Soldiers' stories tell a brutal tale
Thanks for publishing the column "Winter soldiers" by Madeleine Mysko (Opinion
Commentary, March 19).
As we enter the sixth year of the war in Iraq, it is important that newspapers such as The Sun let the public hear the horrifying words of those who have returned from the front lines, the winter soldiers.
I appreciated how Ms. Mysko, a former second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, wove her story from the Vietnam era with the testimony of a veteran of the Iraq war, Jason Hurd of the U.S. Army, who spoke along with other veterans, their parents and friends last weekend in Silver Spring.
It's tragic to think how strikingly similar the stories told by our present-day veterans - of violent and dehumanizing acts bred from the mission, self-preservation, fear, revenge, battle fatigue, etc. - are to those of four decades ago from another distant land that suffered cruel losses, in a war that took the lives of more than 50,000 of our soldiers and left physical and emotional scars on many veterans.
I just returned from a trip to Vietnam. There I visited the site of the My Lai massacre, which happened 40 years ago last weekend.
The site now has a museum that includes testimony from survivors and those close to the scene, a memorial to the dead, remnants of the village and markers detailing the lives of some of those who survived and some of the 504 Vietnamese civilians who were killed.
For the sake of our soldiers and our country, I encourage readers to check out the testimony of those who spoke at the winter soldiers gathering; to do what they can to ensure better care for our veterans who are not getting the services they need; to work to end the conflict in Iraq as soon as possible; to support efforts to resettle the reported 3 million-plus Iraqi refugees now living in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon; and to push for an investigation of impeachable offenses by the leaders of this very damaging war.
Dave Schott
Baltimore
The writer served in Vietnam in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 to 1969.
Don't cut the funds to cover uninsured
One of the most important accomplishments of last November's special session was the Working Families and Small Business Health Care Coverage Act, which will provide health care coverage for more than 100,000 uninsured Marylanders. Even in these tough fiscal times, it would be a tragic mistake to delay or cut back this measure ("Consensus is close on cuts to O'Malley's budget," March 15).
The health care reform law is a budget-helper, not a budget-buster, because it will bring many millions of matching federal dollars to Maryland and because it will reduce the burden of uncompensated hospital care we all now bear.
That is why a coalition of hundreds of faith, community, health care, labor and business groups from across the state and, according to a poll done recently by Gonzales Research, 64 percent of Maryland voters oppose cutting funds to implement the new law.
Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly should be very proud of the health care reform law.
I look forward to working with them to make sure it is fully implemented as soon as possible.
Vincent DeMarco
Baltimore
The writer is president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative.
Either ration care or fund care for all
As the writer of the letter "A single-payer system is better health choice" (March 15) succinctly points out, it is abundantly clear that the private health insurance industry is all about profits, not about providing health care to those it insures or paying care providers fairly for services.
The name of the game is to deny or delay payments or decline to authorize services and increase the "hassle factor" to discourage providers and patients from demanding the care they are owed.
The Medicare system handles subscribers' dollars more efficiently because profit is not a consideration.
However, another important factor in our ever-increasing health costs is the explosion of technological advances in diagnosis and treatment and new drugs, which come at a steep price but have tremendous life-saving potential.
Indeed, our increasing longevity means that more patients have increasingly complex medical problems, which create a demand for these drugs and technological miracles. But no one wants to bear the costs involved.
We as a society need to grapple with the wrenching decision to limit health care resources based on scientific data and to accept that at a certain time in the natural history of a disease, treatment is futile and should cease.
But if society as a whole feels that everyone should be treated with all possible resources at all times regardless of age, prognosis or medical futility, society should come up with a way to pay for these services that is equitable, fair and funded by all citizens.
Dr. Vijay M. Abhyankar
Bel Air
Ruling imperils planning process
The Sun's editorial "Controlling growth" (March 13) got to the heart of the issues in the Maryland Court of Appeals' ruling in the case concerning the Terrapin Run development.
Local comprehensive plans determine how an area is going to grow and how it will support that growth even as it protects our natural resources.
These plans are created through significant public input, involve tremendous public investment and are the means that allow Marylanders to determine the future of their communities.
But the language of the court's decision was very broad. It may be applied to a variety of cases and may weaken the standing of local governments' comprehensive plans.
The issue here is not state control over local land-use decisions, it is local governments implementing their own plans through zoning laws and subdivision approvals.
The court's decision increases the likelihood of developments the size of Frostburg, Bel Air or Elkton (towns similar in size to the 4,300-unit Terrapin Run project) being built in areas that communities have determined, through their master plans, should be used for agriculture or land conservation.
We need to do more to make our growth smart and sustainable, not less.
The O'Malley administration is discussing ways to move forward on this, and will issue a set of recommendations by the end of the year.
These recommendations are likely to include steps to ensure that our comprehensive plans retain their role as solid blueprints for development.
Richard Eberhart Hall
Baltimore
The writer is secretary of the Maryland Department of Planning.
Bodine's photos belong in BMA show
The Baltimore Museum of Art's exclusion of A. Aubrey Bodine's photographs from its exhibit highlighting pioneering photographers is so unfortunate that it demands reconsideration of the BMA's competence to mount the show ("Bodine, BMA involved in feud over art exhibit," March 19).
Mr. Bodine was my colleague at The Sun, and the body of photographic work he produced of Maryland landscapes and seascapes and everyman at work made him a legend in his own time, and secured his position in the pantheon of photographic pioneers.
Mr. Bodine was a "pictorialist" whose creative darkroom techniques improved the images his camera captured. He used his darkroom like a painter uses a brush, adding mood and tension to his photos, experimenting with dyes, even scraping his negatives.
Does familiarity breed contempt? The BMA contends Mr. Bodine is old hat; when his daughter, Jennifer Bodine, lobbied museum officials to include his work in the show, the curator reminded her that the BMA owned a handful of his photographs and had devoted three shows to his work, the most recent in 1987, 21 years ago. By that logic, I have to surmise that the BMA is on an alternating generation exhibition schedule.
The magnitude of the exhibit - approximately 150 prints - only adds insult to injury.
So much abundance, yet so little room for my celebrated colleague whose brilliance illuminated The Sun.
Helen Bentley
Lutherville
The writer is a former member of Congress and a former reporter for The Sun.