LETTERS - Nov. 25

ISSUE | PRIORITIES

Party, not study?

Isn't it ironic that city politicos are assuring one and all that, if the Democratic Party honors Philadelphia with its 2016 convention, they will have no problem raising millions to fund the event ("Asking donors to back '16 bid," Nov. 17)? At the same time, no one seems able to fund the education of the future participants in the electoral process. It seems to me that our priorities are just a little askew.

|Lynne M. Roberts, Philadelphia

Easy money

The world is going to hell, and yet Philadelphia and other cities and states are fighting to have more casinos built. Casino moguls have won to the extent of taking private property with trumped-up eminent domain moves ("N.J. can take home in A.C. near Revel," Nov. 18). When cities depend on paying bills with casino money, it shows administrations just don't know how to govern.

|Philip Lustig, Downingtown

ISSUE | HEALTH

Looking for payoff

with $2 per pack tax

With the long-debated $2-a-pack tax on cigarettes in Philadelphia now in effect since September, the significant bump in prices should inspire many adults to quit (1-800-QUIT-NOW) and help keep our kids from ever starting.

It's been reported that each year 2,100 Philadelphians die due to tobacco use, which is nearly 16 percent of all deaths in the city. Another 40,000 people suffer from illnesses like asthma, other breathing conditions, cancer, and heart disease.

Our physicians' organization supported the increase in the cigarette tax in hopes that it would create a further barrier between young people and tobacco use. We look toward the day when physicians have fewer patients coming to them with chronic conditions such as emphysema, cancer, and heart disease due to tobacco use.

|Anthony M Padula, M.D., president, Philadelphia County Medical Society, Philadelphia, stat@philamedsoc.org

Save lives, ease pain

Federal officials estimate for every adolescent suicide, there are 25 attempts - representing a huge population that needs services to overcome mental-health challenges. Appropriately funding such mental-health services can help prevent individuals from attempting suicide and help those who lose loved ones to suicide. Unfortunately, New Jersey has a large treatment gap. Only 11 counties provide needed early intervention services due to fiscal restraints. Increasing funding for these services is needed.

|Debra L. Wentz, chief executive, New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addictions Agencies Inc., Mercerville

ISSUE | ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY

Spare the pipeline, don't spoil Bucks

The PennEast pipeline project planned for the region will cut a large swath through upper Bucks County forest and vegetation, where our most precious commodity - water - resides. We have here creeks and streams of excellent quality. Our watershed is priceless and irreplaceable. Construction also could devastate the fish, turtles, eagles, osprey, heron, and salamanders that live here. It would be an insurmountable tragedy for the animals, as well as for people who chose to live here because of the river, excellent creeks, wetlands, and drinking water. The Delaware River, the last wild river in the East, has finally recovered from the devastation caused solely by the paper industry. This expensive lesson should have been learned the first time, and all planning for the PennEast project should be stopped.

|Diane Hartford, Riegelsville, dianehartford@aol.com

Utility sale would help secure city future

The sale of the Philadelphia Gas Works sought by Mayor Nutter is an issue well beyond importance and requires a full vetting, followed by an up or down vote by City Council. Posterity is watching, and Detroit city leaders could well be wondering whether we'll be joining them in fiscal disaster. Indeed, a Detriot-like scenario is a genuine potential here and when that happens, we all lose. Such a possibility must be avoided.

Not only would the utility sale preclude the city's financial pain, as the ticking time bomb of our copiously unfunded pension mandate stands ready to explode in the not-so-distant future, but the sale could well become a serious boon to both the city and the entire region's economic livelihood. We all grow and thrive together, or together we all wither. The choice is Council's.

|Sean A. Brickley, Philadelphia, brickleysean@gmail.com

ISSUE | PEOPLE AND PETS

When letting go means more cents

I wholeheartedly support taking care of pets, but spending $18,000 or more on any pet's medical care is way beyond what should be spent ("A kidney for kitty," Nov. 16). There are many pets at animal shelters waiting to be adopted - animals that will be put down if they are not adopted. Wouldn't it be more humane to adopt another pet and donate the money spent on extraordinary veterinary care to children who need operations?

|Ken Schreiber, Eagleville

ISSUE | GUN OWNERSHIP

Laws are fine for the law-abiding

People seem to think that the National Rifle Association is an organization supportive of criminals ("Give gun-rights lobby company in court," Nov. 18). Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, NRA members are responsible, law-abiding, common-sense people - not beer-swilling, redneck gun nuts. The NRA promotes gun safety among its members and the general public. It offers support and training to the law enforcement community.

Existing and proposed gun laws do nothing to make society safer. They only impose upon those who follow the law, inconvenient and repressive as it is to them. The people we have to worry about have a total disregard for the law. They get guns by theft and through straw purchases. They will always have guns, even if society bans weapons - because these criminals would simply not give them up. And they would be emboldened if the general populace was disarmed.

More gun control only affects everyday people who are not part of the problem. It is naive to think that the people who are the problem will comply with new regulations, since they ignore the current ones.

|Raymond McCarty, Tabernacle

ISSUE | IDEOLOGY

Society gained under liberalism

When Charles Krauthammer shows his contempt by saying that "liberalism rules in the name of a citizenry it mocks, disdains . . . and deceives," he should know better ("Obamacare confessions," Nov. 17). Liberals are generous and broadminded. That temperament leads them to strive for a society that is compassionate and tolerant. They believe in human progress and don't subscribe to the notion that economic and social ills can be cured with archaic remedies.

Liberals gave us Social Security and Medicare, which help retired workers cope with the loss of earning power and health. Universal education endorsed by liberals gives any kid born the chance to match his God-given talents with those born to the manor. Backed by liberals, workers' unions protect the vulnerable employee from the abuses of the powerful employer.

|Anthony Marquez, Bear, raton711@verizon.net