School district has money for big salaries
Our new school district head, Mr. William Hite, seems to be making a spectacle of all the cuts he needs to make to keep our schools open in the fall. Students have hit the streets, picketing and protesting with an enthusiasm they seem not to have in the classroom.
Haven’t we seen this movie before? Dire claims, public fear, and then capitulation to more taxes?
In the midst of all this “austerity” I noticed in The Daily News the school district had the money to hire Naomi Wyatt as a human resources officer — the previous officer earned $175,000. Ms. Wyatt may be qualified, but the fact that she is a former Rendell cabinet member, raises eyebrows over such a hiring at this time. A former city L&I executive, Ms. Fran Burns, was also hired to a top job in May. Austerity?
I went on the school board website and tried to get into its staff directory, but it was unavailable.
I wonder who else with a political background sits on the payroll, and at what salary? If we had a local TV news media less obsessed with the weather and celebrity gossip, maybe we could find out.
I want the school district, its students and supporters to know I believe in education, the arts, and the support services that are threatened — but the rest of us are threatened too, with ever higher taxes.
Grandma may also have to decide on cuts — to her prescriptions, or her air-conditioning.
We all make hard choices these days; so should the school district. Just make the right ones.
Richard Iaconelli
Rhawnhurst
Richard Iaconelli is right on marriage
We totally agree with Richard Iaconelli’s stand on same-sex marriage.
I don’t think morals are consigned to a certain degree or time. It was wrong in the ’50s and it’s wrong now. Same-sex marriage is one more terrible example for children, male or female.
As for unfit parents, our society permits people to have children who are incapable of raising them. Each child pretty much is just another decimal point on the welfare check — being paid for being stupid, and we, the working class, are expected to support generational same-family abuse of the welfare system. Breeders and eaters — a pointless waste of taxpayer money. Or maybe we can find these children a home with same-sex marriage partners. What choice do they have?
Then we have H. Steinberg, who says in her letter (May 24 issue), reeking of rampant liberalism, everyone should do whatever they want and a lot of people are doing just that in all areas of life. Look at the crime rate, drug murders, robberies, sexual diseases, etc., just doing what they want. Everything is so open and liberal.
Right will always be right, and wrong will always be wrong. You can put a rose on a goat, but it’s still a goat.
We would like to see Mr. Richard Iaconelli in public office or at least have a weekly column in this wonderful newspaper.
Joan Dahlberg
Tacony
Iaconelli is wrong on same-sex marriage
Mr. Iaconelli, I read your letter thanking two respondents to your gay marriage letter.
I want to thank you for challenging someone to explain how this affects our children. The fact is, it doesn’t affect our children any more than growing up in a one-parent family.
Who are you to decide that boys don’t want to be “instructed” by a lesbian and that girls don’t want to be “instructed” by gay men? Have you done any research to support your theory? Have you spoken to any children in these circumstances?
Or is this just your narrow-minded, bigoted opinion on how things are in these situations. It’s time for you to get over yourself.
Your views are not sacrosanct. People in gay marriages are just like the rest of us, providing a loving home for their children to grow up in.
Don’t attack them. You don’t even know them.
Joe Orenstein
Bustleton
Republican states are getting subsidies
Farm subsidies. Water subsidies. Railroad subsidies. Mail subsidies. There’s even a mohair goat subsidy!
Enough already.
I propose an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. I call it the “End Socialism in America Amendment.”
Here it is: “No State, nor its people, shall receive more in appropriations from the United States than it and its people pay in taxes to the United States.”
Comrades Bachmann and Inhofe and Palin and the other Republican Reds will learn the real meaning of socialism once we take it away from them.
Howard J. Wilk
Pine Valley
Michael Nutter is a do-nothing mayor
The mayor of this city needs to be held responsible for his neglect of protecting the infrastructure of this city.
Mayor Nutter is so busy using every resource he has to battle those who work hard to support this city that he has no plan whatsoever to move this city forward.
All this guy does is attack us tax-supporting residents.
He brings nothing to the table except higher tax bills and layoff notices. Nothing.
Timothy T. Gass
Somerton
Holocaust education shouldn’t be mandated
I wish to respectfully disagree with Rep. Brendan Boyle and Mr. Feldman on the idea of mandating Holocaust teaching in the school system.
The main reason is that the Holocaust is already mentioned in the Catholic schools and presumably the public. This was an abomination in history, and history cannot possibly be taught without some mention of the plight of the Jews — not only then but throughout time.
It was my recent pleasure to substitute at a Catholic grammar school and the eighth-grade students were reading a book by the famed Holocaust chronicler, Elie Wiesel.
I am now poring through a high school textbook which mentions Hitler, the Jews and the “Final Solution.” It is a teacher’s duty to talk about such things if one wishes to understand the present and the role of hate in history.
But to legislate it leaves the door open to one group receiving special attention to another. I remember some years ago Rep. McGeehan wanted the Irish horrors inserted into the curriculum.
