The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 13

Thursday, June 16, 1994 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER CommentA13 Excessive pay, benefits, jobs are not basic rights TO THE EDITOR: The letter by READERS' VIEWS Cherie Derby "Unions are for people," June 9 in response to Walter Williams' column "Senate bill grants unions undue Write us power, May 29 demands a realistic examination of some issues. Her comment, "companies are profit- minded, not people-minded," was very amusing. Companies are, and should be, profit-minded. Were they not, there would be no company nor people to be While I sympathize with the grief and despair both families must be feeling, I was very disturbed by the media accounts of the event, specifically related to the reports in The Enquirer as well as television news that David is somehow unstable as evidenced by the fact that he has learning disabilities. The reports went on to say that David attended Springer School (a private academy for learning disabled children) as if his disabilities were so severe that he could not attend "normal" school.

I too have "learning disabilities" and attended Springer School during the same time as David. Many innocent people wrongly assume that learning disabled is the same as mentally retarded. Children at Springer School all have average or above average intelligence levels and attend "regular" classes. The difference is that all students in the school have learning disabilities, class sizes are small and teachers are prepared specifically to teach learning disabled students. There is nothing shameful about having learning disabilities.

Many successful people have known learning disabilities including Albert Einstein, Gerald Ford, Cher and Tom Cruise. The fact that David is learning disabled has nothing to do with this issue. Please report the facts and stop misleading the public. JESSICA L. EARLEY Goshen concerned about.

The return on invest ments funds all businesses. If all union demands were completely met by any industry, it would be a rela tary background, has a better balanced judgment on issues of our military involvement in foreign countries. He realizes the U.S. policing of the world is not in the world's best interest nor in ours. C.

JEANNE SWEENEY Hartwell Rules are for everyone I am writing in response to the unbelievable amount of press received by the seniors who have not managed to pass the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Test and are not going to walk with their classes at commencement. It was bad enough to see an article on the front page about a student who had been accepted into college and was still unable to pass a ninth grade math proficiency test "Failing test scraps seniors' plans," June 2. I am tired of constantly hearing about the misdirected few who are forever regarding rules as something for everyone else and expecting concessions when criteria are not met. If in the last three years you have not realized that it was possible that you might not graduate due to inadequate test scores or that adults in positions of authority mean what they say, maybe you're not yet ready to graduate from high school and take your place in society. LINDA GARRETT Fairview Heights Let all seniors walk The Cincinnati Board of Education should reverse its decision and let all seniors participate in graduation ceremo The Fourth of July, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, is the greatest patriotic holiday of the American year.

This July 4, we'd like to hear your opinions on the meaning of this holiday, on American liberties and patriotism, or on the challenges facing America. We'll publish a selection of your letters. Please mail to: Fourth of July Editorial Page Department The Cincinnati Enquirer 312 Elm St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Or fax to: 513-768-8610 Deadline: Tuesday, June 28 of achievement. Many students who have yet to pass the entire proficiency test demonstrate both achievement and commitment at least equal and in many cases stronger than the rest of the senior class.

Many of them have regular class attendance, maintaining to averages. In addition they have gone to tutoring classes and summer school to help their grades and improve their successes on the proficiency test. These young men and women have earned the right to stand proudly with their classmates and celebrate their hard work and commitment, and especially to receive public and well-deserved congratulations. NANCY JACKSON Paddock Hills 12th grade exam? I have two questions that have been bothering me. First, what would happen if high school seniors were required to pass a 12th grade proficiency exam? Second, what makes a person think that if they cannot pass a ninth grade proficiency test they deserve a 12th grade diploma? What they should get is a diploma that says: "Congratulations.

After 13 years of school, you are as smart as an eighth grader." I apologize to all hard-working eighth graders. I do not mean to offend you. DOUG EVANS Mount Washington Using facts to mislead The recent stabbing death of Maria 01-berding and the arrest of David Kohls in connection with that stabbing were certainly both unforeseen and tragic events with lasting effects for both families. tively short time before that industry would fail. The steel industry, the rubber industry, much of the electronics industry and the auto industry are all potent examples that we are no longer the sole providers of products in these industries.

