Letters to the Editor Clearing the Record

With what chutzpah and irony does Sen. Anthony Williams put himself in the same category as Thurgood Marshall ("NAACP needs to reset sights on education," Sunday) in an argument with the NAACP over the segregation of minority students?

What fascinates me is that, in his haste to deconstruct public education in the name of promoting equal access to high-quality schools, his "scholarship" plan will produce the exact opposite.

Vouchers, by their very nature, guarantee nothing. What is predictable is that the elite private (often sectarian) schools, already exempt from the same arbitrary standardized tests that label the public schools "failing," can and will discriminate in their admissions practices. The hardest-to-teach children will have no choice but to remain in what is left of the now underfunded public schools in their communities. If that is not true segregation, I don't know what is.

Gloria C. Endres

Retired elementary schoolteacher

Philadelphia

sisglo@aol.com

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Paul Davies hit the nail on the head in his Sunday commentary, "Christie is boldly walking the walk."

Philadelphia needs someone with a similar set of leadership skills and thick skin to stand up to the unions and City Council. Someone who can take back control of union health plans and pensions, which continue to grow faster than tax revenues, and act responsibly and with the realization that it's the taxpayers whose tax dollars fund those very generous benefits. Someone who will say enough of this DROP program, which not only is expensive, but also is criminal in the way it is being implemented.

We are blessed in Philadelphia with some of the best medical technology anywhere. Can't they clone a Gov. Christie?

Bob Altman

Yardley

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The business section Friday contained an article headlined "Higher fuel prices allow Big Oil to post bigger profits." Recently, an organization funded by Big Oil ran an ad on television. It claimed that taxes on gasoline would increase the cost of gasoline and make everything we buy cost more, and that would be bad for all of us.

If I am to believe these guys, it would mean that my higher costs are OK as long as Big Oil gets the money. But the same higher costs are not good for me if they are caused by gas taxes that could help finance the war in Afghanistan or reduce the deficit.

David Perelman

Lafayette Hill

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Michelle Chang wrote that "one day" she would "like to buy Chinese products with the assurance that they weren't made under sweatshop conditions" ("The real price of an iPhone," Friday).

People like Chang ought to speak up when American leaders negotiate trade agreements that let sweatshop-made goods into the country. Those agreements mark the critical moments when American leaders enjoy the leverage they need to influence other countries' labor practices. Ultimately, the cause of workers in China and other countries that permit the worst sorts of abuse and exploitation of labor is the American workers' cause, too.

It is telling that Chang thinks in terms of buying Chinese products made under better conditions rather than, say, American products. American leaders' willingness to open the economy to the products of labor exploitation has made production in many business sectors in this country uncompetitive. Improved working conditions in foreign countries where multinational corporations locate their operations would improve prospects for American industry and workers.

Chris Bordelon

Philadelphia

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The rush to drill for gas in the Marcellus Shale has polluted the drinking water of too many Pennsylvanians. When this type of gas extraction is done improperly, methane can migrate into water supplies and underneath nearby buildings, polluting drinking water and risking explosion.

The public has the opportunity to weigh in on this important issue. Through Monday, state officials are asking for input from the public to see how these problems can be addressed. Concerned citizens can submit comments on these proposed regulations to RegComments @state.pa.us using the subject line "25 Pa. Code Ch. 78." Include your mailing address.

Erika Staaf

PennEnvironment

Clean Water Advocate

Pittsburgh