Letters to the Editor
Exercise class was a good thing I was saddened to read that Lincoln University has dropped its requirement that obese students take an exercise class ("Exercise course perceived as biased," Tuesday). Students need to be taught healthy habits and nutrition.
Exercise class
was a good thing
I was saddened to read that Lincoln University has dropped its requirement that obese students take an exercise class ("Exercise course perceived as biased," Tuesday). Students need to be taught healthy habits and nutrition.
Facts are facts. My husband is applying for life insurance at the age of 54, and the insurance company is labeling him the same way. Health issues aside, our society values a slim build, as evidenced by so much of our media. These students have only begun to feel the discrimination their excess weight will bring: lost job opportunities, perceptions of lower intellect, and poor work ethics. Not fair, but that is the world today.
Madeline Leidy
North Wales
Celebrating
a good citizen
It is commendable that The Inquirer put a feature story about the retirement of a museum official on the front page ("At Art Museum, a 45-year show of dedication," Tuesday).
Rather than reading one more story about the latest antics of a prominent performer in the pop world or seeing a photo of one of our sports icons, I was fascinated to learn about a person who, although behind the scenes to many of us, is truly a great Philadelphian. I hope your article will serve as a thank-you to Kaki Gladstone and hundreds like her from all of us Philadelphians.
Jeffrey S. Wenger
Philadelphia
Let loser
pay for recount
In football, when coaches challenge a call on the field, they lose a time-out if the referee's decision is upheld.
The state of Pennsylvania will soon pony up $1.3 million to pay for a statewide recount of votes from the Nov. 3 election. Four candidates were eligible to challenge the outcome in the race for one seat on the Pennsylvania Superior Court. All but one waived that right. The third-place finisher did not, and thereby obligated a recount ("A costly recount," Nov. 24).
At the time, The Inquirer expressed skepticism at the decision to challenge the outcome, since uncovering an errant 4,000 votes was highly improbable.
Now that the recount is complete and the original outcome stands, residents and their officials should demand that the GOP and its candidate, Templeton Smith Jr., pick up the tab for wasting public funds on a wild-goose chase.
Marjorie M. Berlinghof
Dresher
Work together on medical marijuana
While I understand the concern of parents of drug-addicted children, the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act is exactly what its name suggests: use of medical, not recreational, marijuana ("Medical marijuana gets Pa. House hearing," Dec. 3). We should work on implementing a regulated system of dispensaries that meets the needs of sick individuals while keeping the substance out of the wrong hands.
Ayesha Samant
Philadelphia
Comcast on
the leading edge
Josh Silver and Tim Winter seem to think that Comcast will raise prices on NBC programming when the merger occurs ("Comcast-NBC U merger could hurt consumers," Tuesday). I would be amazed if they did that, because they would lose their audience.
Comcast is interested in NBC because we are on the verge of an entertainment revolution. The advent of TiVo-like devices that allow consumers to fast-forward over the advertising that pays for "free" television, and the initial first steps toward Internet entertainment (like Dr. Horrible's Musical Blog) imply that the entertainment industry is on the verge of a tremendous change. The next decade could see cheap entertainment move from television to the Web, where consumers will willingly pay for the privilege of watching. The Comcast-NBC merger gives Comcast a chance of being part of the change, instead of watching from the sidelines and possibly going out of business.
Henry L. Lazarus
Philadelphia