Thank you for your coverage
I just wanted to thank Isthmus for its excellent coverage of the protests at the Capitol ("Rampage!," 2/18/11). I thought the piece was excellent - it gave readers a comprehensive and accurate look at the week's activities, focusing in just the right amounts on facts and personal stories and reporting observations as they happened. Great job!
Christine Javid
Planned Parenthood saves lives
As Ruth Conniff notes in her Opinion piece ("Pro-Lifers on the March," 2/18/11), 97% of Planned Parenthood's services involve not abortion but other critical health care services, like family planning and Pap smears. Before the Pap smear was developed, cervical cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths among women; now it's dropped to 15th place.
Barb Lyons, head of Wisconsin Right to Life, wants to see Planned Parenthood defunded, saying that the women Planned Parenthood currently serves can simply "go somewhere else" - not an option for many of them. I guess to Ms. Lyons, some lives matter more than others.
Denise Beckfield, Verona
Danger in the air
I was both amused and sickened to see a public health official implying that cell phone towers are safe because they're similar to radio towers (Watchdog, 2/18/11). In fact, there is substantial evidence that radio towers also pose a health risk. Other sources of electromagnetic radiation include television towers, power lines (including buried ones), electrical substations, cordless phones, Wi-Fi and cell phones themselves.
For more information, readers could start with Cross-Currents, by Dr. Robert O. Becker. An excellent book on the hazards of cell phones specifically is Disconnect, by noted researcher Dr. Devra Davis.
Pacia J. Harper
Be my valentine
Re: "I Hate Valentine's Day" (Tell All, 2/10/11). Unfortunately, many people feel this way. However, for those without a partner, there are others you love, and who love you - parents, siblings and friends. And really, what's wrong with having an excuse to show someone you care?
I hope future Valentine's Days are less stressful and more creative for the pessimists, but if it's too inconvenient to show some love, in some form or another, then just don't do it.
Lindsey Amend