Passage of the Anti-Striker Replacement Bill would give unions a monopoly on the labor commodity. In essence, unions would then be determining the amount of employee expenses that an industry could sustain. How many other industries must be driven into the ground before unions realize that excessive wages, benefits and even jobs are not basic rights? Unions must recognize that the managing of all businesses is the responsibility of the management team. The legal power to force employee compensation decisions on a company is bad business and can only lead to the ultimate failure of many businesses. MICHAEL MENKIIAUS Milford LETTERS Balanced judgment Georgie Anne Geyer's reminiscence of Eisenhower's part in World War II regarding the purity and morality of his actions raises questions in my mind "Ike to Clinton a long, sad journey," June 2.

Eisenhower, unlike those men slaughtered, lived a long and very prosperous life. This great moral leader, when told he could win the White House if he changed political parties, did so readily. He then chose Richard Nixon as his vice president. Enough said. Clinton, partly because of his non-mili Send to-.

Readers' Views, Enquirer Editorial Page, 312 Elm Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Limit your letters to 250 words or less and include your name, complete address (including community) and daytime phone number. Please type letters, if possible. nies. To date, the students who have not passed all sections of the proficiency test have been denied participation.

Graduation ceremony is a celebration African Americans and D-Day (r. Continental fill 1 GUEST OPINION Rep. wil- I liam L. I A Mallory, D- -v--' Cincinnati, isamem- berofthe Ohio House of LYglJ ewelers, Inc. Manufacturer's And Designer's ials5 Ml, J)iamond Specials Diamonds Below Retail fought in the European theater of operations.

The 761st Tank Battalion fought at the Battle of the Bulge with great honor. The record of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 372nd is well known. I remember, as a child, a headline on the front page of the Pittsburgh Courier, an African American national newspaper, which stated, "Our boys want to fight." It was shortly thereafter that the 92nd Division was sent overseas to become part of General Mark Clark's 5th Army. The 92nd Division engaged in battles in Africa and in Italy, In January, 1945, it was announced that African American troops were to be integrated on the platoon level in Germany. President Harry Truman issued an executive order in 1948 ending, segregation in the military.

I have related this so that the wife of my friend could understand why she did not see African Americans going ashore on D-Day at Normandy. There were those in the past who argued that African Americans were not fit for combat duty. But African Americans fought and died heroically during the Revolutionary War, Civil War, the Indian Wars of the West, the Spanish-American War of 1898 and World War I. A search of history can often provide the answers to the questions of today. Americans should have remembered that African Americans fought honorably and died for their country for centuries.

If African Americans, during World War II, had been allowed to enter the military fairly and without restrictions, they, too, would have landed in Normandy with other Americans on June 6, 1944. BY WILLIAM L. MALLORY Guest columnist The 50th anniversary observance of the invasion of Europe is ending. As it ends, I feel a need to attempt to answer the question of the wife of an African American friend. She asked the question, "Where were the African American soldiers on D-Day?" African Americans historically have had to fight for participation in the defense of America.

In 1940, when the Selective Service Act was passed, it was amended by a clause forbidding discrimination in the drafting and training of men. In spite of the law, some draft boards would only accept white men for training. The boards tried to justify their actions by stating that there were not enough training camps for African American men and women. The discrimination continued in the military. In September, 1940, African American leaders, including A.

Philip Randolph and Walter White, presented a program to President Roosevelt that included: African American inclusion in the defense program. A provision that whites and African Americans be given the same military training. A request that the Army accept officers on the basis of ability and not race. Appointment of African Americans to draft boards across the nation. The abolishment of discrimination in the Navy and Air Force and the appointment of civilian assistant secretaries of the Army and the Navy.

Under the Selective Service Act of 1940, more than 3 million And Wholesale Prices" SUGGESTED OUR RETAIL FRICE Round 0.69ct. 5244.00 2400 Round 0.7 let. 5680.00 2600 Round 0.80ct. 5832.00 3100 Round l.OOct. 11,000.00 4500 Round 1.04ct.

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The difference was attributed by some to discrimination by local draft boards. Approximately 500,000 African Americans entered the military. In 1944, 411,386 African Americans were serving in foreign lands. In Europe, almost half of the transportation units were composed of African Americans. They served in port battalions and other units.

