LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Baltimore Sun

State's employees have given enough

Two of the six budget-cutting recommendations in The Sun's editorial "Not deep enough" (July 12) call for significant sacrifices on the part of state employees and retirees.

But why must state employees and retirees always be the ones to make the greatest sacrifices whenever the state has budget problems?

The Sun recommends that state retirees should have their health care plan "scaled back." The editorial notes that the plan is "too far out of line with the private sector."

The editorial fails to mention that state employee salaries are far below those in the private sector, the federal government sector and those of some counties in Maryland.

The Sun also recommends freezing state salaries for one year so that "taxpayers would get the message that real sacrifices are being made."

Apparently, The Sun believes that state employees should be offered up as sacrificial lambs so that the taxpayers will, from a safe distance, see that things are really bad and maybe then they can be persuaded to share in the sacrifices made by the state employees.

However, state employees have made too many sacrifices over the years.

Any sacrifices related to the budget deficit should be absorbed equally by all taxpayers - and don't forget that state employees and retirees are taxpayers as well.

Edward McCarey McDonnell

Baltimore

The writer is a retired state employee.

Snubbing Giuliani showed no tolerance

Among the many kudos The Sun bestows upon Cardinal William H. Keeler are that he "embraced diversity" and provided "acceptance" ("Keeler will be hard act to follow, many say," July 13).

Let us not forget, though, that the cardinal demonstrated little acceptance or tolerance for diversity when he pointedly boycotted commencement ceremonies at Loyola College a few years ago because the speaker was former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

The cardinal may have been willing, as The Sun suggests, to open up to people of other religions and ethnicities.

But when it came to a fellow Catholic who happened to have a different point of view on abortion, Cardinal Keeler would not deign to be on the same dais.

Someone who genuinely embraces diversity would not have been so discourteous to a noted American and to as fine a local Catholic institution as Loyola College.

Louis Berney

Baltimore

Archdiocese stands in need of a change

It is great to see new leadership for the Archdiocese of Baltimore ("Change for the Diocese," July 13).

For the last five years, my group has proposed legislation that would help to protect children from sexual predators and hold those who cover up such horrific crimes accountable by extending the time in which abuse victims can sue for damages.

Our chief opposition every year comes from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Let's hope this change will be a good one for the protection of Maryland's most precious assets - its children.

Kurt Gladsky

Towson

The writer is the founder of the Greater Baltimore Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

All should respect a prayer for peace

I just can't believe the protest of a Hindu clergyman offering the Senate's prayer reflects the feelings of all Christians ("Hindu clergyman offers Senate prayer; 3 protesters are arrested," July 13).

Rather, it was a display of true ignorance and bias by the three protesters who interrupted the Hindu prayer and had to be forcefully removed from the opening of the Senate session.

A prayer for peace, whether it comes from a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Christian or Jewish official, should be revered by all.

Lynn Pakulla

Ellicott City

Escorting inmates is dangerous duty

As I read letters and listen to reports about the Charles Murel case, there seems to be one common theme: What real danger would have been posed had Charles Murel been allowed to attend his son's funeral?

And on the surface, it may appear that there would have been little downside to allowing this jailed father to attend the funeral after his son's untimely and tragic death.

But until the people arguing the merits of this case escort an inmate on a funeral detail, as I have, they have little credibility when it comes to judging the hazards presented by these types of runs.

Typically, the inmate in custody understands the protocol of being restrained by shackles during the prearranged viewing. Unfortunately, the inmate's family members and friends often view such a display as a sign of disrespect.

Correctional officers are therefore routinely harassed and asked why they cannot remove the restraints. And angry family members and friends often can't understand why they cannot openly embrace an inmate.

Inmates are often related to or associate with individuals who were previously in custody. The chances are good that some of these people will attend the same funeral.

If we combine the unpredictability of individuals with a criminal past with the understandable emotions unearthed by an untimely death, we are placing officers in potentially serious jeopardy by requiring them to escort inmates to funerals.

I applaud Circuit Judge John M. Glynn for not succumbing to political pressure in this case.

I only wish other judges and bystanders elsewhere understood the real dangers posed by these details.

Jared W. Shandrowsky

Pasadena

The writer is a security supervisor for a local correctional facility.

It's time to insist on Gonzales' ouster

The Sun's editorial "Stall" (July 11) says that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales' "apparent attempt to mislead Congress fits a potentially criminal pattern."

That is commendably frank and gutsy. But the message's integrity is undercut by this line: "Both sides should cool the rhetoric and work out an arrangement."

What kind of satisfactory arrangement can be attained when President Bush is doing everything possible to avoid disclosure and accountability?

Furthermore, The Sun's advice overlooks the gravity of our affliction: The nation's highest law enforcement officer may be a perjurer. He continues to act as consigliere to Mr. Bush at the expense of the nation he has sworn to serve.

Diplomacy should end; Mr. Gonzales' removal should begin.

Daniel Fleisher

Baltimore

Disregarding law debases the nation

This administration continues to flout the law and subvert our Constitution, which the president has sworn to uphold ("Aide gets OK to defy Congress," July 12). It has brought nothing but shame to our wonderful country.

We can't wait until 2008 to begin rebuilding what it has destroyed.

William Yost

Ellicott City

Copyright © 2021, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication | Place an Ad
77°