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John L. Lima, publisher; James A. Raykie Jr., editor; Noel G. Carroll, managing editor and
editor of the editorial page; Sarah Adams, news editor; and Joe Wiercinski, copy editor
Editorial board
members:
John L. Lima/
President and publisher
James A. Raykie Jr./
Editor
Noel G. Carroll/
Managing editor
Thomas P. Onestak/
Controller
Douglas P. Homer/
Advertising sales manager
Sharon A. Masotto/
Advertising sales manager
Michael J. Linden/
Circulation manager
Barry W. Winger/
Prepress/systems manager
Founded April 14, 1864
52 S. Dock St.
Sharon, Pa. 16146
(724) 981-6100
Published daily except Christmas
Day by The Sharon Herald Co., 52 S.
Dock St., Box 51, Sharon, Pa. 16146, a
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Copyright © 1999
The Herald
Sharon, Pa.
Thursday, November 11, 1999
A-13
TEEN-AGERS who constantly have to put up with
questions such as “How can you have your stereo on
that loud and still do your homework?” or “How can
you concentrate with the television on?” now have a re-
tort — “How can you possibly drive and talk on your
cell phone at the same time?”
The answer to that last question for many adults
probably should be “I can’t,” which is why the phone
has been ringing off the hook in Brooklyn — Brook-
lyn, Ohio, that is. It seems that city officials and state
lawmakers from all over the country are intrigued by
the Cleveland suburb’s law against what Mayor John
Coyne calls “yak yak driving.”
It’s the first prohibition of its kind in this country, al-
though such measures are common in Europe, and
comes from the same town that enacted the nation’s
first mandatory seatbelt law more than three decades
ago.
What finally prompted Brooklyn officials to pass the
measure was an accident in front of the police chief’s
house. An elderly woman’s stopped car was rear-ended
by a driver who then fell out of his vehicle with his cell
phone still in his hand.
Brooklyn’s crackdown seems at first to make sense.
By now, there probably isn’t a driver around who can’t
relate at least one tale of how he or she nearly lost a
fender or had to swerve out of the way of some jerk
who was concentrating more on talking than on turn-
ing a corner or staying on his or her side of the center
line. And there probably are more than a few innocent
victims who have ended up at a bodyshop — or
worse, at an emergency room — because of someone
who was concentrating more on letting his fingers do
the walking than on his eyes watching the road.
There is one problem with the Brooklyn law, how-
ever. No one seems to know just how dangerous mix-
ing cars and cells phones really is, or whether it’s any-
more risky than all the other non-driving activities
people engage in while behind the wheel. It seems log-
ical to conclude that trying to dial or talk on a tele-
phone and drive at the same time is foolish, even stu-
pid at times. But hard numbers on how many auto
accidents are caused by this combination are hard to
come by.
The most quoted study came from the University of
Toronto in 1997. It concluded that a driver using a cell
phone was four times more likely to have an accident,
roughly the same risk as someone who has been
drinking.
Unfortunately, that seems to be about the only em-
pirical look at this issue, which is why we urge any
state or local officials who may be following the Brook-
lyn story to proceed slowly.
The problem isn’t the cell phone per se, but drivers
not paying attention to the primary task at hand — dri-
ving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, inattentiveness is to blame for 7.8 per-
cent of fatal crashes. Inattentiveness, however, is a cat-
egory that also includes driving while trying to woof
down a Big Mac at 65 mph, rummaging for a favorite
CD while weaving through traffic, or applying makeup
while traveling to work along residential streets. Are
elected officials ready, willing and eager to ban those
kinds of behind-the-wheel distractions too? We doubt
it.
The most practical solution for “yak yak driving”
would be a combination of education and employing
laws already on the books, such as charging chatting
drivers under existing careless or reckless driving
statutes, not in having a Legislature or town council
enact even more rules and regulations.
And, there also may be another reason why elected
officials might want to steer clear of absolute cell
phone prohibitions. Despite his claim that the Brook-
lyn law is extremely popular among the town’s citizens,
Mayor Coyne lost in last week’s election.
‘Yak yak’ drivers don’t deserve being singled out
OUR VIEW
ä
THE ISSUE:
Driving and cell phones
ä
WE SUGGEST:
Intrigued public officials
might want to think twice before copying an Ohio
town’s prohibitions.
