May 12, 2011: Our readers write

Photo evidence not necessary
I just read your editorial, “Fear of reprisal shouldn’t hide proof of victory” and have to disagree.
You praised the president for his decision to authorize the raid as opposed to a bombing and you are right. His was surely a serious decision but, in the end, a no brainer. Certainly, the military and other agencies offered a professional judgment of success without which no commander in chief would have given the go. Still he had to decide and good for him for doing so.
The end result came down to execution and the men on the ground did that to a standard that few can imagine.
Personally, I do not need more than the words of the on-scene commander; “for God and Country — Geronimo,” to believe with all my heart that Osama bin Laden is as dead as can be.
In your last paragraphs you stated that, “we deserve to be able to make the decision ourselves to view what we can and must handle” and “our enemy deserves to see publicly what American tenacity and determination can and will accomplish on the battlefield.”
I believe that our enemy knows what fate awaits them and don’t need to see a picture of a dead man to reinforce that. American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen assure me of that every day.
However, I do wish that during his announcement of bin Laden’s demise the President had said, “and Mr. Zawahiri or whoever is stepping up to run the radical Islam terrorist network — you are next.”
Mike Turner
Elizabethtown

Don’t make them miss the dance
Sandhill cranes have been the subject of many articles lately and some of the opinions on the subject of hunting the birds simply appall me.
Thus far there has been no logical reasoning behind the hunting of the sandhill cranes other than the brutish excuse of “But we want to!”
The birds cause no detrimental harm to anyone or anything, and are biologically programmed to migrate through the region.
Some supporters of the hunt argue that only 400 birds will be taken; only 400 is their strongest argument yet. However, what they have not mentioned is that sandhill cranes mate for life, which means that 400 other birds could be left without their life partner for the upcoming breeding season. Four-hundred birds would be killed for sport, but 400 other birds would be left without a dancing partner this year.
Yes, that’s right, sandhill cranes dance. The pair-bonds dance year around, but most often they dance during breeding season, which is about to occur. The event is widely considered one of the most beautiful spectacles in North American bird watching, the birds leap and fly and toss leaves and small sticks into the air to impress their partners.
The sandhill crane should be more than just a trophy. Let the birds pass over the heartland in peace and let us open our eyes and see the true beauty of an American treasure, the dancing sandhill crane.
Anna Schofield
Elizabethtown