Syndicated columnist Jonah Goldberg tells us Sen. John Kerry's alarms about the hazards of moving the Fernald waste to Nevada are absurd ("Kerry sows needless terror on nuclear waste," Aug. 15). Another authority, publishing a newsletter about similar subjects, described that if the stuff were loaded in dump trucks and scattered randomly at roadsides, nobody would be hurt. The radioactivity released would be negligible.

But superstition must be served. At great taxpayer expense, the stuff will be loaded into expensive canisters, carted to Nevada in a convoy of trucks, and carefully placed in a big hole at Yucca Mountain. Kerry will publicize the route, and tell everybody to stay a hundred miles from that road.

Everett DeJager, Rossmoyne

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Kerry understands war, diplomacy

Regarding "Cheney in Dayton to ridicule Kerry" (Aug. 13): Vice President Dick Cheney criticizes Sen. John Kerry for advocating "sensitivity" in our defense against terrorism. It is precisely Cheney's administration's insensitivity to world conditions that led it to misjudge the consequences of our invasion of Iraq, the number of troops needed to win the peace, the amount of body armor to protect those troops, and our need for allies throughout the world to defeat an almost invisible enemy of many nations, not only our own.

Kerry offers a genuine alternative to such ham-fisted arrogance. He is aware of the importance of allies and diplomacy in the struggle against terror. He is also very tough.

Timothy Leonard, Hyde Park

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Kerry critics didn't serve at his side

Syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker is as naive as she is wrong. The members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth never knew John Kerry. Saying they served with him just means that they were in Vietnam the same time he was.

My brother was in Vietnam, but I doubt you'll get him to say he "served" with Kerry. None of these men actually were in contact with him; none knew him personally; none were on the boat with him - unlike all the guys on stage at the Democratic convention. As for the charges made by a doctor who claims Kerry's wounds were superficial and self-made, it's interesting to note that this man's signature is nowhere to be found on any of the paperwork from the hospital where Kerry was treated. How did this doctor form these conclusions without being there?

Jill Dew, Ryland Heights

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Gore started Willie Horton criticism

Tom Teepen's syndicated column "Latest GOP smear effort afloat" (Aug. 10) accused both President Bush and former President George H.W. Bush of using surrogates to run smear-style campaign ads against their respective political opponents.

Teepen decried the much-maligned Willie Horton ad run against Michael Dukakis in 1988 as "all but openly racist" and characterized Al Gore as "about as straight a shooter as politics allows." What makes this so amusing is that the first person to introduce the name Willie Horton to America in an attempt to discredit Dukakis was none other than "straight shooter" Al Gore, during the 1988 Democratic primaries.

Stacey Woolley, Clifton

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City must get its priorities straight

The city of Cincinnati has done it again and decided to freeze hiring and delay a police recruit class in an effort to save $7.8 million. It was not that long ago City Council decided to give $6.6 million to Saks Fifth Avenue for improvements. We read daily about another homicide or shooting, but the city has the infinite wisdom to delay the recruit class and ignore the safety of the citizens.

We need to get a city council and a mayor that know how to make decisions that are in the best interests of the city and not special-interest groups.

Dennis M. Luken, Mount Washington

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Just hang up on outsourced jobs

A lot of people seem to be concerned about sending jobs overseas, commonly called "outsourcing." If you are one of them, why not do something to discourage it?

When you call to order something or a service or just to get information about something and find the voice on the other end of the line is very obviously foreign just ask, "What city are you in?" If the answer is something like, "I can't tell you that," just hang up.

You have a right to know where you are calling. If you want that product or information that badly, then go ahead, but don't complain or worry about outsourcing or the loss of jobs here again.

Gene Walz, Milford