Author: The Seattle Times: Northwest Voices

No simple solution

It’s pretty clear to me that the more someone rises in the ranks of educational leadership, the more simple-minded they become [“Identify educators who lift schools,” Opinion, Feb. 17]. Mary Alice Heuschel, superintendent of the Renton School District, is the perfect example. All we have to do [she says] is “agree on a common definition of an effective teacher.” Oh, and we need common “measures of student growth,” that’s all. I’m sure no one has ever thought about these issues before.

Anyone in the teaching business knows that even the simplest questions have complex answers. Just look at the one state-mandated measure of student performance we have in this state: the WASL. We have a new superintendent of p instruction who has thrown out the old test in favor of a new test with learning objectives that haven’t even been disseminated to teachers!

How do you compare teachers within the same building who have entirely different teaching schedules, or teachers in elementary schools who teach many subjects a day? How do you compare classrooms from property-rich school districts to those in socioeconomically deprived areas? How do you compare an elementary teacher to a high-school or middle-school teacher? You can’t!

Instead of simply feeding the illogical notion that there are easy answers to complex questions in education, perhaps Heuschel could tell us, specifically, which performance measures she would use for teachers, principals and students and her scheme for using these measures to distribute teacher salaries.

— Dan Reeder, Seattle

Consolidating school districts

I agree with The Times and Judge John Erlick that it is time to fully fund education [“An overdue conversation about education funding,” Opinion, Feb. 14]. How else do we pay for better schools?

Eliminating the duplication of administration — by combining the state’s 296 school districts into fewer than 50 — will save the state a bundle of money. We don’t need separate school districts in adjoining towns like Bellevue, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Kirkland and Redmond. Or in other towns like Mukilteo, Edmonds and Everett. Or even in Renton, Kent and Auburn. It’s as if Costco had a separate headquarters for every one of its 500 stores. If it had that much overhead, it would be out of business.

I’ve read, in various places, that 30 to 40 percent of the state’s $13 billion K-12 budget is spent on central administration. If we had one district per county — except for the largest counties — we could save at least one half of this.

— Jerry Forell, Kirkland

Rethink budget, regulations

Sunday’s editorial about school funding neglects to mention that schools ought to improve the way they spend the $10 billion a year they get from all state, local and federal sources — $10,274 per pupil.

There is not a household in this state that hasn’t audited its own budget in this recession. Why do public schools get a free pass? The primary job of our schools is to teach, yet less than half of public school employees in Washington state are classroom teachers. Any business straying so far from its primary mission should not continue to exist.

According to a state Board of Education study, 64 percent of schools are only adequate or failing. Less than half of 10th-grade students pass the math or science WASL. School officials are prevented by a host of regulations and practices from doing what is necessary to improve schools. Principals need waivers from these regulations so they can place effective teachers in every classroom and give teachers the pay and support they need.

Systemic reform must occur before we spend more money on our failing public-school system or we will end up with the same results at a higher price.

— Liv Finne, Seattle

Pay the teachers

How about we start paying teachers $100,000 as a base salary when they reach some level of tenure, say after 10 years.

We fight and claw to keep their compensation below what clerks and waste-removal workers make and yet we want our children to have “excellence.”

We need to prove that excellence is important and pay the teachers for it.

— Ron Zanetti, Seattle

Students, parents should set university wages

Washington state universities have been lobbying to be allowed to set their own tuition rates instead of the Washington Legislature [“Bill letting universities set tuition advances,” NWWednesday, Feb. 17]. University leaders want to raise tuition to “shore up finances.”

I believe that students and parents — those who pay the tuition — should also be given the authority to set the wages and benefits of university leaders and coaches. Universities are public facilities, under the authority of the governor and Legislature.

Why are the presidents and coaches of these public facilities being paid million-dollar salaries? No worker should ever be paid more than his boss. The governor of Washington state has an annual salary of $166,891.

The best way to “shore up the finances” of UW, WSU and WWU is to bring their leaders and coaches’ salaries and benefits under control. You can’t tell me they have more responsibility than the governor of our state. Plus, I need to have “budgeting certainty,” which I can’t have with double-digit tuition increases annually.

— Doreen Suran, mother of WSU student, Bellevue

Keep ads off buses

I believe advertisements should not be on school buses [“Bus ads would help our schools,” Opinion, Feb. 11]. In my opinion, it’s wrong to use kids as the base in a budget-cutting exercise. Raising money for schools should be dealt with in a safer, more efficient way than using kids.

For example, the article states how safety is a concern, asking, “What happens when a driver reading an ad hits the bus?” The safety of children should be placed before funding for schools.

If advertisements on school buses are put into effect, people would suggest other places in school buildings as appropriate places for advertisements. This would be an unforeseen consequence that would greatly impact kids’ education. By doing this, it would distract kids from their learning environment. Kids have the right to learn in a focused, peaceful learning environment.

Politics and funding should not be involved with school kids. Safety, distractions and education are all involved with keeping ads off school buses.

— Kevin Xu, seventh-grader Tyee Middle School, Bellevue

Ads don’t affect kids

I found The Times’ editorial “Don’t sell out kids,” [Opinion, Feb. 1] very disagreeable. As I am a child on the bus, I find none of us really care about what is written on the bus. It doesn’t influence us at all, mainly because we can’t even see it — it’s on the outside.

