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PrintRush needs a dose of his own merciless medicine
I completely disagree with the Post-Gazette's suggestion that we all show Rush Limbaugh sympathy and compassion after he admitted being hooked on painkillers ("Rush's Recovery," Oct. 15 editorial). For years, Limbaugh has made himself extremely wealthy by ridiculing those of us who showed sympathy and compassion for the less fortunate in our society.
When the uglier sides of the "human condition" were discussed on his radio program, issues like poverty, lack of education and, ironically, substance abuse, Limbaugh would preach about self-control and self-discipline and self-direction. He would boast of possessing those personal virtues and would advise all of us lesser mortals to shape up and get in line behind him.
Well, here's a well-deserved, big, bitter dose of your own medicine, Rush.
And the question is, when he emerges from rehab, and returns to his $24 million Palm Beach estate, will he be a more enlightened, more understanding human being? Or will he be the same arrogant, annoying windbag he always was?
S.A. McDOWELL
Scott
No more such tragedies
It's very sad to hear of anyone's death, but especially to hear about the death of the elderly couple in McKeesport ("Elderly Couple Die Using Oven for Heat," Oct. 8). They lived in a high-rise where the heat wasn't going to be turned on until Oct. 20. Oh, come on.
Why is it that the managers of these high-rise buildings don't see to it that boilers or heaters are in working order well before colder weather arrives?
I live by several high-rises and they have the same problem. How else are the residents going to heat their homes if they have no heat? How many times do we have to hear about electric heaters burning someone out? How many deaths, year after year, will we hear about because of heat problems?
While people are using their stoves and the pilot goes out, there also could be an explosion. The executive director of the McKeesport Housing Authority said it's illegal to use stoves for heat. What about letting people go without heat? The heat should have been on by Oct. 1.
Please don't let anyone else die because of a heat problem. May God bless those families.
MACHELLE BREWER
East Liberty
Hurting themselves
In response to Dan Simpson's Oct. 7 Perspectives piece, "Palestine Comes Home to the Hill," in which he reported on the substance of two Palestinian labor leaders' lament, I have two words for him, "Oslo" and "intifada."
Had Palestinians accepted the Oslo accords as presented to them by then-President Clinton, they would be focused now on nation building rather than on self-destruction. Had the intifada not been launched after the rejection of the Oslo accords, and the Palestinian terror not reached such savagery, the dreaded "fence" would not be needed.
The Palestinian labor unions and others would do well to focus their anger inwardly. They have been their own worst enemy.
ARI GITIG
Squirrel Hill
Learn from these errors
Unfortunately too many physicians have adopted the mind-set that errors are shameful events, committed only by inferior doctors. Far too many medical errors go unreported, making it impossible for other doctors and hospitals to learn from them.
Christopher Snowbeck's Sept. 23 article, "State Funding System to Curb Medical Errors," thoughtfully describes Pennsylvania's plan to reduce the number of medical errors in its hospitals. Under the plan, reports of medical errors will be collected from about 400 hospitals and medical centers. The information will be made available in a confidential database that hospitals can access.
The need for such a plan is clear. A 1999 report issued by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die each year as a result of preventable medical errors. Rather than cloaking these harmful medical errors, Pennsylvania's plan treats the database as an opportunity for hospitals to study them and take steps to prevent future mistakes.
I hope that Pennsylvania will continue to investigate ways to make patients' safety a priority.
RYAN E. KEENEHAN
Shadyside
Editor's note: The writer is a student in the health law program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Negative city influence
As voters head to the polls Nov. 4 to cast their ballots in this year's county elections, one very huge question they need to ask themselves in the chief executive's race especially is: Do we really want to give Pittsburgh's two Toms (Mayor Murphy and city Controller Flaherty) tremendous influence, pressure and leverage on Dan Onorato as chief executive? With Tom and Tom thrown into the mix in the county executive's office, you can be sure that Pittsburgh's financial woes and problems will become Allegheny County's problems and our children's problems as well, driving out even more employers, taxpayers and residents not only from Allegheny County, but in a ripple effect from the entire Western Pennsylvania region.
Voters, don't make this fatal mistake; re-elect Jim Roddey chief executive. There's nothing negative about his positive record serving Allegheny County.
JERRY DAUGINIKAS
Baldwin Borough
Editor's note: The writer is chairman, Baldwin Borough Republican Committee.
Out of harm's way
I am a lifelong resident of Oakland and fully support the proposed renovation of Schenley Plaza to convert it from a parking lot to a park ("$5 Million Renovation of Schenley Plaza Approved," Oct. 2). The renovation calls for moving the Stephen Foster statue a short distance to better align with the entrance to the Stephen Foster Memorial Building.
This is good, because in its present location, Stephen and his banjo-playing mate are in constant danger of being eaten by the Carnegie Museum's outdoor dinosaur, "Dippy," who hovers over them, even though he is supposedly a vegetarian.
MICHAEL MARINO
Oakland
God's genetic plan
Regarding the Sept. 28 article "Facing Life in Wrong Body Leads to Botched Castration": Why is a guy a guy? I know why -- his chromosome is Y. No surgical team or journalistic scheme can change the God-designed theme.
DAVID FORSYTH
Enon Valley
With global changes, we should emphasize language studies
How ironic that a week after the state Board of Education announced that it is dropping standards for foreign language education for all students in the state ("Pa. School Board Softens Stance on Foreign Language Standards," Sept. 18), Carnegie Mellon University hosted a symposium on "Positioning Pittsburgh in the Global Marketplace" ("Who'd Have Known It Was So Nice?" Sept. 25 Business section).
The implications of the symposium speakers' timely remarks are clear. Brad Wilson, director of brand operations for W Hotels, said Pittsburgh is a much more international city than many realize, with strong partnerships and economic ties with several European countries. Lea Soupata, a senior vice president for United Parcel Service, said there is a "need for companies to partner with educators and state and local governments to help improve the nation's schools and provide more workers with the skills needed to compete in a global economy."
For years, research into foreign language learning has shown the beneficial results for students in improved scores in English language arts as well as opening young minds to other cultures. The state Board of Education is obviously ignoring this research.
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has stated, "We are ever mindful of the lessons of Sept. 11 -- one of which is that all future measures of a rigorous K-12 education must include a solid grounding in other cultures, other languages and other histories." When former Gov. Tom Ridge came into office, he threw out the then newly enacted "outcomes" (including the one for foreign languages requiring all students to speak a language other than English at a proficient level) in favor of more "standards" for all subject areas. More than eight years later, the state Board of Education finally addressed six new world language standards -- by eliminating them completely in favor of "guidelines"!
The difference between "guidelines" and "standards" is significant. "Guidelines" will take students back to the last century, where foreign language study was available primarily for the academic and/or economic elite, whereas "standards" challenge school districts to prepare all Pennsylvania students for our increasingly international and interconnected world. I call on state Board of Education members to become forward-thinking advocates and provide all Pennsylvania children with a world-class education.
THEKLA FALL
Mt. Lebanon
Editor's note: The writer is program officer for world languages with the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
