Give a voice a chance

Give a voice a chance
EDITOR:
Telemarketers get very little respect for doing a job that is extremely difficult. They deal with rudeness and rejection constantly, day after day, and yet they still keep making calls. Some people might not understand why. These are the same people who will say "telemarketing isn't a real job" and then promptly hang up without a second thought.
I understand that it can be frustrating dealing with telemarketing calls, but people who are rude to telemarketers need to know something. Telemarketing isn't all about calling random citizens and harassing them until they buy a product or service. Many nonprofit organizations use telemarketing companies to raise awareness of their campaigns, and also to raise funds to support the organization and its causes. Telemarketing raises hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for organizations like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, American Cancer Society, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the American Diabetes Association, as well as many political and Christian organizations.
Speaking as someone who has past telemarketing experience, I can tell you that it's not an easy or particularly fun job. But despite constant rejection, I kept on calling, because I knew that I was helping to raise money for organizations dedicated to helping people. So before you hang up on that next telemarketer, please just give them a chance, because they may be giving you a chance to make a difference in someone's life.
MEGAN ANDERSON
Austintown
To wear the school colors, you have to go to the school
EDITOR:
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell recently signed into law Senate Bill 361, which directs all public school districts in the state to permit homeschooled students to participate in activities such as interscholastic athletics and music ensembles.
Ohio has no such law. Here, homeschoolers may participate in the extracurricular activities of public schools only at the school districts' discretion. This should not even be an issue. Homeschoolers should not be permitted to play sports for public schools.
Allowing homeschoolers to play sports for public schools may cause dissension among communities. Students educated at home have trouble socializing with their teammates from public schools, and these teammates often become jealous of the flexible schedules of homeschoolers. What if homeschoolers became standout athletes at public schools? Inevitably, they would be criticized for having unfair advantages over their teammates, as they may sleep in or train during the day while their teammates are in class.
Public schools may lose students if they permit homeschoolers to join their athletic teams because some students attend public schools strictly for the extracurricular activities.
Parents of homeschoolers often complain that their children will only receive athletic recognition and exposure to college scouts in a public school setting. However, a number of alternatives to public school athletics, which draw equal amounts of college interest, exist for homeschoolers. Groups such as the Amateur Athletic Union, the American Youth Soccer Organization and the Young Men's Christian Association provide sports leagues that are available to all students. These organizations hold tournaments to which college scouts are often invited.
Parents of homeschooled students also complain that they are paying taxes for these public schools; therefore, their children have the right to play for the schools. If this is the case, should these homeschoolers be permitted to utilize the services of the school nurse? Should they be assigned a locker?
Part of competing interscholastically for athletes is representing their respective schools. How is this possible for athletes who do not even attend these schools?
Parents who remove their children from public schools knowingly withdraw their students from the benefits associated with attending public schools. If the public school system does not meet the needs of homeschooled families, why should the athletic programs of these schools be any different?
BRITTA SNOWBERGER
Austintown
Protect our ports
EDITOR:
What is wrong with our government? They tell us they are fighting the "War on terrorism, & quot; yet they want to allow a country that supports Al-Qaida, is a transfer point for rogue nuclear components and was one of the few countries to recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
This is just another example of this administration's lack of forethought, and is very similar to the same ineptness we saw during the aftermath of Katrina.
Are we as citizens going to stand for putting our security in the hands of the United Arab Emirates? How can we allow this to happen? Regardless of contracts, or deals, we must stop this insanity. We must be crazy, for allowing this administration to stay in power, another day, after this huge failure.
We need to have an independent investigation, with all responsible parties under oath, to tell us why they approved this contract. We aren't any safer now than we were before 9/11. This is also a slap in the face to the victims and families of that horrible day, Sept. 11, 2001.
This is especially troubling since they tell us almost daily that we are winning the war on terror, yet they want a major supporter of Al-Qaida to oversee control of six major U.S. ports.
PATRICIA DURKIN
Youngstown
It's a disaster, all right
EDITOR:
You talk about money being wasted, the "60 Minutes" show on the stacks of $100 bills being passed around in wheel barrows was a classic example. This money was in blocks of millions and shoveled out to whoever wanted it. Who cares? The American taxpayers have plenty more, and if we don't, we can borrow it from China.
Another example of waste is the Federal Emergency Management Agency debacle. They paid $438 per night to rent rooms for Hurricane victims. They also issued thousands of checks and $2,000 debit cards to people whose identities and claims the agency never checked. Add to that all of the money that has been paid to contractors who haven't done a single thing, and you have an agency that needs serious overhauling.
Wasted money in Iraq, wasted money by FEMA and tack on the huge deficit, the enormous national debt and all of the crooks in this government and you have a national disaster.
BUD McKELVEY
Hermitage
All sound and fury
EDITOR:
After reading the letter in last Sunday's Vindicator from a self-described moderate Democrat, I, a self-described moderate Republican found little with which to disagree. It appears to me that moderates in both parties have more in common with each other than with the more extreme members of their own parties.
I find the left wing of the Democratic party and the right wing of the Republican party both equally irrelevant and, to quote an unknown source, & quot;Full of sound and fury signifying nothing. & quot; The only purpose for either is to neutralize the other. Hopefully they'll continue to succeed in doing so.
JOHN ZEDAKER
Poland