Letters to the editor: June 23

We encourage readers to submit letters to the editor on issues of interest to East Valley residents. Submissions should be no longer than 300 words, factually accurate and original thoughts of the writer. Please be brief and include name, address, city and phone number for verification. Letters and call-in comments may be edited for clarity and length.

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HABEAS CORPUS

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Clear power to suspend

In a June 18 op-ed column, George Will describes the power of government to imprison people as its most "fearsome" power. I beg to differ - and more! Taking prisoners on foreign battlefields is hardly comparable to the power to imprison citizens at home and at peace.

The power to execute citizens is a more fearsome power, and the power to kill the enemy by shooting them or dropping bombs on them is by far a more fearsome power than the power to imprison criminals or to take prisoners of war.

Will's gripe really is with the U.S. Constitution, which actually gives Congress and the president the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus at home to quell rebellion and uprising. This makes it all too obvious that our military has the right to suspend habeas corpus beyond our borders during war for the very same purpose of establishing law and order and stopping rebellions against our military occupations. Has Will never heard of "martial law"? In fact, our detainment of "enemy combatants" falls far short of martial law.

The conduct of our wars, free from interference from the courts, is what the constitutional framework mandates as "separation of powers."

ROBERT C. BARBER JR.

PHOENIX

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

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Shoot down anti-affirmative action initiative

I am writing to express my concern about the proposed Ward Connerly ballot initiative to do away with equal opportunity programs in Arizona and the deceptive and deceitful tactics that petition circulators are using to force the initiative on our ballot.

I have served in many different capacities for groups, including the Arizona League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. Most importantly, though, I am the mother of eight, the grandmother of 10, and the great-grandmother of seven - so far. I took my first college course when I was 42 and earned my master's degree in English by the time I celebrated my 51st birthday.

I've always taught my children that anything is possible. Educational opportunity programs helped each of us fulfill our dreams. If the Connerly ballot initiative is passed, the dreams of many will never be fulfilled.

I also taught my kids to play by the rules, to be honest, and to be accountable for their actions. That's not the case with the Connerly petition-gatherers, who will say or do anything to get signatures on their petitions. There's no place for these tactics or this initiative in Arizona.

MARJORIE MEAD

SUN CITY

FATHERS

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They do make a difference

Your editorial (Our View, June 15), couldn't have been better. Over the years I have seen Father's Day lose its significance and fathers themselves take a back seat in the role of the family, other than a symbolic provider with very little prestige in the family unit. As you stated, there are sitcoms that portray fathers as incapable of good judgment and as a bumbling idiot ready to be made fun of. Society has taken fathers and their place in society to the far right and the anti-male bias is prevalent everywhere.

Not to say that sons and daughters individually do not relish their fathers and love them. It is they know full well the sting of the ridicule fathers are getting nowadays as being almost insignificant except to father a child and even that is not completely necessary if a woman so chooses.

As Kathleen Parker said in her book "Save the Males," men do matter and women should care. She stated in a recent interview that the whole idea of how men are perceived now should swing back more towards the middle.

RANDY HAMILTON

MESA