Letters to the Editor for Wednesday, March 25, 2009
(EDITOR’S NOTE: These are the letters that appeared in each edition of Stripes on this publication date. Click here to jump ahead to the Pacific edition letters)
Tax change will hurt charities
Once again, I find myself in agreement with Ann Coulter on an issue near and dear ("‘Hope’ and ‘change’: Still tax-deductible?" column, March 16). If the government limits tax deductions on charitable giving, who is to pick up the slack if giving falls off? The U.S. government?
We have supported three children from three different countries for roughly 10 years through a wonderful program that depends on charitable giving. This group is audited yearly by an outside company to make sure that 85 cents of every dollar contributed goes directly to the schools taking care of these children. Who will audit the great corporation of the U.S. government — on a yearly basis — when the government becomes the one "giving" to these children or their countries?
I have lived for more than a half-century and I know there’s no way these children would receive even 50 percent of the money earmarked for them if the government took over. I don’t know statistics, but I would guess that American families and individuals give more to charities than do any other people in the world.
Meg Ishikawa
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa
Create consistent drug policy
Regarding "Anti-malaria drug limited due to risks" (article, March 5) and the Army’s dramatic policy change eliminating Lariam (mefloquine) as primary malaria chemoprophylaxis. While this policy memo is a positive step toward reducing the risks to servicemembers posed by this plausible neurotoxin, it is unclear whether this Army policy will be applicable to members of other services, or to Army personnel deployed in support of joint operations.
Unfortunately, the Army’s new memo also raises more questions than it answers. Why is traumatic brain injury (TBI) now considered a contraindication, even though this is not listed on the FDA-approved package insert? And with TBI specifically addressed, why does the Department of Defense not clearly define whether it considers post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a "major psychiatric disorder," which would prohibit mefloquine use?
Particularly in light of recent media reports linking suicides to mefloquine use, and DOD’s continued inability to account for possible misprescribing of mefloquine among those with contraindications during deployments, DOD may wish to consider convening a panel of experts to review recent research on mefloquine neurotoxicity, with the aim of establishing consistent policy for the availability of mefloquine across the services.
Ensuring that mefloquine is not dispensed or used unsafely during operational deployments is too important an issue to be left to the discretion of the individual services.
Dr. (Maj.) Remington L. Nevin
Camp Lemonier, Djibouti
Silly to want only good news
A few years ago, there was an uproar in Stars and Stripes about the comic strip "The Boondocks" just like the current one about "The Meaning of Lila" for more or less the same reason: The strip said something that someone somewhere found offensive. The difference, at least the difference for me, was that "The Boondocks" was clever, witty, insightful and had a point; whereas "Lila" is none of these things, and I’m waiting for the strip where she gets run over by a bus — but I digress.
I defended "The Boondocks" back then, but maybe I shouldn’t have. I mean, if someone finds something offensive in the newspaper, that news agency shouldn’t run it anymore, right? Which reminds me, Stripes printed some of my stock quotes, and they don’t seem to be doing too well. I find this offensive, and I would like you to stop printing them please. Also, Kentucky didn’t make it into the NCAA [men’s basketball] tournament, and this really bums me out, so I would also like you to stop running basketball articles as well. And all of these articles about war, recession, illegal business practices, hate crimes — I mean, this is horrible stuff, and I’d like you to stop it ASAP.
Please only run lighthearted articles and comics dealing with puppies, ducklings and rainbows. Something in the vein of "B.C." or, better yet, "Ziggy." Possibly "Beetle Bailey," but that’s as edgy as I get. This would do much for my delicate sensibilities.
Gary Harmon
Camp Carroll, South Korea
Pacific edition
Another bad news story
OK, folks, enough is enough. We have all heard the saying "Bad news sells papers," but does that really have to be true?
The media seem to think that this is all the public wants to see, hear and read; thus they cater to this "need." Each of these outlets has a senior editor who controls the content of what is published. These people seem to be so far detached from the mainstream, they all need to be replaced.
What prompted this letter, you say? On March 21 your cover story was more of the same bad news, "Incest father gets life in prison." Stars and Stripes might as well just call itself another tabloid. Other items in the paper were suicide numbers ... ministry attack ... killed by roadside bomb, bombers killed ... attempted murder ... actress dies ... family slayings ... and that was just in the first 10 pages.
We have had enough of this kind of reporting. Newspapers across the country are closing and it’s not just because of competition with other media outlets. Constant bombardment of negative stories has turned much of the public against the biased media. I refuse to pay for a newspaper back home for this simple fact. With TV news programs, the first 20 minutes might as well be hosted by the Grim Reaper.
I am certainly not advocating placing your head in the sand, but ignorance is bliss. Try something new for a change: Print good news stories, and stop printing the same old garbage.
Sgt. 1st Class John B. Taylor
Camp Cropper, Iraq
Abortion not in Constitution
The writer of "‘Person’ versus ‘fetus’" (letter, March 18) is misinformed.
A woman’s "constitutional rights in accordance with the 14th Amendment to decide upon an abortion" do not exist. The letter is referring to the due process clause of the 14th Amendment (which was enacted in 1868 to secure the rights of former slaves). The Supreme Court used that clause and a similar clause in the Fifth Amendment to reach the conclusion it desired in Roe v. Wade, manufacturing the federally mandated legality of abortion from its bench. Whether it was constitutional for the Supreme Court to do this is a subject for another letter to the editor.
A point of fact, the issue of abortion is not addressed at all in the Constitution and jurisdiction is not granted to the federal or state governments in this matter. However, the 10th Amendment does state that "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." In other words, if an issue isn’t specifically delegated to the federal government in the Constitution, it is up to the individual states or the people (by means of voting) to decide. I never got an opportunity to vote on abortion.
Spc. Guillermo Garcia
Jalalabad, Afghanistan
Drinking can forge bonds
I do not take suicide lightly, as it is a very important subject. We do need to find the cause of [the increase in suicides] and try to help those who are thinking about suicide and solve what has caused this increase.
When I joined 30 years ago, even as a 17-year-old at basic training and advanced individual training, when we did have a little time off, we were allowed a drink. During my years after that, we were allowed to socialize and drink after duty hours. Yes, drinking can lead to alcoholism, but has anyone looked into the thought that in this nondrinking deployment lifestyle, the soldiers are missing something?
Soldiers now have personal handheld game devices, personal computers and personal game systems that allow them to be engaged without the need for social interaction. We have created a generation of children with texting, e-mail, personal game devices and Internet virtual reality life. Have we lost the art of socializing?
Years ago a soldier could go to an enlisted or officers club, have a drink — be it alcohol or [non-alcoholic] — socialize, discuss their stresses of the day and find out that they are not the only one with the same problem. With socializing and drinks come the dropping of our personal walls that keep people out, and people seem to open up. We used to find comfort in knowing that, at the end of the day or weekend, we could have a beer or two and friendship that we might not have found.
I’m not saying that giving the troops alcohol is going to cure suicides, but has this been looked into as a cause of the increase?
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Martin A. Sutton
Al Asad, Iraq
