Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to [email protected] or sent online at okgazette.com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.
Killer attitude
Any Vietnam soldier could tell you how deadly it can be to not profile a child of the present enemy. I treat every Islamic person with respect, but as every Marine knows Rule No. 5: Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet. Even my German in-laws tell how they were afraid to let anyone know they were second-generation Germans during World War II. The West Coast Asians could share similar stories of that period.
[Muslims] must take special care not to walk, talk or in any way resemble an extremist. Soltani (News, Commentary, Learning from Ahmed Mohamed, Adam Soltani, Sept. 23, Oklahoma Gazette) uses words that cause me concern, saying that the reasonable reaction to the appearance of a possible explosive device created by a Texas student is a sin against one of our young people.
Having learned how other races use race to bait common sense, he assigns hate to our fear and caution. Americans, Texans and Oklahomans embrace diversity but not stupidity. Dont forget: It doesnt take an Islamic child to mass murder school students. As Christians, like Jesus, we love all children: Red, brown, yellow, black, and white, they are precious in His sight. Dont make terrorists out of them.
Michael Moberly
Mustang
Plaza pique
In your review of the Plaza District (Life, Cover, Family, extended, Greg Horton and Laura Eastes, Sept. 23, Gazette), Aimee Ahpeatone was quoted as saying the Main Street program is really designed to help small towns, and Plaza was too urban for it to be very useful. Ahpeatone is inaccurate about the Main Street program and inaccurate about its usefulness to the Plaza District.
In the few years Plaza District was a part of the program, it saw significant growth. There were 51 building projects, a net gain of 22 businesses and a net gain of 37 jobs with $4,227,549 in private sector reinvestment. Currently, we are seeing continued success in Stockyards City and along Route 66 in Tulsa. While the success of Plaza District, like any Main Street program, is due primarily to the efforts of stakeholders and volunteers, the Oklahoma Main Street program indeed played a role in that success.
Linda Barnett
Director, Oklahoma Main Street Center
Tulsa
Corrections and clarifications
>> A Sept. 23 story about Free the Night (Life, Health, Breathe easy, Dylan Smith, Gazette) incorrectly cited smoking statistics. The study showed that 79.6 percent of survey respondents prefer smoke-free venues.
>> In the Sept. 23 issue, we incorrectly listed the address for Smokeys Midnight Express (Life, Food, OKG eat: Mighty dogs, Greg Elwell, Gazette). The business is located at 520 S. Coltrane Road in Edmond and is a takeout and delivery restaurant open 6 p.m.-3 a.m.
We apologize for the errors.