Outside panel should review politician’s speeding ticket
Re: “P.G. councilwoman to give up county-owned car after speeding incident,” March 1
You have to be kidding me! This representative of the people, caught driving the people’s car 105 mph at noon on the people’s road, is temporarily and voluntarily giving up the privilege of using her county car until she completes a driver improvement course?
Where is the outrage? Councilwoman Karen Toles, D-Suitland, not only put her own children at risk, but me, my family, our employees and the public as a whole. If any of our 150 truck drivers had the record Toles has, they would lose their privilege to drive. If any of our staff did what she did, they would lose their company-assigned car for at least a year.
The county police will convene an “Executive Review Panel” to review the incident. But who approves their budget? County Executive Rushern Baker should ask Ike Leggett in Montgomery County to review the case instead.
John M. Kane
President and CEO,
The Kane Co.
Elkridge, Md.
Unemployment is result of mediocre education system
Re: “Why math matters, a lot,” Feb. 21
Walter E. Williams’ well-researched columns are a real public service. In this one, he raised a point about American education that should supersede all political correctness.
“No Child Left Behind” and “affirmative action” bring only mediocrity and the intellectual comfort of “succeeding” without having to study hard. The present level of unemployment is one of the outcomes of such a failed approach.
The idea that educational attainment is based on family income is a myth. Many Asian and other immigrants have lived in misery while excelling in school. For them, knowledge is an absolute priority that justifies all sacrifices.
The European academic curriculum is heavy in math, economics and statistics. Dozens of written and oral exams taken in less than two months determine who will succeed. One failed exam in the fall means doubling the year — and you cannot double more than twice! There is no mercy for failure. Only the best survive.
More often than not, these graduates find jobs in the U.S. or Canada.
Michael Gloukhov
Fairfax
Employer-based insurance should be eliminated
Re: “Faithful should not be forced to pay for birth control,” From Readers, Feb. 17
I agree that President Obama was wrong to issue a mandate requiring the coverage of contraception, but some contraceptives balance out hormone levels for women suffering from debilitating migraines, as my wife does. Since her migraines are caused by her monthly cycle, and contraceptives keep it in check, they are a medical issue.
The same applies to contraceptives that reduce the pain of cramps, which for some women are so bad that they double over in pain. If an employer can deny coverage for these, can they deny coverage for ectopic pregnancies even though mothers who don’t abort could die?
Wouldn’t it be better if we all just stopped getting insurance through our work and bought it directly from insurance companies that advertised their plans on an exchange so you could easily compare all of them and choose what’s right for you?
Why can’t the federal and state government allow me to buy an individual/family policy directly from an insurance company and then give me the 60 percent tax write-off that it currently gives my employer?
James Witte
Woodbridge
