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Give Boulevard bullies
a new point of view
Solving the Boulevard’s traffic problems will be complicated, but here’s a simple proposal to teach violators a lesson: Speeders and red light runners should be made to walk across the Boulevard and back so they can see what it’s like to be a pedestrian dealing with dangerous drivers.
If they’re stopped by police, they should be made to cross before they can get back in their vehicles. If caught by red light cameras, they could be given the option of paying a reduced fine — say half — in exchange for crossing the intersection where they were tagged. Then maybe they’ll think twice the next time they’re behind the wheel.
These walks could be supervised by a volunteer corps made up of retired or off-duty police officers or crossing guards.
Paul Kaplan
Castor Gardens
Stop cutting up
Burholme Park
Regarding ball fields at Burholme Park, the soft green park appearance on Central Avenue was marred by high white steel fencing.
The park staff told me that it was a capital plan for the city councilman, but it was not in the fiscal year budget.
That area designated for low-use, free play for family picnics at the pavilion is being transformed with new obstructions. Just why do we need more intense baseball sport fencing to conflict with a passive park already burdened by team leagues?
I think it’s time for the Fairmount Park Commission to stop cutting up this park. We need a new thoughtful landscape master plan for all stakeholders to enhance the Ryerss historical designation, which includes protection of its landscape. Too many ugly fences are here. It’s high time for natural beauty to prevail.
Fred Maurer
Olney
Protesters spread opinions,
not facts
I live with my family in Normandy. I too am concerned by the signs outside of the Northeast Women’s Medical Center. The people who display these signs think they are educating us. What qualifications do they have to educate anyone? It isn’t their job to educate my children. Their material is based more on opinion than fact.
A woman wrote in saying that her 8-year-old asked, "Why can’t anybody call the police to stop them from doing that to those babies?" I hope she told her child the truth. I hope she told the child that the services that the clinic offers are legal.
Many people consider abortion morally wrong, but it is legal. I would like to know what is legal about those signs? Several of the signs are too graphic for public display. The one that says that abortion targets blacks is racist. I wouldn’t let my children watch movies with these images. We should not have to look at them on a public street.
I have brought this subject up in the past at the Normandy Civic Association meetings. The former president of the association told me to drive my children to school a different way if I didn’t like the pictures, so I do. I see many complaints about Nikki’s memorial in this paper. To the people of the 9500 block of State Road, I’ll trade you some abortion signs for Nikki’s memorial any day.
Kristine Owens
Normandy
And speaking of
the memorial . . .
Re: Ann Bender of Mayfair’s letter in the Northeast Times Jan. 4 edition, Roadside memorial letter made her angry:
You caught my sarcasm but missed the whole point. FYI- Most cemeteries don’t allow the decorations for the same reason people don’t want them outside their homes. They get old, soggy and messy. If they don’t want it where no one can see it, why would someone want it outside their house or down their street? Those well-meaning mourners put all that "crap" at a memorial, AND WALK AWAY. They don’t have to look at it, the ones living near there do, and usually end up cleaning up afterward. There is a better way to remember your loved one than to basically vandalize poles and trees. How about planting a tree or volunteering to clean up all the roadside memorials — something constructive, something their loved one can be proud of and feel really honored. I would pay better homage to those who died than soap on a window or wet stuffed animals tied to a tree.
We are all in pain in one way or another, we just don’t all feel the need to advertise it.
Mary Anderson
Wissinoming
She’s really fuming
from the gas company
Is there anyone else in Northeast Philadelphia who is as sick of the obvious gouging going on at the PGW? How long are we going to take being ripped off from these people?
I received an ACTUAL reading, according to them, on Nov. 28 of 51 "units" used, totaling a $100.77 payment. How in God’s holy green earth can they honestly then send me an ACTUAL reading dated Dec. 28 of 146 "units" used, now totaling $285??!! There was hardly a temperature difference between those two months! Half the month was 60 degrees! I don’t remember even turning my heat on, let alone using enough to warrant a 300 percent increase!
I have talked to a couple neighbors up here in Somerton who received similar bills. When you call PGW’s joke of a "customer service" department, a telephone taker told me that all she could do is put a high bill complaint on my account and then someone would contact me with their decision! That’s it! Gee, let me guess what their decision might be?
Are we seriously paying the gas bills for all the other people in the city who don’t pay theirs? How can they get away with this? Why don’t I just pay everyone else’s cable, electric and water bills as well?
It makes me sick that the city government allows this to continue. We are being held hostage and robbed by this utility company with absolutely no recourse. What happens this month, next month, March, when I may actually need to heat my house? A bill six times higher? Who can pay these bills?
I know there are many reasons people are leaving this city, but if I have to get a part-time job just to pay this robbery of my paycheck every month, I will be another one packing.
