PUBLIC FORUM : VIAGRA AND INSURANCE FOR CONTRACEPTIVES.Re ``Viagra-vation: While the new drug provides hope, Medicaid policies perplex,'' Opinions, May 15: Clarence Page Clarence Page (born June 2, 1947) is a journalist, syndicated columnist and member of the editorial board for the Chicago Tribune. He is an occasional panelist on The McLaughlin Group, a regular contributor of essays to NewsHour with Jim Lehrer makes the rather confusing argument that Viagra should be covered by health insurance because if men did not have impotency to contend with, they would not be so afraid of aging and would be more apt to have regular prostate exams. Therefore, Viagra not only improves the quality of men's lives, it eases fears, contributes to their general health and, in fact, may save lives. We argue that contraceptives should be covered by health insurance because women who are able to control their fertility have better quality of life, less fear of unintended pregnancy and get regular gynecological gynecological /gy·ne·co·log·i·cal/ (-kah-loj´i-k'l) gynecologic. exams that may, in fact, save their lives. It's difficult to understand how anyone can miss the hypocrisy of insurance coverage of Viagra but not contraception, especially given that contraceptive coverage is cheaper than Viagra coverage and much more cost-effective in the long run when compared to the cost of unintended pregnancy. - Nancy Sasaki President/CEO Planned Parenthood Planned Parenthood A service mark used for an organization that provides family planning services. , Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. The fact that many insurance companies will pay for Viagra but continue to refuse to pay for contraception is yet another example of the sexism embedded in the health care industry and in society in general. Insurance companies often argue that they should not have to pay for contraception because it is not a medical necessity. It is tough to argue that Viagra is a medical necessity, but when it comes to something that enhances men's sexual powers, well that is something that the aging men who run the insurance companies can really get behind. Meanwhile, women continue to be denied even the most basic contraceptives as part of their health plan. Proposed legislation that mandates that insurance companies include contraception in their health plans is badly needed and Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, should be applauded for his support of it. - Kevin Rudiger Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. Birmingham grads Since the Birmingham High School Birmingham High School is a public coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of the city of Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of District One of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). mascot (Braves) was just ordered changed, what will previous Birmingham graduates be called? Some suggestions: Braves, Posthumous Braves, Brave-Patriots or Retroactive Patriots. Which would be acceptable to our ``esteemed'' school board as politically correct politically correct Politically sensitive adjective Referring to language reflecting awareness and sensitivity to another person's physical, mental, cultural, or other disadvantages or deviations from a norm; a person is not mentally retarded, but ? I use the word ``esteemed'' advisedly because what I really think about them wouldn't be printable. - Gene Goodwein Van Nuys Sinatra's legacy lives What a sad and wondrous weekend. Frank Sinatra left us in life, but his legacy of music, music, music is here to comfort us. How marvelous to see that face and to listen to that voice and music all day long. It brings joy to the soul. How sad. It took his passing for TV and radio to remember how really great his gift to us was. - Marion L. Sterry Van Nuys Frank Sinatra was like a member of our family. His music and songs were a chronological record Noun 1. chronological record - a chronological account of events in successive years annals account, chronicle, history, story - a record or narrative description of past events; "a history of France"; "he gave an inaccurate account of the plot to kill the of our lives. We are in hope that the Sinatra family will build a museum in his honor that would house all his personal effects personal effects n. an expression often found in wills ("I leave my personal effects to my niece, Susannah") personal effects (things) include clothes, cosmetics, and items of adornment. to be enjoyed by fans everywhere for always. - Gloria and Pete Aguilar Northridge Valens slighted I find it hard to imagine that Richie Valens is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in . His recordings are still played and being sold today. - Vic LaForest West Hills Prop. 227's opponents We have now reached that stage in the electoral process when the losing side is experiencing desperation and is willing to pull out all the stops. Julie Kane's letter (Public Forum May 20) attempts to instruct the great unwashed that its opinions on Proposition 227 are vastly uninformed because she is an experienced teacher and the voters are not. These are ``multifaceted'' problems, she insists, that cannot be addressed by a ``quick fix'' of changing the language of instruction. As a matter of fact, that's just not true. As a college instructor of nearly 30 years and a past member of the panel that created the state's foreign language framework, I know at least a little about methodology in teaching non-natives a new language. I can assure you that there is everything that is pedagogically ped·a·gog·ic also ped·a·gog·i·cal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy. 2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. wrong with bilingual education bilingual education, the sanctioned use of more than one language in U.S. education. The Bilingual Education Act (1968), combined with a Supreme Court decision (1974) mandating help for students with limited English proficiency, requires instruction in the native as it is currently structured and everything that is right with the aim to immerse students in English in order to teach them English. But Kane's argument is but a foretaste fore·taste n. 1. An advance token or warning. 2. A slight taste or sample in anticipation of something to come. tr.v. of what's coming: the after-election fallout. For initiatives in California, this means the inevitable appeal of the losing side to a smug judge who single-handedly will bottle up the issue and the will of the people for some three years or more in order to continue a failed political agenda. Recall how Judge Marianne Pfaelzer did it so very successfully for Proposition 187. It would be my guess that she or some other ideologue i·de·o·logue n. An advocate of a particular ideology, especially an official exponent of that ideology. [French idéologue, back-formation from idéologie, ideology; see would be dying to get their hands on Proposition 227 for all of the same reasons. Judicial tyranny In common law Judicial tyranny is a common law felony with a substantial prison sentence and fine. It is a subset of obstruction of justice. Judicial tyranny is malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance by a judge, and includes actions under color of law that exceed his jurisdiction, of this sort is the last gasp of an outmoded philosophy and should alert everyone to what's really at stake here: not the needs of the children to learn the language of our culture in order to function successfully in it, but rather the cynical necessity of some to Balkanize various ethnic segments of society in order to gain political control and power. - Walter Stewart Chairman Department of Foreign Languages California Lutheran University Mission statement The University's mission statement is as follows: "California Lutheran University is a diverse, scholarly community dedicated to excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies. Thousand Oaks A long time ago, when I was in the first grade, my parents brought over from Austria a cousin, a little older than I. The girl, who spoke only Croatian, was placed in the second grade. No one then had even dreamed of bilingual education. In no time at all, my cousin was fluent in English and at the top of her class scholastically. Latino and other non-English-speaking children are in no way inferior to their schoolmates with English-speaking backgrounds, but in many instances they are considered second-class citizens only because they are not fluent in English, a handicap that sometimes remains with them throughout their lives. This need not be, for if children are immersed in a new language they will quickly absorb it in a natural learning process. For financial reasons, the teachers union supports bilingual education; Clinton supports it because teachers unions are one of the main pillars of his power. He supports it, however, with reservations, ``reservations'' he believes will permit him to hold on to Latino and other groups that he knows want bilingual education abolished. To assure an equal chance to all our children - to enable them to compete on a level playing field See net neutrality. in the world in which they will have to live and work - vote yes on Proposition 227 on June 2. - Mel Pierovich Glendale |
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