I remember being a brash
lieutenant stationed at Fort
Polk, La., and swaggering to-
ward the base hospital for a
routine treatment one day
when an elderly man with one
arm — his left — saluted me
in the parking lot and said,
“Good morning, Sir.” I remem-
ber a sense of shame at my
disposition and a sense of won-
der at his.
I remember being appointed
the officer-in-charge of a burial
detail when I was a platoon
leader and initially treating the
assignment like any other train-
ing event. We drilled and prac-
ticed and rehearsed. But most-
ly, I remember that when we
buried Cletus R. Jones, a veter-
an of World War II and the
Bataan Death March, I’ve nev-
er stood taller; “Taps” has nev-
er sounded more solemn; and
I’ve never been as sincere as
when I handed his widow the
American flag and said, “This
flag is presented on behalf of a
grateful nation for the faithful
and honorable service ren-
dered by Cletus R. Jones.”
I remember some old men
in attendance asking our
sergeants for the empty shell
casings from the 21-gun salute,
and I remember that those cas-
ings seemed to mean a lot to
them. The sergeants said my
voice cracked and maybe it
did.
I remember the first time I
visited Arlington National
Cemetery and the mixed feel-
ings of sadness and inspiration.
I remember reading every
quote, every inscription avail-
able. I remember the ceremo-
ny at the Tomb of the Un-
knowns. And, in the end, I
r e m e m b e r
thinking that
there is no
glory
in
death; that we
honor the
dead to in-
spire the liv-
ing. And I left
inspired.
I remem-
ber being sta-
tioned in Ko-
rea and riding
my bike in the countryside and
through small villages. I re-
member the gratitude shown
to me by old men and women
for the U.S. role in the Korean
War. I remember feeling very
proud for something that I did-
n’t have anything to do with.
Still in Korea, I remember
competing for the MacArthur
Leadership Award and being
asked the question, “Why do
you think you deserve this
award?” I remember saying
that I had read S.L.A. Mar-
shall’s “The River and the
Gauntlet,” and then I said
something about there being
ghosts in the Korean hills and
that I knew it and I was doing
it for them. I hadn’t rehearsed
an answer for that question in
my preparation, and I remem-
ber being surprised at the an-
swer myself. I didn’t win, and it
didn’t matter.
I remember being stationed
in Panama and having the
good fortune to work for a tru-
ly great general officer who
taught so much by personal ex-
ample and quiet professional-
ism. I remember reading “The
Long Gray Line” because
someone told me that he was
profiled in parts of the book,
and I remember viewing him
— with admiration — as a liv-
ing history of what happens
when you subject innocence,
idealism and patriotism to
harsh reality. I remember
thinking that idealism and pa-
triotism win.
I remember being stationed
in Germany and being called
upon to serve in Bosnia. I re-
member saying good-bye to
my 4-year-old son and 1-year-
old son and wondering if the
pain in my stomach would ever
go away. I remember thinking
that there was a hole in my
soul where my kids ought to
be. And the pain remained un-
til I came back six months lat-
er. And then I remember won-
dering how my grandfather
managed to serve for three
years in World War II. I silent-
ly thanked him for his service.
Recently, I read “The Greatest
Generation” and felt humbled
at the limits of my own sacri-
fice.
I remember being stationed
in England at a base where
they launched bombing mis-
sions during World War II. I
remember buying a picture
called “Molesworth in Sight”
that captured the essence of
courage, uncertainty and sacri-
fice made routine. From Eng-
land, I remember travelling to
France with my son and travel-
ling throughout Normandy
Province, to include Pointe Du
Hoc. I remember my son play-
ing army in 50-year-old shell
and bomb craters while I
stared at the terrain and felt
prouder of my service in the
2nd Ranger Battalion that day
than I ever did while actually
serving in it.
I remember walking the
same ground as shown in the
movie “Saving Private Ryan”
and tried to imagine what it
must have been like — but I
couldn’t. I remember thinking
gratefully that the French had
done a great job of preserving
our history at the American
Cemetery at Saint-Laurent-sur-
Mer. Later, I remember my
son taking a bottle of sand we
had collected from Omaha
Beach to a first-grade show-
and-tell at Moraine Elementary
School and I remember how
proud I was — and am — of
him.
