O'Neill gives vital insights to the nation

1/23/2004

This newspaper should be commended for its lead editorial about Paul O'Neill's recent revelations.

Mr. O'Neill is a renaissance man. As a leader in the Office of Management and Budget he showed how a governmental organization can function effectively without being hamstrung with bureaucratic constraints.

He took over Alcoa and transformed the company, saying it couldn't achieve higher prices but could run a profitable organization, nonetheless. His emphasis in that successful transformation, interestingly, was on safety. By enunciating safety he showed everyone in the firm that he cared and expected them to reciprocate.

When Mr. O'Neill was chosen Secretary of the Treasury it was exciting and meaningful for me. He brought organizational talent, management skill, and analytical ability to the task before him. As secretary he made the right recommendations in concert with Alan Greenspan, a trusted long-time associate.

It seems to me this fine man is bringing forth information now on the President and his administration which is important to all of us.

There are problems and biases in Washington that we should understand and control if our country is going to be a solvent, productive leader of the world community. The Blade highlighted our need in an exemplary way.

BRUCE DOUGLAS

Lasalle, Mich.

As a priest of 24 years for the Toledo Diocese, I was disappointed by the national committee that audited the Diocese of Toledo's sex abuse policies (and the policies nationally). Whereas the auditors talked to clerical and lay leaders they seem bent on not wishing to talk to actual victims of molestation.

Why did they talk to only one member of SNAP locally (at her request) and three nationally, out of a total of 4,600 national SNAP members? Is this honest? What are they afraid of?

I am also concerned that the auditors praised the 1988 and 1995 sex abuse policies and their implementation in the Toledo Diocese. Did these policies truly protect children?

For example, were the good adults and children of Fayette and Lyons, Ohio, ever told that their former pastor, John Shiffler, had molestation accusations against him?

In fairness I put no blame on Bishop Blair, new to the scene, but a pall of doubt is over the workings of the "independent, auditing committee." Is the fox watching the chickens?

REV. STEPHEN STANBERY

New Bavaria, Ohio

Do you notice the lack of good manners and common courtesy today? Young people do not even know the proper use of eating utensils. Most everyone is rude, crude, and adamant me-firsters. Wonder why?

Take a good look at where they are learning about human behavior. The TV programs are bad enough with the sex and violent content. Now even the commercials are getting in on the action. More and more I notice the antisocial behavior portrayed in the advertising of various products.

In one such commercial a young child jumps on a bottle of chocolate sauce, making a mess of carpets and furniture. In another a little boy ruins his sister's party with a super water gun while the mother laughs.

These are bad enough, but it doesn't stop there. Now the adults get into this negative action, too. Mostly they are food ads where the "adults" eat like pigs. They stuff their mouths full and then try to talk, spewing food everywhere. Or they demonstrate destructive behavior by throwing and breaking whatever they can get their hands on.

Is this really what we want our children to learn? Is this the example we want to set for them? Why do these advertisers think that this type of ad will make us buy their products? I, for one, am turned off by these ads and would never buy the products.

SHARON TIPPING

Ottawa Lake, Mich.

Is the price of the Iraqi war too high?

Someone asked if the price of Saddam's capture was too high. It sounds like the isolationists of the World War II period. They didn't really care about the price of millions of American lives then and they didn't care about the equivalent of trillions of comparative dollars spent then either. It was political then and it's political now. Anything to destroy a political opponent. Such people would deliberately destroy three-fourths of America if they could control the rest.

Of course the price of an American life is too high. So was the cost of a million American lives in World War II. But if we had not stopped Hitler then, there wouldn't be an American life to save now. If we had let another Hitler (called Saddam) use his power to reign with death, and to keep up his course of conquest, of supporting, training and assisting the terrorists, the outlook would be more terror here, more lives lost here, and ultimately a crippled America, plagued with mass destruction, disease, bombings, and destroyed facilities that would change the American way of life to that of the Middle Ages.

George Bush may not be perfect, but he's the best president that we have had since George Washington. Do you want to know just who the winner of this war is? You are, and I hope that you have the opportunity to learn that. Pray that God keeps blessing America.

SETH WINEINGER

Manchester Boulevard

Carty Finkbeiner was right. Paula Ross does not have the capability of running the Democratic Party. What happened to County Commissioner Harry Barlos is beyond belief. How many good Democrats do we have to lose before she resigns?

The local Democratic Party has lost Bernadette Restivo Noe, Susan Shultz Gilmore, Councilwoman Betty Shultz, and Perlean Griffin, who has not been given a fair chance after running as an endorsed Democrat.

Paula Ross needs to resign immediately. She was quick to call for the resignation of Ray Kest. We all admit he has had problems, but so has Paula. She cannot take the credit for Democratic victories - Toledo and Lucas County have traditionally been Democratic. Her divisive leadership is running good Democrats and voters away.

What will it take to get the party majority to oust Paula and vote in a chairman who will bring Democrats back to the kind of leadership we had in past years?

I am a long-time Democrat and have worked many years on labor issues and good government. What is going on with the party is not in keeping with what we have been accustomed. Ms. Ross' statements about the Kest faction not having integrity epitomizes her lack of knowledge of the process. There are a large number of people who want her out and they are not part of any faction, just good Democrats!

Given the latest fiasco with the petitions of the opposition thrown out due to a website glitch, all those involved at the Board of Elections should resign, including Paula. The candidates should file a lawsuit to get on the ballot. Ms. Ross has not only split the party wider, she has managed to split the labor unions. It is time for a change!

THADDEUS GRANDOWICZ, JR.

298th Street

The reality TV shows, such as Bachelor, Bachelorette, and Average Joe appear to be superfluous and much to do about nothing. On these shows, the star, searching for the right soul mate, seems to engage in televised intimacy with the candidates to determine their true character and integrity.

A proposal for making the final choice of the winner could be to line up all candidates in bathing suits and ask each one, "If you were granted one wish, what would it be?" Possible "reality" answers could include:

1. I want to bond forever and raise rugrats, tidy cats, and radicchio.

2. I want to be a survivor - knowing that there is always a fear factor.

3. I want to sell lemonade for Donald Trump.

These shows may reflect virtual reality in the lives of Americans such as Britney Spears and her "Average Joe," who were recently married for two whole days.

SUE JAKEWAY

Sylvania

I have heard so many comments from people saying that they don't want Farmer Jack Supermarkets to leave Toledo. It all boils down to money, sales, and profit. Where do you shop?

Shannon Clare

Ottawa Lake, Mich.