I understand concern about child advertising, but when you said they have an over-excessive amount of advertising in schools, I had to disagree. Our schools seem mostly untouched by advertising companies. The only form of advertising I saw was the “Got Milk?” posters in the cafeteria, which are only trying to keep us healthy and drink milk every day.

Another point I strongly disagree with is when you said, “What happens when a driver reading the Sylvan Learning Center ad on the side of the school bus rear-ends the care ahead, or worse, hits the bus.” This is completely irrational! The same dangers apply to any advertising on the road. Even with street signs, there are dangers.

— Megan Murphy, seventh-grader Tyee Middle School, Bellevue

Look to the future

I am very disappointed by The Times’ coverage of the two rallies that took place in Olympia Monday and wonder if Andrew Garber attended the same rally that I did [“Thousands rally for and against tax increases,” NWTuesday, Feb. 16].

The rally I attended was not for tax increases, it was for finding means to fund necessary human resources in Washington state. Tax increases might be part of the solution and closing loopholes is another part — winning the Powerball would qualify too.

The rally I attended was looking at the future, the other was looking at the present. As a teacher — of various age groups — for over 30 years, I can attest to the expense of trying to remediate students who were not ready for education. These are students who are not prepared to enter the work force and earn salaries and will pay taxes.

Also, people who are not healthy or who currently need public assistance — possibly temporary — may become a drain on public resources rather than someone who can contribute to the system. Isn’t that what the “no-new-taxes” supporters actually want: enough people to share the tax burden so it doesn’t fall on anyone unnecessarily?

So, if we don’t prepare for the future by providing public services that will help citizens become and stay taxpayers, what’s the future going to look like? I’m afraid a lot like the present, only worse.

— Linda Knutson, Duvall

Outrage over time delay

Editor, The Times:

I would like to express my disappointment and anger at the International Olympic Committee for allowing their American broadcast partner NBC to control access to all Olympic coverage [“Outrage flows over NBC coverage,” Travel and Recreation, Feb. 18].

NBC is broadcasting most events live for the Eastern and Central time zones, but waiting three hours to show the tape-delayed coverage to those in the Mountain and Pacific time zones. It is particularly galling to those of us in Seattle — who live less than two hours from Vancouver — to not see all the coverage as it is happening.

Watching any Olympic coverage online is equally frustrating. You have to prove to NBC that you have paid for a cable subscription to access any live streams from Vancouver.

But NBC doesn’t stop there; they negotiated the right to control what foreign Web sites Americans are allowed to access. If you have an American IP address — the unique number that identifies the location of your computer on the Internet — you are prevented from going to the CTV Web site (the Canadian network) and watching any live-streaming video.

One corporation is controlling how Americans get to experience the Olympics and is also controlling what is available on the Internet — the perceived final bastion of media democracy. It makes me realize how important it is to prevent the monopolization of the media. I urge everybody to think about this example of corporate overreach and what it portends for our country.

— Lori L. George, North Bend

Twitter faster than NBC

I am calling on all the major news outlets to voice loudly that the television tape delay in the West is absurd. We are the only part of the world that is unable to view the games live and what is more absurd is that they are being played in our time zone. In this day and age — with up-to-the-minute coverage through sites like Twitter and Facebook — the results are known before they air in the West.

Does NBC not realize that isolating 100 million Americans from live coverage results in lower ratings? NBC has dropped the ball and news organizations with the power to report, especially in the Pacific Northwest, have the responsibility to make this known.

— Tarin Abbott, Pullman

Overcoming the luge tragedy

As a former Seattle resident who now lives in British Columbia, I enjoyed your article about how the death of the [Georgian] luge athlete affected Whistler [“Tragedy puts Whistler in a somber mood,” page one, Feb. 13].

But I have an idea that I have proposed up here to help ease the pain: Name the new Olympic luge course and venue in memory of the 21-year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili. A ceremony could be held before the Games end — maybe during the closing ceremony — so his Georgian teammates and staff could attend. Later, a more formal ceremony could be held involving his family.

This young man died doing what he loved. That is what we should remember in the end.

— Scott W. Larsen, New Westminster, B.C.

Surprise over fan fervor

The reaction of many in the world to what apparently seems to them to be an uncharacteristic shift in attitude and behavior on the part of Canadians in our Olympic celebrations reveals what happens when a comfortable, convenient stereotype appears to no longer have any validity or traction.

We are used to Americans unpacking the usual tedious hockey and “eh” jokes or saying the “Canadians are among the nicest people in the world.” Australians tend to appreciate Canada as nothing more than a convenient skiing stop on their worldwide “Walkabouts” and others see our liberal immigration and refugee laws as an opportunity for exploitation and profit.

So when Canadians demonstrate the kind of assertiveness, open pride and even arrogance that is so commonly displayed by some other nations and their athletes, there arises a kind of curious resentment and backlash. We are not behaving as we should, as we always have or how you expect us to. The stereotype comfort zone has been challenged.

It seems to come as a shock to some other countries that we not only feel as much pride in our culture and achievements as they do, but are also as willing to openly proclaim and display that pride as they are. Among other things, the Olympics are serving as a means of deconstructing the view that others have of us as an “after you, thank you and gosh we are just so satisfied to place third” type of culture. We are declaring, in our own way, that such stereotypical notions of us are no longer convenient or useful.

