Petty Feud

How can anyone expect children to excel in school when politicians insist on playing out their petty feuds on the backs of the kids?

In case anyone misses the point, I am referring to Gov. William Donald Schaefer's refusal to adequately fund Baltimore City school construction, reportedly because of his disagreements with city legislators.

Elizabeth R. Greene

Hanover

Example

I read with interest Susan Reimer's thought-provoking series on teen-age mothers (April 7-21).

Having raised four children from childhood through the teen-age years, I can now look back and silently celebrate the fact that they all grew up without any major social problems.

As far as teaching them values, I agree with her that there is no book of virtues in which to instruct them, except, I would add, the Holy Bible.

I believe that parents teach their children by example. Whether we like it or not, they assimilate our values by the lifestyle that we live. They learn what kindness is by the way we treat other people. They see that good manners is simply putting the golden rule into practice.

How will they learn what responsibility is if they are never taught to work for the things they want to buy? And if they see and hear us discussing the purchase of new cars, clothes, and appliances all the time, how will they learn that happiness is not bought with material possessions alone?

Will they value education if their parents never go near their classrooms to see what they are learning in school and to meet their teachers? How will they see the value of reading if their parents are always glued in front of a TV set?

Working on projects together, whether they be carpentry, gardening, crafts, photography or any hobby or skill helps a child to develop creativity and self-esteem so needed by today's youth.

Being a good parent is the most rewarding but most demanding job in the world. It is not a job for those who are still children themselves, those who have not yet discovered their own abilities and personalities.

Holding a helpless little baby in your arms lasts less than a year. Raising a child to become a responsible adult takes many years of sacrifice and hard work.

Helen Twining Kadlec

Glen Arm

Hearing Aids

May is "Better Hearing and Speech" month. There is an important issue of medical priorities in the president's health care bill. There are approximately 24 million people in the United States with hearing loss. The issue is the inclusion of certain medical services in President Clinton's proposed benefit package.

Hearing loss apparently doesn't make the cut as a legitimate medical condition. While all other prosthetic devices are covered by the Clinton plan, hearing aids are explicitly excluded, lumped into the same category with luxury items such as private hospital rooms and cosmetic surgery.

Likewise the plan fails to cover aural rehabilitation, even though other types of non-medical therapies are covered.

Under the Clinton formulation, if your arms or legs don't work, you are entitled to everlasting health security, but if your ears don't work, you're on your own.

This is precisely the sort of arbitrary discrimination the American with Disabilities Act was intended to outlaw. Why does this invisible handicap have to continue forever?

C. Earl Tingstrom

Towson

The writer is chairman of the 1994 National Convention: Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (Baltimore, July).

Ashamed

I have never been so ashamed of the American people. I cannot imagine how President and Mrs. Clinton are able to climb above this constant undermining, the steady chipping and clunking as the seekers of dirty secrets continue to shovel into their every past activity.

I can barely contain myself when I see yet another inane bumper sticker, sun-faded and cracking but still proudly proclaiming "I didn't vote for him or her," as though it mattered.

And where was Paula Jones when her allegations should have been considered, before Mr. Clinton was elected?

I don't hear the resounding ring of truth here, as I did during the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings. Just another shovelful of slime.

Meanwhile, vast crevasses remain in our health care system, our care of people without homes, our support for our youth.

The problems Mr. and Mrs. Clinton are trying to solve are growing worse with every wasted hour they spend countering this avalanche of "petticisms."

) Give our leaders a break.

Kristine E. Wickfield

Baltimore

Fed buyout

The Federal Workforce Restructuring Act recently passed by Congress basically sets up a buyout program to terminate federal employees who are no longer needed.

Whatever happened to the standard lay-off procedures the taxpayers working in the private sector have to deal with? This looks like just another perk for the federal work force.

The average laid-off American worker even pays a percentage of income tax on his or her insurance. I suppose that's where the funding for this pork-perk comes from.

Once again the average American worker is slapped in the wallet and reaps no benefit for it. When will the powers that be face the financial mess they have created?

Robert S. Lari

Baltimore

On the Cusp of a Medical Revolution

I look forward to the health section in the Tuesday edition of The Sun, and always enjoy reading Colleen Pierre's column on nutrition.

However, I felt that her article, "Use caution in rush to herbal cures," (April 19) was disappointing.

Although medicinal herbs have been effectively used and documented for thousands of years, the Food and Drug Administration continues to try to gain control of the herbal market on the premise that herbs have not been reviewed by their studies and they are trying to protect the vulnerable consumer.

Is the FDA protecting the health of all Americans when it comes to cigarette sales? Of course the answer is "no," because the wealthy tobacco companies can afford costly lobbying.

The herbal industry does not have the financial means to back such a costly campaign. However, the public has rallied to challenge the FDA. With the support of groups such as the Nutritional Health Alliance, the grass roots lobby effort this year has resulted in a massive mail campaign supporting federal legislation to allow the advertising of substantiated health claims for food supplements.

Health care reform is one of the crucial political issues that the Clinton administration is tackling. I have a tremendous interest in health care, as I have struggled with chronic illness for the past six years.

After a year of intractable pelvic pain, I was finally diagnosed with interstitial cystitis -- chronic bladder inflammation.

The cause of IC is unknown, and treatment is at best experimental. Alternative medicine (which I prefer to call complimentary medicine) has been crucial in my health care.

The public deserves to hear both sides of the controversy over food supplements and to decide what's best individually.

Ms. Pierre mentions that some herbs can be "truly helpful" and indicates that "food-herbs" like basil or garlic can be "part of a healthy diet," but then goes on to say, "Medicinal herbs are largely uncontrolled . . . There are no standards for safety, efficacy or potency. There is little quality control."

Although this may be true in terms of policy, I feel that you have factually misrepresented the dependable herbal companies . . .

These long-established companies deserve favorable recognition. Ms. Pierre could have included some advice to promote consumer education instead of promoting fear.

Alternative medicine -- acupuncture, nutrition, herbal, homeopathy -- has been crucial in my dealing with a disease that has not been researched in the established medical domain.

These alternative approaches enhance health for many patients, and any modern health care reform must include these complimentary health care options. In my case, they have been more effective, less invasive and most importantly less expensive than the established treatment modalities.

I agree with Bill Moyers that "we're on the cusp of a medical revolution" in his recent programs on healing. I am encouraged by the new Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.

Holistic approaches are no longer on the fringes of western medicine, but are becoming fully integrated in the medical mainstream.

Beth Cheshire Moran

Baltimore