Struck in Lebanon
The Aug. 14 article by Doug Struck, "Hezbollah replaces PLO in nightmares of the West," is the ultimate in absurdity.
Painting the Hezbollah as the David in a David and Goliath struggle with Israel is irrational and illustrates once again Mr. Struck's biased anti-Israel reporting.
His premise that Israel's invasion of Lebanon to stop the shelling of its northern border was responsible for the creation of the Hezbollah is an absurd over-simplification, contradicted by his subsequent correct assertion that the true goal of the Hezbollah is the destruction of Israel.
This has been the long-standing goal of the radical Muslim fundamentalists, including many current members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for years and remains the dream of Yasser Arafat.
To characterize the murderers of innocent civilians in Buenos Aires and Israel as freedom fighters is an insult to the intelligence of your readers.
Noah Lightman
Baltimore
Canada Fiasco
Regarding the Aug. 4 letter of Lisa D. Maugans Driver and Steven D. Driver, almost 100 hospitals in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, shut down for three weeks last December in order to meet budgets. Their doctors went unpaid and non-emergency patients were left untreated.
Dr. Walter Bobechko, a world renowned orthopedic surgeon, left his native Canada several years ago to practice in America. "The saddest thing to see is the diminished expectations of Canadians," he said. "They are settling for Third World medicine and saying 'at least it's free.' "
Dr. Bobechko said people are in pain who shouldn't be and people are dying who shouldn't die.
I don't believe the Drivers gave up their American citizenship while living in Canada, so they could go to any doctor they wanted. President Clinton's health reform plan also would allow foreign visitors, students, etc., to go to any doctor or hospital they wished.
We may trail in giving away free health care, but the United States produces nearly half of all new drugs. Doctors from
around the world come to our teaching hospitals to stay abreast of the expanding frontiers of medicine.
The U.S. health care system is far from perfect. But the quality of care is the best in the world. The Clintons and their crooners in Washington are telling us to bureaucratize American medicine.
Bill Moore
Hanover, Pa.
Pro-business State
I was dismayed by your Aug. 15 editorial, "Maryland's Anti-Business Climate," which appeared to derive from unsubstantiated statements put out by a North Carolina political action committee.
While there is always more to be done to attract jobs, many state government employees are actively encouraging businesses to enter the Maryland marketplace.
When my licensing staff took over the responsibility for administering the Maryland Mortgage Lender Statute in 1990, there were 864 firms doing business in Maryland. There are now 1879, and the number increases weekly.
These companies create jobs, revenues and increased competition so that mortgage rates remain low.
The Sun's policy of emphasizing the negative when assessing state government should give way to a more balanced, factual presentation. Your readers deserve better.
Alan Thomas Fell
Baltimore
The writer is commissioner of consumer credit for the Maryland Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Sexist Joke
I was offended by a joke that was published in your "Just For Kids" section Aug. 12. The joke was, "What are the three quickest ways to spread news?" The answer: "telegraph, telephone and tell a girl."
One would think that no one in the 1990s would not tell a joke that is so sexist. How come the answer was not "tell a boy"?
It should have been obvious that this was sexist; I am 13 years old and spotted it immediately.
I am living proof that not all girls are "blabber mouths." I was elected honor board president in eighth grade, and this year I am class vice president and honor board representative. The honor board is known for its strict confidentiality.
I am writing this letter because I hope that in today's society jokes like this will no longer be acceptable.
Laura Cohen
Baltimore
Managing News
Members of the Baltimore Police Department in general and myself in particular as the chief spokesman take extreme exception to Rich Hollander's Aug. 19 letter.
The writer accused the Police Department's spokesman of misleading the public and press in the recent double murder in Guilford.
The Police Department has no obligation to reveal or divulge specific channels of investigation in an ongoing homicide case.
The crime scene at first glance did give the appearance or impression that burglary may have been a motive in this case.
However, good homicide detectives learn early in their training that things may not be as they first appear, and detectives by their nature learn to be suspicious about many things.
The suspicion should not be revealed to a particular suspect or to the public in general. It is imperative that if a case can be solved, it is done in a manner that is both fair and objective, especially toward a defendant. Additionally, mere suspicion should not cloud sound investigative judgment.
The Police Department at the appropriate time revealed the facts and circumstances surrounding the clearance of this particular case.
The goal of homicide detectives is to find the truth and clear a case. Responsible members of the press and media realize this and at times are most helpful to the Police Department by reporting relevant information.
This case was not resolved until the early morning hours of Aug. 18. The press was notified of our findings at the appropriate time. The Police Department had no control over the frequency of reporting in this case.
Sam J. Ringgold Jr.
Baltimore
Crime in Guilford and Beyond
The uproar in Guilford over two murders seems to have gotten quite a few people in that already over-protected neighborhood up in arms.
They want more protection from all of those outsiders who drift through their area.
They want to change the traffic flow on certain streets for the protection of their children. They want gates. They want more walls. They want to feel safe.
Well, who doesn't?
Imagine a room in which two infants are crying. The first lies whimpering on clean sheets in a new crib. The second is shrieking in a rickety crib which seems about to fall over. That crib is filled with bits of broken glass, used syringes and maggot-covered garbage. Under such circumstances, ignoring the second child in order to soothe the first would be unconscionable.
Why is no one suggesting the re-routing of traffic on, say, Poplar Grove Street in West Baltimore?
Why is there no talk of improving security in neighborhoods that have a real crime problem?
Two murders in Guilford make the news for a week. Dozens of murders elsewhere get passing mention on the news and then are forgotten. Wake up, Baltimore.
Teresa Palomar
Baltimore
As a young, white woman, I am tired of being embarrassed by the actions of the media and of affluent white Americans. The news media perpetuated the paranoid reaction to the Guilford slayings.
Murder is, at all times and in all communities, a heinous act of violence that our society should fight loud and hard to terminate. Murder is no more tragic when in one neighborhood than in another.
Daily in Baltimore neighborhoods, an innocent life is taken from this city.
Why is it that reports of this violence lie hidden in the depths of the newspaper and go unnoticed by the public, but when tragedy strikes an affluent community the media makes it front ++ page news?
As a native of Boston, I remember all too well how the story of the murder of Martha Stuart bought into the racial stereotypes, only to blow up in the media's face when the murderer was not the tenant of a housing project but her husband.
By placing stories like the Stuart and Loch murders on the front burner, the media encourage the public to buy into racial stereotypes.
What a fitting paradox that in one of these two atrocious crimes the criminal was a deeply disturbed white male and in the other the suspect is a relative.
Shouldn't such cases be breaking down racial stereotypes rather than building them up?
The fact remains that many residents of the Baltimore community like myself did not want the crime in Guilford to be front-page news and did not buy into racial stereotypes when contemplating the identity of the culprit.
As the Guilford community reflects on its reaction to these activities, I hope its members realize how their actions impact our society's fight against classism and racism.
I beg the media and those who encourage tabloid news to listen to the quiet screams shouting that we don't want tabloid news to make the front page, we don't want the media to perpetuate racism.
We want the news, and we want it be reported fairly.
Laura B. Sullivan
Baltimore