Feb. 29, 2012: Our readers write

No dumping
The old cemetery on Bewley Hollow Road is a favorite spot for dumping unwanted animals. This time, the perpetrator was almost caught, as he/she dumped a boxer. A neighbor saw it happen, but (unfortunately) couldn’t get the license plate number. (Maybe next time.....) Just know that lots of people are watching that area.
Pat McKinney
Elizabethtown

Movies for the hearing impaired
I have enjoyed going to movies many times in my 70 years and I still would except for a slight problem. I have  mild hearing loss that is affected by soft speech or dialogue in movies. The last three movies I have been to were all but a loss for me. At home I can use my closed captioning feature on my TV which is great. Are we ever going to see just one auditorium set aside in a multi-theater complex for the hearing impaired? My hearing loss is not that I can’t hear anything, just that soft speech and some tones I cannot understand. I would be happy to pay an extra dollar or even two to have closed captioning on a movie screen and I would be willing to bet I’m not alone.
Sherry Conklyn
Elizabethtown

Facts Of life
Another one was caught this past week. Now, I am not a mean person. However, I have always had the reputation of a hard task master. As my government targets Muslim radicals to head off terror attacks (with some success I might add), I am having not exactly PC thoughts. As no one wants to appear politically incorrect, I decided I would.
Muslims who want to live under Sharia law need to move to a country where it is practiced. In other words, get out of my U.S.A.
Specifically, I’ll anger some Muslims by saying I supported spy agencies monitoring the nation’s mosques. Why would I feel that way? I believe immigrants, not Americans, must adapt. Take it or leave it.
I am tired of this nation worrying about offending some individual or their culture. Since the 9/11 attacks, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by most Americans. I believe this is a good thing. This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. We speak mainly English, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language.
Most Americans believe in God. This is a fact, not some Christian, right-wing political drive, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation. This is clearly documented.
It is appropriate to display our guiding principles on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.
We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us. This is our country, our land, and our lifestyle, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. If you do not want to, once you are done complaining, whining and griping about our flag, our pledge, our Christian beliefs or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom: The right to leave.
If you aren’t happy here then leave. We didn’t force you to come here, you asked to be here. So accept the country you accepted. Maybe, if we start speaking out and voicing some truths amongst ourselves, we will find the courage to tell others a few facts of life.
Leonard E. Wright
Radcliff

‘Godd riddance
to NCLB’ disturbing
I guess that if I was going to be held accountable for the education of all students, I might not like the No Child Left Behind program — especially, if it complicates the status quo.
The Russian satellite Sputnik scared leaders of our country into thinking the U.S. had fallen behind the Soviet Union in math and science. The federal government passed legislation to encourage more students to go into certain fields. However, they got tangled up in civil rights, segregation, etc. Gradually the disparity of educational test score attainments (poor, minorities, etc.) came to public attention.
The President’s Great Society programs in the mid 1960’s attempted to facilitate those disparities. As a contractor, I worked on a query system that was part that effort using Iowa’s data. Lots of money and effort was put into the system. In the 1990s, the Texas governor faced the same problem. He implemented programs that indicated promise in closing the test score gap. When president, he reached across the aisle and got the aid of a Senate chairman, and in a bipartisan manner they implemented the legislation that was named NCLB. It wasn’t seen by legislators as an education issue, but a civil rights issue that could be resolved through test scores.
Looking back, I don’t recall any president or legislative body that intended to legislate and provide funding for a system that was going to fail. Someone said “You should be able to tell how well a school is doing by a method simple as looking at the box scores in baseball.” Who would disagree with that?
Some think because education is not included in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the Department of Education is not constitutional. Logically then, if it isn’t constitutional, it isn’t responsible for funding. On the other hand if it is constitutional, it is responsible for funding and its usage. A Feb. 15 article stated Education Secretary Arne Duncan was unveiling a $5 billion plan to overhaul the teaching profession, i.e. how teachers are trained, paid, granted tenure, etc. Sounds like he is planning to implement NCLB with additions, name changes, etc. to fit his agenda, and if teachers don’t like it, they can take the issue to court.
Our school chiefs are faced with difficult problems. They are smart people and can solve them. We have people all over our great nation who go to work every day and solve difficult problems. Competition often brings controversy followed by success, and there is nothing wrong with that. Times change and maybe it’s time school chiefs and others in the education arena prepare for changes coming.
What has our governor done?
Bill Beckerdite
Elizabethtown