Letters Wealth: Wrong Basis I continue to be distressed by the number of my Jewish relatives and friends who are making their presidential candidate pref- erence based primarily on their wealth sit- uation. Granted, due to legislation passed during the Bush administration, tax rates on dividend income, capital gains and estates have been significantly reduced, permitting greater wealth accumulation. However, at the same time, we have wit- nessed a steady erosion of our civil liber- ties and sense of social justice. These are two of the fundamental hallmarks of our Jewish faith and tradition. How can social- ly conscious Jews support an administra- tion or candidates who advocate stripping away yet more of these? Certainly wealth accumulation in a country whose individual freedoms and sense of social justice are virtually non- existent is a meaningless status and one clearly not in concert with our faith. To me, the acid test in the upcom- ing election is: Which candidate do you want nominating justices for the United States Supreme Court? There are likely to be at least two vacancies occurring during the next four years and both are expected to come from socially con- scious justices. To any Jew, the answer should be crystal clear. Ronald M. Horwitz Farmington Hills Sign Pollution Ah, its election season and in addition to all the commercial visual pollution we normally see, there is the election sign. Here in West Bloomfield, we have one candidate that has taken visual pollution to a new level. Some subdivision entrances have four to 10 of the same signs all over the place. This brought up a question in my mind. If one sign doesn't deliver the mes- sage, will 10 signs do? It seems like such a waste. An even better question is what would the candidate do with tax-provided funds that would be in his charge, if elected? I'm all for open and vigorous cam- paigns where everyone gets to make their name known, but does a candi- date for office really want to show how wasteful he can be? That just makes me decide to vote for the "other" guy. Stuart L. Sells West Bloomfield Consider Ecology. I am writing in response to a comment made by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., during the first presidential debate on Sept. 26. As a graduate of Ferndale High School with a master's degree in marine biology and as someone currently pursu- ing my Ph.D., I feel compelled to write and share my concerns with readers. At the beginning of the debate, the Republican presidential nominee was talking about freezing spending, and he mentioned that he would cut funding for unnecessary" research (such as bear pop- ulation studies) and focus his efforts on defense and veteran affairs. This statement infuriated me, not only as a biologist, but also as a responsible member of the generation that is going to be accountable for dealing with the largest environmental issues in the history of the human race. I urge readers to consider their concerns for the health of our planet and for future generations. Ultimately, the environment is our most important issue. If we don't take care of our planet now, the economy, war, and politics may not even be factors in our future. Please make sure you are registered, get to the polls and once there, make your vote count! (( Royal Oak Sukkot And Ecology On Sukkot, the Jewish festival devoted to our offering thanksgiving for the abundance of life, we are reminded that End Of The Line Today marks the end of a fun and infor- mative run of Alef Bet'cha Don't Know, a regular feature in the IN for more than eight years. We thank the author, Goldfein, aka Allan Gale, associate director of the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit, for sharing the tidbits about Jewish life with our readers. Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians New York, N.Y. Working For Obama Although my daughter Halie is not a young Metro Detroit Jew, she is playing a key role in this presidential race ("Political Insiders',' Oct. 2, page A14). She is young (29). She is from East Lansing and the Detroit Jewish News has always been our Jewish newspaper. Halie is the Jewish vote director for Florida for the Obama Campaign. She is working passionately to organize Jewish Floridians and deliver Florida for the Illinois senator, the Democratic presiden- tial nominee. Halie has been noticed nationally by Judy Woodruff (News Hour with Jim LehrerIPBS), John King (CNN) and most recently in an article by Chris Megerian of Fox News. Sandy Soifer East Lansing Going For Obama With all due respect to those who tout U.S. Sen. John McCain's relationship with Israel, I submit that this election is about more than Israel. This election is about repairing the damage that President George W. Bush has inflicted upon this country. It is about the economy. It is about regu- lation vs. deregulation. It is about spend- ing on infrastructure and health care ver- sus spending on a nonsensical war in Iraq. It is about tax breaks for the middle class vs. tax breaks for the wealthiest individu- als and corporations. This election is about selecting a leader who will likely nominate one or two Supreme Court justices who will have a profound impact on whether or not the court upholds a woman's right to choose among other issues. It's time to take a good hard look at the serious domestic issues at stake in this election. And that is why I support Sen. Barak Obama, D-Ill., over Sen. McCain, R- Ariz., for president. David Moss Huntington Woods REPO 'cha Don't Know Israel is one of only two countries in the world that is currently successful in shrinking its desert areas. What is the other coun- try? —Goldfein •eu!go ushisuy — Robert Sklar, editor How to Send Letters October 9 • 2008 Richard H. Schwartz, president Jewish Vegetarians of North America Meagan Dunphy-Daly We prefer letters relating to JN articles. We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Letters of 225 words or less are considered first. Longer ones will be subject to trimming. Letter writers are limited in frequency of publication. Letters must be original and contain the name, address and title of the writer and a day phone number. Non-elec- tronic copies must be hand signed. Send letters to the JN: 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax (248) 304-8885; e-mail, letters@the jewishnews.com . We prefer e-mail. A6 humans are only privileged caretakers of this precious, but imperiled, planet. Like the wilderness sukkot of our Israelite ancestors, this Earth is no more than our temporary dwelling, and it is our important responsibility to cherish and care for our planet and all its crea- tures, as co-workers with God. The fragile shelter of the sukkah should remind us that we can't rely on technological advances to save us, and we must find a way to live in harmony with nature. As we decorate our sukkahs with pictures and replicas of fruits and vegetables on our harvest festival, we should consider how future harvests are endangered by global warming, widen- ing water shortages and soil erosion and depletion. As our Israelite ancestors were sus- tained with manna, a vegetarian food "like coriander seed:' while they dwelt in sukkahs for 40 years in the wilder- ness, we should sustain ourselves with tofu, the modern-day manna, and a wide variety of other plant foods, to improve our health and to help move our endangered planet to a sustainable path. Copyright 2008, Jewish Renaissance Media Our JN Mission The Jewish News aspires to communicate news and opinion that's useful, engaging, enjoyable and unique. It strives to reflect the full range of diverse viewpoints while also advocating positions that strengthen Jewish unity and con- tinuity. We desire to create and maintain a challenging, caring, enjoyable work environment that encourages creativ- ity and innovation. We acknowledge our role as a responsible, responsive member of the community. Being competi- tive, we must always strive to be the most respected, outstanding Jewish community publication in the nation. Our rewards are informed, educated readers, very satisfied advertisers, contented employees and profitable growth.