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Department of indoctrination
To the editor,
Like anything, a department of education can be used for public good or for elite interests. I learned recently that our federal Department of Education has only been in existence since the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services in 1979. This may explain why I actually learned how to read (using old-fashioned phonetics and recognizing word roots) and why I can easily solve math problems: my generation was educated well before what I view was a federal power grab.
With the launch of this new department came programs to “standardize education.” In 1994, federal control and spending on education increased dramatically.
They used their power of control to determine curriculum, spending lavishly on new textbooks. Where once education prioritized STEM programs in order to stay competitive with Japan and China, it now appears that cultural indoctrination dominates.
“Political Correctness” became a “thing” in the 1990’s. “Common Core” emerged in 2010 with the purported goal of increasing consistency across the states. That “consistency” has yet to translate into higher test scores or improved skills; instead, our students now lag behind. Then came “Critical Race Theory” which purports to explain how power is unevenly used and distributed to maintain social inequalities. That sounded great until I realized that in practice it’s the cover story for reverse racism, stoking rather than reducing hostilities. In my view, it rewards victimhood rather than fostering skill-building or enhancing competitiveness. The bottom line is that American students appear to be indoctrinated rather than educated, unprepared for the real world.
Many are critical of Trump’s proposal to eliminate the Federal Department of Education.
I, for one, agree that its elimination would bring power back to the states for much-needed reorientation.
-Kamori Cattadoris
Newport
Don’t blame me, I voted for her
To the editor, The four-year lame duck administration of convicted felon Trump does not even start for two weeks, and he has already announced his intent to invade, buy, or somehow make Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal, part of the United States. Remember the issue during the campaign over whom was in more mental decline? I dread to think what comes next over his remaining four years. All I can say is that do not blame me, I voted for the lady.
-Greg Hicks
Spokane
Broken system
To the editor, They finally got their label … ‘convicted felon.’ Judge Merchan sentenced Trump to an ‘unconditional discharge’ on Friday. No jail time, no parole, no fine, just a label. It’s the first time in history that a ‘felon’ will take the WH. This was an abuse of our legal system and a black eye on America. It changes nothing, it’s just a label.
At least now Trump can appeal this ruling where it will likely be overturned. Taxpayer money. A label. The American people, knowing this was coming, overwhelmingly made their voices heard last November. We are sick and tired of our current system. Trump should have thanked Merchan for helping him get reelected.
Biden’s Title IX rewrite was struck down by a Federal Judge. Now it will be women only in women’s sports. Men who can’t handle men’s sports can no longer compete with women. Most would say this is common sense. San Jose State’s women’s volleyball team made it to the championship by having several teams forfeit to them because they allowed a man to play. They lost the championship. Our Founding Fathers said the only way to keep a Republic is to have a moral citizenry. Where have we gone?
LA is burning up. The Pacific Palisades water reservoir was empty.
There was no water in the fire hydrants and firemen were fighting fires with resident’s garden hoses. The top three people overseeing the fire department are DEI hires. None of them know what they are doing. Canada sent some ‘Super Scoopers’ to scoop water from the ocean. One of them has been grounded because it hit a drone. At least one fire was arson and the suspect in custody is in the US illegally.
Who is overseeing all this chaos? What is the common denominator?
-Glen Pierce
Spokane/Cusick
The Idiot-in-Chief has already started
To the editor, I want to remind the people that voted for Trump that it’s time to pull your red cap over your eyes to hide your face in shame. You voted for an Idiot in Chief for the next four years.
While fires in LA were burning, Trump called the California governor “New(scum)”. He claimed the governor failed to sign a water document that doesn’t even exist and that was the reason fire hydrants were going dry during the fire. Trump also claimed that FEMA had no money to help people impacted by the fire. However, the last bill passed by Congress before Christmas had $100 billion for disaster relief.
Since I taught fire hydraulics to firefighters at community colleges, I don’t have to do a lot of research to inform you that Trump is full of it when he comments about public water systems. Locally, Diamond Lake and Newport water systems are not designed to provide water to extinguish 100 homes burning at the same time in a 70-mph windstorm.
The fire departments don’t have the fire pumping engines or firefighters to use that amount of water. Turn off electricity to the fire pumps and without automatic generator backups, the party is over. Nothing any governor does can turn an 8” water main feeding fire hydrants into a 12” water main when dozens of nearby structures are fully involved in fire.
The gallons-per-minute water flow is constrained by the size of the main, the capacity of the pumps and reservoir size.
I am also a pilot and know that it isn’t safe or feasible to fly hundreds of firefighting aircraft in ultra-high wind conditions over dense urban areas. Trump would crap his pants flying in the right seat of one of those planes.
It’s going to be a long four years.
-Pete Scobby
Newport
