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GLOBE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
A WEEK OF GLOBE LETTERS
Look who gets to opt out, and who doesn’t
SO NEVADA Senator Harry Reid’s plan is that states could opt out of the government health care program. But individuals couldn’t opt out of the mandate to carry health insurance.
Does the solution sound like socialism? Yes, and it’s about time
BEING OLD enough, at 69, to remember physician house calls and the absence of any tales of horrendous medical bills in a middle- to lower-middle-class neighborhood, having experienced the disastrous beginning of so-called health maintenance organizations (particularly Kaiser Permanente in California in the 1960s), and having experienced largely socialized health care in several Western European countries over nearly 50 years, ...
Look for help from federal sources
RE “PATRICK should cut local aid, ease up on human services’’ (Editorial, Nov. 2): Although I appreciate the Globe’s support of human services, Governor Patrick took a balanced approach in dealing with human services, preserving a range of programs that were at risk. We had expected deeper reductions given the state’s financial picture.
If flu vaccine is a test, government is failing
THE GLOBE is quick to criticize law firm Ropes & Gray for planning for and providing for its employees during the H1N1 epidemic ( “Swine flu: Firms shouldn’t hoard drugs,’’ Editorial, Nov. 3). How about if the Globe focused its critical journalistic eye on the federal government and its failure to provide sufficient vaccine in a timely fashion?
Tearing down barriers along state lines is a prescription for disaster
IN HIS Nov. 3 op-ed column “An option for public: less government, more choice,’’ Jeff Jacoby suggests tearing down barriers to buying health insurance across state lines, and says that when it comes to almost any other product or service, Americans would find such barriers “intolerable.’’ I disagree.
All those affected by cuts should be at the table
THE CURRENT economic situation is not one that will be solved easily or quickly, and I agree with your assertion, in the editorial “Patrick should cut local aid, ease up on human services,’’ that the burden should be shared. Deep cuts in human services will undoubtedly lead to increased costs elsewhere, as those who depend on the care and support ...
Oh, that Lieberman again
THE SENATE Democrats are clueless. Why? That’s easy: Every Democrat in the United States, except the 59 ignorant Democrats in the US Senate, knew that Joe Lieberman would stab the party in the back at the first opportunity. Guess what? He did .
Artificial deadlines no help in ed reform
WHAT’S BEST for children should be the most important consideration in shaping education legislation, not artificial deadlines ( “Legislature should move on school reform by Thanksgiving,’’ Editorial, Oct. 29). There is no requirement that state legislators act by Thanksgiving to qualify for federal funds. And there is certainly nothing in the federal “Race to the Top’’ program that requires lawmakers ...
Teachers need feedback
RE “GRADE the teachers’’ (Ideas, Nov. 1): I welcome efforts to hold teachers to high standards. My concern is not for the small percentage of hopelessly ineffective teachers but for the majority of teachers like me whose average teaching could be excellent given relevant and rigorous feedback.
Prosecutors’ tactics inhibit defendants’ rights to jury trials
YOUR NOV. 1 editorial “Let juries determine sex offenders’ fate’’ supports Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone’s effort to guarantee for prosecutors the right to a jury trial in sex offender commitment cases. At the same time, it turns a blind eye to the fact that, on a daily basis, Leone (and every other district attorney) administers a comprehensive system of ...
When a critical link is lost
THE ARTICLE “A bridge to nowhere’’ (Page A1, Nov. 1) demonstrates in a graphic manner the pain and suffering of citizens, as well as the impact on local economies of both New York and Vermont, when a critical transportation link is no longer available because of severe deterioration and safety issues.
Must Bay State always be the one to take the lead?
RE “US health overhaul could penalize Mass.’’ (Page A1, Nov. 1): In the opening paragraph, it states that “state officials are working to make sure . . . that Massachusetts isn’t penalized financially for being first.’’
Empower communities to take action on health plan designs
THE GLOBE editorial “Patrick should cut local aid, ease up on human services’’ was on the right track regarding municipal health insurance, but didn’t go far enough. The Patrick administration and the Legislature should allow municipal officials the same powers that the state enjoys. That is, remove health insurance plan design from collective bargaining altogether, and allow management the ability ...
Expand governor’s authority to weather storm
THANK YOU for weighing in on the recent cuts to the state budget and human services with your Nov. 2 editorial “Patrick should cut local aid, ease up on human services.’’
