Letters to the Editor
Igor Volsky
Issue date: 2/24/05 Section: Opinion
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Red vs. Blue: One says everything is peachy; other says impeach
Circle Editors,
In your February 10th issue, staff writer Igor Volsky published a piece entitled "State of Union by Presidential Pinocchio." After reading this article, I feel it is necessary to clear up some of the points that Mr. Volsky uses to express his dissatisfaction with President Bush.
Volsky points out that Mr. Bush is proposing a three year initiative to help keep young people out of gangs while at the same time cutting by 40 percent juvenile crime prevention programs. Although Volsky calls Mr. Bush a flip flopper in this case because of his cutting and then restoring funding, it is not true. In his State of the Union speech, Mr. Bush stated that he would cut funding to programs that are not effective and sponsor newer more effective programs.
According to the Justice Department, "the arrest rate for children ages 10 to 17 who committed violent crimes doubled from 1983 to 1992 - and could double again by 2010" (Donegan). If crime rates in juveniles doubled over this period and are continuing to rise, the president is only doing what he promised in cutting funding to ineffective programs and implementing newer more effective programs.
The article also attacks Bush's favorite saying, "we are fighting terrorists in Iraq, so we do not have to face them here at home." Volsky quotes the CIA think tank, who said that Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as a terrorist training ground. The obvious is true here, we are still fighting the terrorists and insurgents in Iraq to ensure that they do not take hold in Iraq. The forces of the United States military are fighting daily to create an Iraq that is free from the insurgents and terrorists that are being harbored there and to ensure that these terrorists are not able to take root and plan another attack on the United States.
Going back to domestic issues, Mr. Bush is still strongly pursuing his goal of better training for workers. He has committed "$1.5 billion in funding for a new high school initiative to help states hold high schools accountable for teaching all students and to provide effective and timely intervention for those students who are not learning at grade level ... increase funding for his Striving Readers program to $200 million annually, and will propose $269 million for the Mathematics and Science Partnership program".
Circle Editors,
In your February 10th issue, staff writer Igor Volsky published a piece entitled "State of Union by Presidential Pinocchio." After reading this article, I feel it is necessary to clear up some of the points that Mr. Volsky uses to express his dissatisfaction with President Bush.
Volsky points out that Mr. Bush is proposing a three year initiative to help keep young people out of gangs while at the same time cutting by 40 percent juvenile crime prevention programs. Although Volsky calls Mr. Bush a flip flopper in this case because of his cutting and then restoring funding, it is not true. In his State of the Union speech, Mr. Bush stated that he would cut funding to programs that are not effective and sponsor newer more effective programs.
According to the Justice Department, "the arrest rate for children ages 10 to 17 who committed violent crimes doubled from 1983 to 1992 - and could double again by 2010" (Donegan). If crime rates in juveniles doubled over this period and are continuing to rise, the president is only doing what he promised in cutting funding to ineffective programs and implementing newer more effective programs.
The article also attacks Bush's favorite saying, "we are fighting terrorists in Iraq, so we do not have to face them here at home." Volsky quotes the CIA think tank, who said that Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as a terrorist training ground. The obvious is true here, we are still fighting the terrorists and insurgents in Iraq to ensure that they do not take hold in Iraq. The forces of the United States military are fighting daily to create an Iraq that is free from the insurgents and terrorists that are being harbored there and to ensure that these terrorists are not able to take root and plan another attack on the United States.
Going back to domestic issues, Mr. Bush is still strongly pursuing his goal of better training for workers. He has committed "$1.5 billion in funding for a new high school initiative to help states hold high schools accountable for teaching all students and to provide effective and timely intervention for those students who are not learning at grade level ... increase funding for his Striving Readers program to $200 million annually, and will propose $269 million for the Mathematics and Science Partnership program".