Conscious Choice: Remembering Wayne

January 2005 | Choice Feedback

Remembering Wayne

I thought your article “In memory of Wayne Teasdale” was excellent but I have one brief criticism. I think the journalistic usage of his last name, Teasdale, was not appropriate in this case. Wayne connected with everybody on a personal level. To everybody who knew him, he was never Teasdale. He was always Wayne.

Fred Scheaffer, Chicago

Hope comes on the wings of angels

WHAT A pleasure it was to read (the Oct. story) on angels, by Marla Donato. The article was well written, concise, and easy to understand. I have always believed in angels, stemming from my biblical training as a Christian from my childhood. But my personal experience came last year when I underwent cancer treatment. An angel visited me and told me that everything would be alright and it was. I am now back at work, and the doctors said there is not a trace of cancer. We all have a personal angel. Thank God.

Fannie Williams, Chicago

YOUR ARTICLE “When the game gets rough, call in the angels” was so inspiring. It just says everything for anyone that needs comforting for themselves through difficult times. Thank you for that. I work at Marianjoy Hospital in Wheaton, Illinois and we receive copies of Conscious Choice every month and I enjoy reading them. You always have something in there that is so interesting. Thank you for your magazine.

Becky Alexander, Wheaton, Ill.

Seal Clubbing

I SHARE the sentiments of your reader Julie Johnson who praised young activist Kevin Pratt for his efforts on behalf of goldfish (thrown) in the Glenview chlorinated municipal swim-ming pool. However, Ms. Johnson incorrectly states in the Oct. 2004 issue that the clubbing of baby seals ended many years ago. Regrettably, the brutal practice of seal clubbing, skinning, and butchering continues in Alaska and Canada, where every year hundreds of thousands of harp seals are brutally slaughtered for their exquisite fur. Please visit www.friendsofanimals.org, or call Friends of Animals at 203-656-1522.

Mary Lou Carroll, Chicago

STAND against Peotone Airport

JUST BEFORE Thanksgiving, the State of Illinois sent 57 letters to Peotone area residents threatening to use eminent domain to forcibly take their property if the residents did not immediately start negotiating with the State. The state plans to spend $26 million for 2285 acres of farm and residential property. These farmers and homeowners do not want to sell. This is a grave violation of basic American values and of eminent domain.

The FAA has not approved a master plan for the Peotone airport; in fact, the state has not yet submitted one and the FAA decision is two years away. The airlines have all refused to come to Peotone and the airline industry is in a shambles. The State of Illinois is broke, 82 percent of the school districts are in the red.

We believe that state funded studies purporting a need for Peotone are fraudulent. Commissioned during Gov. George Ryan’s administration and prior to it, consultants produced results that developers and the corruption-ridden Illinois state government wanted. The same consultants worked on MidAmericia airport, the white elephant at Mascoutah, Ill.

The proposed Peotone airport is about money and power, not transportation. The solution to aviation congestion is as follows: expansion and full utilization of O’Hare and the Gary, Rockford and Milwaukee airports; state-of-the-art air-traffic technology; pricing away from peak flying times; increased teleconferencing; fast trains connecting Midwestern cities; and, if all else fails, having some connecting flights take place in other cities.

We urge those who care about justice and the principals upon which this country was founded to write Governor Blagojevich at 100 W. Randolph, Chicago, IL. 60601, or call 800-642-3112 and ask him not to trample on the rights of Peotone farmers and homeowners.

George Ochsenfeld, President STAND, Monee, Ill., 708-534-7319

Nutrient Stealing Drugs

GOOD JOB on the ‘Nutrient-Stealing Drugs’ article. I just forwarded it to a dear friend who has lymphoma and will be starting chemo soon.

The terrible effects of cell phones are finally being established — brain tumors, sleep disturbance, etc.

Please consider an article on the health effects of the electronic fog of WI-FI and what can be done.

Candace, Internet

Stop smoking now

WITH THE recent increase in the cigarette tax in Cook County and the release of the 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on the Health Consequences of Smoking, the need to educate on the dangers of smoking is greater than ever.

The more than 2 million smokers in Illinois come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. However, it is important to recognize that several factors combine to contribute to an individual’s likelihood of becoming a smoker including: Education. Those with a high school education or below have higher smoking rates (33.9 percent) than those educated beyond college (8.4 percent).

Economic Factors. Some studies suggest that the more expensive it is to smoke, the less widespread smoking will be — states with a low excise tax on cigarettes currently have a higher proportion of smokers. Age. Older people are less likely to be smokers. Younger adults (age 18-24) are still most likely to begin smoking. In Illinois, 34,800 children under the age of 18 will become smokers each year.

Now that the Surgeon General’s report has revealed that smoking is even more harmful than previously thought — damaging virtually every organ in the body — more people are committing to quit. Fortunately, a number of resources are available to help them. For example, smokers can choose from several nicotine replacement therapies, which are FDA-approved and designed to help smokers safely and effectively quit. They work by weaning smokers off their nicotine addiction without exposing them to the more than 4,000 toxins and at least 69 known or suspected carcinogens found in tobacco smoke. In Illinois, Medicaid coverage is available for many NRT products.

It is important for smokers to know that a variety of smoking cessation aids exist to help them — each targeted to a specific type of individual. Smokers can call the Cook County Quit Line, 1-866-QUIT-YES, the Commit to Quit Referral Line at 1-877-U-COMMIT, or visit www.quit.com, to learn what NRT product would work for them based on their habit and lifestyle.

Allison Blake, Annapolis, MD

CORRECTION: In the article on the Bhopal disaster in our Dec. issue, in the editing process we incorrectly attributed a quote to Gary Cohen, the director of the Environmental Health Fund in Washington, which was actually made by Dow spokesman, John Musser.

The sentence should have read:

John Musser, a Dow spokesman, confirmed the existence of the 1982 study but asserted, “None of the issues [it] raised would have had an impact on the fatal gas leak and all of the issues had been addressed by the plant well before the December 1984 disaster.”

We sincerely regret the error.

We want to hear from you. Send your letters to: Choice Feedback, Conscious Choice, 920 N. Franklin, Suite 202, Chicago, IL 60610 or e-mail us. Letters should include the writer’s name, address, and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity or space.

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