Readers
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
For ed funding, state’s 1st (in ascending order)
I have purposely let a few days pass so I could be level-headed in my response to the butchering of the state education budget.
I, for one, am sick and tired of a Republican Party that devalues the idea of a well-educated citizenry and refuses to see the long-term benefits of investment in education.
I am equally tired of listening to legislators (Russell Pearce, Kirk Adams, Rich Crandall, Michele Reagan, Barbara Leff, John Huppenthal, etc.) hollowly speak of their support for education while watching them cast votes that harm our ability to deliver a quality education for our students.
I have watched the Republicans dance the “Education Two-Step” for too long.
Republicans argue that there was no other alternative. That leads me to the conclusion that they are either ignorant or intentionally being untruthful. Steps to increase revenue were never entertained.
In the end, every Democrat legislator voted against this budget. All but two Republicans (Carolyn Allen and Jay Tibshraeny) voted for these cuts. It has never been clearer which party values public education and which party only talks about valuing education.
We no longer have to worry about being 49th (nationally) in per-pupil expenditure. Those were the good ol’ days. We are now 55th, behind several American territories.
Way to go Republicans! We have won the race to the bottom.
Michael Conway
Mesa
Criticism of Citi jet lands back on Obama
I’d take President Obama’s criticism of Citi’s (now-canceled) order for a $50 million private jet more seriously if he would also criticize the many-times-larger amount that his corporate welfare porkfest (what he mislabels as “stimulus”) provides for the leftist voter-fraud specialists at ACORN.
But given our empty suit of a president’s longstanding ties to that noxious organization, I expect his outrage to remain highly selective.
Mark Kalinowski
New York, N.Y.
Travoltas in position to influence seizure research
Re the Jan. 27 story, “Paramedic charged in Travolta extortion plot”:
When the news flashed that John Travolta’s 16-year-old son, Jett, died from an apparent seizure Jan. 2, I remained paralyzed momentarily as thoughts raced through my mind.
It was five years ago that I lost my 5-year-old son, Matthew Siravo, to status epilepticus or a prolonged seizure. I couldn’t believe that lightning had struck the Travolta family as it did for us.
The loss of a child is the most horrific experience a family can face. It’s a shocking tragedy that never goes away despite the outpouring of love and support from friends and family.
While millions of people worldwide suffer from seizure disorders or “epilepsy,” many are controlled by medication and live a normal life. However, there are those individuals who do not respond well with repeated attempts to control seizures with various types of medications and their uncontrolled seizure activity may cause development delays or special needs for children, depression and, in some cases, death.
The fact is that epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders – and yet epilepsy research remains grossly underfunded.
After the loss of my son, Matthew, we organized the Matthew Siravo Memorial Foundation in Rhode Island to raise much-needed funds for epilepsy research, epilepsy awareness and educational programs while offering children with epilepsy college scholarships and younger children epilepsy camp sponsorships.
We have collaborated with doctors at Hasbro Children’s Hospital to improve the quality of life for children and families dealing with epilepsy on a daily basis. We have partnered with scientists at Brown University to enhance research efforts for this debilitating disease.
Having a child with epilepsy is the fear of the unknown. The telephone rings and you fear that the message is about your child. You spend most nights awake listening to your child’s breathing patterns or sudden movements.
A parent never knows where or when a seizure may occur. A parent never knows how long a seizure will last or whether there will be any long-term side effects.
The Travoltas have suffered the most horrific tragedy a family can face. They need love and support. In time, hopefully they will turn this tragedy into something positive for the many families suffering from epilepsy on a daily basis.
In time, hopefully, they will help educate society to better understand seizures and use their celebrity influence to raise the much-needed funds for epilepsy research to find a cure.
But for now, they need their privacy to mourn the death of their only son and cuddle his memories as a family.
Richard Siravo
executive director
Matthew Siravo Memorial Foundation and Epilepsy Resource Center of Rhode Island
Wakefield, R.I.