Voters' voices heard through contributions

Your July 17 editorial Byrd's preening has a purpose is off the mark in its criticism of fundraising during special sessions.

The fundraising you decry is not in violation of House rules. In fact, both Democrats and Republicans have raised funds during special sessions. The rules prohibit fundraising during the regular 60-day session.

I am a strong advocate of personal freedom, and I have always encouraged participation by all parties in the political process. With this in mind, I encourage all who believe in less taxes, smaller government, empowering families and preserving the high quality of life that we enjoy in Florida to contribute as their conscience dictates.

It would be a sad day indeed if voters were limited to the liberal, biased media for their information. Political contributions are a valuable form of participation in the process and help assure that everyone's voice is heard.

Regarding the services of the House Communications Office, they are available to all members of the Florida House of Representatives, regardless of party affiliation. I am pleased to report that several members of the Democrat caucus have availed themselves of the HCO for their media needs. I found this interesting, as the Minority Office has a staff of nine to provide service to the 39 Democrat members. In contrast, the Majority Office has a staff of two to provide service to the 81 Republican members. Nevertheless, please be assured that the HCO remains available to assist all members.

Truly, the final say is in the hands of the voter. I am confident that Florida voters can make a sound and informed decision as to the makeup of the Florida House. You and I may disagree on a range of subjects but, as we both know, the voter has the final say.

The benefit of enrollment caps

Your July 16 article College in '04? Cross your fingers failed to address a positive outcome on freezing enrollment at the state universities. The "open door" policy, now in its third decade in American higher education, has had a devastating effect on academic standards. As a professor of English, I delivered guest lectures at four universities, including Harvard, as well as having taught full-time for 32 years. During this period I watched a devastating decline in academic standards in American education and the attendant problem of grade inflation.

I chose early retirement from teaching because participating in what was being peddled as higher education was too painful. The open door has "democratized" education and set up a competition among colleges and universities to attract students - more numbers, more money. Because so many students are inadequate to meet the challenges and responsibilities central to higher learning, the curriculum has been "dumbed down" to accommodate them. Something called "process" has replaced freshman composition at many schools, a system that in effect takes students from wherever they are in writing skills to whatever level they can reach, rather than where they should be as thinkers engaged in higher learning. Some universities now offer doctoral programs to train composition teachers in process.

Education at a college is a privilege, not a right, and I know that this comment can sound stodgy and elitist out of context, but many students are receiving degrees without being able to write cogent, even intelligible, paragraphs. The spillover effect in our culture is obvious. A cap on enrollment should send a message that a limited number of seats are available in higher education, and students prepared to own the responsibility to sit in them will occupy them. Additional state funding is not the answer.

This school's enrollment is up

Re: Private school enrollment dips, July 13.

The enrollment at Genesis Preparatory School for the upcoming school year has increased, a fact that I repeated numerous times to your reporter Rebecca Catalanello, when she spoke to me recently regarding private school enrollment.

I wonder how many other private schools with positive enrollment news were excluded from her article. Our increased enrollment reflects the dedication of our faculty and the confidence our parents have in our proven college preparatory curriculum.

Education is the responsibility of us all

As I sit and read the letters to the editor which blame teachers and the governor for our children's shortcomings I am forced to step back and really think about who is in charge of a child's education. As a teacher and a parent I can certainly see that I have to teach my own children by helping with homework and explaining why things are the way they are when questions arise. As a teacher I try everything I can to get my students to comprehend the subjects I teach. Yet, sometimes children enter my room and do not find success. Does this make me a bad teacher? I don't believe it does.

Children come into our classrooms lacking everything from school supplies to love from their parents, to the simple feeling that they are safe. As teachers we are supposed to provide all of this and an education. Our governor passes legislation which is intended to improve education yet he has never sat through the classes required to be an educator. So whose fault is the failure so many children?

I believe it is the fault of society. We as a society have allowed the education of our children to become a business. We have allowed people to believe education is a right and not a privilege. We have elected the officials who pass legislation which guides our educational goals. We as a society are the only ones who can fix it. Elect officials who support education and who will give us the support we need to properly teach children instead of continually cutting our budgets and increasing our workloads. Make your children understand the value of their education, reward them for good grades, encourage them to seek knowledge and explain things to them, and if you don't know the answer show them how to find it and seek it with them.

I will continue to teach and try to reach every child, and I will elect the officials who support my views and I will do my part to improve education and I will hope that everyone else will do the same.

Keep religion, partisanship separate

Re: The logic of faith-based hiring, July 9.

The Heritage Foundation writer pleads with (and threatens) lawmakers to be charitable toward American religious institutions. Charity, in this case, means allowing houses of worship to use public funds to proselytize and to discriminate in their hiring practices while providing social services.

In the 18th and 19th centuries houses of worship provided refuge and sustenance for people down on their luck in soup kitchens and shelters. They also founded the first schools, colleges, hospitals and orphanages in many communities. All of this was done with voluntary, private funds that honored the separation of church and state.

In the 20th century as our nation grew in population, diversity and industrialization, voluntary funds could not meet the need. Public funds were allocated for public needs.

Religious organizations received some of these public funds under a carefully crafted partnership that protected the freedom and separation of church and state. Houses of worship were required to provide separate corporations for their social services. They also had to meet quality standards for services. No proselytizing or employment discrimination was allowed. Under this proven arrangement, Catholic, Lutheran, Salvation Army and Jewish organizations, among others, now provide a wide range of important services with significant tax dollars.

The push of the religious and political right to dismantle this traditional partnership is a threat to both houses of worship and the state. It will embroil religious groups in the quagmire of partisan politics. It will also undermine the motivation of religious people to provide voluntary contributions. Why give to the food pantry when tax dollars may be available? This is sadly evident in Europe where there is no separation of church and state.

The writer speaks of logic but appeals to the emotions of those who care about the real and growing needs of the poor in body and spirit. His plea for help be directed should logically and emotionally to our administration and culture that is turning its back on the poor to finance tax cuts for the rich.

Apologists for the right can't have its both ways. They tear down the wall of separation to funnel tax dollars to religious groups. Then they use the wall to deny government the right to hold religious groups accountable for their finances, proselytizing and hiring practices. Where is the logic in that?

Director needs lesson in budgeting

In the face of our present great budget deficit and unemployment, the president's budget director has stated, in his first congressional testimony, that the $455-billion deficit is, in fact, manageable. When pressed about the president's tax cuts and their effect on the economy he said, "I think the art and science of economics has not yet advanced to the stage where we can really properly capture all the positive effects the tax cuts do have on the economy."

What gibberish! Do these words really fly in the halls of Congress? Perhaps the budget director should seek the advice of the Times' own Helen Huntley, who would probably simplify the entire problem by telling him to pay off his debts, tear up his credit cards, and stay within his prescribed budget.

Obscene frivolity

Re: Moving on up, July 12.

Simply being able to purchase a condominium for $45-million is the absolute height of total obscenity and though the buyer was British, this certainly reflects the increasing disparity between the haves and the have-nots throughout the world.

Send them to China

Re: Tycoon in China gets 18 years for fraud, July 15.

Quoting from the article, "The 18-year sentence is not unusual here for white-collar criminals, who are often punished by long incarceration or even death." Am I alone in feeling that it would be a good idea to export some of our homegrown CEOs to China to stand trial for their crimes against the public? Maybe those remaining would think twice about some of the stunts they have pulled in the last few years.

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