Lately, I remember things
from further back in time. I re-
member when I was a kid that
there was a man who lived two
doors down from us on Euclid
Street and that he didn’t have
any legs. People said it was
from the war. I don’t know any-
thing else about him, but wish
that I did. I remember that my
Uncle Dave fought in Vietnam,
and that I should thank him. I
hope he’ll accept this tribute as
thanks now. I remember my
own brother serving in the
Marines, and how glad I felt
when he sent me his original
set of airborne wings so that I
could do a jump with them, as
well. I did. And now there are
two sets of airborne wings for
someone else to jump with
someday.
I remember enlisting in the
Ohio National Guard with Tom
Gehring 20 years ago, and I re-
member giggling and horse-
playing while we took the
“Oath of Office.” In September,
I administered the “Oath of Of-
fice” to some of tomorrow’s
leaders — ROTC cadets from
Slippery Rock University.
These young men and women
give me great confidence in
our future. I didn’t giggle or
horseplay — much — this
time, and I wish I hadn’t when
I enlisted.
I remember the one-armed
man that saluted me, burying
Cletus R. Jones, going to Ar-
lington National Cemetery, the
thrill of hearing our national
anthem while serving in Korea,
Panama and Bosnia, visiting
Normandy, growing up on Eu-
clid Street, my Uncle Dave, my
brother, and Tom Gehring. I
remember it all, and I’m grate-
ful. Very grateful. Perhaps you
are, too.
If so, Veteran’s Day provides
a good opportunity to thank a
veteran for his or her service
and to pause and remember
those who came before us and
the sacrifices they made.
“In Flanders Fields the pop-
pies grow.”
Maj. Randy Stephan, a na-
tive of Massillon, Ohio, and a
graduate of Bowling Green Uni-
versity, has served in a variety of
assignments throughout the
United States and the world dur-
ing his 16 years of Army service.
He’s currently serving as profes-
sor of Military Science at Slip-
pery Rock University.
Veterans Day time for thanks, remembrance
T
IMELY QUOTES
“We believe good quality
doctors will practice good qual-
ity medicine.”
— Jay Silverstein, United-
Health Group’s chief marketing
officer, on the company’s deci-
sion to let doctors, not health
plan administrators, have the fi-
nal say on which treatments it
will cover.
¥ ¥ ¥
“Like FDR’s fireside chats
and President Kennedy’s live
press conferences, this first
presidential town hall meeting
on the Internet taps the most
modern technology for old-
fashioned communication be-
tween the American people and
their president.”
— President Clinton, speak-
ing during an online exchange
with computer users .
¥ ¥ ¥
“What we are talking about
is a threat that Mr. bin Laden
poses not only to the interests
to the United States but the in-
ternational community.”
—
National
Security
Spokesman David Leary, after
learning of a letter by the leader
of Afghanistan’s Ruling Taliban
army, which threatened unspeci-
fied action against the United
States.
Letter policy
The Herald encourages and
welcomes letters to the editor
from its readers on subjects of
timely interest.
Letters should:
ä Be mailed to The Herald,
c/o Letters to the Editor, Box
51, Sharon, Pa., 16146, or
faxed to 981-5116.
ä Be limited to about 350
words. Be signed by the writer.
Include the writer’s address
and a daytime telephone num-
ber.
The writer agrees to publica-
tion of his or her name. Pseu-
donyms will not be accepted.
Except in the interest of clar-
ity and length, editing will be
minimal.
Letters must be free from
offensive language, personal
attacks, obvious errors in facts
and libelous or potentially li-
belous statements.
Poetry and third-party letters
(when The Herald is sent a
copy of a letter mailed or writ-
ten to another party) will not be
accepted.
The Herald reserves the
right to reject letters that are
repetitive or do not address a
AUSTIN, Texas — You may
have noticed a certain ... ah ...
frothiness in the coverage of
the 2000 presidential race to
date. I don’t know about you,
but The Unbearable Lightness
of the Political Beat is really
starting to chap me.
Last week, we had the grave
matter of whether Al Gore is
an alpha male thoroughly
parsed for us — one news-
magazine made it the lead sto-
ry. We were also confronted
with George W. Bush’s igno-
rance of the names of three out
of four leaders in world trouble
spots, and this called for much
double-doming and deep dis-
section. After Ronald Reagan,
who didn’t know all the names
of his own Cabinet members,
you would think there was little
excitement to be mined in that
department. The disquieting
news that John McCain has a
temper has been thoroughly
mulled over by all and sundry.
