Good Mormon, Romney?
Regarding Terry Eastland's "In 2008, Will it Be Mormon in America?" (June 6): Though Mitt Romney seems like a nice guy, I hope it won't be "Mormon in America" in 2008. Romney is too liberal, too boring, and he is from Massachusetts, which kind of says it all. It would be the GOP's kiss of death if he were nominated.
Additionally, I doubt the Latter-day Saints will be welcomed in latter-day America, especially in prominent newsrooms and among the chattering nabobs.
If The Weekly Standard really wants to be a cheerleader for a particular Republican for '08, I have two strong suggestions, in this order: (1) Virginia's George Allen and (2) Colorado's Bill Owens. But Romney should not be the nominee: He would not even carry his home state.
Bill Asbell
Dover, NH
If It Feels Good . . .
Daniel Sullivan's "Americans at Prayer" (June 13) explained much, in a few words, about why the United States is a seriously religious and specifically Christian nation. But part of Sullivan's summary remarks, specifically those about "living a Christian (or merely virtuous) life according to how one feels rather than what one thinks" (emphasis mine), came exactly to the point, then missed it completely.
"Righteousness exalts a nation" (Proverbs 14:34), whether each individual always feels good about it at the moment or not. "Feeling good" about God's law is considerably less important than thinking about God's law, then heeding it. The focus on "feeling good" over doing what God ordains, over doing what is right, is the source of many of our current predicaments in America.
W.T. Hinds
Maysville, GA
We Let the Dogs In
As a member--though not a spokesman--of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery, I found Mark Stricherz's "Who Let the Dogs Out?" (June 13) to be lacking in some simple research. First, Congress did not found Congressional Cemetery; it is, and always has been, a private, non-profit organization owned by Christ Church since 1812.
Regarding historical information on those interred here, if you check out the Association's website, www.congressionalcemetery.org, you'll find information on over 20,000 of the 60,000 people interred at the cemetery. I challenge you to find another private cemetery with that much information on its denizens. All of that data was collected on a volunteer basis (by a dogwalker, in fact).
Finally, as for the supposed intentional abuse of the Hoover family gravesite, in the eight years I have been associated with Congressional Cemetery, I have never seen or heard of anyone letting dogs into the Hoover fenced area for any reason. Natalie Yoder, who is not a member of the Association, could only have made that statement in a poor attempt at humor.
The dogwalking program causes some maintenance issues, but there are many more positive results. The turn-around in the fortunes of Congressional Cemetary over the last few years is a direct result of the dedication and hands-on sweat equity of scores of Capitol Hill dogwalkers.
Patrick Crowley
Washington, DC
Free Guadeloupe
As with everything he writes, P.J. O'Rourke's "My E.U. Vacation" (June 3) was both trenchant and extremely amusing. He failed, however, to answer the question every discerning reader--especially a conservative one--would want to ask: Did writing the article allow him to deduct his vacation as a business expense?
Christopher M. Schnaubelt
Colorado Springs, CO