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➛ S E R V I N G T H E P U B L I C T R U S T S I N C E 18 81
Editorial
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011 PAGE 11A
OTHER OPINION: DEBT REDUCTION
A super failure shared by many
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MERICA deserves security on steroids, a global better. It deserves military, etc., without a wilbetter than a Con- lingness to cover the cost. In the aftermath of this cogress and a White House so fractured and alien- lossal failure of will, the finated that they can’t negotiate ger-pointing between Repuba way to reduce the federal licans and Democrats has reached a fever pitch. But Amerdeficit and national debt. It deserved better than a po- ica deserves better than that, larized “super” committee of too, and none of the political House and Senate members backbiting will bring the country closer to who were told to a solution. find $1.2 trillion in The only way to Although the savings and who ad- deal with a crisis Joint Select Committed on Monday of such magnitude mittee on Deficit they had failed. is through a Reduction was Now it deserves better than a strait- mixture of budget charged with addressing $1.2 triljacket of budget cuts and tax lion worth of the cuts that severely problem, the toand automatically increases … tal debt stands at will constrict spend$15 trillion. ing on entitlements, the military and every federal Thanks for nothing, super program in between, begin- committee. Thanks for bickering, Congress, as the nation ning in 2013. Shame, shame, shame on flies off a cliff. The only way to deal with a them. crisis of such magnitude is But shame on us, too. Shame on the voters for in- through a mixture of budget dulging lawmakers when cuts and tax increases, powerthey sign millionaire lobbyist ful medicine that will taste Grover Norquist’s no-tax only one way – bitter – going pledge and repeat Ronald Re- down. President Barack Obama agan’s feel-good small-government platitudes (he nearly vowed Monday to veto any doubled federal spending and move by Congress to block nearly tripled the national the automatic cuts that will debt). Shame on the public happen for lack of a debt refor the conflicting signals that duction plan. He should stick they want to keep Social Se- to his guns. curity, Medicare, mandated Pittsburgh Post-Gazette health insurance, homeland
QUOTE OF THE DAY “I absolutely believe … we’ll have the opportunity to have the spotlight turned on us.” Rick Santorum The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania who is considered a second-tier contender among a crowded field for the Republican presidential nomination says the race is far from over. The Iowa caucuses will be held Jan. 3.
OTHER OPINION: FOOD SAFETY
Cut antibiotic use in farm animals
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HE OBAMA administration needs to live up to its promise to reduce meat and poultry producers’ overuse of antibiotics, which has been linked to the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections among humans. Leading health experts believe that new guidelines are needed to protect consumers from difficult-to-treat illnesses that have been increasing at an alarming rate. Farmers routinely give antibiotics to hogs, cattle, poultry and other animals to treat illnesses, prevent infection and to spur the animals’ growth while giving them less feed. It has been estimated that 70 percent of all the antibiotics used in this country are given to animals. The overuse of the drugs has created a growing problem in the food supply, which experts say puts the health of Americans at risk, especially children and people who are prone to EDITORIAL BOARD
chronic illnesses. As a result of their overuse in animals, researchers say, antibiotics have become less effective in humans and have created dangerous bacteria, or superbugs, that are more difficult and costly to treat. Last year, 60,000 Americans died in hospitals as a result of antibioticresistant infections, according to government estimates. Europe has banned farmers from feeding antibiotics to livestock since 2006. But similar efforts in the United States have failed. For years, the federal government has asked farmers to voluntarily curb antibiotic use. But curtailing the long-standing practice would likely be costly, a consideration that the administration must take into account in crafting reasonable guidelines that would minimize the economic impact. The Philadelphia Inquirer
PRASHANT SHITUT President and Interim CEO/Impressions Media MARK E. JONES JOSEPH BUTKIEWICZ Vice President/Executive Editor Editorial Page Editor
MALLARD FILLMORE
Penn State Board of Trustees flunked stewardship test THE INDO-EUROPEAN root dher means “to hold,” in the sense of trust, stewardship and responsibility. Dharma (the “right way”) and jemadar (lieutenant, responsible for an army platoon) are examples. Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and the university’s Board of Trustees both had stewardship responsibilities with regard to the accusations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Had assistant coach Mike McQueary called police to report Sandusky’s alleged sexual assault on a minor while it was in progress, the responding officers presumably could have had the boy as a complainant along with physical evidence for DNA matching. (McQueary’s recent claim to have actually called the police cannot be verified from police records.) He instead waited until the next day to tell Paterno, which compelled Paterno to reconcile two responsibilities: 1) There was a duty to protect children against sexual assault, if McQueary’s story was true. 2) There also was a duty to not defame an innocent man while exposing the university to a libel or slander suit, if McQueary’s story turned out to be false. In simpler language, there was a duty to not become a loose cannon. Paterno therefore exercised good stewardship by taking the matter to his superiors as both the law and university policy required him to do. A reasonable person would then expect the administrators to work with the university’s attorneys to do as much as
