In the 4th District race, Georgia Berner is the 'doer'

The Post-Gazette's stated reason for selecting Jason Altmire over Georgia Berner in last Sunday's editorial was "because of his greater command and expertise on the pivotal issue of health care" ("Altmire in the 4th: This Democrat Would Give Hart a Real Fight," April 16).

In fact this issue is so complex that any smart candidate will enlist the support of multiple knowledgeable people with deep skills in the many facets of the issue. An overriding concern regarding Mr. Altmire is his recent career involvement as a health industry lobbyist and government staffer, a background likely to provide "old think" approaches to today's new problems requiring innovation and a strong will to implement major change.

Georgia Berner, on the other hand, is a "doer." She has dealt with the tough challenges of providing quality health care to employees while her company incurs increasingly competitive pressures in large part due to how health care is provided in many other countries. She has a strong desire to find solutions that will work, a demonstrated collaborative leadership approach necessary to gain consensus and the business and financial background to wrestle with the issues.

Endorsing a person with Mr. Altmire's medical industry and government background is supporting the status quo or, at best, incremental solutions that will not address problems well. Because of Ms. Berner's commitment to substantial change rather than being willing to settle for what will be acceptable to the insurance and medical industries, she would have been a better choice for the Post-Gazette. She is certainly a better choice for the 4th District's middle class trying to pay the bills.

MAURICE P. SULLIVAN
Franklin Park

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Context missing

"A picture is worth a thousand words" is the most foolish cliche in the English language. It should read, "A picture without words to supply context can be a dangerous thing." Pictures can be misleading and can stir strong emotions, often misguided emotions, if words of explanation are not provided.

But the few words added to the photos of your Easter Sunday special section "Keeping the Faith" (April 16) seem to purposely distort the reality of the photos and inflame sentiment against Israel.

You seem to imply that Israel is making the lives of Palestinian Christians unbearable for no reason at all, as if the only reason for the building of the security wall was to cut off 5-year-olds from their school (that concentration camp-like guard tower looming over a building topped by a cross is a nice touch) and 97-year-old women from their families. You do mention, in the photo of a woman wearing a crucifix, that the wall was built to protect Jewish pilgrims, but you never mention, protection from what? Street vendors?

Did the suicide bombing last Monday in Tel Aviv ("Suicide Bomber Kills 9 in Tel Aviv," April 18) refresh your memories why the wall was built? Yes, it's an ugly reality, and yes, it does cause hardship for the Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim. But remember, these are a people who just elected Hamas to rule over them.

So, what were your motives in running these pictures, accompanied by such vile (pardon my Jewish paranoia) anti-Semitic commentary?

MITCHELL NYER
Squirrel Hill

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A poor critique

Eliot A. Cohen's "The Israel Lobby -- Yes, It's Anti-Semitic" (Forum, April 9) sharply critiqued a paper written by two academics, one from Harvard and another from the University of Chicago. Mr. Cohen's commentary was poorly composed and burdened by weak scholarship.

The first critique made by Mr. Cohen was to fallaciously link the two academics with a known anti-Semite (David Duke). The next bit was a muddled paragraph composed of one massive sentence with more clauses than substance. Mr. Cohen then sought out an unnamed academic colleague (read enemy) who enlightened us by calling the paper "piss-poor." Thanks for the insight.

Next Mr. Cohen luridly accuses the authors of being essentially anti-Semitic. I was sure the next paragraph would detail their attendance at communist rallies.

Finally, Mr. Cohen resorted to sentimental jingoism when we learn that his son is a third-generation Army officer. I can respect this, but it is not relevant to the matter at hand.

Near the end of his diatribe, he identifies himself as an "intellectual." If so he should systematically identify flaws in the paper as have others, rather than resorting to personal attacks and innuendo. Mr. Cohen's commentary stifles substantive debate, is mean-spirited, needlessly polemical and, what is most damning to an academic, anti-intellectual.

W. CARSON
Grove City

The writer is an associate professor of biology at the University of Pittsburgh.

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Education options

Your April 16 issue contained an interesting column by Tina Calabro and Pam DeGeorge about the implication of the Gaskin settlement on special education in Pennsylvania ("Teaching All Students")

Since P.L. 94-142 or the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975, there have been numerous court actions surrounding the interpretation of this important law. School systems, parents and advocates agree in principle that students with special needs should be offered an appropriate education.

However, disagreements surface frequently regarding the place where education should occur and the scope of service. Fortunately, the prime movers of P.L. 94-142 included language in the act that recognizes a continuum of placement options from full inclusion to a more protective arena. Some students may flourish in a regular classroom -- for others the environment may be totally wrong.

Today, more than in the past, school systems are sensitive to placing all students in a setting that corresponds to individual interests, needs and abilities. This philosophy has given rise to both magnet and charter schools. It makes sense to afford students with disabilities the same consideration. Hopefully, the Gaskin settlement will be a solution rather than a problem.

JANET SIMON
Executive Director
Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
Oakland

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Familiar story

A thought about "illegal" immigration:

Just imagine this scenario. The time is the 1600s, even earlier. The headline in the Native-Tribe Times-Gazette reads, "Illegal Immigrants Swarm Shores!" The story goes on the tell how "those people" don't speak native languages or honor the native institutions, they smell bad from not bathing, they have strange habits and customs, they eat strange foods. They don't even worship the right gods, for heaven's sake.

The reporter finishes up the article with this ominous and foretelling note: "... and I have the funny feeling they might just want to try and kill us all if we're not careful." Well, there goes the neighborhood.

DENNIS DONEGAN
Greensburg

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Lack of leadership

The state property tax reform is going nowhere. The current proposal is only pacification targeted to protect the legislators' jobs in this election year ("Progress in Tax Reform," April 18). This party affiliation bantering is simply nonsense.

Pacification reform does not exhibit leadership. It is ironic yet shameful that this bipartisan group of leaders can agree on pay raises in just a few hours yet spend months without even frame-working a meaningful tax relief proposal.

This complete lack of direction on achieving tax relief is evident to all taxpayers. The time has come for all Pennsylvania taxpayers to send a very clear message that this lack of leadership is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated. This leadership problem is nonpartisan.

Let's no longer just complain. It is time to clean house. Let our voices be heard by casting our votes this year on leadership that will make a difference.

MARTY KAPLAN
Upper St. Clair

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To our detriment, we're teaching students to value money most

So you think that it is a creative move for Seneca Valley School District to sell naming rights to their football stadium ("Asides," April 16). Well, I think that you left your brain out of gear.

What values is the school district conveying to the students? That everything in life has a price and if a buck can be made, then sell it to the "corporatocracy" that runs this country. And to justify your flawed logic you offer the argument that NexTier Bank has strong roots in the community and the current board chairman once played football there.

Give me a break! Following your line of reasoning then why not sell naming rights to the school buildings, football jerseys, student book covers and the school district itself. In fact there is no end to this for a creative mind. We are literally selling our public souls when we give up our public spaces to some corporation for money. Soon nothing matters anymore except money.

As the saying goes, there is no free lunch, and if you want a good school district, then collect the necessary tax dollars to fund it.

I might also add the thought that if we as a nation weren't funding a half-trillion-dollar military and a more than $6 billion per month unnecessary war in Iraq, then perhaps we wouldn't have some of these money problems in education, health care and infrastructure.

HENRY W. JONES
Moon

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