I am writing in response to a letter that appeared in The Sunday Gleaner, July 15. I cannot believe that, in a country that has universal health coverage, a human being could be allowed to die due to lack of enough money ($500) to pay for medical attention.

How could such an atrocity take place in Jamaica? Was this an aberration, or are incidents like this a normal occurrence? Will anyone be held accountable for this poor man's death? Jamaica is truly in a moral quagmire on all fronts.

- T. Casey,

tccaseyusa@aol.com,

Via Go-Jamaica

Just to correct your writer on the article of July 13, about Madge Sinclair. Your writer mentioned that she appeared in General Hospital, but that is incorrect.

Madge Sinclair was never in General Hospital; she played Nurse Ernestine Shoop in Trapper John, M.D., in the 1980s.

- Bev Scott,

corglo@comcast.net,

Wilmington, DE

Via Go-Jamaica

Charm goes a long way in this world. People are naturally drawn to persons who possess this unique quality.

If a Finance Minister, for instance, has charm and knows how to use it, it could make the difference between Jamaica being loaned US$100 million as opposed to US$50 million.

However, while charm is an asset, it is by no means the most important characteristic of a leader. A leader must have the intellectual capacity to lead those over whom he/she has authority.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had both charm and a sound intellect and that is why he was such an effective leader who left a legacy that has withstood the test of time. It's time for our political leaders to focus on real issues that affect the lives of all Jamaicans, instead of squabbling over who has charm or who doesn't have charm.