Letters 6/8/06

June 7, 2006

Emergency situation
Re; your article, “Emergency Situation.” I worked as an ER doctor for 11 years, during which time I witnessed countless violent episodes. Emergency department personnel often become inured to violence because we see it so frequently, but some of it is so extreme that it can rattle even seasoned doctors, nurses, and technicians. In my opinion, some of this misbehavior stems from a seemingly pervasive belief amongst certain patients that the laws governing public behavior are somehow suspended in the ER. If people were to behave similarly in other venues, their outrageous acts would lead to arrests and imprisonment.
My www.ERbook.net web site and True Emergency Room Stories book give many examples of what it is like to work in an ER, including many cases involving combative patients. I just published another e-book of true ER stories that primarily pertain to romance, but it also includes stories in which violence was a central element. Your readers can download the e-book free (it’s an Adobe Acrobat PDF file) from the www.erlove.com site. Alternatively, you can read the same stories on that site.
 
Kevin Pezzi, MD • via email


Misdirected controversy
Like others in the community, I have gripes with the Record-Eagle. With this -- as with any other media source -- my power lies within my own hands. I can choose not to spend time with its pages open before me. It is my choice and I exercise it at differing levels and times throughout the course of my day. Reading and listening to the recent opinions about the editorial policy of our local paper, I cannot help but think the controversy is tragically misdirected.
I put more responsibility for the frustration surrounding the Record-Eagle reportage on the readership itself, and not the paper. We have become a nation of “happy-meal” media consumers, accepting whatever is placed before us unquestioningly. If we are to move forward as a society, we must begin to ask questions, not only of our public officials, but of our media too. We must create within our community -- and especially our youth -- the knowledge and confidence for critical thinking.
The public’s hunger for information gleefully served up by the media provides little nutrition for the mind without the filters of balance and criticality. Anytime we engage the media, we should ask, “Is this the whole story?” I can safely say without reservation that the answer to this question should always be “no!”
It is up to us not to settle for the greasy bag of easily digested news. We must ask for more, something chewier, with some grit perhaps. It should take some effort. If it still does not taste right, we shouldn’t swallow it, we should just spit it out.
We cannot be complacent in these matters. Whether it is Fox News, NPR, the Record-Eagle or the Northern Express, we must actively participate in how we are informed. Furthermore, it is our responsibility to challenge any assumptions that would leave us with the residue of half-truths and hearsay on the news-hungry digits of our minds.

Bill Palladino • TC

Different strokes
Private industry and public employees have lost or are losing their retirement benefits by politicians who hand out generous retirement plans to their fellow politicians.
Case in point: former Treasury Secretary John Snow‘s comment to Congress: “I think we need to be concerned about pensions; we need to encourage people to save and become part of an ownership society.“
Now, this of course refers to Bush‘s Social Security privatization plan. Let‘s look at our double standard examples:
John Snow: given a lump sum of $33.2 million based on 44 years at CSX railroad corporation. He only worked there 26 years; 18 years were fictional. Other phantom employment records: Drew Lewis, Pennsylvania Republican and one-time head of the U.S. Department of Transportation. He got a $1.5 million annual pension from Union Pacific. His pension was based on 30 years, but he actually worked only 11 years. This gift was from the board of directors which included Dick Cheney.
Then there‘s Leo Mullin, former director of Delta Airlines. He picked up a $16 million package based on 28.5 years of employment, which was 21 years more than he worked there.
Congress writes laws so broadly that corporate raiders can dip into pension funds and remove cash set aside for workers‘ retirement. Pension accounting has a lot in common with Enron accounting, but with one exception; it‘s perfectly legal.
It seems to be that the 401K was never intended as a retirement plan. It evolved out of a tax break that Congress awarded to executives.

John Sanchez • ret. UAW member

Ethanol scam
RE: “Education In Ethanol” (Letters, 5/25), on the proposed ethanol distillery in Kingsley:
The current rush towards a national ethanol program is a replay of the “Hydrogen Economy” boondoggle which followed the fake energy crisis of summer, 2000. Driven not by reasoned policy but by lobbyists and other business interests, these projects throw billions of public dollars to certain parts of the private sector.
While we cannot expect a reasonably fashioned energy policy from Washington, we can stop the bulldozing through of an ethanol distillery here until important questions about pollution at these types of facilities and the appropriateness of ethanol investment are answered.

Charles Clark • TC

Life under the big top
If the public knew what went on behind the scenes in a circus, it would quickly lose its appeal.
Life for an animal in the circus is cruel and unnatural. “One little brown bear in the Ringling Brothers Circus was beaten with a long rod until she was screaming and bloody. She became so neurotic that she beat her head against the cage until she died,” as told by an employee to the Elephant Alliance.
In order to train the large exotic and non-exotic animals, the usual method is fear induced by whips, bullocks, chains and electric shock. Some are drugged to keep them manageable and some have their teeth removed.
Animals travel between 48-50 weeks per year between 150 cities. For the most part they are kept confined or are performing the same repetitive tricks over and over.
They do not receive proper veterinary care, water, exercise or food. In many cases the large amount of water needed to care for so many large animals is simply not available. Some die of heat stroke during transport. During the off season, they are often confined to crates, stalls or trucks.
After an animal has outlived its usefulness, it may be sold to another circus, zoo, private farm, game farm to be shot or a research lab.
If you really love animals, find out what goes on behind the scenes for yourself. Just enter “circuses” in your computer or contact any animal organization - if you can stand to look at the information. Then pass the word and don’t go to the circus.

Sherry Passeno • Cheboygan

Correction
Contrary to a claim in last week‘s Region Watch that local politcos snubbed Gov. and Helen Milliken at their recent book reception, Sen. Debby Stabenow reports that her aide, Brandon Fewins, was in attendance.