Letters

Lagniappe missing a story

To the editor:

I occasionally read your paper, occasionally only because, despite your constant proclamations, I don’t really feel like the Lagniappe accurately captures the Mobile I know. For instance, your paper mentions many local bars, yet it never mentions ones like Club Miami, Club Illusions, Mango’s or even Solomon’s, despite the fact that the latter has been in business in this city for 30 years! That record alone is pretty impressive to me, the bar has changed to fit the time, now every local seems to have their own Solomon’s memory.

Also, even though you publish articles concerned with local politics, you ignore stories like the role of “substantial assistance” laws in our city. National shows have picked up on this story, yet you ignore the topic. In 1999 the PBS news show Frontline alerted the nation to how this issue has affected local Mobile residents, yet you ignore it (Frontline, PBS, Snitch, 1999). Mobile has one of the highest federal drug conviction rates in the country based on using this strange method to gather information (ibid.). For example:

“How the drug laws affect the life of a community can be seen in Mobile, Alabama, which has one of the highest federal drug conviction rates in the country. Take the case of number 33. Clarence Aaron was a 23-year-old student and a promising athlete at Southern University in Louisiana. His home was Mobile. He was the only son of Linda Aaron’s three children who went to college…. Clarence Aaron was accused of conspiring with friends to distribute crack cocaine. He went to trial and was convicted. He was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole. He started serving his sentence in 1992.”

I wish your paper had more to offer local residents who are not interested in going to The Garage. I wish you could move beyond simple entertainment so perhaps we could hear an alternate voice in local media.

Aris Alexander

Weighing in on Wal-Mart

To the editor:

Thanks for informing us about the disheartening case of the Wal-mart employee, Deborah Shank, and the company’s zealous pursuit to recoup their expenses paid out by its self-insured health plan for Ms. Shank’s medical treatment.

I would like to correct one misstatement you made about the world’s largest retailer and its 250,000 employees by labeling them as “indentured servants.” I believe that term is a mischaracterization and is showing too much of your sensitive side to this Goliath. “Indentured” offers some hope of freedom after working for a fixed period of time.

Wal-Mart’s employees are much more like slaves receiving small reparations each week while the plantation owner continues to “take home” hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation each year to one of his many estates. There’s no emancipation for any of these workers or for the rest of Americans working in Corporate America under the present conscienceless system known as Capitalism. No one is ever set free, not even the CEO. They are slaves every one of them to this corrupt system.

Ted Burnett

Daphne

To the editor:

Now, besides the obvious hypocrisy of Wal-Mart’s sales of “made in USA” products, that was it’s marketing shtick several years ago…after reading the Deborah Shanks story, I have yet another reason, not to ever set foot in that overcrowded store again.

Wally World will eventually get theirs…maybe one of their upper executive staff members will go through the same scenario as Shanks.

Humanity begets Humanity.

Tim Ellzey,

A Fruit Looper from Oakleigh

To the editor:

I was in a restaurant Saturday night waiting for a table, and I happened to catch your commentary regarding Wal-Mart (Holbert, 12/5/07). First, let me say that I am not a fan of Wal-Mart either. I don’t approve of their unfair business practices and the way they have killed Main Street in this country.

I also despise their hypocrisy with regard to “buying American.” However, I have to take issue with your reasoning on the issue in your editorial. You must have been asleep for the last 10 years or so if you can’t see what really happened in this case. Consider the following:

1) The married couple in this case was probably not highly educated; if so there should not have been the need to work night shifts stocking a Wal-Mart. Through her hard work, they were able to get health coverage, and really good coverage at that.

2) The assumption is that the accident was the fault of the trucker, and therefore Wal-Mart’s option, indeed their INTENTION to subrogate, should not or could not have been a secret to the law firm retained by the family to represent them.

3) Wal-Mart paid the medical bills in good faith, and had to fully expect that the attorney or attorneys representing the family was using the $470,000 medical expense as a basis for negotiating a settlement, and that this was just a portion of the basis for negotiation.

Taking these factors into account, I am going to fill in the blanks without being privileged with any facts other than those in your column.

This couple hires a lawyer, perhaps one whose face is on a billboard within walking distance of the local Wal-Mart, a “champion” for the little guy….

My guess, since you artfully left out this detail, is that their case never went to a jury, that in fact it was a settlement (as you eventually said) and that your use of the word “won” is a stretch. My guess is that this poor couple at some point was advised to take a $700,000 settlement out of court because they “might get less or worse, you could get nothing.” My guess is that, to them, $417,477 sounded like a lottery jackpot, even though a woman with her needs, still young enough to have small children at home, would run through that money in under 10 years, if they were careful.

The fact that the attorney, their “heavy hitter,” would get nearly $283,000 for making a few phone calls and filing a few motions, never really registered. The fact that Wal-Mart was legally entitled to compensation from the party at fault was probably buried in the haste on the part of their “champion” to reach a quick settlement in a case that obviously should have NEVER been settled out of court.