— Ray Arnold, Richmond, B.C.

Focus on policy, not personage

“Do us a favor, Sarah, and run” [Opinion, Feb. 14] by Leonard Pitts Jr. is a prime example of blindness to one’s own motives when addressing opposing viewpoints. This is the trap that befalls all ideologues: Their righteous indignation toward those who oppose their life perspective is driven by their certainty that they possess the ultimate truth regarding issues they deem important.

Pitts’ remarks also insult a large segment of the American population who do not share his sarcasm or many of his views. Rather than focusing on disagreements on the policies Sarah Palin espouses, many critics in the media — as well as other ideologues — resort to personal attacks on her and her family. Most of these critics don’t have a clue about their own self-indulgent diatribes because their self-reflective skills regarding their base motivations are seriously lacking.

It would be refreshing if political discussion focused on seeking out the common ground between competing political philosophies and promoting solutions to important issues. This requires the development of personal self-reflective skills so that participants can monitor their self-serving indulgences. Clearly, some antidote to the continuing gridlock that has been stifling local, state and national political effectiveness for too long is needed.

— Gene Harvey, Puyallup

Stigmatizing elitism

In his letter “Non-elitist language” [Northwest Voices, Feb. 15], Michael Velikin asserts that Sarah Palin “speaks a language that the majority of Americans speak.” Velikin would have us believe that we live in a time when anyone who speaks in complete sentences, knows basic historical facts and geography is an “elitist.”

A recent poll shows that more than 70 percent of Americans feel — correctly — that Palin is not qualified to be president. This is comforting 10 years after many Americans — myself included — were aghast that someone as simplistic and inarticulate as George Bush could actually get elected president. I had a flashback when Palin became the vice-presidential candidate.

Fortunately, enough Americans have learned from the destructive Bush years that there is a place for critical thinking, intellect and managerial skills in our government. Just being an average Joe or Jane doesn’t qualify one to run this country.

What puzzles me, though, is why Velikin and those like him try so hard to bring the rest of the country down to their level, rather than try to raise themselves and their children to the level of thinking that made this country great in the first place.

— Gary Gibson, Edmonds

Get out of Mickey D’s and get a reality check

I do find it just a little ironic that Michael Velikin mentions that the “average elitist goes to McDonald’s once in a decade” and directly across from his comments is an editorial titled “Play more, eat better” [Opinion. Feb. 15].

Does this equate to the average Joe and Jane going to McDonald’s more than once in a decade and eating worse? Maybe if that average Jane and Joe get out of McDonald’s and get some of that cholesterol out of their systems, it will become apparent to them that Sarah Palin really is a quitter, plain and simple.

No all-beef patty, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. You betcha!

— Jeff Rash, Kenmore

Role of the parents

For once Michelle Obama got it right [“Play more, eat better,” Opinion, Feb. 15]. She said when it comes to childhood obesity, “We have everything we need right now to help our kids lead healthy lives.”

What’s askew is her — and evidently The Seattle Times’ — perception of just who “we” refers to. It’s not food suppliers, schools or the federal government. It’s the kids’ parents for goodness sake! I cannot believe the words parent, mom or dad don’t appear once in this entire editorial. What is happening to our society?

The more we look to government to fill the void of personal accountability the further we’ll get from accomplishing our ends. And does it strike anyone else as ironic that we’re looking to the very federal government that can’t control its own bloated spending appetite to impose such will on our children?

— Stu Haas, Seattle

Kick smoking habits too

Childhood obesity is certainly a problem worth tackling. Americans don’t eat healthy foods and we’re increasingly sedentary.

But tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability and death in the United States and I’m disappointed that our first lady is not addressing it with equal fervor. Admitting that her husband has not been able to kick his nicotine addiction might even draw more attention to the problem.

I’d like to see the entire Obama family expose their experience with tobacco, just as previous first families have shed light on breast cancer and mental illness.

— Marie Esch-Radtke, Des Moines

Increasing number of beds causes debt, decreases quality

The Seattle Times asserts that 80 seriously sick children were denied care at Children’s hospital during a 10-month-period due to lack of beds [“City should approve Seattle Children’s plan,” Opinion, Feb. 13].

Since few patients linger more than 30 days in a hospital bed, this would average out to less than eight children per month. Given that Children’s currently has 250 beds, it might make sense to expand that number to 258.

Instead, The Times recommends expanding the hospital to 600 beds, more than doubling the size of the hospital. What will the hospital do with the extra 342 beds? Since a hospital is a business, it will do whatever it has to do to fill them in order to earn enough revenue to pay off the new debt. It will beat the bushes far and wide for sick children — not necessarily a bad thing — but given the current lack of demand, the hospital will resort to filling those beds with any child with a broken bone, a runny nose or hiccups. The number of cars in the area will increase, wrecking already decrepit roads and infrastructure and congesting traffic.

We are better off with a small, full, quality hospital than a gigantic house of cards that will cut quality in order to pay off the new debt because it won’t be able to fill the new beds. If the enlarged hospital goes bankrupt, the final result will be the end of a fabulous facility with a great reputation and Seattle will be the loser.

— Dick Dickinson, Seattle

Not so super

On Sunday, I suffered through three hours of the most egregious advertising ever foisted on the public during the Super Bowl [“Big laughs — and no big controversy — in ‘Super’ ads,” page one, Feb. 8].

