I am almost 56 years old and a baseball fan. I watched the big game last night (Super Bowl) and was disappointed by the commercial that had Mike Ditka explaining the difference between baseball and football. I watched the halftime show and realized why baseball is so ingrained in the fabric of our society. It recalls a simpler time before Janet Jackson, P. Diddy, Kid Rock, et al, merited such a high place in the American sport's psyche. Could anyone out there imagine that display during the seventh game of the series? Or is that the basis of our current hurry up, cell phone, email (sorry), and society?
It makes me appreciate the seventh-inning stretch all the more.
"I don't care if I ever come back . . . "
Dan McKenna, Price Hill
---
Super Bowl halftime show was gross
Forget Janet Jackson's breast, we were very offended by the desecration of the United States flag by the other, so-called entertainer. Super Bowl halftime was a gross disappointment.
Sharon Sand, Blue Ash
---
Applause for Luken's efforts on Vine
Vine Street has been in ruins for as long as I can remember. The city of Cincinnati is always saying that they will somehow clean it up so that it doesn't look so dilapidated, but it never seems to happen. I applaud Mayor Charlie Luken for working at it so that something does happen, ("Vine Street upgrading to take time, mayor says," Feb. 2). So many things in the past three years have torn this city apart and divided the people. For once, we need to stop worrying about the color of people's skin, or their ethnic background because in the long run, that's not the problem. The problem is that nobody seems to care anymore.
Erin Schmutte, Colerain Township
---
Overthrowing Saddam was no 'failure'
The letter "Intelligence failure started at the top," (Feb. 1) caused me to laugh out loud. Specifically, the writer's assertion that Saddam Hussein, a horrible dictator, was not a threat beyond Iraq's borders. I'm sure the citizens of Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel would think otherwise.
Rob Lewis, Price Hill
---
Bush administration fiscally myopic
The Bush administration has turned our nation from a free enterprise, pay-as-you-go system into a credit card economy - charging whatever they need, buying votes and powerful supporters (see recently passed omnibus bill), and forgetting or not caring that at the end of the figurative month it is our children that will be responsible for the credit card's balance.
Similarly, this administration showed great concern with the winning in Iraq and far less concern for maintaining that win. This, too, will be our children's responsibility.
The Bush administration is the most myopic in memory.
Gerald Schwartz, Amberley Village
---
Court rulings undermine our country
I just read "Polygamy lawsuit cites sodomy ruling" (Jan. 27). It is tough to be over age 60 in the United States. We have had to witness our country's moves toward socialism, while watching the demise of the Soviet Union and other socialist systems. We endured the politically correct decisions that caused U.S. deaths and demoralized our military in Korea and Vietnam.
And now that our courts have assumed responsibility for running our country, they are proving that any writings, like our Constitution, can be reinterpreted so long as one homosexual, illegal or criminal can show a social injustice. We are all gobbling up the fruits of our ancestors' wisdom and hard labors as if there were no tomorrow, while others look on with envy.
John Myers, Springdale