All this follows months of
discussion on burning topics
like W. Bush’s alleged drug
use 30 years ago, vast attention
to Gore’s shifting from blue
suits to earth tones, Donald
Trump being treated as though
any reasonable citizen would
consider voting for him, the
Warren Beatty candidacy, and
much more that is of no help
whatever in selecting the next
Leader of the Free World.
The most annoying aspect of
all this piffle is the brain-dead
defense that we in the media
are writing about froth because
the country is in a high state of
peace and prosperity, and so
there’s nothing important about
which we need to ask the can-
didates. Thomas Friedman, the
foreign affairs columnist for
The New York Times, man-
aged to raise a couple of sub-
stantial issues without even
breaking a sweat, so we know
it can be done. He suggested
the following questions for
Bush:
ä “You’ve already brought
on some foreign policy advisers
— Condoleezza Rice, Paul Wol-
fowitz, Richard Perle. They’re
all Cold War conservatives.
What is it about their world
view that appeals to you?”
ä “You were in favor of the
Senate’s rejection of the Com-
prehensive Test Ban Treaty,
which would have banned all
nuclear testing. Fine. Suppose
you were sitting with Prime
Minister What’s-his-face of In-
dia and General Whatever-his-
name-is from Pakistan and try-
ing to persuade them to stop
testing. How would you explain
why you believe America
should retain the right to test
nukes, but India and Pakistan
should be denied it?”
ä “Do you believe your fa-
ther was right when he decid-
ed at the end of the gulf war
not to go to Baghdad and take
out Saddam Hussein, even
though we had 500,000 troops
on Iraq’s border?”
ä “Hispanic
Americans are
increasingly in
favor of lifting
the pointless
U.S. embargo
on Cuba. Your
brother Jeb, the
governor of
Florida, wants
to maintain the
embargo in def-
erence to his
Cuban support-
ers. Where do
you come down?”
I suppose after 18 months of
Monica Lewinsky as the most
important political story on the
planet, we should be inured to
the Maureen Dowdization of
political coverage. But let me
suggest a few items of perhaps
greater import that we might
ask our candidates to address.
Our entire political system
has been corrupted by the sys-
tem of legalized bribery called
“campaign financing.” Last
week, Time magazine ran a
two-page story citing the spe-
cial-interest bills that have been
bought through Congress re-
cently. The airlines managed to
scuttle a bill that had con-
sumers cheering — it cost the
airlines $3.2 million.
The Patients’ Bill of Rights,
bankruptcy overhaul, broad-
band access, Caribbean tariff
relief, interstate wine sales —
all of it is up for sale. We know
that John McCain and Bill
Bradley have ideas on how to
fix this mess; what about Bush
and Gore?
The health-care system is in-
creasingly fouled up. Only
Bradley has come up with a
plan to fix it.
The public schools are in
dire need of attention. How
much longer do we think we
can get away with paying
school teachers less than
$30,000 a year?
And then there is the dark
side of the nation’s prosperity,
which the media themselves
have resolutely refused to ad-
dress: Since 1977, average
household income for the bot-
tom 20 percent of Americans
has gone down by 10 percent.
For the middle fifth of the peo-
ple, it has risen all of 8 percent
since 1977, a roaring 0.5 per-
cent a year. But for the top 1
percent, average income has
gone up 115 percent. Accord-
ing to the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities, the bot-
tom 80 percent of the people in
this country own 16 percent of
the wealth; the top fifth owns
84 percent of the wealth.
None of this is inevitable or
irreversible. Tax policy ac-
counts for a great deal of the
income inequality in this coun-
try.
The media are supposed to
get candidates to give us some-
thing besides pat soundbites
on these issues. The anodyne
pabulum that passes for politi-
cal discourse is the main rea-
son that Americans are so
turned off by politics.
Ever heard George W.
Bush’s stump speech? Like a
good deodorant, it is guaran-
teed Not to Offend.
In theory, it’s the media’s
job to get the candidates to ac-
tually address the issues. So far
we sound like the old parody
of a reporter interviewing a
movie star: “Do you sleep in
the nude?”
Creators Syndicate Inc.
Political discourse
nothing but piffle
Maj. Randy
Stephan
U.S. Army
...in the end, I re-
member thinking
that there is no glo-
ry in death; that we
honor the dead to
inspire the living.
And I left inspired.
Molly
Ivins
After Ronald Rea-
gan, who didn’t
know all the names
of his own Cabinet
members, you
would think there
was little excitement
to be mined in that
department.