Diane Curry
Somerton
Live and let live . . .
even gay couples
This is in response to a letter in the Jan. 4 edition titled, Gay couples can marry? Get real! by Joseph Melnichuk Sr. of Mayfair.
First, I would like to start out by saying that I am not gay but that I do take the words life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness seriously — words that every American is entitled to, gay or not.
In his letter, Mr. Melnichuk simply stated, "When are gay couples going to realize that they cannot be legally married since they are only playing husband and wife?"
Well I would politely like to ask, who gave you the authority to tell others who they should and should not marry? I, Mr. Melnichuk, a "proponent" or better stated, an advocate, for the freedom of choice, would like to remind you that being gay is not a fairy tale. Be it a life decision or a particular characteristic that someone is born with, there are millions of people that are gay and would appreciate the same kind of consideration as the person standing next to them, regardless of their color, gender, nationality or race.
The following is a bit of research I did on my own to inform you of a few reasons why gay people might want to be married. All of this and more can be found on About: Gay Life, a column written by Ramone Johnson for About.com, a New York Times company and a top 10 Web-based information and resource site.
Number of legal benefits:
Marriage: 1,049 federal and state level benefits
Civil union: More than 300 state level benefits. No federal benefits
Medical decisions:
Marriage: Partners can make emergency medical decisions
Civil union: Partners can only make medical decisions in the registered state. Partners may not be able to make decisions out of state
Death benefits:
Marriage: In the case of a partner’s death, the spouse receives any earned Social Security or veteran benefits
Civil union: Partners do not receive Social Security or any other government benefits in case of death. In the case of the death of former congressman Gerry Studds, his partner of 15 years was denied the government pension that would have gone to a legally recognized spouse.
Mr. Melnichuk, I am sure now that you don’t really believe anyone else’s love for another is not worth the same benefits that you and your wife deserve and are obligated to. Why not let others share in the same happiness that you are obligated to?
Kimberly King
Morrell Park
• • •
Joseph Melnichuk Sr. claims gay couples need to come to a realization that they cannot be legally married because they are only playing husband and wife. Apparently, Mr. Melnichuk believes people need assume certain roles in marriage.
As an attorney, I can assure him he is dead wrong — there is no legal requirement that one take a particular role in marriage.
Mr. Melnichuk refers to something he calls "natural married couples." He does not understand there is no such thing. Marriage is a man-made institution, a contract. It requires laws and society’s acceptance of the relationship as a legal one. Marriage natural? Get real, Mr. Melnichuk — there’s nothing "natural" about it.
What does seem natural to Mr. Melnichuk is bigotry and ignorance. He states that every time he sees a gay couple, he wonders which one is playing the male or female role. Why he concerns himself with that is beyond me. You see, marriage is so little about love and roles people play. It isn’t about God, religion or having children. Marriage is about the contract and all of the rights and obligations that go with it — support rights, property rights, pensions, Social Security, health benefits and on and on. It’s about recourse in the courts when issues arise.
People like Mr. Melnichuk need to come to a realization. Gays are people too, with the same interests and needs as everyone else. Gay marriage is about equal rights. Why shouldn’t same-sex couples who have committed their lives to one another the same as heterosexual couples be afforded equal rights and obligations?
Mr. Melnichuk, stop playing human and start acting like it.
Raymond J. Dougherty Jr.
Pine Valley
• • •
I do not believe that same-sex marriages should be restricted. What it comes down to is how a person feels about another person, regardless if they are both males or both females. It does not matter how people look at other people. Who cares if a man marries a man, and a woman marries a woman. How are they affecting the lives of others?
Just like you and I, people need to find happiness, and happiness comes in various forms. I wouldn’t appreciate people judging me by the way I want to live my life, and the decisions that, I myself, choose to make. When I see a gay couple, I say to myself, "It’s great that they are happy, and confident in their relationship…."
My own opinion is to allow people to make their own decisions on love and happiness. Whether we are gay or straight, no one should prevent people from living their life the way they choose to live it.
Amber Dzikowski
Burholme
He’s amazed by our
anti-Mumia readers
Regarding readers’ responses in last week’s Northeast Times to Robert Culleton’s Dec. 28 letter to the editor, Mumia editorial was hateful:
I am amazed at the tone of the responses to Mr. Culleton’s passionate letter. Mr. Vuotto, Ms. Gormley & Mr. Linahan are missing the point of Mr. Culleton’s letter — that we Americans, Christians, should strive to be above blood lust and revenge, and that by promoting executions and hateful speech, we are setting a bad example.
It may be worth noting that the Roman Catholic Church, of which I am a lifelong member, is anti-capital punishment. Nowhere does Mr. Culleton suggest that it is "acceptable to murder a cop." His comments are hardly "a slap in the face to anyone in law enforcement." And, as a practicing Catholic, it is blasphemous to think that a "one way ticket to hell" awaits Mr. Jamal. Mr. Culleton’s letter in no way glorifies Mr. Jamal, and I am still trying to figure out why he would need to "apologize to Maureen Faulkner."