If all requests are legislated and adhered to, history will be sliced like a pie but without a portion large enough to satisfy everyone.
The very purpose of the subject is to learn about people, who we were, how we reached a certain point and where to go from here.
We have all had misfortunes, atrocities performed and received, our plights and our wars. Why not look upon these struggles collectively, intellectually and morally so events such as the Holocaust will never happen again?
Anyone who wishes to know more about the subject could almost certainly find a college that offers more details on such subjects or perhaps they could read one of Mr. Wiesel’s books on their own.
Leonard T. Roberts
Mayfair
Necessary deadly force by Philadelphia police
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey is calling for an investigation of the increasing use of deadly force by police officers.
The job of a police officer is plain and simple: to enforce the law. They are not out there to be public relations executives or good will ambassadors.
They are there to keep the public safe from the criminal garbage who masquerade as human beings.
And since society has created favorable conditions for this garbage to breed; lack of discipline at home and in the schools, continuous public assistance for those who have no ambition or desire to better themselves and disguising bad, unacceptable behavior with stupid terms such as negative attention-seeking and creative expression, the police have had to deal with them on a more frequent basis.
So why are some people surprised that police officers have increasingly had to use deadly force to stop criminals who would just as soon kill that officer or anyone else who got in their way?
What is an officer supposed to do when a gun is pointed at them? Give the perpetrator a timeout? Or maybe try to discuss with them why this action is wrong and will forever change their life?
When some moron is stupid enough to point a gun at a police officer after being ordered to drop it, officers have two choices — die or stay alive and make it home to their families at the end of the day.
There is no reason for an investigation as to the increasing use of deadly force by the police. The investigation should be: Why are there so many people out there who necessitate the need for deadly force?
The bright side to the increasing use of deadly force by the police is that when one criminal is eliminated, you’ve rendered that individual incapable of procreating more criminals.
Peter DiGiuseppe
Rhawnhurst
He thinks Margaret Adelsberger is right
Margaret W. Adelsberger has got it so right. I’m a middle-aged white guy from Philly, pero yo hablo espanol, estudié en escuela segundario por quatro anos (but I speak Spanish, I studied in high school for four years).
I have many Latino friends. I took the time to study and learn Spanish, as should anyone entering this country learn English. It’s the basic rite of passage: enter legally, pledge your allegiance to the flag of the USA, learn English, work hard and follow the laws of our land. Sharia shall not apply here. Do the right thing and this great country will continue to thrive and have the ability to continue to welcome more fine individuals!
Steve Garvin
Castor Gardens
Grieving parents deserve work leave
I was not looking forward to Father’s Day because I am a grieving dad. Just writing those horrific words causes me to pause and think about how difficult this journey has been and will continue to be for some time. I lost my son, Timothy, in 2011 and have spent the past two years trying to survive this loss. As much as a try, I cannot make sense of my son’s death.
You see, most people think that bereaved parents should pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get things back to “normal.” When I say “most people,” I mean people who have not buried a child. Those of us unfortunate enough to have to live this reality know it isn’t quite that simple. I and the thousands of other grieving parents will never get back to “normal,” although we try. Trying to get back to “normal” is a noble cause that never seems to happen after the death of a child. How can it? The death of a child goes beyond most people’s comprehension, except for the bereaved parents that have to walk this path. We don’t have the luxury of removing that thought from our heads, we live it. Every day, we live it.
As part of my voice to help other bereaved parents who will follow in my footsteps, I have joined fellow grieving dads, Kelly Farley and Barry Kluger, to assist them with bringing awareness to the Farley-Kluger Initiative (www.FarleyKluger.com). More than 61,000 petitions have already been sent to Washington, D.C. Many of these petitions have been signed by residents of Pennsylvania.
Currently, there are two federal bills (The Parental Bereavement Act of 2013) sitting in the House of Representatives (HR 515) and the Senate (S 226) that propose expanding the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 to include the death of a child as a covered condition. Right now, you receive up to 12 weeks unpaid leave if you have a child, adopt a child, care for a sick family member, you are ill or you are caring for an injured service member. If your child dies, most companies grant three to five days bereavement leave.
Sadly, there is no political support from Pennsylvania representatives or senators in Washington on this issue. As Pennsylvanians, I know we can do better. I know compassion isn’t a thing of the past. This issue shouldn’t be caught up in Washington politics. It’s a common sense change since no parent is sheltered from the death of a child, and those affected are Democrats, Republicans, rich, poor, as well as all cultural and religious backgrounds.
I think we can all agree that no one wants more government in their lives, but we want the businesses that rely on those who have lost a child, to recognize that the best assets of a company walk out the door at the end of the work day. They are what makes the economy move along. They have given their employers loyalty, dedication and productivity but in the eyes of some companies, the death of a child makes them “expendable” if they are unable to return to work the day after burying their child.
I cannot begin to imagine why anyone would not want to extend a compassionate hand to those who have lost a child. Have we really become a country that is focused more on the bottom line than helping our neighbors through difficult times?
Martin Connors
Port Richmond
