Inflammatory Art
Editor: The caricature of a samurai with a cruel and vicious leer together with a letter to the editor critical of Japan (May 7) is the sort of mindless stereotyping which should be beneath The Sun.
In the context of the letter, it is art that tends to inflame racial fears and hatred, reminiscent of World War War II propaganda, whose effects are still felt today.
As for the substance of the story to which the letter referred, it would appear that during the Persian Gulf buildup some Japanese firms initially refused to put U.S. defense contractors ahead of their other customers until the Japanese government intervened. The headline of the story could have read, "Japan Aids U.S. Defense Effort," if the editors were so inclined.
The real issue, however, is not whether Japan remains an enemy, real or potential. It is the shortsightedness of U.S. defense policy that allows us to become dependent on foreign suppliers of any nation for critical parts.
We should stop using others as scapegoats for our own failings.
Gene Oishi.
Baltimore.
Antennas
Editor: The article by Luther Young April 7 stated that "Congress ponders funding a $211 million gravity wave observatory using a different system from the one [Joseph Weber] invented, a rival design championed by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology."
The correct facts are that I invented both the bar and the interferometer gravity wave detectors at the University of Maryland at College Park. The first interferometer detector, similar to the "rival design championed by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology" was constructed and operated by Dr. Robert L. Forward after he received his Ph.D. degree at the University of Maryland at College Park.
The article refers to our collaboration with the Italians stating that the Rome group -- "while noting some curious 'coincidences' in data -- have never made that claim." And concerning the Supernova data "and once again the Italians were leery of the data."
The correct facts are that two scientists from the University of Rome are first authors on a scientific paper published in the journal Physical Review D on May 15, 1982. The abstract of this states that:
"Results are presented for analyses of the outputs of gravitational radiation antennas in Rome and in Maryland during July 1978. These data give evidence for an external background exciting both antennas."
J. Weber. Irvine, Calif.
Rights of Disabled
Editor: I note with interest the editorial of May 4, "Wrong Roadblock," in which you claim to be sympathetic with people with disabilities and that the offending policy is wrong-headed and socially unacceptable.
Yet you say the demonstrations in Woodlawn were counter-productive.
Have you been asleep while the civil rights movements in this country have shifted to the rights of people with disabilities?
Did you notice the Congress and president enact in 1990 the most important civil rights law in history for people with disabilities?
Have you noticed the new solidarity of those fighting discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, etc., and disabilities?
I wonder what editorials appeared in your newspaper when many were in the streets demonstrating for the civil rights of those not in the racial majority of the day.
Thomas John Martin.
Prince Frederick.
The writer is chairman of the Calvert County Commission for Individuals with Disabilities.
Criticism Muzzles the Cops
A
Editor: I am not at all surprised that the Baltimore County Police Department failed to act more aggressively when disabled protesters recently paralyzed the offices of the Health Care Financing Administration in Woodlawn. Nor am I surprised that the Washington, D.C. police are being criticized for failure to take more aggressive action to protect property during the recent riots.
The brutal beating of that Los Angeles motorist has obviously constrained police forces around the country. They're being cautious. Some of that restraint is probably desirable. Some of it can be construed as an overreaction, even a public hampering of needed police effort.
I'm amazed at recently published expressions of anger that the police did not act forcefully enough in removing handicapped individuals who were blocking public access and public use of thoroughfares. Given the current climate, I find it shocking that .. anyone would seriously and soberly believe the police would open themselves up to the videotaped exposure of forcibly removing people in wheel chairs.
Someone, for sure, would be waiting to pounce on the police, no matter how gently they acted to restore order.
Frankly, I don't blame the Baltimore County Police Department one bit for being invisible. In the current climate of anti-police rhetoric, it's hard to believe anyone expected more.
Every police force has a few rotten apples that need purging. And, at times, good apples go bad from too much exposure to constant strain. We need to weed out these bad elements, but we cannot seriously expect our society to retain any aspect of civilized behavior if we so overly constrain our police by having media ready to pounce every move made.
By and large, we see many bad cops overreacting to certain milder acts of criminal behavior, but we don't see pure innocents being rounded up in freight cars for shipment east, either. Let's not forget our police forces do a pretty good job overall.
Remembering that, may, one hopes, assure against them being reticent to act in the future.
Douglas B. Hermann.
Baltimore.
Bush Blew It
Editor: President Bush missed the chance to show real leadership about health care during his recent hospital stay.
It appears from news reports that Mr. Bush lets his doctors make all the decisions for him, instead of hearing their advice and making choices for himself.
The tendency for Americans to leave their medical decisions up to doctors is an alarming trend to me. It starts at birth, with a 25-percent national Cesarean rate that even doctors concede should be only 7 or 8 percent. It continues through a life of unnecessary prescriptions and operations and it winds up as more and more dying Americans find themselves hooked to expensive machines for the last weeks of their lives.
Are doctors making these decisions for us for the sake of quality health care? Hard to say -- indeed, the United States ranks behind in many indicators. Until we patients and consumers reassert our rightful place as decision-makers and relegate the doctors to the well-educated, well-paid advisers they are, we will never get on top of rising health-care costs.
I bet the president would be making more of his choices personally if he was one of the nation's 37 million uninsured and had to pay for all these high-brow medical panels out of his own pocket.
Don DeArmon.
Frederick.
Costly Good Works
Editor: Michael Olesker's column, "Good Samaritan Finds It's Costly To Help Lame Dogs," is an example of the questionable methods the mass media employ to evoke a predictable response from a misinformed public. But then, he was just doing his job; and he was "duped" for his troubles. He cannot be faulted for the content of his article.
We would like to point out, however, that:
1. Barry Blumenstock was made aware the he would be responsible for any and all charges.
2. Mr. Blumenstock consciously signed a promissory note confessing that he would assume responsibility for the dog's charges.
4 3. Over $500 was discounted from the final bill.
4. Several attempts have been made since 1989 to settle the dispute before he abruptly moved to Florida.
5. Falls Road Animal Hospital's 24 hour Emergency Shock-Trauma unit is responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of wild animals and thousands of household pets over the past few years since its inception by Dr. Kim J. Hammond.
6. Falls Road Animal Hospital performs thousands of dollars worth of pro bono work annually (just ask the Brooklandville Fire Department, Middle River Animal Search and Rescue Team, Pets On Wheels, Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary, etc.).
Falls Road Animal Hospital is not the faceless, ruthless, profit-hungry company portrayed in Mr. Olesker's column. Falls Road Animal Hospital is a collection of ordinary, caring people organized into a team whose mission is to satisfy the customer -- even if his name just happens to be Fido.
Russell Jackson.
Baltimore.
The writer is a member of Falls Road Animal Hospital Inc.'s accounting department.