The vast majority of the ads were either inane, used violence — or both. The ads either said almost nothing about the products being pushed or were so distracting that I couldn’t glean any useful information.

Why is it beyond most companies to simply present the qualities of their products and let me — the public — decide if I will try or continue to use what they want me to buy? Do they really believe such stupid, disrespectful glitz will make up my mind? It’s quite the opposite — I find their efforts repulsive.

— Kit Marx, Edmonds

Not even newsworthy

I was dismayed when the front page of The Seattle Times featured a very long article about Super Bowl ads. Not only is this not news, but it seems to me that anyone who cared about Super Bowl ads would have seen them when they watched the game.

A column that would have been more appropriate for the front page would have been Jerry Large’s piece on Chinese versus American education [“Learning not to copy China,” NWMonday, Feb. 8]. This was a very thought-provoking article that we all should be talking about. Keep football where it belongs: in the sports section.

— Barbara Daugert, Ferndale

She’s full of contradictions

Editor, The Times:

In response to David S. Broder’s “The appeal of Palin’s populist pitch” [Opinion, Feb. 11], I have nothing against populism. Populism — or representing the point of view of the common people — is the essence of democracy. This is a country that is run by representatives who are elected by the common people and are entrusted with protecting their interests.

But populism doesn’t mean being intellectually vapid in a manner that evokes a South Carolinian pageant contestant holding forth about maps. Governing is a mental challenge, requiring a strong understanding of how one decision has multiple ramifications and we elect those who can understand and balance these ramifications. You don’t hire a 90-pound weakling to play in the NFL because he has a pretty face and some good ideas about where the ball should go.

Populism doesn’t mean abusing the power given to you by your constituents to exact personal revenge and then denying that you have been found in ethical violation for it, as was the case in “Troopergate.” Populism isn’t about flying in a private jet and then hopping onto a tour bus for your arrival at speaking engagements. Populism doesn’t mean preaching to a “grass roots” choir full of “common” people who have managed to pay almost a thousand dollars apiece to see you speak.

If Palin is speaking from the heart, why would she need to write it on her hand? The answer is simple: She needs to hit the poll-tested talking points that her handlers have laid out for her.

But the problems with Palin come down to a lot more than writing on her hand. This woman may come from humble beginnings, but she is being packaged and sold by the economic elite in this country and that is about as far from populist as you can get.

— Eric Shinkle, Seabeck

Palin speaks non-elitist language

Let me try once again to explain to the self-styled American elite why the president’s star is waning while the popularity of Sarah Palin is waxing. And I’ll try to be as simple as it’s humanly possible because soi-disant elites claim an uncanny ability to read the hoi polloi mind and I can’t.

Palin speaks a language that the majority of Americans speak. She is on the same material and moral plane with average Joe and Jane, while the average elitist goes to McDonald’s once in decade and only with his/her press agent and TV team.

— Michael Velikin, Kenmore

Appealing to the fringe

I read David S. Broder’s article lauding Sarah Palin and with all due respect to him, she is a certified airhead and unqualified from any perspective to be president of the United States.

The most recent polls showing a 71 percent disapproval rating aside — which is an insurmountable negative to overcome probably at any time, but more so by 2012. She is appealing to the lunatic fringe in this country once reflected by the John Birch Society and now by the Tea Party.

The best thing that could happen to Obama and the Democrats would be for her to be the Republican nominee. My Republican friends are terrified that she could be the nominee. I happen to vote Republican now and then, but I would never vote for her.

— J. Byron Holcomb, Bainbridge Island

Not on the backs of state workers

In Kate Riley’s latest column [“Senate Dems dazed and confused,” Opinion, Feb. 12], she states that the best thing for this state financially would be to open union contracts and stop wage increases, as well as bring health-care benefits more in line with the private sector.

Kate, why must the low-paid, financially strapped state worker shoulder the bill for our budget shortfall? Although state workers have good benefits, they are also woefully behind the private sector in pay. Your plan would freeze their wages and essentially cause them to take a huge pay cut.

Is that really fair to the teacher who makes $35,000 in Seattle and can’t afford to live in Seattle? What’s your plan when we can no longer recruit teachers to educate our future? Why not fix our revenue system instead?

We have one of the most regressive tax systems in the country. Large businesses that accrue huge profits receive big tax breaks and the low-paid workers pay the highest sales tax in the country. Tell me Kate, how exactly is this fair?

— Nate Rozeboom, Seattle

Thank you taxpayers

Sometimes when I read opinions about taxes and Olympia, I get the feeling that it’s us against them. But aren’t they the same as us?

Don’t forget the good work the tax-funded programs do. I am an example of tax dollars well spent and am grateful for what “you” have done for me. You’ve helped me every time you’ve purchased some good or paid your property tax. I know when I see you working in our community — doing whatever it is you do — I owe you thanks. I have been on assistance but that is over for me because you were there and I received the hand up I needed. I am now a student at the University of Washington.

All this rhetoric about taxes misses the point. When it comes down to it, are we here for each other in times of need or not? Those, like me, who have received help from the state not only appreciate it deeply but want to regain our membership in this society.

Now I can stand with you for the next person who needs a hand up. Thank you for that. This makes Washington state strong and it’s paid for through our taxes.

