Unfortunately, the Democratic Party for many years has requested "contributions" from retention judges in return for support on Election Day. This year the party's requests skyrocketed ("Campaigning Philadelphia judges say Democrats sought $10,000 donations, Sept. 30").
Lawyers, bar associations, civic groups, and those who care about good government and fair courts - including the media - must ensure that retention elections are what they were intended to be: a referendum on the judge's performance on the bench, not another political contest.
The party's greedy "request" is a reminder that judges shouldn't be elected in the first place. Judges and money should not mix. Politics should stay out of the courtroom.
Lynn A. Marks and Shira Goodman, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, Philadelphia
Bert Brandenburg, Justice at Stake, Washington
Why the silence about this pollution?
I must commend the environmentalists who have taken it upon themselves to help protect our water supplies. However, I cannot understand how they set their priorities. I've watched as they protested at the recent natural-gas convention in Philadelphia, but am dumbfounded as to why I don't see them protesting the pollution from nearby Reading, where the antiquated sewer system puts millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Schuylkill River. The river is a major source of water for Philadelphia and other cities downriver. The raw sewage contains all sorts of chemicals and pharmaceuticals that people flush down their drains. These discharges are a lot more dangerous than the fracking fluids used by the gas companies.
Ron Grzywacz, Royersford
No good candidate yet for 2012
