Jul 23, 2008

Letters to the Editor

Daily News

Student dropouts

Dear Editor: In November 2006, I chose to run for a
San Mateo County Board of Education trustee seat to
educate the public about the grave situation facing our
public schools, and the responsibilities county trustees
have. My political philosophy and position papers (www.smartvoter.org/2006/11/07/ca/sm/vote/tong_j/) are as relevant today as they were two years ago.

Why do students drop out? In part, public schools offer nothing of value to them - no vocational skills. The majority of schools are in the business of raising money to fund their enormous bureaucracy, which is why they focus on testing instead of nurturing students' minds. When children come from dysfunctional families with no positive adult role models, schools can provide vocational discipline and structure, but this requires a total overhaul of the state's arcane education funding formula.

What happens to students who drop out of school? They're still around - they're just joining gangs, cruising around in boom boxes, spraying graffiti and destroying their neighborhoods. Without a skilled labor force, it will be impossible to pay down the multibillion-dollar state or multitrillion-dollar federal deficit. Without an educated population, democracy cannot survive.

Jeffrey Tong,

San Bruno



Munks incident

Dear Editor: No, No, No! We do not need an ethics committee.

No, No, No! We do not need an additional layer of government.

The supervisors' typical overreaction to the Munks incident is to create more government. We don't need it. We don't want it. We can't afford it.

A new committee will mean more taxpayer expense. Committees meet in heated and lighted government facilities, and probably will lead to the hiring of or at least payment to a secretary to record and publish minutes. There will probably be the cost of legal counsel reviewing actions and minutes. Soon the ethics committee will become a full-time paid job handed to campaign supporters. And on and on and on.

Stop this before it gains traction.

Will S. Richardson,

San Carlos



Mideast conflict

Dear Editor: It is just entertaining to watch how the anti-Semites, in their zeal to prove Israel's wickedness, don't notice how their logic strengthens Israel's stature. The case in point is Bacil Mackiw's July 18 letter, where he argues that more than 3,000 years of Jewish presence between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River should be ignored for the sake of the last generation of Palestinian fathers and grandfathers who lived there. By the way, the Jews have not just lived there; they have made major contributions to the human civilization.

If the past, according to Mr. Mackiw, is limited to the last 40 to 50 years, then the Israelis, living on the West Bank, should be left alone. For the past 41 years, since the Six Days War, they labor there in the land, erected houses and built businesses. Actually, it is hard to neglect the facts on the ground, and in this respect Mr. Mackiw, albeit unwillingly, has a good point.

Now we need to wait for another topic of anti-Semitic tirades, something like "collective punishment" practiced by the Israelis.

Vladimir Kaplan,

San Mateo



Alzheimer's disease

Dear Editor: My mother has been a Palo Alto resident for well over 50 years. At 83, she's slowed down, but thankfully still maintains a full social life and works a few hours each week at a job she loves. A close friend for more than half a century was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease 12 years ago, and though she now has no recollection of my mother (or her own husband or children), my mom goes each week to sit with her friend and simply hold her hand, and let her know she is loved.

Often there is no talk, and certainly no interaction that would motivate one to visit every week, month after month, year after year. But my mother does. Sometimes she shares the sadness of her visits with me, but mostly she keeps this to herself. Tonight, though, she told me of a recent visit when, as usual, she sat with her friend in silence, holding hands.

As she was getting ready to leave, this formerly vital, intelligent, funny and successful woman, who at 90 knows no one and relies entirely on the care of others, looked at my mother and said, "I don't want you to go, but I don't know why."

Though the fog of advanced-stage Alzheimer's is nearly impenetrable, it seems that love can still find its way in. My mother's dear old friend can't thank her for that, but I can.

Peter Stein,

Petaluma