— Kelly McQuade, Seattle

Cut police and fire services, eliminate waste

What is going on in the Legislature when the Democrats can just change the law — voter initiatives — with a simple vote that changed the two-thirds supermajority on tax legislation to a simple majority? They are obviously getting ready to raise taxes.

Why not cut police and fire services. Why are they exempt? Every department could cut 15 percent without even noticing it. Even police and fire services have waste — when I worked at Boeing, we always used downturns in our economy to get rid of waste and deadwood.

Why even have voter initiatives if they can just be changed by a simple vote? And how do you square the govenor’s campaign statement “We will never raise taxes in a recession like this one”?

— Bill Johnson, Maple Valley

Call to raise sales tax

A fair and reasonable way to raise tax revenue to help solve the state’s budget woes is by increasing the state sales tax by one-quarter or one-half percent. In doing so, the Legislature should pass this legislation with a sunset clause of one year. If it is still needed after one year, this special tax can be extended one more year.

I do not favor increasing penalty taxes — on tobacco, liquor, etc. These targets are taxed enough already, as is the gasoline tax. A slight increase in sales tax — including sales tax from out-of-state visitors — will generate a lot of revenue to help the shortfall. This help may bring back some of the essential services we have lost, mainly in education, forestry and other state programs.

For example, the Department of Natural Resources has lost nearly all of its staff to help family forest owners. Numbering about 215,000 in the state, these property owners — who own five acres or more of forested land — were being advised on good stewardship, cost-share programs, stream protection, wildlife habitat preservation, etc.

Beloved governor and esteemed Legislature, please consider this option to help keep Washington state as one of the finest places to live in the world.

— John Malone, East Wenatchee

No sales tax, just pay the $60

So the county wants to raise the sales tax by 3 cents and says this amounts to about $60 per household [“sheriff, prosecutor, judges push county sales-tax hike,” page one, Feb. 12]. This would cover the county’s shortfall and reduce the number of cancellations of public services because of the recession.

We all know from past experience that once a tax is in place, it’s there forever and the only changes would be to increase it further. I have a far better idea and one that would almost immediately solve the county shortfall: Just bill each household the $60 they say the tax would cost the average family.

I’m here with my checkbook open and ready to write. Get the shortfall out of the way and get on with the county’s business of, well, doing business.

— Ed Anderson, Kirkland

Funding rural libraries

I live within the Seattle city limits and was surprised when I opened the recent ballot envelope to find that I was asked to vote on the property tax increase to fund King County rural libraries [“King County library measure ahead slightly,” NWWednesday, Feb. 10]. As my property taxes are already very high, I voted no. I thought, “Why should Seattle residents pay for libraries in rural areas of the county?”

— Kit Herring, Seattle

Frankly, don’t miss you George

I see some FOB (Friend of Bush) has sponsored a billboard with a smiling George Bush and the saying “Miss me yet?” [“Just asking,” Newsline, Feb. 11].

My personal response is that I don’t miss him in the least — not even for his many laughable lines. What I do miss is the money we have poured into the unnecessary Iraq war and the American youth squandered there.

What I do miss is the budget surplus in place when he took office and the taxes we used to be able to collect from his rich friends. What I do miss is the sense of honor I used to feel about the way we treat our friends — as equals deserving of consultation and cooperation — and our enemies, before we authorized torture in dealing with them.

But George Bush? I ain’t missing him at all.

— Jack McClurg, Marysville

East Coast whiteout, local heat wave disprove nothing

Editor, The Times:

It is illogical to use each occurrence of extreme regional weather as proof or disproof of long-term global warming [“As snow piles up, climate feud flares,” page one, Feb. 11].

Last summer, as I was campaigning door-to-door to advocate greenhouse-gas emissions, I was careful to remind opponents not to regard Seattle’s record high as proof of warming. The effects are too small to observe due to regional and year-to-year variations. Only very long-term global averages can detect small differences.

Even smoothed long-term averages are subject to different interpretations due to the difficulty of separating the anthropocentric trend from natural random variations. Also, the magnitude of periodic changes cannot be exactly separated from random changes.

The only certainty is that atmospheric CO2 levels have increased by about 40 percent and that this is consistent with estimates of total anthropocentric CO2 emissions over the last 200 years. It is also certain that increased CO2 levels will increase global temperatures — we just can’t prove how much or how fast. We do know, however, that continued emissions will accelerate the warming and that the eventual equilibrium temperature will be driven by total accumulation when we finally stop [emitting].

— Bob Jeffers-Schroder, Seattle

Evidence, not enthusiasm, determines science

In The Time’s “As snow piles up, climate feud flares” the term “climate-change enthusiast” is used.

This title trivializes the work of climate scientists the world over. Scientists are led to their conclusions about climate change by the weight of the evidence, not because they are sports-fan-like cheerleaders for the home team.

Words are important and The Times should think carefully about the meaning it intends to convey.

— Jim Stewart, Ferndale

Boys and young men targets too

The Times’ article about teen prostitution fails to include the fact that boys and young men are a very large portion of the sex trade [“Gifts save program to help teens escape prostitution,” page one, Feb. 11].

This gender distinction communicates that the lives and struggles of males in the sex trade are less deserving of help. It also insinuates that girls and young women are helpless in the face of their circumstances and need intervention by those who presumably know better.