Don’t trash food - not even candy
I DON’T know if it’s because I’m from South America, where there are more people in need than here, but I was shocked to read in the Globe and to see on TV that parents throw all the Halloween candy in the garbage if they don’t want their kids eating it ( “The cure for Halloween hangover,’’ Sam Allis, The ...
Leadership shown in face of tragedy
SOLID LEADERSHIP was on display in the aftermath of the shootings Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas .
Only 1 solution to water problems: Abolish basement dwellings
"Gravity always works, and water finds the lowest level. This problem will never go away until living in basements is eliminated." -- Frederick A. Liberatore
Trauma of war strikes close to home
MY SYMPATHIES go out to the families and soldiers of Fort Hood . Nearly every day in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other places across the globe, tragedy strikes as a result of war. On Thursday, tragedy struck close to home.
We must address attacks on fellow soldiers
"Fingers are pointing at a number factors - the alleged shooter's faith, harassment, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Whatever the motive, we as a society must help alleviate the situation." -- Sardar Anees Ahmad
Only a matter of time
"For gay and lesbian Americans and our supporters, there is a bright side to our recent defeats in popular votes in which our rights are put up against public opinion: That is the increasingly narrow margin by which we are losing." -- John W. Beck
Beware the true believers of any stripe
"The trouble comes from a mentality that believes that there is only one way to worship one God." -- The Rev. L. Edward Alexander Franks
State’s unionized nurses hunger for national clout
RE “ NURSES may join big union: State’s locals seek lobbying power ’’ (Page A1, Oct. 29), Robert Weisman’s article regarding the Massachusetts Nurses Association’s decision to form a national nurses union: I would like to express my thoughts on what a necessary and long-awaited step this is.
Wrong to frame gay advocacy as a rights issue
RE “ MAINE voters overturn state’s new same-sex marriage law ’’ (Nov. 4): By referring to the demands of gay advocacy groups as “gay rights,’’ you are tacitly endorsing their position that states that don’t recognize same-sex marriage are violating rights. In fact, that lack of recognition is not a rights violation, as courts have ruled many times.
'Radical Anglican'? Consider the first stone cast
RE PAUL Kokoski’s Oct. 30 letter about the Catholic Church, “ Not just any port in a storm ’’: I am one of those “radical Anglicans’’ who believes that “revelation must adapt itself to the current mentality.’’ I don’t have “selfish desires of power and lust.’’ I just want to be able to gather sticks for a nice wood fire ...
A taxing endorsement
YOUR NOV. 2 editorial endorsing Ruth Balser for mayor of Newton - Balser was defeated Tuesday by Setti Warren - stated that Balser was determined “to throttle back rising costs for municipalities.’’ In support of that assertion, you cited no expense reduction measures that she has initiated; instead you mentioned two tax increases she has championed despite opposition from legislative ...
Obama’s view of the fallen
"Pictures tell a story words can only hint at. For example, the image of our commander in chief at Dover Air Force Base viewing caskets of recently slain American troops from a bloody week in Afghanistan." -- Robert Schledwitz
The tortoise and former hare
RE “ FITNESS: Marathon gripe session ’’ (Editorial, Oct. 29): Thank you for supporting us tortoises in the face of complaints among faster marathon runners. One factor you did not mention was the issue of aging runners. When I ran my first marathons in my early 40s, my times varied from 3:05 to 3:20. In April of this year, at ...
Wall Street has many enablers
WALL STREET may be awash with sociopaths (“ The gaggle of economic sociopaths ,’’ Op-ed, Oct. 31), but the financial system in which they operate is replete with enablers who permit socially irresponsible behavior to persist and thrive.
Dangerous coddling, football helmet and all
SUZANNE MATSON begins her Oct. 31 op-ed, “ For parents, gridiron isn’t just fun and games ,’’ with a sarcastic comment about parents coddling children’s brains “to lift their offspring’s IQ into the Ivy range.’’ Perhaps organizing an entire family’s August so that one 8-year-old can play a game (football is a game, isn’t it?) eight hours each week is ...
We contribute to ills by investing blindly
"We can limit bonuses, but can we accomplish any lasting reform without requiring each of us to take responsibility for what our money is doing?" -- Julia Glendon
Stimulus impact grossly overstated (and underplayed)
I’M NOT sure what is more appalling - the contents of the article “ Job count flawed in report on stimulus ,’’ which tells of jobs credited to the stimulus program as being counted “two, three, four, or even more times,’’ indicating that the figures were grossly overstated by the government, or that the Associated Press article was buried on ...
