Letters to the Editor

Thank you for writing the heart-wrenching story of Nadia ("Saving Nadia," Sept. 30-Oct. 2) and of her family, Dr. Elizabeth Rand, the staff of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the legacy of the organ donor.

As a liver transplant recipient and someone who suffered from cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer), reading the story brought back memories. I know what it was like for me, an adult, to go through everything, but it was so much harder for Nadia and her family.

I am sure after reading the story, more people will decide to become organ donors, knowing how that can save the lives of others.

John T. Browne
Haddonfield

I just finished reading the series "Saving Nadia." The series was informative and tremendously engaging. All of the people in this life crisis - Nadia, her parents, and Drs. Elizabeth Rand and Kim Olthoff - are true heroes. Their dedication to Nadia is impressive and moving.

The sidebar, "Caring for Nadia: A cast of hundreds," reminded me of all the hospital personnel who labor for patients behind the scenes. As a lifelong reader of The Inquirer, I applaud this series as one of the best I have read.

Margaret B. Enoch
Ottsville

The story "Spanish report: Hussein was open to exile," Sept. 27, is a perfect example of incomplete reporting. The article says Jose Maria Aznar, Spain's prime minister at the time (and a staunch U.S. ally), was in conversation with President Bush less than a month before the war about the possibility that Saddam Hussein would accept exile.

The story is quick to point out that Bush seemed to be in a rush to go to war. However, it gave short shrift to the fact that Hussein had two prerequisites for accepting exile - that he be allowed to take along $1 billion and his information on weapons of mass destruction.

This raises questions. First, how did Hussein come to have $1 billion while his people were living in abject poverty? Was this money the result of the food-for-oil scam? Also, what information did he have on weapons of mass destruction?

If, as the anti-Bush crowd believes, Hussein didn't really have WMD or WMD programs, what information could he possibly have had that he would demand to take it along with him? Could it be that the information would have shown he really did have WMD programs? None of these questions was answered.

Steve Berman
Yardley

Re: "Needier schools," a letter Sept. 23 taking issue with an alumna's $128.5 million gift to George School:

The school may not fit the writer's definition of a needy school, yet the faculty are paid about half of public school salaries, and many of the students are there on scholarships. They come from modest families, foreign countries and inner cities - hardly members of the "ruling elite."

George School students are taught to give back to their communities, and to incorporate into their lives the Quaker principles of peace, love, truth and equality. One could hardly do more for the greater community than provide an endowment to support and expand this kind of education.

Marion M. Kyde
Ottsville

Re: "Too much of a bad thing?", commentary, Sept. 26:

I would like to suggest that spending more money on urban schools is not a waste if properly implemented.

Here is how: Every study says smaller class size improves achievement. How about using some extra money to hire more teachers and reduce class size? Parents without the credentials of the writers - former U.S. Deputy Education Secretary Eugene W. Hickock and state Sen. Anthony Williams - have been saying this for decades.

Here is another suggestion: Spend the extra money on keeping well-trained teachers from leaving urban areas for the suburbs.

Hickock, who helped to design No Child Left Behind, promotes any program that siphons money from public education into private hands. He is not a friend of public schools.

Gloria C. Endres

Adjunct Assistant Professor
College of Education
Temple University
Philadelphia