Olympic boycott unfair to athletes

The recent problems between China and Tibet will come up regarding the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing. I was a member of the 1968 winter Olympics team and therefore have strong feelings against a boycott.

I recently wrote to a pompous actor who's advocating a boycott, saying, "If you can walk up to some starry-eyed, petite little 15-year-old gymnast who has worked all her life for this moment, and say to her she is to be the sacrificial lamb to atone for the sins of international politicians here and abroad, then you are less of a person than I already know you to be." I have yet to receive a reply.

The French are advocating boycotting only the opening ceremonies. Now that is an approach I can support. Depriving athletes of the chance to compete is simply not acceptable.

-- Dave Norby, DeForest

Chad Speight will be a great addition to the Monona City Council. He lives his campaign slogan, "Let's Build a Better Monona." I have gotten to know Chad and his wife, Sue, and they are both a credit to our community.

Speight expresses his confidence and aspirations for Monona's future. He's been involved in the community as a youth sports coach and leader, but he is relatively new to local government -- and we need fresh blood. He will be a voice for all the young families in Monona; he and Sue have two young children in the Monona Grove School District.

Speight also runs his own carpentry firm that specializes in restoration, where he puts his environmental principles to work. He cares deeply about our quality of life -- our lakes, parks and library.

He wants to protect our city services in a fiscally responsible way, realizing that cutting services is often "penny wise and pound foolish." He views all of us, especially our governmental leaders, as being charged with a fiduciary duty to protect our environment, especially our jewel -- Lake Monona.

Chad Speight will be a worthy successor in the line of Monona progressives.

-- Doug Wood, Monona

Forget Nader -- Choose Ron Paul

Tuesday's guest columnist Jim Niemeier suggests that the newly anointed candidate, Ralph Nader, is the lone dissenting voice now in the presidential race, that he offers an alternative to the warmongering candidates that remain.

Yet, as in the mainstream media, the only remaining candidate whose voice is far removed from the other candidates is treated as if he does not exist. Ron Paul has and continues to be a viable alternative voice in what has become another example of what is wrong with America.

Paul has not dropped out of the race. And unlike Nader, Paul has been elected to Congress, has stood before Congress defending our freedoms and has voted against sending our military to the Middle East.

He has called on the carpet the chairman of the non-federal agency, the Federal Reserve. Paul wants to rescue our currency, end the drug war prison state and eliminate unconstitutional agencies such as the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service.

In other words, he wants to return our Constitution and Bill of Rights as the law of the land, to once again be a country of hope, not a terrorist state as the rest of the world now considers us.

Stop ignoring the only man of integrity in a pack of wolves and insulting the intelligence of the American people. Ron Paul is our only hope this election. If we fail to recognize that, the cost may be too great to bear.

-- Bruce Rideout, Madison

Despite big money, choose Democrats

I agree with much that Tuesday guest columnist Jim Niemeier said about the ever-increasing role of big money in both major political parties and the ways parties and government together have been bought and sold by international corporations. And I understand the impulse to vote for a third-party candidate as a protest.

But be realistic. Voters who did this in the past contributed to the election of the catastrophic George W. Bush administration, which has embarrassed and horrified us, dragged us into a war and degraded our military and our economy. Doesn't that tell you that it does make a difference which of the parties wins the next election?

We may have to compromise and choose the lesser of two evils when it comes to the dependence of the major parties on corporate money. But let's be realistic about when pragmatism has to take over. Let's put our energy into selecting the best and most promising candidate for the Democratic Party and supporting that candidate with a Democratic Congress.

-- Jane Maher, Middleton

Sheriff defends electronic monitoring

Jail space in Dane County has been a long-standing problem, resulting in expansion of the City-County Building jail, building of the Public Safety Building jail, Huber expansion and the shipping of over 180 Dane County citizens to other county jails. That shipping alone cost Dane County residents over $3 million in 2007.

I recognized the need to bring our inmates back to Dane County, and in doing so to free up over $3 million which was used to add deputy sheriff positions. These inmates brought back from surrounding counties were placed in our jail, and those sentenced to work release have been evaluated for placement in the electronic monitoring program. My stated goal is to place 200 non-violent inmates in the EMP.

Some have suggested that the EMP has threatened the safety of our neighborhoods and communities. These suggestions are simply false. Today we have 86 inmates being monitored with active GPS bracelets that provide our staff with their locations. Many serving sentences where alcohol played a significant role also have an alcohol sensor that checks their blood alcohol level numerous times every day, with our expectation being a zero tolerance threshold.

I believe our strict process of evaluating and monitoring those who qualify for EMP and alternative incarceration programs is a better way of managing a badly crowded jail and a more sound way to address recidivism. The savings realized help the sheriff's office address our highest priorities for public safety.

-- David J. Mahoney, Dane County sheriff