This issue is more complex than helpless girls spirited away from their families at gunpoint by violent pimps and forced into the sex trade. Young people are homeless and destitute for primarily two reasons: They are fleeing violence and exploitation at home or they are “aging out” of foster care. Faced with survival by any means, sex trading is part of the economic landscape that all these young people must navigate.

This is not to say that young people willingly choose to have sex for money. It means that given the poverty and zero options they face, prostitution is the lesser of evils for them.

Addressing the housing, economic and recovery options for all homeless and impoverished youth is a major part of the puzzle. Lack of evidence that homeless youth work is the reason communities have not invested in these programs, not indifference. Most communities understand that violence and exploitation await some young people who are left without shelter, treatment or economic alternatives.

— John Bruels, Bellevue

Stop child porn armed with the facts

On Feb. 10, The Times published an op-ed piece by prosecutors Mark Roe and Lisa Johnson calling for tougher state child-pornography laws [“Give law enforcement the tools to prosecute child-porn viewing,” Opinion]. In stressing the importance of proposed legislation, Roe and Johnson claimed that “scientific studies demonstrate that 85 percent of those convicted of possessing child pornography admit sexually abusing minors.” This claim is, in a word, misleading.

The viewing of child pornography is a serious matter and cause for law-enforcement concern. Whether there is a connection between viewing child pornography and contact, sexual offenses with minors is a topic of great interest in the scientific-research community. Research is ongoing but studies to date show that the risk of hands-on offenses is as low as 1 to 3 percent and no study has concluded a risk remotely close to the 85-percent figure used by Roe and Johnson.

The “scientific” study referenced by Roe and Johnson was not a scientific study. It was a report prepared by employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The original report was so flawed that the Bureau of Prisons itself refused to publish it. Recently, a federal judge panned the report, noting that it had never been published or peer reviewed, involved “highly coercive” research techniques and that the subjects in the study had “an incentive to lie.”

As a citizen and a parent of two daughters, I support appropriate prosecutions and sentences for child pornographers. I simultaneously support the proposition that American justice requires sentences and laws based on empirical research and study, not on fear mongering and misinformation.

— Thomas Hillier, Bainbridge Island

Pass House Bill 2424

I am the mother of a 4-year-old son and the thought of him being a victim of child pornography terrifies me. I support House Bill 2424 because I think it will make great strides in protecting children.

This bill is trying to not only redefine the felony crime of possession of depictions of child pornography — to include deliberately viewing images of child sexual abuse on the Internet — but also to reset the unit of prosecution in child pornography cases back to the nationally recognized per-image standard.

Boys and girls of all ages suffer negative effects when exploited through pornography. Child exploitation is a global problem, a multibillion-dollar industry and one of the fastest-growing online businesses. Child pornography is a permanent record of a child’s sexual abuse and the distribution of the images victimizes that sexually abused child again each time the image is viewed.

— Kimberly Burns, University Place

Setting tuition rates at UW

I am writing concerning The Times’ portrayal of the Associated Student Body of the University of Washington rally in Olympia [“UW students rally in Olympia to support higher ed,” Politics Northwest, Feb. 5], specifically with regards to our stance on Senate Bill 6562, which would grant temporary tuition-setting authority to the University’s Board of Regents.

While we cheer the bill’s sponsor, Derek Kilmer, we oppose the specifics of this bill. The ASUW believes that trusting the [UW] regents with tuition-setting authority is dangerous because they are not elected or accountable to students.

Our rally emphasized the importance of maintaining state control of tuition. Throughout the day, more than 250 students met with their state representatives and shared their stories on how tuition increases would impact students. Lobbying allows us to have a dialogue between stakeholders and decision makers about higher education. Currently, there is no mechanism for conversing with the regents.

Dialogue allows us to communicate to legislators, like Kilmer, that constituents support some of his efforts to keep need-based grants, while we oppose others like granting the Board [of Regents] control of tuition. With legislators regulating tuition, we can have the public discussion necessary to address the university’s daunting challenges.

— Blake Barnett, ASUW research assistant, Seattle

Limit child and elderly exposure to unwanted drugs

In addition to the obvious environmental consequences from throwing medicines in the trash or flushing them [“Even if you’re careful, drugs can end up in water,” Business, Feb. 7], equally compelling reasons to safely dispose of medicines include: reducing access to medicines in our homes that are available for teen abuse and minimizing the potential for accidental overdose by children and the elderly.

Three years ago, Group Health set up secure medicine return drop-off boxes at its clinics across Washington state and Snohomish County law-enforcement officers set up drop-off boxes last December. In three years, more than 30,000 pounds of medicines have been safely disposed. But limited voluntary measures can’t address our statewide problem.

Legislation in Olympia would require pharmaceutical manufacturers to pay for a statewide medicine-return program like they do in Canada and some European countries.

The pharmaceutical industry’s solution — throwing unwanted medicines in the garbage — is the cheapest thing to do, but at what cost? A statewide medicine-return program would cost a fraction of a penny per container of medicine sold in Washington state. It’s time pharmaceutical manufacturers take responsibility for taking back unwanted medicines in Washington state.

— Patric L. Slack, commander, Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, Everett

Mix of production and distribution hurts news

It is sad that the only outwardly opposing voice to the merger of NBC Universal and Comcast is former comic and current senator from Minnesota, Al Franken [“Congress should nix Comcast/NBC merger,” editorial, Opinion, Feb. 10]. While he holds little sway with Congress — being so new — Franken’s message should resonate with all of us: Large media conglomerates that merge with other same-sized moguls should cause us deep concern.

