Tilting at Top Cops
Regarding your Jan. 23 guest column, “Springfield Needs a Police Commission”: Jesse Lederman’s quest for a Police Commission is quixotic. Come home and run for mayor, Jesse.
Self-Inflicted Injury
Your article about selfies (“Beautifully Screwed,” January 23, 2014) is a selfie. Given the amount of interesting things to say about our current culture, as well as the troves of available writings at your disposal (if you are going to start reprinting articles from other—better—media outlets), your editorial choice here reminds me why I only pick up your rag but once or twice a year.
Hillary, Ready or Not
So the spokesperson for “Ready for Hillary” has no idea what her policies would be but supports her anyway (“What Would President Hillary Do?”, Jan. 30, 2014). I’d be tempted to make a comment about the level of intelligence displayed in that political analysis, but to quote a certain famous wife, “What difference at this point does it make?”
All Thanks to CPR
As a resident of Hampshire County, I care a great deal about the health, wellness and safety of my family, friends, and neighbors. I feel grateful to live in a community where my fellow residents share my concern. While we don’t often think about it, one of the most important things we can do to be a good neighbor is to learn how to perform CPR. If someone in your family, a neighbor, or someone in the grocery store collapsed of sudden cardiac arrest, would you know what to do? Of the 383,000 people that suffer sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital each year, the vast majority do not receive bystander CPR, and fewer than 11 percent survive. But given right away, CPR doubles or triples survival rates.
I am alive today because I was fortunate enough to have bystanders nearby who knew to administer CPR when I suffered a heart attack and cardiac arrest while driving in Northampton in April, 2013. By teaching CPR to the students in our community, we could save many lives by filling our communities with young adults trained to give cardiac arrest victims the immediate help they need to survive until EMTs arrive.
In less time than it takes to watch a TV sitcom, we can give students the skills they need to help save a person’s life with CPR. The American Heart Association has issued new guidelines for hands-only CPR. It’s now easier than ever to teach, learn and perform. We should make sure that all students learn CPR before they graduate high school, so that our community will be filled with individuals who know how to respond in a cardiac emergency.
Warren Keeps Iran Negotiations on Track
Negotiations are always less interesting and more confusing than war. This is why I appreciate the efforts of Senator Elizabeth Warren to help keep the negotiations with Iran on track. Some members of Congress are undermining this effort by advocating increased sanctions on Iran. Hats off to Senator Warren for opposing this strongly and eloquently. Now it is time for other members of the Massachusetts delegation to vote for a peaceful resolution of the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
