Nifong not alone in bearing blame

Editor:

Durham County, N.C. prosecutor Mike Nifong got his just deserts in the Duke University lacrosse scandal; he was forced to resign his position and was disbarred. He could still face criminal charges, but he is not the only one to hang his or her head in shame.

First, the woman who filed the false accusation. Second, the black leaders who pressured Mike to file the charges and refuse to dismiss them in the face of strong evidence of innocence. Third, Duke Univer-sity and its leaders for rushing to judgement and refusing to support the coach, the team and the accused.

Finally, all of us should be ashamed that drunkenness and sexual misconduct on the part of adults and teenagers is considered acceptable.

William A. Faulk Sr.

Brownsville

Via the Internet

Don’t force unions in state departments

Editor:

Congress is considering the misnamed Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, House Resolution 980, which would use the power of the federal government to impose unionism and collective bargaining on state and local public safety departments — police, fire and rescue — in states, like Texas, that have not granted public sector unions monopoly bargaining privileges.

H.R. 980 already has 278 cosponsors, including about 60 Republicans. Most, but certainly not all, of the cosponsors are from states that would probably be exempt from the bill’s provisions because their state legislatures have enacted comparable laws.

Cosponsors from Texas include Charles A. Gonzalez, D-San Antonio; Gene Green, D-Houston; Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes; Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Houston; Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas; Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi; Ted Poe, R-Houston; Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso; and Ciro D. Rodriguez, D-San Antonio.

Hearings were held on this bill in a House Subcommittee on June 5, 2007. It was approved by a vote of 42 to 1. This legislation is an unwarranted intrusion by the federal government in an area that has been historically and properly the prerogative of the states. As such, it is of very dubious constitutionality.

HR 980 is an unfunded mandate of enormous proportions and is nothing short of blackmail. Its propo-nents obviously intend to create such a miserable situation that the state legislatures in states that have had the good sense not to give public sector unions monopoly bargaining powers will cave in and enact a law to avoid federal regulation.

He who is silent consents.

David Denholm

Public Service Research Council

Vienna, Va.

Via the Internet