To have such a controlling interest in producing news and entertainment provides the opportunity to slant how the news is covered and reported. All the promises to remain fair and unbiased by those controlling interests is about as worthless as bankers’ promises to do no harm to the nation’s economy.

The power to do ill will be there if the merger of NBC and Comcast is allowed — and whether it’s done remains to be seen. But giving the owners the power to merge is akin to giving the Taliban controlling interest in Congress.

—Bill Wippel, Normandy Park

Health care not a one-time expense

Editor, The Times:

E.J. Dionne Jr. applauds Congressman Jay Inslee for his “finish-the-kitchen” tale [“Inslee: ‘Finish the kitchen,’” Opinion, Feb. 9]. Inslee is praised for comparing his problem with kitchen contractors and plumbers with the “Obamacare” health-reform bills languishing in Washington, D.C.

But if the comparison were remotely valid, then it might justify Dionne’s column. Both Dionne and Inslee conveniently ignore the obvious: Inslee’s kitchen — once finished — is forever paid for, but Obamacare must be paid for over and over.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if — having passed Obamacare in some form — the only obligation Inslee and the taxpayer had is to get together for a beer once a year. Unfortunately, Inslee’s beer will cost trillions. I could live without regret if I had Inslee’s old kitchen.

— James Axtell, Des Moines

Bless Inslee for pushing health care

As many of us Democrats sit aghast at the inability of our party to pass health-insurance reform — or anything else — we ask, “Where are the leaders? Where are the legislators who will not cower before corporate donors and 41 Republicans in a 100-member Senate?”

According to E.J. Dionne Jr. in his Feb. 9 column, one of them is right here in our state. Bless Jay Inslee for “calming Democrats’ nerves” and urging them to “finish the kitchen.” His kitchen story helps demonstrate what is unrealistic about Republicans’ calls to start over.

Yes, the health-care bills may look like a mess, but they represent the best that can emerge at this time from the competing ideas and interests that formed them into what they are.

Now, using the ample legislative tools Dionne describes, the Democrats must simply find the spine to pass them.

— Michael Kischner, Seattle

Issue hits home

I read the article in this Tuesday’s Times about how the Obama administration has asked California’s largest for-profit health insurer to justify plans to raise customers’ premiums by as much as 39 percent, a move that could affect some 800,000 customers [“White House asks insurer to justify hike,” News, Feb. 9].

My response to that is: That’s nothing! Our very own huge, for-profit Northwest insurance company, Regence BlueShield, raised the premiums for my MedAdvantage Enhanced plan by 76 percent starting Jan. 1. My deductibles and co-pays were also increased substantially. As we know, these MedAdvantage plans are even subsidized by the federal government. That makes this even more of an outrage.

— Sally Rutherford, retired advanced nurse practitioner, Bellevue

Look to European example for economic forecast

Initiative 960 is the will of the people and nothing is more democratic than an initiative [“Lawmakers clearing way for tax increases,” page one, Feb. 10]. State lawmakers have voted to ignore this law. That is reprehensible. Apparently, democracy is a word to which Democrats pay only lip service.

I respectfully urge legislators to read the article on A2 of Wednesday’s Seattle Times regardingGreece [“Greece bailout likely; pain of cuts to follow”]. As a result of the unionization of the government workers — and the huge perks and salaries provided these workers at the expense of the Greek taxpayers — Greece is an economic basket case and virtually under siege by riots. Their debt is huge and the EU will not let them secede and go back to their own currency.

California, Oregon and Washington are on the verge of the same conditions. State annual salaries are on the average $18,000 more than the annual salaries of the taxpayers who pay their salaries. That is unacceptable. We, the taxpayers, cannot stand any more taxes, period. Many of us will be forced out of our houses or be unable to pay our property taxes.

Legislators need to stop the growth of government and decertify government unions now! They are adversarial by nature and thus are opposed to their employers’ views. Lawmakers must also reduce all state salaries by 20 percent now! No excuses. We are tired of the same old excuses that “government can’t provide the necessary services.”

— John and Myra Leicester, Shoreline

Subverting the will of the people

Once again members of the Legislature are putting their wants and needs before those of the voters of the state. We voted on Initiative 960 in order to control taxes in Washington state and now our “representatives” have decided that it is time to suspend the initiative that we voted into law.

Obviously we need to send a stronger message to those who are supposed to represent our interests by voting them out of office. If those in Olympia are so certain that suspending I-960 is what is right, then why not put it to the voters to decide. Until the Legislature puts the voters’ desires first, they need to be replaced until we can finally get someone in office that actually listens to those they say they represent.

— Ron Hopper, Carnation

Reforming math

Recent articles and editorials have presented a one-sided view of the “Discovering Math” series [“Judge tells Seattle School Board: Do the math,” News, Feb. 7 and “Schools: Do the math,” Opinion, Feb. 8]. As an educator and father of two high-schoolers, I believe we need a more thoughtful and balanced discussion.

Constructivist math, like inquiry science, is an effort to get our young people to learn to ask questions as well as memorize answers. In a world beset by financial, ethical and environmental crises, we may need to be asking more questions. Asking questions is optimistic and it presumes we can construct new answers — this is what creative scientists and entrepreneurs do. Constructivist learning brings creativity into education rather than forcing potential innovators to drop out.

