Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Friday, September 18, 2009 - Index

Page 4-A Friday, September 18, 2009
Editorial:
Darby curfew on
adults goes too far
With the one-year anniversary
of the financial collapse
ow at hand, there is general
greement that the governent’s
bailouts and other
nterventions prevented a bad
ituation from becoming much
orse.
The form and scale of the
arious rescues is still a mater
of legitimate debate. But
here is no doubt that the govrnment
has, for now, stabiized
the financial system.
hough credit remains seriusly
impaired, it is slowly
ecoming more plentiful and
ess expensive a hopeful sign
hat the worst of the recession
ay be over.
Still, the results are nothing
to crow about. Despite recent
eports that the government is
aking money on the bank
ailout, there is, as yet, nothng
to suggest that the finanial
system is ready to funcion
without vast government
ntervention or that the costs
o taxpayers will be anything
ut enormous. ...
Worse, there is still much
hat the public does not know
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It is difficult not to empathize
with Darby officials concerned
over a rash of shootings and
their need to take action to control
the violence.
Some neighborhoods have
become unsafe for children.
Some elderly residents have
become hostages in their own
homes.
In desperation, Mayor Helen
Thomas recently declared a
state of emergency and
imposed a 9 p.m. curfew for
adults and children in the
town’s third ward.
Despite the understandable
goal to control violent crime,
there are serious questions as
to whether the actions of the
town’s officials is constitutional
or makes common sense.
The American Civil Liberties
Union of Pennsylvania is looking
into the legalities of the
recently imposed curfew.
“There certainly are circumstances
that would constitute
enough of an emergency that
you could say we need people
off the streets,” said Mary
Catherine Roper, staff attorney
for the ACLU of Pennsylvania.
Roper said the last time she
remembered a state of emergency,
it had to do it with rioting.
Thomas has not specified
that level of unrest as a reason
for a curfew.
“I don’t believe that there’s
any way that a simple increase
in the crime rate could justify
that kind of restriction on
adults moving around. If that
is simply an increase in crime
rate, that is not the kind of
emergency that allows the suspensions
of people’s right.”
about the rescues. The
Treasury still does not require
banks to specify how they are
using their bailout dollars,
despite recommendations from
the bailout’s special inspector
general that the government
demand a periodic accounting.
Lawmakers and the public
have no precise information
about the roughly $300 billion
in Citigroup assets that the
government has guaranteed.
Nor has there been an airing
of the terms of the derivatives
contracts that the government
paid off in the bailout of the
American International Group.
Without such data, it’s
impossible to truly assess the
bailouts’ efficacy or to be confident
that the right reforms
will be put in place to ensure
this disaster doesn’t recur.
And while it’s possible to say,
in the moment, that conditions
in the financial system
have improved, it is hard to
believe that there is anything
ahead for the economy other
than a very long, hard road to
recovery.
— The New York Times
Nuclear talks must
be taken seriously
French President Nicolas
Sarkozy may have said it best
some years ago when he
declared that the only real
alternative to “an Iranian
bomb or the bombing of Iran”
was a concerted diplomatic
push by world powers to
address that country’s nuclear
program. President Obama
took office on a promise to
engage with hostile governments,
and soon after, extended
a specific offer of direct
U.S. talks with Tehran, with a
September sell-by date.
Just in time last week,
Iran’s chief negotiator
announced that he has an
“updated nuclear proposal”
and is ready to accept
Obama’s invitation. The proposal
is expected to be
unveiled before the U.N.
General Assembly meets later
this month, but already critics
are warning that Iran will use
the talks to stall for time to
advance its nuclear ambitions
and weaken international
resolve for economic sanctions.
Maybe so. But even if that is
Tehran’s plan, Obama must
Not only is the legality of the
curfew in question, there is
also the practicality of the
action.
How practical and fair is it to
impose a curfew on law-abiding
adults from 9 p.m. to 6
a.m. who may be visiting relatives
and friends? Officials
said the curfew does not apply
to people who have legitimate
business, such as going to or
returning from work.
We agree with the ACLU that
there is no way a court would
approve an indefinite curfew
on adults that is simply based
on an increase in the crime
rate.
Darby officials need to reevaluate
and rework their curfew
decision and develop other
crime-fighting strategies to
combat the violence.
Financial crisis bailout
kept the sky from falling
follow through on the offer. He
must pursue talks seriously,
with the intention of success
and not the assumption of
failure. ...
... The two sides have to get
to the table if they ever hope
to put their cards on it. ...
— Los Angeles Times
Still hope Turkey
may join the EU
So far, there is still hope for
a fully adequate Turkish membership
in the EU. This week
the former Finnish prime minister
and Nobel Prize winner
Martti Ahtisaari arrived in
Stockholm. He brought with
him a report: “Turkey in
Europe: Breaking the vicious
circle,” written by an impressive
band of previous
European leaders. ...
Ahtisaari’s report contains
fierce criticism against those
political leaders, primarily
France’s President Sarkozy,
who have dashed the negotiation
machinery to the ground.
