Cheney’s War and Scalia’s Conflict

I was comforted to read “Cheney’s Lack of Flair Is Just the Ticket for Many in GOP” (Jan. 19). It’s good to know that Vice President Dick Cheney comes “across with the gravitas of a Marcus Welby-like family physician delivering a cancer diagnosis: The situation may be dire, he suggests, but we’ll do everything we can.” Perhaps Cheney will find a no-nonsense cure for this nonsensical, cancerous war in Iraq, a cancer that he created.

Frank Smathers

Santa Clarita

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If anybody is curious as to why so many Democrats are angry with the Bush administration, they need only look to the first section of The Times on Jan. 17. On the front page there is a story about how (after 500 deaths of U.S. soldiers and who knows how many Iraqi civilians killed) the Bush administration is finally looking to the United Nations for help in Iraq. We also see “Trip With Cheney Puts Ethics Spotlight on Scalia,” about how Cheney and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia are pals. There is also a story about how job losses persist in California but corporate profits continue to climb. Then, on A8, we see a story about how Cheney’s former company was awarded a $1.2-billion contract in Iraq while being investigated for price gouging.

Every American should be screaming for a change in November.

Jacob Anderson

Victorville

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Allow me to summarize a few of Scalia’s connections to Cheney’s energy task force case that will soon come before the Supreme Court: Scalia is a close friend of the litigant in the case, he recently went on a hunting trip with that same litigant and, last but not least, the trip (doubtless worth tens of thousands of dollars -- “the pair arrived on Gulfstream jets”) was paid for and hosted by the well-connected owner of an oil-services firm.

Justice Scalia, federal law requires you to disqualify yourself whenever your impartiality might reasonably be questioned. I challenge you to present these facts to 12 reasonable people -- any jury anywhere. Do you honestly think the majority of those people wouldn’t question you?

Joe Hopfield

Culver City

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Let’s see, Scalia appointed his buddy Cheney to the vice presidency and didn’t recuse himself at that time. They are great friends and go duck hunting together, but Scalia doesn’t question his own impartiality or judgment when it comes to ruling on his good buddy’s interests. Who on Earth would believe in Scalia’s impartiality if he votes for Cheney in an effort to cover his dealings with the Enron group?

Joan Meijer

Los Angeles