Letters | Mom, Ayn Rand - and Signe

I'D LIKE TO to praise one of this generation's best journalists.

I saw Signe Wilkinson's editorial cartoon in which the renowned "Philadelphian" has been jaded by Pennsylvania's capital city and so is observed smoking, and toting smoking guns and casino funds.

I can describe this in one word: Classic. This image is so ironic. I just said to myself, "Wow, Signe is so DOPE!"

I don't agree with all of the angles she's presented over the years, but I've always been fascinated how intricate a feeling, how complex a thought, how articulate a perspective is conveyed through her craft.

I'm not sure the readers of the Daily News know the type of talent among them. She possesses that superstar, historical, legendary, "I'm glad I've been privileged enough to have digested her artwork in my lifetime" type of talent.

I'm an electric-motor salesman during the sun's hours, but a writer and performer during all hours. I consider certain people my influences - Mommie, Pops, Jesus, Ayn Rand, Chuck Palahniuk, Ghandi, Edgar Alan Poe, MLK Jr., Biggie Smalls, King David, Oprah, Aesop - but I couldn't go on without letting it be known that Signe is definitely part of that list.

Signe, all the awards and recognition you've received are validation that your voice is truly needed in the age we live in.

Bernie Brogden, Philadelphia

SEPTA, pro & con

Let's dispel a few myths about transportation funding.

Public money has supported transportation of all types for 200 years. Tax breaks and land grants accompanied railroad development, federal and state money built the interstate highway system, and tax dollars have built major airports and marine terminals for years.

When it comes to commuter transportation, those services never recovered their costs from the fare box, even in peak-use times. Private owners made their money on the real estate developed along the line in which they most often had full ownership or controlling interests.

It makes all the sense in the world in 2007 to use highway tolls to fund mass transit, just as it pays for the roads and bridges. Better transit systems that serve more destinations more frequently will ultimately reduce highway travel, and lower use means less maintenance.

It makes sense to see them as parallel projects, just as every long-distance trailer that leaves the road and is carried by rail takes wear and tear off major highways. Tractor-trailers should be reserved for local delivery from key terminals.

Where SEPTA is concerned, however, there is another aspect that must be incorporated into any Harrisburg decision, and that is its management and oversight. A legal, tax-funded monopoly has responsibility to deliver efficient use of dollars and provide maximum service to the public.

But the inept management of this organization and the lackluster and politically charged oversight from the current board must be changed before they get another dime.

Jim Foster, Philadelphia

A transplant plan

Re "Too hasty to judge in this 'Sicko' world?" by columnist Ronnie Polaneczky:

Even if he could afford to pay for it, Paul Siefring would need a lot of luck to get a heart transplant. That would be true even if we had universal health care.

More than half of the 97,000 Americans on the national waiting list will die before receiving a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. We bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year. More than 6,000 people die every year as a result. There's a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage - give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their organs when they die.

Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as donors. It will also make the system fairer. People who aren't prepared to share the gift of life should go to the back of the transplant list as long as there is a shortage of organs.

Anyone who wants to donate organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers, a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other donors when they die. Membership is free at www.life- sharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any medical condition. We have 9,252 members, 259 in Pennsylvania.

David J. Undis, Executive Director

LifeSharers, Nashville, Tenn.

Ugly ink? Ugly op-ed!

I am disgusted by Dan Cirucci's op-ed, "Too much ugly ink."

How could you print such a close-minded article? Just because he doesn't like tattoos means nobody should have them?

I have my tattoos for me and me alone. It doesn't matter what anybody else thinks, I am happy with what I have inked on me forever. The tattoos are a part of me and who I am. I'm not ashamed or regretful of what I have on my body and neither should anybody else who has a tattoo. Please consider what is being put into your newspaper and the people reading it.

Joe Ferrante, Oreland