Port battalions came ashore shortly after D-Day to unload supplies for assault troops. It was the African American truck companies that helped supply Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army drive across France. I remember this vividly because I kept a scrapbook on Patton's advances in France. African American troops erected camps, and performed other important services.

The chief of the Ordinance Corps reported that African Americans not only "Praised the Lord and passed the ammunition," but they fought the Germans, participated in patrols and captured prisoners. Twenty-two African American units 'One of The Largest Selections of Lab Certified Diamonds' TRICES TAKEN FROM RAPAPORT DIAMOND REPORT Diamond Engagement Ring Sale 50-70 OFF Quality Service Price Welfare debate is a flawed one Molly ivins Diamond Specials According to the Congressional Budget Office, most parents on welfare have one or two children, and the average size of welfare families is smaller than the average size of American families. Still another nifty notion is the residency requirement: Teen-age moms must live with their own parents. Boy, is that a bad idea. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 66 of teen-agers who become pregnant during adolescence have been sexually abused, and 54 of those victimized say they were molested by a family member.

Actually, some of these reforms could be implemented, but only if adequate due-process protections were put in place, i.e., more of your hated government SUGGESTED OUR RETAIL PRICE Marquise 0.5 let. 4590.00 1800 Marquise 0.69ct. SL-G 4126.00 2350 Marquise 0.75ct. SL-G 7020.00 2999 Marquise 0.79ct. 7800.00 3150 Marquise 0.84ct.

SL-G 7900.00 3400 Marquise 0.85ct. SL-E 7800.00 3300 Marquise 1.24ct. 12,750.00 6200 Pear 1.57ct. 15,386.00 7000 Behold, some logical lacunae in our welfare reform debate. (All us Ph.D.'s use "lacunae" instead of "holes." I'm working up to using "chthonic" sometime.) The one you want to keep in mind above all others is that the purpose of welfare reform is to get folks off welfare and into jobs.

And the reason that people are on welfare is because there are no jobs. Perfect circular logic. All welfare reform will take place in an economy that runs a steady 6 to 7 unemployment rate. Now, we realize that there are jobs out there it's just that there are no jobs out there for unskilled citizens, so they are the ones who tend to wind up on welfare. There are jobs out there for the unskilled, but they don't pay enough to live on.

So the first answer is to take care of health care, the factor that most often drives working moms back onto welfare. Then we find ways to subsidize child care for them so they'll be able to work, and maybe transportation costs as well. Or, we could subsidize them as they acquire marketable skills. But we wind up subsidizing McDonald's and other employers of unskilled labor. A nation of subsidized burger-flippers.

On the whole, subsidizing women who work outside the home is better than subsidizing women who don't work outside the home. They want to work, and despite the difficulties, 70 of them do go to work within two years of going on welfare. Of the remaining 30, most are physically or mentally disabled people who can't work; the famous target of so much right-wing wrath is actually only a sliver of the welfare population. The latest popular nostrum from the right is "abolish welfare completely." That" would, of course, have the happy effect of forcing those now on welfare to get jobs, if only there were jobs for them. Which there aren't.

Another popular new nostrum is to fail to increase a woman's welfare allowance if she has a baby after going on welfare. There is a slight problem with this. We cannot pass laws in this country that apply only to a certain class of people. This is known as the equal protection clause of the Constitution, although it frequently has unequal results. Combined benefits from Aid to Families with Dependent Children and food stamps are below the poverty level in all 50 states.

Continental Jewelers, Inc. 1 1920 Montgomery Rd, Monday Friday 1 1 :00 7:30 Saturday Payment Plans Available bureaucracy. Be prepared for that unintended consequence. I take exception to hearing conservatives rail about how welfare has "destroyed the family." If anything about welfare can be held to destroy families, it is certainly the "no man in the house" rule. And that wicked bit of legislation came from the right wing, now so busy blaming welfare for the destruction of the family.

Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Write to her co Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Suite 700, Los Angeles, Calif. 90045. '4 2 miles North of 275 on Montgomery Road "Family owned operated" 683-2570 Major Credit Cards and Layaways limited availability o( featured merchandise.

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