terrorist
Re: “Terrorism isn’t just a crime — it’s a war,” & “‘You know nothing, Jon Snow,'” Oct. 3
Examiner columnists Gregory Kane and Hugh Hewitt repeatedly call Anwar al-Awlaki a “terrorist” and a “mass murderer,” but offer no more evidence than the president to support these claims. Perhaps because we live in the Court TV age, everyone feels they can play judge, jury and executioner without getting out of bed.
Hewitt claims no “serious student of the jihadist movement” disagrees with his assessment, but he’s wrong. Many do. For example, Hakim al-Masmair, editor of the Yemeni Post, said immediately after al-Awlaki’s death that he “had no real role in al Qaeda.”
Both columnists act as if killing U.S. citizens nowhere near any battlefield, without any imminent threat, is so reasonable that only traitors would dissent. They’re wrong. What would be treasonous would be to betray the Constitution and reject the rule of law and due process that protects the liberties of innocent Americans from an overzealous state.
David Bier
Arlington
Human needs take precedence over military spending
Re: “MontCo lawmakers urge Congress to cut military spending,” Oct. 3
I am proud of Montgomery County Council members for proposing a resolution to redirect tax dollars from warfare to human needs, and was disappointed that your coverage was derisive and one-sided.
U.S. military spending has doubled since 1998. It now nearly equals all of the military expenditures for the rest of the planet. On average, each Marylander pays $2,000 per year in taxes for militarization. This spending is excessive, and the resolution supports shifting a major portion to human needs without endangering soldiers.
Maryland’s budget has been cut by more than $3 billion since 2007, and there is not enough funding to cover community needs. Repairing bridges, staffing libraries, and caring for the disabled are local jobs our taxes should fully fund. Unlike the manufacturing of cluster bombs and waging unnecessary and unjust wars, those jobs also have the advantage of improving — not destroying — human lives.
Karen O’Keefe
Silver Spring
Editor’s Note: An article in Friday’s edition of The Washington Examiner should have identified House Small Business Committee Chairman Rep. Sam Graves as from Missouri.
