Horrible, the loss of three innocent lives in the Boston bombing! Then what word could one use to express the fact that between 158,000 and 202,000 civilians have died as a result of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan? It is understandable that the attack in Boston is a national tragedy for the United States. Our sympathies and prayers go out to the victims. But why is it that the loss of innocent lives in the Middle East has been hardly worthy of a second thought, if any, on our part?

In the Tempe, future inclusive leadership begins early due to a nationally recognized program ran by the city’s Diversity Office.

“The great Obama is in charge of the sequestration. So what does this guy do? He goes to air traffic controllers and lays them off to cause the most inconvenience he can to American travellers. He could have gone to the nonessential personnel they always tell to stay home when there is a major weather event in D.C. This guy is a real piece of work. I can’t believe there are people that actually think he is doing a good job?”

Once again it happens with sickening suddenness — a jolting shock that alters and cruelly mocks our assumption of “normalcy.”

“Reveille” mini camps offer a wake-up call for addicts, their families and helpers; while a two-hour workshop for couples provides the means for “Reunification.”

A colleague of mine quipped the other day that the only religion he believes in is his own. “Sure,” I countered. “You piously believe in your own opinion.”

VATICAN CITY — Benedict XVI always cast himself as the reluctant pope, a shy bookworm who preferred solitary walks in the Alps to the public glare and the majesty of Vatican pageantry. And on Monday, the Vatican announced that the leader of the world's billion Roman Catholics was stepping down — the first pontiff to do so since 1415.

Nanny state? Please Linda Turley-Hansen; do not insult me or the majority of America’s intelligent citizens who voted for and elected the president of our choice (“Stuck in America,” AFN, Nov. 16). Who does have charisma and is not just an empty suit; but is also trustworthy; was able to give us “details” of his policies instead of the statement “trust me,” and was more than a mouth piece for the right wing faction of the Republican party.

We’re battle worn. The past two years of campaigns were no less hostile than Hurricane Sandy. Election pundits tell us we’re a nation divided and stuck in this place. All the while, the critical mass of the big government crowd has taken control. We’ve been told this day would come, and it has.

We’re battle worn. The past two years of campaigns were no less hostile than Hurricane Sandy. Election pundits tell us we’re a nation divided and stuck in this place. All the while, the critical mass of the big government crowd has taken control. We’ve been told this day would come, and it has.

Remember a year ago, when the circus came to TV?

Editor's Note: These letters to the editor have been sorted by topic by the Tribune editorial staff in an effort to allow readers to read varied opinions on the issues, candidates, and other circumstances surrounding the 2012 general election. These submissions are the opinions of the author, not the Tribune, and have not been edited for grammar or content.

NEW YORK — Beneath Bob Schieffer's Southern charm is the tough spine of someone used to dealing with politicians. The moderator of Monday's final presidential debate will need it, because it has been open season on the other journalists who have done that job this campaign.

In these days when American political partisans are obsessed with making sure their political team wins, and when Justin Bieber’s hair is the subject of thousands of well-read articles on Google, politics and celebrity are momentarily overshadowed elsewhere by the tale of a brave Pakistan girl whose only wish was to go to school — and is battling for her life because of it.

Mitt Romney’s foreign policy is about what you should expect from someone who evaded the Vietnam military draft by hiding out as a minister of religion — in France, no less. Like most Chickenhawks, as soon as the shooting stopped, Mitt suddenly became chest-beatingly aggressive, hoping that people might forget that he showed the white feather when it came time to stand up for his country.

WASHINGTON — Middle East violence is shaking up a presidential race that otherwise looks stubbornly stable, and tight. President Barack Obama holds a tiny edge, Republican Mitt Romney is seeking a breakthrough message, and three debates are ahead in the campaign's final seven weeks.

“Am I better off now than 4 years ago? Absolutely! I sold off a large portion of my investments the last year and a half of the Bush administration out of fear. The last 3 years under Obama I’ve more than gained it back. However I’m still in fear of the GOP passing laws against dancing in the streets.”

Looks like we have another Jimmy Carter President in the White House. Barack Hussein Obama has been kissing up to the Muslim world since he became president. Could it be from his Muslim childhood in Indonesia? He hardly had a “Yankee Doodle Dandy” childhood. His parents met at a Russian language class in the 1960s at the University of Hawaii (now who studied Russian back in those days, Marxists maybe?). On one of his first overseas trips as president he meets the King of Saudi Arabia (Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques) and gives him a full bow from the waist. No other president has bowed down to any head of state in our history. Then Obama apologizes to the Muslim world for America’s past “transgressions” at the University of Cairo. Yes, Cairo, where our U.S. Embassy was overrun. What does the Obama Administration do? It issues another “apology.” “The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts of misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims...”

Two months ago, when Rana Singh Sodhi was selected to be among a group of speakers at the Arizona Crime Prevention Association’s Diversity and Inclusion conference scheduled for Thursday in Mesa, little did he know the added importance his speech will have.

OAK CREEK, Wis. (AP) — An unidentified gunman killed six people at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee on Sunday in a rampage that left terrified congregants hiding in closets and others texting friends outside for help. The suspect was killed outside the temple in a shootout with police officers.

“GE Capital is another company that outsources jobs to India. GE Capital needs to be boycotted by the USA until they bring these jobs back home. We have people here in the states that can speak English and do these jobs just fine!”

“Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured, but not everyone must prove they are a citizen.”

A top elected Republican will be leading the effort to convince voters to keep the partisan in partisan politics.

Let’s simplify it: