Meanwhile, Bush wraps himself in the flag like meatloaf in star-spangled cling wrap. He's convinced us that to change one's mind is worse than to distort facts. He implies endorsement by a military he didn't serve, and claims the will of God like there's a pearly hot line in Crawford.

Franklin Roosevelt said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Bush-Cheney 2004 is fear with a down-home drawl. Assuming logic isn't unpatriotic, the real threat to our nation should be obvious.

John S. Hutton, Indian Hill

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Wealthy already bear heavy tax load

The letter "Census numbers tell story on income" (Sept. 26) prompted me to check www.census.gov. The top 5 percent of income earners pay more than 50 percent of federal income tax and the top 10 percent pay nearly two-thirds. The bottom 50 percent pay little more than 6 percent of federal income taxes. That doesn't look like a terrible burden for low-wage earners, something to keep in mind when John Kerry proposes raising taxes on "wealthy" individuals.

David Garascia, Batavia

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Feds, keep hands off Schott estate

Regarding the article "Schott estate worth $123.4M" (Sept. 25): God bless Marge Schott for her generous bequests to many local institutions. It will be interesting to see how much of her estate will be confiscated through the death (estate seizure) tax.

Since about 95 percent of her estate is directed to mostly local charities and institutions, it makes no sense for the federal government to take a chunk of the Schott estate.

President Bush is certainly on the right path in his attempts to end this confiscatory tax.

Mike Conlon, Norwood

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Ky. health care costs threaten families

On average, a Kentucky state employee with a family plan pays $541 a month, compared with all other states' average of $167 per employee contribution, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Under Gov. Ernie Fletcher's new plan, I would pay $604 a month for a family plan. This would be nearly 29 percent of my take-home pay. Is it no wonder Kentucky teachers are protesting, rallying and threatening to strike in hopes of getting something better?

Yes, we love the children in our classroom, but now it is about our own children and families, and trying to adequately trying to provide for them.

Jon Wirth, Butler, Ky.

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Kentucky care for elderly is criminal

I watched "Legislative Update in Kentucky" on KET and was dismayed by what I heard. Kentucky spends $10.88 per day to keep a patient in a nursing home; Kentucky spends $38.33 per day to lodge a criminal in a county jail. Does anyone else see that these figures are backward?

An elderly person has probably raised a family and worked most of his life, and he receives less in compensation than a criminal. Our priorities are out of sync. Politicians, take note. Now I know why my father's last meal was apricot juice, tomato soup and lime Jell-O - all of which he hated.

Vickie C. Long, Florence

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Security views hurt more than boycott

In the letter "Racial inequities still need attention" (Sept. 25), the writer surmises that if 77 percent of polled persons did not observe the boycott, the 23 percent who did have made quite an impact on downtown businesses.

This downtown merchant has realized from the start that the conscious observer of the boycott would have little, if any, impact on my business. What has hurt downtown Cincinnati immeasurably is the unknown percentage of people who subconsciously choose not to visit, shop or play downtown due to the perceived (real or imagined) lack of personal security and safety. This effect will far outlast any of the waning boycott efforts.

Jon V. Diebold, Westwood

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So now dirt is art - what a fool am I

Regarding the article "Waiting for nature to add some color" (Sept. 24): So the Contemporary Arts Center is hanging a canvas to pick up "rain, urban air particles and anything else that sweeps by it." What a fool I've been. All these years I've been scrubbing, painting and pressure-spraying this kind of stuff off of my house. I should have left all the soot, mildew and bird dirt alone and called it "art."

Robert Scherer, Montgomery