Postal rates soar while service sinks
As a member in good standing with the Western Postal Customer Advisory Council, I cannot see how an increase in the postal rates will alleviate the problems that confront the United States Postal Service.
Many of the problems being addressed by the advisory council cannot be solved with rate increases. If the public stands for more increases in the cost of a postage stamp with the inadequate service today, it deserves what it gets.
The Western Postal Customer Advisory Council has been trying for weeks to get more members from the postal zones of 21207, 21225, 21226, 21227, 21228, 21229 and 21244 to assist in alleviating the many problems confronting the Postal Service.
A public service announcement to this effect was mailed to every major radio, and television station in the Baltimore area, and not one aired the announcement.
It is my recommendation that every person who uses the mail write those supposed to represent them, voicing disapproval over this proposed hike in stamp prices.
The increase in rates over the years has not done much in solving the problems of the Postal Service. There is too much middle management, and half of those in positions of authority aren't doing their job.
We of the WPCAC invite anyone truly interested in assisting in this task force to contact their local branch manager, or send requests to Frank T. Miller, Manager Customer Service, Halethorpe Branch, 21227.
John F. Thomas
Catonsville
Sinatra forever
Music critic J. D. Considine's continued criticism of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra is unfair ("Sinatra and his collaborators end up odd couples in the listless 'Duets II'," Nov. 15). We all know that Frank Sinatra is past his prime
Still, he's a relic that people want to see -- just like people want to see Mickey Mantle play ball at an old timers game or to see players past their prime in the American League. (They are called "designated hitters" in today's game.)
Frank Sinatra's music is just that -- real music. It's a song with a great orchestra. They don't make songs anymore. I definitely would rather buy "Duets II" than anything from the rappers or heavy metal groups of today -- and so would the more than 5 million Sinatra fans who bought "Duets I."
Let's cool it with the ugly criticism and be thankful that we still have Sinatra to deliver those great songs that they don't make anymore.
Pete Monaldi
Baltimore
Fur lives
When the Fur Industry Council of America's (FICA) Carol Wynne claims that fur sales have increased 20 percent in the last two years, she is speaking of profit-loss margins (news story, Nov. 26).
Roughly half of all U.S. furriers have folded within the last five years. When a furrier folds, annual losses are no longer factored into the equation, while they turn one last profit by offering basement prices in liquidation sales.
Their share of the market then falls to those furriers that hang on -- often large department stores that do not rely on fur for their income.
But is fur-selling lucrative for individual furriers?
A walk down Howard Street tells the real story. The old "fur district," once inhabited by the likes of Mano Swartz, Kent Fisher and Peltz Furs, is now without a single furrier.
The recent demonstration was in front of Tarlow Furs Ltd., whose former Charles St. neighbor, Leonard Furs, can no longer be found in Baltimore.
Each year in the U.S., fewer animals are killed for fur and fewer furriers, fur farmers and trappers are in business.
Meanwhile, elite designers like Calvin Klein and supermodels like Cindy Crawford have sworn off the cruelties of fur, proving that compassion is an increasingly fashionable choice.
No matter how staunchly FICA denies it, society is finding the fur industry too cruel to support.
Dale Bartlett
Washington
The writer is fur campaign coordinator of the Humane Society of the United States.
Light on AIDS
On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, the annual candlelight vigil was held at Mt. Vernon Methodist Church. The event is mostly solemn and mournful, as friends and family light candles and then extinguish them in remembrance of loved ones who have died of AIDS.
It is incredible that the city scheduled the lighting of the Washington Monument with celebratory fireworks at the same time as the vigil.
The mayor apologized for the "unfortunate coincidence," but isn't this exactly the point that AIDS activists have been decrying all along? No one thinks about AIDS unless it is thrust in their face.
There is no priority in any government agency at the city, state and federal level that places AIDS in its true context, a human tragedy beyond the scope of any we have known. This is just another slap in the face to those of us affected with this terrible disease.
Thomas L. Ditty III
Baltimore
Diet matters
It would be most unfortunate if your report on the genetic predispositions to obesity weakened readers' resolve to follow a prudent diet.
According to the report, Rockefeller University researchers found that obesity is frequently associated with the malfunction of a gene that signals when the body has enough fat.
Obesity is a life-threatening condition that has become prevalent in our country.
Some 30 percent of Americans exceed their ideal body weight by more than 20 percent, according to one estimate.
Obesity elevates substantially the risk of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer of the breast, uterus and kidneys.
It promotes arthritis, interferes with immune response and discourages an active lifestyle.
A 27-year follow-up study of 19,000 middle-aged Harvard University alumni, published last December in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that men in the thinnest 20 percent had a 60 percent lower risk of death from heart disease and a 40 percent lower risk of death from all causes than those in the heaviest 20 percent.
These findings were corroborated by the renowned "Framingham Study," which estimated a 1-to-3 percent increase in risk of premature death for every pound of excess body weight.
Genetic predisposition notwithstanding, obesity and a number of other life-threatening conditions are still inexorably tied to the excessive caloric content of our diets.
We can reduce our caloric intake by following the recommendations of the U.S. Surgeon General and other health authorities to replace fat-laden meat, poultry and dairy products in our diet with grains, vegetables and fruits.
This plant-based diet contains abundant protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fiber.
We have the knowledge to compensate for the occasional failures of our genetic makeup.
All we need is the will.
Tom Oliver
Baltimore
Christmas is no secret
We can't change the fact that the great majority of people in this country celebrate Christmas, and we cannot hide it from our kids.
To keep non-religious reminders of the holiday out of the schools will not keep our non-Christian children from seeing the decorations or hearing the songs.
They are everywhere: in the malls, at street corners, in shop windows, on television. Most of us grew up with them, without sacrificing our identity.
If children are raised in a home which stresses the values parents wish them to have, they will not be "contaminated." They will not fret and complain that they are not a part of the celebration.
If they feel depressed, then it is parents' responsibility to ensure that they know their place in this world and that it is not an #F inferior place, only a different one.
We are all minorities in some areas of our lives. What we have to teach our children is that being a minority is not being inferior. Being different does not imply being deprived.
It is the job of parents to teach children the richness of their own traditions in the areas in which those traditions are different from those of the majority.
You can't keep a child from recognizing that this is the Christmas season, and you would be foolish to try, and there would be no point to it.
You can teach that it's something that other people do, but "our family doesn't do that."
And if you feel comfortable with your own traditions, and if you can experience joy and satisfaction in them, then your child will be able to face this season with equanimity.
Matilda Weiner
Baltimore