MAIL BAG
WILLIAM A. LEVINSON could be done with hearsay evidence (given to them and Paterno) without exposing Penn State to a defamation suit. They apparently didn’t; but they, and not Paterno, are now under indictment. Now let’s see how the trustees did on their stewardship and leadership test. To put their test in perspective, a black soldier was accused of raping a white woman in 1914. It was then socially acceptable to belong to the Ku Klux Klan. Then-Lieutenant George S. Patton Jr. told the locals that they would have to kill him (Patton) before they lynched the man. That is what a leader does in contrast to a mob-pleasing sycophant who supplies the rope and the tree. It did not mean Patton would have protected the soldier from the legal consequences if he was found guilty, but he was acquitted. The trustees, by their own explicit admission, had yet to even investigate the facts when they fired Paterno (and Penn State President Graham Spanier). Their emergency meeting exemplifies not “careful consideration” but organizational groupthink followed by a rush to judgment whose sole identifiable purpose was to gratify a media lynch mob. There always are people eager to say with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight what some-
body else should have done, especially when they can smear a 61-year record of unimpeachable honor, character and integrity. Kenny Rogers’ lyrics, “Did you ever kick a good man when he was down, just to make yourself feel strong?” apply perfectly. Honor and common decency therefore require an alumni vote of “no confidence” in the existing Board of Trustees. The Facebook group “We intend to vote out the Penn State Board of Trustees” is pursuing this agenda by seeking petition candidates to run against the incumbents. Penn State alum and former running back Franco Harris, who condemned the board’s actions, should be encouraged to accept a nomination. I also support the enactment of a “duty-torescue law” similar to those in Ohio, Vermont, Wisconsin and other states. These laws require anybody who sees a violent felony in progress to call the police. William A. Levinson, a Wilkes-Barre resident, is the author of “Henry Ford’s Lean Vision: Enduring Principles from the First Ford Motor Plant” and other books on quality, management and industrial productivity. He is a 1978 graduate of Penn State University.
LETTERS FROM READERS
Religious leader disputes letter condemning PSU
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COMMENTARY
The trustees, by their own explicit admission, had yet to even investigate the facts when they fired Paterno (and Penn State President Graham Spanier).
fter reading the letter titled “PSU alum says Bible 101 should be required class” (Nov. 19), I find I must respond to this nonsense. Writer Curt Piazza blames the fictional “homosexual agenda” on the Penn State scandal and quotes Scripture. I couldn’t disagree more. This is 2011, not 500 A.D., and we have progressed in the understanding of both holy Scripture as well as science. In a society filled with hate and violence, I commend Penn State University for urging understanding and tolerance. Only a religious fundamentalist who really has no understanding of the context of the Christian Scriptures or how they have changed over the centuries would make the statements made in his letter. Penn State is a state-related university and required religious training of any sort does not belong on campus. I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state, and you have only to read the statements of the Founding Fathers of this nation to see how they felt about Christianity and government to understand they realized the extreme danger of mixing the
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Magic show to benefit Hazleton Little League
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two. Mr. Piazza’s God more than likely is not the same God that some of the students worship, so why would they care what Piazza’s Scriptures say? Finally, it is my studied opinion that God created homosexuals for his own purpose, and if Mr. Piazza doesn’t like that, I suggest he take it up with his God. By the way, it is well established that pedophilia and homosexuality have nothing to do with each other. Educate yourself, Mr. Piazza, before making public statements that might lead to violence, which you seemingly show a lack of concern for in your letter.
fficials of the Hazleton Little League, with the support of state Rep. Tarah Toohil, are unwrapping an early Christmas present for kids of all ages with “A Magical Christmas,” a live magic show, featuring the family-friendly illusions of nationally acclaimed magician Gemini. The event will be held at 1 p.m. Dec. 3 at Hazleton Area High School. Proceeds will benefit the 50-year-old Hazleton Little League and have been earmarked for the restoration of the press box and concession stand, as well as for a new field house roof and improvements to the ball fields. Tickets are $10 each, which includes admission for one adult and two children. We hope to pack all 1,500 seats in the Hazleton High auditorium. Tickets are on sale now at Hazleton businesses, including Bob’s Sporting Goods, Alta Pizzeria and Sorrento Restaurant. Here’s hoping the community will step up to the plate for a great cause!
Rev. Bruce J. Simpson Wilkes-Barre
Ed Shoepe President Hazleton Little League
DOONESBURY