Again, we are Americans, Christians, mostly. We’re not Middle East lunatics living in the Dark Ages. We are supposed to be better than this. We’re supposed to follow the New Testament. We are supposed to follow the example set by Jesus. Impossible? Of course not.
Look back to October 2006 in Lancaster, where a man walked into a school and killed five little girls. The reaction of the Amish people? They forgave the killer, going so far as to invite the murderer’s wife to their services.
This is the example we should all try to replicate. It will not be easy, but we should at least try.
Mumia Abu-Jamal will die of old age in a Pennsylvania prison. That’s the reality. Learn to live with it.
Lawrence Pembroke
Lawndale
Voters should dump
“Back Door Perzel”
State Rep. John Perzel’s ego is at it again. Evidently, Mr. Perzel has been elected speaker of the house emeritus. What a joke this guy is — he wasn’t selected as the incoming speaker because he was shot down not only by the Democrats but his own Republican Party as well.
State Rep. Dennis O’Brien was the compromise selection as the new speaker by both parties because neither Rep. William DeWeese nor Perzel was acceptable. Now, this poor excuse for a representative goes through the back door into the night to get the title "emeritus" that never existed before. What a sad joke this guy is!
Mr. Perzel, you were first and foremost elected by your constituents to represent them in the House, not to wear a crown and be adored. You are one sad, obnoxious individual, because the people in Mayfair and Tacony elected you to serve them and not yourself.
If you can’t serve the people without a title, you have no business in Harrisburg or anywhere else in political office.
It’s really sad when an elected official allows his ego and pompous attitude to overshadow his goal, that is, to represent the people. I really hope the folks in his legislative district have had it with this guy and oust him if not now then in the next election.
Jack Miller
Rhawnhurst
Bird feeder
thief is a creep
I wanted to share with the readers my disbelief that someone came onto my property, my private property, late Jan. 2 or early Jan. 3 and stole my bird feeder right off of my tree in the back yard.
It’s a bird feeder, you creep!
So now your neighbors know that the nice squirrel buster bird feeder on your property was stolen.
Enjoy it.
Pat Smith
Somerton
‘Kids Stuff’ no
longer for kids
I have enjoyed William Feldman’s Kid’s Stuff since he began the column several years ago. But last week I was more than a bit shocked when he was doing a review of the play Chicago, which is by no means kids’ stuff.
It has adult themes, adult drama, skimpy costumes and nothing that would be appropriate to anyone below their teenage years, aka, "kids."
Please understand that I love William’s writing — he is a very talented young man (emphasis on man), nor do I have a problem with the show Chicago — I found it very entertaining! But is Chicago something to be published under a Kids Stuff theme? I think not.
Perhaps the Northeast Times can allow William to start a new article for teens so he can develop even further in journalism, and let another promising young person to take over Kids Stuff. As good a writer as William is, he is outgrowing the entire theme of the article — kids.
Beth Brubaker
Burholme
Nancy Pelosi didn’t speak
well of women’s progress
I am in shock and awe that my fellow female Democrats and sister feminists worldwide have not lodged protests regarding the recent remarks of the newly minted speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. At a recent tea party to honor Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the late former Texas governor Ann Richards, Pelosi noted:
"In more than 200 years of history, there was an established pecking order — and I cut in line."
Instead of acknowledging the years of work, which culminated in her nomination and selection as the first female speaker of the House, Pelosi slaps the face of every woman worldwide by crowing that her success was due to her fortuitous "cut in line" of the established system.
For centuries, women have been slowly and steadily working to improve the condition of their gender. History records the bold actions of only few of them — the real brunt of change fell on the shoulders of countless anonymous women who quietly labored to raise the credibility of women working in fields that were culturally considered a male domain. These remarkable women entered into male-dominated arenas and used their intelligence, talent and tenacity to revolutionize the perception of women working in these fields. This was no easy task, and it was achieved through decades of hard work, skill and determination — not one of these women "cut in line" to circumvent the system.
THEY WORKED TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM.
Pelosi’s comment in anticipation of being selected as the first female speaker of the House invalidates the hard-won achievements of women today and in bygone eras. The contribution of these women, these true feminists, has afforded Pelosi and myself the freedom to pursue a career and life of our own making. Her comment confirms that her desire to become speaker of the House stems from her own ambition to be the first female speaker — regardless if she is the most capable person for the job.
In the past, women broke barriers because they were the best person for the job, and just happened to be female. Today, the speaker of the House, by her own example, encourages women to sidestep "the system" to get what they want.
Tania Ciolko
Torresdale
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