Cities, towns already cut to the bone
"If the Globe wanted to engage in intelligent, community-serving journalism, it would help Governor Patrick find the fat in the Commonwealth's payroll, rather than point to where it doesn't exist." -- Nathaniel Reade
Digs confirm legitimacy of Jewish claims to the land
YOUR OCT. 29 editorial “Israel must end provocative digs’’ implies that if Israel refrains from undertaking projects opposed by the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab world in general, the chances of a successful Arab-Israeli peace process will be enhanced. Recent history suggests otherwise.
Always telling Israel what to do
THE GLOBE incessantly tells Israel what it should do ( “Israel must end provocative digs,’’ Editorial, Oct. 29). It rarely tells China what to do in Tibet. Or Iraq, Iran, and Turkey what to do about Kurdistan or Sri Lanka about the Tamils. Why are you so much more concerned about the Palestinian Arabs?
Politics, as viewed from castle walls
"From the loopholes, those on the inside of the castle (Congress and special interests) could easily shoot down anyone outside the castle (taxpayers)." -- Mark Adams
Don’t be fooled into thinking local aid is unscathed
NEITHER THE Globe nor “giddy’’ local officials should be fooled by Governor Patrick’s asserting that his budget reductions don’t cut local aid ( “Patrick should cut local aid, ease up on human services,’’ Editorial, Nov. 2). While the governor may not have made cuts to Chapter 70 or additional assistance, the fine print shows millions of dollars in reductions to ...
Making light of physical assault
REGARDING THE Oct. 30 “New England in brief’’ column in the Metro section: I was stunned to read the short item “Looking for love in all the wrong places,’’ describing an incident at the South Bay Center in Dorchester in which a man climbed into a woman’s car and attempted to kiss her. The headline minimizes the fact that a ...
Yardstick for quality not to be found in our natural fallibility
AMEN TO Douglas Brown regarding the absurdity of lumping falls in a hospital in with preventable medical errors (“ Hospitals wage war against patient falls ,’’ Op-ed, Oct. 26). People fall. They fall when young and old, at home, at work and, yes, in hospitals. My own father fell at the assisted living facility where he resided, and broke his ...
The shop around the corner no more
"We were the corner store you spent your childhood in, where you found soon-to-be favorite books, chatting with the owner or another customer. Jeff Jacoby can tell his kids how it used to be, because it won’t be that way again." -- Kathy Phillips
Public data vital to making gains in care
IN HIS Oct. 26 op-ed “ Hospitals wage war against patient falls ,’’ Douglas Brown writes that earlier this year, the state issued its first public report on “serious reportable events.’’ Health Care For All applauds the public reporting of these events, often referred to as “never events’’ because they should never happen to patients while they are in the ...
Where many find inclusiveness
I WAS struck by the fact that atheists are advertising to make a group available to those who want to be with like-minded people, when there has always been a group available (“ New T ads reach out to Hub’s faithless: Atheist group has similar campaigns in cities across US ,’’ Metro, Oct. 28). I’m a Unitarian Universalist, and we ...
It's not about belonging to a religious group
"History is replete with the stories of organized religions that used their powers not to benefit people, but for their own power and wealth. ‘Faith’ is a personal word defined only by the individual." -- Jacob Goldberg
Baseball strike
REGARDING KEVIN Cullen’s Oct. 29 Metro column “ Brotherly hate for N.Y. ’’: There are many of us who couldn’t care less who wins or loses the World Series. I wouldn’t go to a game if it was in my backyard. What we lust to do is not to beat the New York Yankees but to live well. Let the ...
Incident highlights need to uphold workplace safety
IT IS with sadness that I read of the stabbing of Dr. Astrid Desrosiers by a man seeking psychiatric services at the Massachusetts General Hospital’s bipolar clinic (“ Doctor stabbed, attacker killed ,’’ Page A1, Oct. 28). The article was accompanied by a sidebar reporting that doctors see attacks on themselves as rare occurrences (Page A13).
Many victims in this tragedy
"The patient, Jay Carciero, is dead, and leaves behind a bereaved family. Such terrible incidents are traumatic for all involved." -- F. Aschheim
Major gaps in hospital security
"Without any reasonable means for doctors and nurses to defend themselves against violent attacks at work, hospitals must implement better training programs and a uniform method for reporting incidents." -- Dr. Frederick R. Bieber
The power of music
WHEN MONEY is tight, we often make decisions based on the path of least resistance. Often, this ignores human benefit that can affect our lives in profound ways. For public schools faced with serious budgetary decisions, the elimination of programs in music and the arts is an easy target. But in making such decisions, are we depriving our children of ...
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