TALK OF THE TOWN

Ambulance chasing alive and well

RE: THOREAU bus accident/lead article: Metro & NM, Sunday Journal, Sept. 2

“Barrister” — What’s that? A pretty typical response/ question by younger folks not well versed in antiquated legalese.

I grew up in the days of yore when advertising by attorneys — barristers — was unheard of. The National Bar Association apparently felt that lawyer advertising tended to demean and tarnish an otherwise noble courtroom profession. That attitude has certainly moderated over the years.

Yes, how times change! On any particular day, the viewing public can be treated to any number of lawyer ads — from the informational to the entertaining and even inane. Most, if not all, of this very expensive TV time seems to be purchased by accident lawyers à la Ron Bell & Associates.

Over the past number of days, our state, once again, has seen a horrendous long-distance bus accident — the latest out on I-40 not far from Thoreau. Terrible injuries and death and trauma suffered by surviving bus passengers, heroic witnesses who stopped to assist, and even the semi driver involved.

It’s amazing to me that even before the dust has settled and the National Transportation Safety Board has rendered a final determination of the accident’s cause — though it seems common knowledge that a tire on the truck blew (but) for what reason, must be investigated further — that the accident lawyers are at hand with pen at the ready, filing lawsuits, blatantly assigning blame. I suppose it’s possible — albeit unlikely — that somehow the lawyers obtained access to and crawled beneath the “offending” truck before the NTSB even got on scene?

I guess that “barrister” doesn’t have a place in most folks’ vocabulary today. How about the old term "barratry.’" No need to look it up — leans toward/means “ambulance chasing.”

T. B. FULLER Bernalillo

Math skills vital to students’ future

PROFESSOR PALACIOS from UNM writes that we should include calculus in high school and he spills a good deal of ink describing the antiquity of certain mathematic functions as if they have become obsolete. Fire and the wheel are pretty old inventions, but still pretty handy.

While I would agree that teachers should not spend too much time with logarithmic tables and Euclid, students should be encouraged to master addition, subtraction, the many elements of algebra and trigonometry. If there is something that could profitably be added to the curriculum, it is basic statistics and balancing a checkbook. These basic skills are needed by all students to a much greater extent than knowledge of differential calculus. Indeed, with these skills mastered, two years of calculus is a breeze with the proper textbook.

I tell students that they should think of the various elements of mathematics as tools. When a mechanic works on the transmission he needs one set of tools, when checking the headlights he uses other tools. Mathematical tools serve the same way. Students should be drilled in these basics until they become second nature. At such a young age, they have no idea where they will end up. I started out majoring in social work and ended up a geophysicist. And these tools build on each other so cheating on trigonometry will hurt the student when she needs to understand transcendental functions.

At a recent conference, the UNM dean of engineering stated that 85 percent of the students who drop out of engineering do so because they don’t have a solid foundation in high school mathematics. If they don’t understand algebra, what good is calculus?

MICHAEL DALY Gallup

Private matters should stay private

I HAVE BEEN around quite a while, and lately I am amazed how so many moral standards have gone by the wayside. I remember when personal things were kept private. Now anything goes. It is bad enough that men’s erectile dysfunction is blasted all over the TV and radio, then there is the women’s problem with incontinence. We get to hear it all, and a description of how we handle it. Do our young children have to be exposed to this? Oh, and then we are told what to buy when our period is too heavy. I am just surprised at what the advertisers get away with; nothing is sacred anymore.

And this morning while I was eating my breakfast, two people sitting on toilets came on the air, advertising their constipation. That was my last straw. Let’s get back to things being a little more private. Maybe the stations should think about what is being sent out over the air and be a little more careful about what ads they want to sponsor their shows. I guess modesty has been set aside for the almighty dollar, and to hell with the viewers and listeners.

CINDY HUMMEL Albuquerque