The insurance company for the trucking company probably threw a party the size of Mardi Gras after the settlement was reached. The attorneys had to know that this couple would be on the hook for their medical bills, and if not, they should be disbarred.

Wal-Mart could not sue the trucking company directly; their legal recourse hinged on civil action and the subsequent award to the injured in this case. Your attempt to vilify Wal-Mart for acting prudently and in the interest of their associates is “bad aim.” Wal-Mart, as a self-insurer, wouldn’t lose the money; the insureds would, through diminished benefits, higher deductibles, and the like.

Yes, it would be subtle, but it would be unmistakable. The sad fact is it was preventable, if not for the greed and immoral conduct of their legal counsel. But you go right ahead and blame corporate America for this instead of telling the truth. Go ahead and do the same thing the Shank’s lawyer did, and play on the emotions of the “little guy” in order to sell a few more copies of your paper.

Meanwhile, we’ll all still choke on the cost of healthcare, health insurance, car insurance and every other service we utilize while the grand redistribution of wealth to the lawyers in this country marches on largely unabated. Thanks a lot, Rob.

Greg Kassel

Madison, Miss.

Thanks for the kind words

To the editor:

I just came across the comments you made about my restaurant (Bama Belle’s). Thank you so much for what you said. I am always so proud to know that people come to eat without announcing themselves or where they are from and give us a good rating. That, to me, means we must be doing something right.

We have been here for 13 years and we have a lot of regulars that love us too. Please come again and continue to tell others about us!

And I`m so glad you liked our bacon. We have used the same since we opened the doors.

Jerry Allen

Bama Belle’s

Talk about the passion

To the editor:

I am a local artist. I thoroughly enjoy (Kevin Lee’s) column. It is refreshing to have someone who is passionate about art actually writing the art pieces.

I particularly liked your article “New Guy with New Direction.” I think Clayton is doing a fantastic job at Space 301. I told him how encouraging it is to have such provocative art show in downtown Mobile. It is nice to see he is getting the attention he deserves.

Joel Green

Courtesy, please!

To the editor:

My wife and I attended the Jethro Tull concert last week, and from what I could see and hear (not much, for much of the performance), it was great, with new and old material – literate rock, to be sure.

Unfortunately, we could see only about half of the first set for all the late arrivals occluding our sight line as they climbed to their exalted seats in the upper elevations of the balcony or hurried back down before that set ended to get to a restroom or the concessions.

After a few songs into the second set, our field of vision cleared, and we could (visually) enjoy the performance – except for the incessant talking going on behind us (and these folks had been gabbing away for most of the second half of the first set, as well).

Having recently returned home to Mobile from Columbus, Ohio, and having attended many kinds of performances there, from symphony, to musicals, to Lucinda Williams, Eric Clapton, CSNY, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, and more during the past year-and-a-half, all attended by polite, appreciative audiences, we were astounded and annoyed at the rudeness of this particular Mobile audience.

The Saenger is a wonderful venue, and I trust that this audience was an anomaly. Nonetheless, rudeness reigned there that night despite the presence of a group of gifted musicians. I hope you can assure us that Mobile audiences are generally polite, and that this was an unusual group of attendees.

Jeff Grill

Mobile

Moonpie hits the spot

To the editor:

I don’t live in Mobile anymore, though I greatly enjoy the continued stories about it. I have to tell you, when I first saw the article about the moonpie being dropped, I thought the concept was to create an actual decoration of some sort, that would sit atop a building and be dropped at midnight each year on NYE, much like the Times Square celebration (or the dropping of the conch shell at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West).

That would seem a far better idea; a re-usable, but unique Mobile celebration to ring in the New Year.

But then, as I read on, I realized why Mobile will only ever “talk” of revitalization and growth… complete insanity amongst our city leaders!

Thanks for the continued and funny stories from the home front!

Jen McClurg

Hygiene is utmost

To the editor:

My daughter and her classmates were recently given a presentation by a microbiologist on how germs are spread and the importance of proper hand washing. He expressed concern after having been informed that warm water was not provided in the restrooms.

Later that evening my daughter mentioned how interesting his presentation was and I was told that only cold water was available at the students hand sinks. The following day I contacted the Mobile County Health Department and was told that warm water in school restrooms was not required by current Health Department regulations. A review of the documents posted on the Mobile County Health Department Web site lists the requirements for hotels, food establishments and child day care facilities. In each of these establishments warm water is mandatory for restroom facilities.

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps our children can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. The Centers for Disease Control and many other agencies recommend that warm water be used for proper hand washing. Providing students with only cold water discourages them from washing their hands and is not as effective as washing with warm water.

Some studies suggest that absenteeism might be reduced by half if students understood the importance of washing their hands. National Hand Washing Awareness Week is the first full week of December each year since 1999. I would encourage the Mobile Public Health Department and school administrators to review their policies and regulations with regard to this important issue.

Paul Rasp, Jr.

Mobile

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