Thursday, December 17, 1998

Letters to the Editor

No reason to dally

We elected officials to run our country for us. We had not planned, though, that all of their time would revolve around definitions of words, like “lie.” According to Webster’s, a lie is “to make a statement or statements that one knows to be false.” It also says a lie is “to give a false impression.” President Clinton refuses to admit to a lie, as do his backers and legal advisors. They do say he tried to evade the issue and may have stepped over the line and made some false statements.

Are not these the same? And isn’t a lie under oath perjury?

Regarding Starr’s costing our country so much money, the answer is so simple I guess that is why it isn’t ever mentioned. None of this money would have been wasted, our country would not have been embarrassed in front of the whole world, we would not have been exposed to more sordid details than we wanted to know, and we could be deciding on issues of importance if ...

If Clinton had chosen to be the kind of son his mother taught him to be, if he had followed the example the Founding Fathers expected the leader of our country to be. All of this could have been prevented had the truth been told in the beginning.

If the facts are impeachable offenses, then get him out of office. If they are not, then drop it and set a date for January 2001 for a civil suit against him. These are the only things that need to be considered. There is no need for long debates or further delays.

VICTORIA PROCTOR

Stamford

Simple solution

As a senior citizen who has voted in every presidential election for the past 66 years, I have a very simple solution for this mess our government is in.

Simply ask every member of Congress to say under oath they have never had personal sexual experience about which they have prevaricated.

Then we could have confidence in the moral superiority of our elected officials and could proceed with the nation’s business.

MRS. V.C. PERINI

Abilene

Fitting the occasion

I just wanted to take a minute to share a thought that occurred to me while reading, on page 8C of the Dec. 15 Abilene Reporter-News, “Moment of truth nears to punish Clinton’s worst crime.”

Who in the Bible is described as “a liar, the father of lies and the truth isn’t him”? Also as “the great deceiver”? Satan.

Further, if anyone should be so inclined, go to your Bible concordance, look to the references of liar, liars, deceit, deceitful and deceitfulness. Then close with Psalm 24:3-4. The comparison is kind of scary.

Add to that Clinton’s joyous hand-holding and praising of the world’s No. 1 terrorist leader while said terrorist fawned, bowed, scraped and did everything but lick Clinton’s boots like an egg-stealing dog, and it gets downright panic time.

Yassar Arafat’s exuberance was, no doubt, occasioned by Clinton’s promise of more millions of U.S. taxpayers’ dollars to support his programs.

Is there a word more appropriate than panic? Like consternation, dismay, dread, perturbation, horror, etc., ad infinitum? They all fit the occasion.

JIM JOHNSON

Abilene

An amusing fuss

In the fall of 1979 I transferred to Abilene Christian University from a junior college. One of the P.E. courses ACU accepted for full credit was “Social and Square Dancing.”

I find this to be amusing in light of the fuss over students now “swing dancing.”

WILLIAM BARLOW

Abilene

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