Correspondence

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Nov 6, 2000

Gore Would Be a Disaster for America If Elected President

In regard to A Letter From the Editor, Oct. 30, by Managing Editor Paul M. Rodriguez, Vice President Al Gore may be trying to emulate Ronald Reagan, but at best it is a "D"-grade performance. If Gore were to be elected president, it would be a disaster not only for America but for every foreign country we deal with as well. His book, Earth in the Balance, is one of the scariest books, one riddled with bad science written by a fantasist, not a world leader. That he lies with such ease (which the media like to call his "embellishments") is horrible.

George W. Bush is a good man who is bright and knowledgeable and has common sense. America needs such a man in the White House who will bring some dignity to that place. I pray that Insight and others will hammer the truth home before it's too late.

Johanna Stephens Tucson, Ariz.

Expanding Police Powers Leads to Abuse of Rights

Regarding "Do federal police need expanded powers to do no-knock searches?" [Symposium, July 31], I'm grateful for the effort of Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., correctly to expose Clifford S. Fishman's unconstitutional proposition for what it really is. Unfortunately, Fishman's proposal to allow the police to perform secret and unannounced searches actually has been done on many occasions, despite its illegality, for years.

In one such case that occurred several years ago in Washington as a result of erroneous information received from an informant, law-enforcement officials shot and paralyzed a man in his home after intruding unannounced while his unclothed wife looked on traumatized. More recently the Waco, Ruby Ridge and Elian Gonzalez fiascos showed the abuse law-enforcement officials are capable of. If one police violation is considered one too many, surely what Fishman is arguing to legalize after the fact is more than one too many.

Merle Glunt Mount Union, Pa.

Education Department Is Wasting Our Resources

In speeches I've made around the world, I've stressed that the solution to all our problems is to make maximum use of our resources (i.e., men, money and materials). The most important is human resources. To do that we must significantly improve our educational system. Our biggest problem in that area is that we use our resources in the wrong place.

The Department of Education (DOE) has a year 2000 budget of $43.1 billion, and a government audit reported that they couldn't account for $700 million that they spent. They use a lot of money to employ 4,700 people, 2,700 of whom are in "program administration" whatever that means. What in the world are all those people doing? Certainly they aren't teaching students. They are sitting in their plush offices in Washington thinking of ways to control the education policies of local schools.

We must remember that DOE was created under Jimmy Carter as a gift to the teachers' unions in exchange for their enthusiastic support during his campaign. The program has grown significantly since then.

Just think what local schools could do with the money that is spent on Washington bureaucrats. My mother, my wife and my daughters were teachers. My granddaughter will be one, too. They aren't interested in statehood for the District of Columbia. They don't oppose nuclear power. They don't favor gay and lesbian rights nor compulsory union dues. These are teachers' union objectives.

They, like most teachers, are much more interested in helping children become healthy, productive citizens. We can significantly improve our educational system by giving our teachers more money and better facilities. It will never improve if we keep so much money and influence in Washington.

Roger Zion Member of Congress, 1967-74 Washington

Write: Insight, Correspondence Editor, 3600 New York Ave. N.E., Washington, DC 20002. E-mail: Insight@wt.infi.net. Fax: (202) 529-2484. Please include an address and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for space.