Constructivist math also offers mathematical literacy to the majority of students who “don’t get math.” They cannot make the transition from a context-rich natural language to the abstract symbolism of mathematics. I have two of these “Discovering Math” books on my dining room table and they make this transition admirably and repeatedly. Their approach makes mathematical reasoning relevant and meaningful to those who are not yet competent and excited by mathematics.

This is why the “Discovering Math” series has garnered support in other communities and why we need a more-informed discussion about math education.

— Don Comstock, Seattle

Students need both types of math

The Times, like so many others, has the wrong take on the reform versus traditional math controversy. It should never be a question of one or the other. Our children need both!

Traditional math emphasizes memorization of facts, procedures, formulas, algorithms and working independently as well as having the teacher explain what the students should do. These are all necessary and legitimate teaching methods.

Reform math emphasizes understanding the underlying math concepts, discovering alternative algorithms to help clarify the concepts, working in small groups in order to have mathematical conversations with peers and the teacher facilitating these processes. These are also necessary and legitimate teaching methods.

Why then, would we choose to follow only one or the other? Remember the phonics versus whole language controversy of a few years ago? Turns out our children need both but we wasted time, resources and energy to fight a meaningless battle. Let’s not repeat that mistake!

— David G. Gardner, Seattle

Learning from experience

The Times is right, for the good of its students, the Seattle School Board should not use the Discovering Mathematics teaching system. Here’s an example why: My 1946-1947 high-school trigonometry class was taught according to an ancestor of these modern methodologies and I learned little.

Four years later I was a radioman aboard Navy long-range aircraft and — among other tasks — used the radio direction finder to obtain bearings for the navigator. So I could best serve him, he gave me a short lesson on navigation and the math he used. In about an hour, that young ensign taught me more about trigonometry than I learned in a year at high school.

More than 60 years have gone by and apparently educators still haven’t learned what works and what doesn’t. Math should be taught in a direct, applicable manner — ideally by mathematicians, but at least by those who have used mathematics.

I still have “Mathematics for Electricians” and “Radiomen” by Nelson M. Cooke, which I obtained in ‘51 or ’52 and used extensively. It has 500 pages of no-nonsense lessons. I’ll be happy to donate it to the Seattle School Board if they promise to learn from it.

— Harry Petersen, Bellevue

A divisive issue

Any light-rail plan that bypasses downtown Bellevue, the region’s second-largest urban center and economic powerhouse of the Eastside, would be an unbelievable mistake [“Light rail divides neighbors,” NWThursday, Feb. 11].

The 1981 rezone envisioned our mega-block central business district as becoming a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented downtown where people would live, work and play. During my years on the Planning Commission and Bellevue City Council, design guidelines and streetscape improvements gave life to that vision and shaped our downtown core to what it is becoming today — a thriving urban center.

The missing piece — the piece central to Bellevue’s long-term vision — is high-capacity transit to connect the heart of our downtown to other regional centers. Our residents, employees and visitors need easier, reliable, sustainable and timely access to downtown.

We must put the trains where the people are. Yes, a downtown alignment might disrupt businesses and residences for a short time, but this is a 100- to 200-year decision! We must not sacrifice the long-term benefits of connectivity, ridership and cleaner air to avoid short-term inconveniences.

I urge the City Council and Sound Transit Board to support an alignment that connects to our downtown core and works, not one that creates a wall that seals off our downtown visually and literally.

— Margot Blacker, former City Council member, Bellevue

Security guards should have intervened

Editor, The Times:

Thanks for your online video portraying the Jan. 28 beating of one teenage girl by another girl in full view of security officers in Metro’s transit tunnel [“Teen’s beating in tunnel prompts review,” page one, Feb. 10].

Because I am downtown nearly every day — though rarely use the tunnel — I am not surprised that this incident happened. I have observed vicious behavior at downtown bus stops, but never to this extent of confrontation and violence. I am surprised the security officers stood by and watched while the assailant kicked the victim in the head! How glad I am that I was not in the midst of it!

Outraged by this incident, I will think twice about using the tunnel in the future. On-site security officers should be able to intervene during a confrontation, otherwise where is the “security” that comes along with their presence? When the general public carry cellphones with the ability to call 9-1-1 readily, why have guards on-site at all? Does a bus driver stopped at such a situation have the capability of leaving the bus and breaking up a fight like this?

I am very thankful this video was released for viewing by the public and that The Times could report on this very hurtful and unnecessary crime. I hope that the victim will recover from her injuries and that the assailant will be treated as well.

— Judy Buettner, Seattle

Provide benefits for guards

The security guards in the transit tunnel are employees for a private company. It’s a nonunion company, so they probably work at an hourly wage with few benefits. They were contracted by King County to protect property, not people. The security guards are supposed to call Metro Transit Control if they have an issue and from there Metro relays the call to law enforcement.

As a bus rider, I want “security” to intervene in an attack. I want them to instinctively call 9-1-1 when 10 teenagers come bounding into a tunnel station and threaten to attack someone. I want them to protect people before property.

Let’s fix this problem by having King County hire from companies that use Service Employees International Union membership and assure that better training, wages and benefits are given for the risks we are asking security guards to take.

— Maggie Corrigan, Seattle

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