I hope and pray that George Clooney never experiences the devastation of caring for his parents suffering with Alzheimer's disease ("'Mouthy' Clooney stumping for dad," March 20). It is a heartbreaking experience to watch your loved one lose precious memories. He may be sorry that he ever made a slam at Charlton Heston.

Yes, campaign for your dad for Northern Kentucky's seat in Congress, but do it with the class the Clooney family is known for.

Pat Landrum, Highland Heights

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Iraq, terror wars aren't the same

Regarding the letters to the editor March 21, I agreed with those who said we were misled into the war in Iraq, although I believe President Bush knowingly lied. Specifically, I respond to the letter "New leader misleads Spain," in which the writer asserted Spain should double its contingent in Iraq so as to respond to al-Qaida and the bombing in Madrid.

The writer's misconception, shared by many Americans and some newspaper editors, is that the war in Iraq is synonymous with and part of the righteous war on terror, and I believe it is not. The Iraq war is simply Bush's adventure in Iraq and a belated attempt to clean up the mess the first President Bush made when he left Saddam Hussein in power in 1991.

Bush's reasons for the Iraq war are shifting from weapons of mass destruction to humanitarian reasons. I could have supported the latter. Instead of fighting the war on terror, Bush promoted the war in Iraq. Finally, Americans are coming to realize he cannot be trusted.

Bill Adkins, Williamstown

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Terrorism demands pre-emptive tack

To those who would call President Bush a liar, I would like to point out that former President Clinton, Sen. Edward Kennedy and Sen. John Kerry also believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and spoke of them when it suited their agendas.

The liberation of Iraq and the war on terror are necessary simply because there is evil in our world. I support Bush's policy of "do unto others before they will do unto us" because as we witnessed on Sept. 11, 2001, they will "do unto us."

Steve Sliger, Mason

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Building U.S. democracy took years

As the silly season heats up, Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential contender, accuses President Bush of being "bogged down in Iraq." Kerry might remember that the American democracy that he aspires to lead grew out of a revolutionary war and years of constitutional haggling.

I guess General George Washington and his confreres were also bogged down.

Paul Bloustein, Sycamore Township

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Tighten seat belt laws for teen drivers

The editorial "Tighten up teen driving laws" (March 20) was right on in its call for the state legislature to act on this matter.

May I make a suggestion as to where they should start? Rewrite Ohio's seat belts law so the police may stop a teen driver not wearing a seat belt, without requiring another moving violation to occur first. This may not slow them down, but maybe it'll save their lives when they do crash.

Dennis Caskey, White Oak

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Some TV car ads glorify speeding

In regard to teen driving laws, some of the blame can be laid at the door of automakers who make TV commercials showing a car speeding along a winding mountain road or coming to a screeching halt, and doing what I believe they call a donut. The commercials are made by professional stunt drivers, sometimes on a test track or at least under controlled conditions, not on city streets.

Rita Nowikowski, Cherry Grove

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Stress basic respect to address crime

I recently heard Vice Mayor Alicia Reece mention on a radio program about giving jobs to people with criminal backgrounds. When will people realize that we have to get back to the basics, i.e. respect for self and others, beginning at home, school and with neighbors? We're all paying for bad choices of others; our changing neighborhood reflects this. Nothing in this world is free, and we have to earn the right to be a part of a healthy society.

Gerri Stortz, Covedale