Term limits: The idea is public service

8/15/2003

William Weisenberg, in his Aug. 9 Saturday Essay, argued for “collegiality” and “civility” [in the legislature] and claimed that fund-raising demands and job-hustling have increased because of term limits. Does anyone really believe this?

With or without term limits, professional politicians have always squeezed their money sources to the max.

With or without term limits, opposing party members insult each other and deride each other's capabilities.

With or without term limits, officeholders on the way out are hustling for their next position (possibly as a lobbyist).

Tying these behaviors to term limits is absurd.

I have long held the impression that the Founding Fathers intended that public service, in the form of elected office, be just that - public service (usually temporary). At some point, politics and elected office became a career field for many.

The result was - and is - that career officeholders pander to public opinion polls and begin their next re-election campaign the day after the last election.

I believe any step that nudges political office back toward the concept of public service is beneficial. That's why I support term limits.

BARRY GROVES

Maumee

More than 70 years ago A.J. Liebling said freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.

In the case of Toledo, there is only one real press, and The Blade grants that freedom to the very deceptive Marilou Johanek to spread her hate for the current administration and all Republicans.

She credits public opinion polls for irrational premises and often flawed conclusions.

She pleads with the Democrats for someone she can endorse, unlike the freak Jerry Springer, while misleading her readers with flawed predictions of doom in America if we proceed with the current policies locally, nationally, and all around the world.

Recently Ms. Johanek cited a nationwide poll that said 52 percent of those polled agreed that the administration was “at least stretching the truth” when it presented evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. She failed to finish the paragraph of that poll that stated that a majority still continues to believe that Iraq has WMDs and that one in four believe they have already been found. That same survey stated that public opinion is heavily influenced by the intense discussion of the issue in the press.

Webster's defines “deceive” as “to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.” Webster's also defines “mislead” as “to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief often by deliberate deceit.”

These definitions aptly describe Ms. Johanek's weekly venomous rhetoric and is endorsed by those who own the press and have the power to decide who gets the freedom to use it.

ROBERT YOUNG

Perrysburg

We were on I-75 recently, driving through Toledo, when we hit a large piece of metal: a truck brake shoe, studded with nails, which had probably just fallen from a scrap truck. It tore up the bottom of our new car, ruining our radiator, air conditioning system, etc.

The good news is that Toledo has some lovely, helpful people, including the towing company and Volvo dealer. But they all told us that such incidents occur frequently.

Why on earth doesn't Toledo have laws requiring scrap dealers to secure their loads so this kind of thing does not happen?

CANDACE O'CONNOR

St. Louis, Mo.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever - or, at least until real estate developers come sniffing around.

I thought the newest idea floating around Toledo is to renovate, not destroy. Yet the first idea advanced concerning Dana Corp.'s possible takeover is to tear down its beautiful building on Dorr Street. What a shameful act that would be!

We do not have many treasures in Toledo. Let's not lose this one.

Real estate companies tell us it is the land that is valuable. Maybe so, but it is the building that is the eye-catcher.

Surely it could be made into elegant apartments; or perhaps the new owner would generously donate the property, building intact, to the University of Toledo, which almost adjoins it.

If the old buildings in the warehouse district are worth saving, then this thing of beauty on Dorr Street is even more worth saving.

EVELYN KUHL

Carver Boulevard

Upon reading Julie McKinnon's July 29 article, “Dana takeover to raise issue of what to do with HQ,” I literally became sick to my stomach. How dare The Blade publish such an article, as if the fate of the Dana Corp. has already been decided?

The Blade should be ashamed of itself for not standing in support of a fellow business. To suggest what would become of the Dana campus at this point can be likened to siblings fighting over the belongings of a recently deceased parent. Dana has long been a stable contributor to the Toledo community and is vital to Toledo. Losing this company would have a tremendous impact on this city.

Dana has a hard fight ahead and deserves the support of this community. Arvin-Meritor Inc. is not concerned about preserving the Dana Corp., it is not concerned about Dana employees, and it is certainly not concerned with Toledo. Arvin-Meritor is interested only in protecting the legacy and fulfilling the ego of its CEO. If it is successful, who will play on your fictitious golf course or buy your proposed condos?

DANA M. PENEFF

Lerado Road

The latest spate of expensive, high-tech billboards displayed by the two competition-driven health care systems presents a potentially serious public safety concern.

One, strategically located near the heavily traveled Monroe Street and Sylvania Avenue intersection, extols the high rating given to ProMedica Health System by a national organization. From a vehicle in motion, it would require at least 15 to 20 seconds to read all of the three revolving panels. Such a distraction in a congested area might well lead to accidents, resulting in injuries, even deaths.

Not far distant, near the Sylvania Avenue and Talmadge Road intersection, St. Anne Hospital's one-liner billboard, “The wait is almost over,” does not require much reading time, but the mental distraction to discern the meaning could prove equally hazardous.

These two examples demonstrate the hospital health systems' continuing effort to attract patients, much in the manner of department store and other commercial billboard advertising. This denigrates professionalism, and reveals failure to understand the primary purpose of hospitals: to provide facilities and services for patient care by physicians and other health professionals.

The public safety implications of this pervasive commercialism should receive attention by local city and health officials.

HOWARD S. MADIGAN, M.D.

Sylvania

The art of mosquito control

I took seriously your article regarding the hazard of standing water. I hope everyone does.

With reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the number of cases of West Nile virus is increasing rapidly in Ohio and Michigan, I can easily do my part to head off what is predicted to be a vicious mosquito season. I can empty my birdbath or - as The Blade article suggested - throw it out.

I have an alternative suggestion: Empty the birdbath dish, hose it clean, turn it upside down, place it on the pedestal, and top it with a center statue. Voila! Art in the garden.

It works for me.

ELEANOR GEBOLYS

Perrysburg