Free Press –
Dear Friends,
Good morning. What’s spinning in the news? Plenty. In a moment, I’ll tell you why I think Barack Obama will beat Hillary…why Cardinal Justin Rigali is not gay…and why George W. is in such hot water. But first, two items: one from Sellersville and one from St. Francisville, Louisiana.
Next to Grandview Hospital is the Stoneridge Obstetrics and Gynecology practice. Its five physicians and a large support staff care for more than 4,000 women in this region. I was inquiring about Gardasil, the cervical cancer vaccine that protects against the human papilloma virus (HPV). Incidentally, Gardasil is manufactured at the Merck Pharmaceutical nearby.
As I wrote in the Bucks County Herald last week, the HPV virus causes 10,000 new cases of cervical cancer yearly, resulting in 3,700 deaths. The vaccine is recommended for women in this age range: pre-puberty through age 25.
I asked Dr. Michael Chmielewski whether he thought Pennsylvania should order the vaccine for teenage girls, just as Texas has done? Texan conservatives got their bowels in an uproar because they believe that the vaccine will encourage young women to become promiscuous.
What rubbish! Says I.
“My daughter is only nine,” Dr. Chmielewski began, “but she’ll get it [the vaccine] in her teen years…plus my frank discussion about morality and sexual health.”
Now there’s a wise man.
“All new vaccines have been controversial,” he continued. “The polio vaccine was controversial. But, what counts is what’s best for the population in the years to come. We’ve eliminated polio.
“I hope that the state health department adds the HPV vaccine to its routine vaccinations,” he said. “HPV and cervical cancer has been the bane of physicians [and women]. This is a disease that could be eradicated.
“We’re promoting cervical health,” Dr. Chmielewski concluded. “This is not a political issue…it’s a public health issue.” He’s absolutely right.
And now to St. Fancisville, Louisiana.
Did you read Dr. Robert Leight’s interesting op-ed piece in the Free Press last week? He wrote about grade inflation and grade retention. I thought of his column when I sat with Bill Kee at a Rotary Club meeting last week. The Quakertown engineer had been to Houston recently and came across a fascinating story.
In the Houston Chronicle (Mar. 31), Bill saw a report, which should make any school board director, superintendent and principal shudder. Paula Payne was an English teacher at the St. Francisville high school in West Felecia Parish, Louisiana. She was demoted because she refused to improve the grades of her students. Ms. Payne had given D’s and F’s to 70 percent of her kids.
Students called her course, the “House of Payne.” Ms. Payne quit her position, claiming that she’d been harassed by the administration…and promptly sued the school board. A federal jury awarded $1.4 million to her in this First Amendment case. She ran into trouble with parents and the authorities because she had high expectations.
The story concluded with her present teaching position. Ms. Payne is teaching English to inmates at the Dictional Correction Center in Texas. Now she gets the serious attention from prisoners. My guess is that some of the 70 percent who were underachieving at her previous school may see her again, but this time it will be from behind bars.
Education is such a sensitive subject. We look at the condition of the nation’s public schools and believe that American education is in trouble. But we’re confident that our own local public school is fine. It reminds me of how we think about the halls of Congress. We don’t have much respect for Congress, but we’re very comfortable with our own representative. What a disconnect! Does this thinking make sense? Hardly.
Item.
Before I
sign off with Barack Obama, George W. and Cardinal Rigali, here’s an item from
Ellen Schroy. The Richland Library on Main Street in Quakertown is about to
build an addition and needs to raise funds. It’s holding the biggest used book
sale ever at the Richland Library on May 19, Ellen says. The library needs you
to donate gently “used” books…and needs volunteers too. Please call her at
Item.
Senator Barack Obama is scaring Hillary Clinton which is great fun. In three months, he’s raised nearly as much money as Hillary did, but he attracted twice as many donors as she. And, according to the Associated Press, he didn’t receive a nickel from political action committees or federal lobbyists, a very sweet swipe at Ms. Clinton.
If this isn’t a David versus Goliath story, I don’t know what is. Courtesy of her ever-popular husband, Hillary’s been on the national stage for 15 years, versus only two years for Obama. The Clinton campaign needs to find an attack dog…and find one fast. Maybe Karl Rove will jump ship.
Worse for our President’s party, the Democrats have raised more money than the Republicans have, a reversal of 32 years! Why is the GOP in such perilous shape?
I claim that the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DEKE) fraternity is to blame. George W. was a DEKE at Yale. In fact, he was the President of the DEKE house. The two Bush Presidents make a startling, generational contrast. It would be comical if it weren’t so dangerous.
Father Bush was a member of the famous and exclusive Skull and Bones society, which every Yale man desires. Attracting students with the highest academic, athletic and student leadership credentials, Skull and Bones is the most prestigious of Yale institutions. On the other hand, the DEKE house attracts beer drinking, girl pinching, lechers. What more can I say?
Last.
My Roman Catholic friends can breathe easier. Cardinal Justin Rigali has not come out of a closet to tell the world that he’s gay. And the President of St. Joseph’s University, the Reverend Timothy Lannon, is not endorsing condoms.
The St. Jo student newspaper, “The Hawk,” ran a spoof in its April Fool’s edition, “The Squawk.” As you might expect, the Philadelphia Catholic hierarchy is not amused. Soon, I’ll have a visit with my friend, Father Fred Riegler, the pastor of St. Isidore’s. He’ll have words of wisdom, I’m certain. And, I’ll bet that his thoughts will be amusing too. Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith