Family’s kindness breaks a cycle of violence

I hope I am not the only person touched by the story of the Ham family of 16 (“Finding a home with the Hams,” Valley & State, Sunday).

In a time when the news is filled with stories of bad behavior, it is uplifting to hear a story where someone has reached above and beyond to do the right thing and raise 14 wonderful children in a wonderful household.

In the cycle of domestic violence, it is also important to note that the Ham family has made a true breakthrough. Children in abusive families typically go on to abuse their own children, but with this act of kindness, the Hamshave broken that cycle.

Foster-family care is sometimes a very difficult task, but the Hams have found the way to raise their 14 in a kind and gentle structure. Thank you, Steven and Roger, for making life better for a small but significant section of our society.

— Stanley D’Souza,

Remember other heroes

It’s really horrible what happened to our firefighters in the Yarnell Hill Fire. But I’m trying hard to understand why it’s still on the news in newspapers and on television.

Also, people are raising money and having benefits to raise more money for the families of the firefighters. But when one of our boys gets killed overseas fighting for our country, there’s only a small article on the back page that they died, and nothing is done for their families.

— Sandra Sorseck, To comment on letters, columns and editorials, go to opinions.azcentral.com. that led to his demise, as determined by a jury that reviewed all facts available.

— John C. Nelson,

Eye-opening take on race

Regarding Matthew C. Whitaker’s column, “Righteous indignation” (Viewpoints, Sunday): Thank you for such an eye-opening and thought-provoking piece.

— Amy Crow,

Some dead sons ignored

I watched as President Barack Obama recently made several heartfelt speeches in which he likened Trayvon Martin to a son he might have had, and in more recent comments to himself: “I could have been Trayvon Martin.” An effective statement, albeit an unusual position for a president to take.

Last weekend, I saw the raw grief of a mother of one of the men killed in the Benghazi, Libya, attack. Time and again, she has begged this president to find out why and how her son died serving his country.

I could not help but draw the conclusion: Some of America’s sons are just more important than others.

— Sandra Hershey,

Slip by Brewer insulting

needs to be corrected by Washington.

House Resolution 630 and Senate Bill 316 are commonsense pieces of legislation that do solve the problems the Postal Service faces. These bills eliminate the pre-funding mandate, allow the creation of new streams of revenue and keep the delivery of door-to-door mail six days a week at absolutely zero cost to the American taxpayer.

Call your congressional representative and your senators to co-sponsor these two bills and help save the Postal Service.

— Robert Glass,