The fact that the mother
and father of the EU (France
and Germany) are turning
against a fully adequate
Turkish membership hasn’t
bypassed the Turks. The previous
high pace of reforms has
slowed down and the Turkish
people have become increasingly
skeptical.
Instead Paris and Berlin are
talking about a privileged partnership,
of which the value for
Turkey is highly unclear. It is
a violation of the EU’s previous
vows and is putting the
credibility of the union at
stake.
But, as Ahtisaari points out,
“presidents come and go.” The
French negativity isn’t set in
stone.
For enlargement-friendly
countries like Sweden it is
especially important to stand
up for Turkey’s right to fully
adequate negotiations, as well
as encouraging continued
democratic reforms. Turkey’s
strategic position as a bridge
to the Muslim world and a
transit country for energy cannot
be underestimated.
... Patience and continued
good intentions from the
Turkish side is still the best
argument against introverted
populists in Paris and Berlin.
— Dagens Nyheter,
Stockholm, Sweden
Obama has once again
silenced the doubters
The Rev. Al Sharpton
For the past several weeks,
all we have been inundated
with is negativity: A decline
in President Obama’s
approval ratings, scare tactics,
weakening support for
health reform and an overall
sense of pessimism and frustration
with regards to
change.
Pundits, critics and the like
spent the month of August
focusing on town hall
uproars and the notion that
this president, like many
reformists before him, would
fail in the battle for health
coverage for every American.
But unlike his predecessors,
Obama silently and diligently
proceeded despite the vitriol
and criticism, and then shut
them all down with one historic,
bold speech.
“I am not the first president
to take up this cause, but I
am determined to be the
last,” articulated Obama last
Wednesday in front of
Congress and the American
people. Answering his critics
directly, he passionately dismissed
blatant lies like
“death panels” but continued
to encourage bipartisan input
and support. In an unprecedented
move, he outlined a
plan in which insurers could
no longer deny coverage for
pre-existing conditions or
drop people after they become
ill. He addressed concerns from
both the right and left, while
intricately explaining his marketplace
concept, costs for
such health-care reform and a
projected timeframe for change
to finally be implemented.
Single-handedly shifting
the debate, Obama has once
again silenced doubters and
brought the focus back on
the real issue — an inadequate
system that is failing
the nation. A system where
14,000 Americans lose coverage
every day, a system
where individuals have died
after being dropped for the
most inane justifications and
a system where the highest
number of uninsured are
between the ages of 18-29.
We cannot continue to fail
our youth who will be responsible
to carry the baton for
the sustainability of our
country on every level.
During the civil, ever-pertinent
speech by our president,
there was an outburst by
Republican Rep. Joe Wilson
that by now we are all unfortunately
familiar with. This
sort of disrespectful, unwarranted
and ill-informed
attack on Obama is in effect a
reflection of a dwindling segment
of the population that
has no resort but to yell.
Exhausted from fear mongering
and a lack of solutions,
Americans themselves are no
longer giving in to this type of
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
hate, and they are ready,
willing and able to stand
behind the president.
The day after Obama’s
impassioned speech, a new
CNN/Opinion Research
Corporation poll showed that
2/3 of those surveyed said
they supported Obama’s
health-care proposals, and
about one in seven changed
their minds on his ideas.
Unfortunately, by Thursday,
the number of uninsured also
rose to nearly 46.3 million as
a result of our continued
recession. As more and more
people lose their jobs, or are
forced to take jobs without
health benefits, the people
cannot be fooled any longer.
As they watch family members
suffer or die due to a
lack of adequate care, the
people are adamant in their
support for reform.
I echo our president’s
steadfastness and continued
call for action. Just as
Medicare revamped health
care for our seniors, it is high
time to deliver the same
amenities to all of our citizenry.
As Obama aptly stated:
“That large-heartedness —
that concern and regard for
the plight of others — is not a
partisan feeling. It is not a
Republican or a Democratic
feeling. It, too, is part of the
American character.”
And it’s time to sustain our
character.
Religious article ripe with
factual, editorial errors
The article concerning St. Therese of the
Child Jesus Parish, written by Arlene
Edmonds and published on Friday, Sept. 4,
was regrettably replete with numerous factual
and editorial inaccuracies. For example,
the article reported that the parish “had paid
off the mortgage,” when there was no mortgage.
The article estimated the worth of the
parish property, implying that the properly is
for sale, which it is not. The article also
reported that the “archdiocese was unable to
respond to this article at press time.” In fact,
the archdiocese, though willing, was contacted
too late to permit a thoughtful response.
We strive respectfully to relate to the media in
the best possible terms.
A good bit of the article was not “news,”
but a repetition of already published material.
Further, the fact that The Philadelphia
Tribune would publish uncharitable
remarks about a person is, at best, irresponsible.
The good news and accurate news is that
the majority of parishioners of St. Therese
Parish are making every effort to move forward
in faith together. With God’s grace and
the parishioners’ love and commitment to
Christ and his church, St. Therese Parish will
continue to embrace the future with hope. We
would expect that in the future media coverage
of St. Therese Parish will fairly and accurately
depict that news.
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
Archdiocese of Philadelphia