|
|
Letters to the editor |
The Nation
July 9, 2007
NCLBIn "Evaluating No Child Left Behind," Linda Darling-Hammound has demonstrated the true spirit of comprehensive program assessment; if only the Department of Education would follow her model in assessing our nation's schools. Having served public education in three states as an English teacher, special education teacher, middle school principal and Director of Special Services, I have watched the multiple choice measurement of student achievement diminish student incentive and teacher motivation, not to mention innovative school programs.
The true purpose of the current Department of Education is the same as that of other agencies under the Bush administration, namely, to privatize governmental functions. NCLB threatens both state and local control as effective resources are replaced with materials from high profit publishers, and parents are encouraged to enroll their children in private schools subsidized by vouchers.
Candace Toft
La Mesa, California
San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
June 24, 2007
In “Crescent of Crisis,” Robert J. Caldwell once again serves as apologist for the Bush administration policy in Iraq, even though most Americans have long since recognized the tragic consequences of that policy. Caldwell describes the chaos throughout the Middle East and suggests that a Democratic push to withdraw from Iraq will make matters even worse. He writes, “An American defeat in Iraq would embolden the forces of radical Islam, even as America’s difficulties in Iraq have already produced a region distinctly more hostile to U.S. interests and allies.” America’s difficulties? Is that what he calls invading a sovereign country, stirring up a civil war which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and providing a training ground for radical Islamists? To even imagine that more of the same will somehow calm the region is to ignore the concept of cause and effect.
Withdrawing from Iraq will not constitute defeat, Mr. Caldwell, nor would "staying the course" ever result in victory, because the Bush administration has never precisely defined either our friends or our enemies there. The reality is that the great majority of both Sunnis and Shiites want us to leave. Our own commanders are sickened to see their troops patrol the same streets and roads every day, walking into the same traps. Last week, after disappointment with the “surge,” they admitted to a desperate strategy – arming Sunni Arab groups that have promised to fight their former allies, militants linked to Al Qaeda. The enormous risk, of course, is that those weapons will eventually be used against Shiites or even the Americans, just as arms supplied to Shiite forces have often ended up in the hands of radical death squads.
The only possible solution to the turmoil in the Middle East will begin with the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, coupled with skilled diplomacy. Even the moderate Arab nations want us out, fearing for the safety of so many – the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds in Iraq as well as the Iranian, Lebanese, Afghan, Israeli and Palestinian civilians - the list goes on and on. In fact, the view generally held in the Middle East and much of the rest of the world is that the U.S. presence in and preoccupation with Iraq has aggravated the horrific violence in the region.
And Robert Caldwell writes that we can’t leave Iraq because of the “terrible bloodletting” that would result. Surreal.
Candace Toft
San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
February 25, 2007The war and the blame game
In “The Party of Defeat” (February 18 Insight), editor Robert Caldwell has again attempted to blame Democrats for the debacle in Iraq. Referring to the recent House of Representatives resolution against the escalation of the war, Mr. Caldwell states: “House Democrats are now on record as formally opposing the troops’ mission,” as though our fighting men and women, not George W. Bush, manufactured reasons for invading Iraq. He goes on to declare, “Defeating the Sunni insurgents and their allies, the terrorists of al-Qaeda in Iraq, is vital to the hopes of stabilizing Iraq sufficiently to permit American forces to begin withdrawing.” Mr. Caldwell must know by now that al-Qaeda represents only a very small percentage of the fighting in Iraq. One of the great ironies of this war is that the American presence is what brought Al-Qaeda to Iraq in the first place and what holds them there today. Another is that the Shiite faction we support is allied with our almost-declared enemy Iran and is as responsible for the violence and destruction as the Sunni.
Mr. Caldwell further chastises John Murtha, the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee, for his efforts to restrict escalation by setting standards for adequate training, equipment and rest between deployments. Not only is Mr. Murtha well within his bounds to establish criteria for spending, he is presenting a clear, tangible support of the troops, something the current administration has neglected, as evidenced by repeated deployments, rushed training and inadequate equipment.
Fighting on in Iraq not only prolongs our losses and blocks the way to new strategies for achieving stability in the Middle East, it endangers our homeland by using and misusing the large percentage of those units in Iraq that are National Guard and Reserve. If he truly believes it is the Democrats in Congress who are headed toward “defeat,” I would once again ask Mr. Caldwell for his definition of victory. If he believes, as George W. Bush does, that victory would be a stable, pro-American democracy in Iraq, he is bound to be disappointed. The recently released National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, in a consensus statement of all the U.S. intelligence agencies, describes the war as having no chance of producing that result. Defeat in Iraq is inevitable, but that defeat will not be caused by the Democrats. It is time to come home.
San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
November 1, 2006GOP resorts to code words on Pelosi
During the past few months, the Karl Rove machine has revved up its attempt to instill a new fear in the hearts of American voters; Insight editor Robert J. Caldwell dutifully contributed to that effort with his commentary, “GOP: Pelosi's Party too liberal for America” (Insight, Oct. 29).
The strategy of a party desperate to overcome negative polls seems to be the repetition of code words, “San Francisco Democrat,” implying that San Francisco values are somehow less American than the rest of the country, “second in line to presidential succession,” suggesting an impending impeachment of the president and vice president, and the always popular “zealous liberal/ultra-liberal,” invoking images of higher taxes and out-of-control spending. All of those images are grossly misleading. Nancy Pelosi has been a strong leader and articulate spokesperson. The scariest behavior Caldwell and others can come up with is her vote against the so-called Patriot Act, which was about protecting our freedoms, not as Caldwell suggested, opposing counterterrorism.
In fact, the Democratic leadership is bound to do a better job of protecting this country from terrorism than the current Department of Homeland Security, riddled with cronyism, waste and inefficiency. Should we be afraid of a Democratic majority that will tackle health care, minimum wage, and the nightmare that is Iraq or the current Congress that has allowed earmarks, obscene corporate earnings and war profiting while it ignored global warming? Nice try, Caldwell, but Americans know what is really frightening, and it's not Nancy Pelosi.
Candace ToftSan Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
June 25, 2006Focusing on the war in Iraq
In “Democrats lose, Republicans win on Iraq” (Insight, June 18), Robert J. Caldwell did what he often does, cut and paste from the Karl Rove playbook of meaningless partisan phrases. He talks about “winning” in Iraq and “the U.S. mission” and quotes GOP leaders on spreading “freedom and democracy around the world” and paints Republicans as favoring “victory over retreat and defeat.”
Winning what for whom? What will victory look like? For that matter, who is the enemy? We know terrorists have found safe haven and a training ground in the chaos that is Iraq, but what about the conflict rekindled between the Shiites and Sunnis? Have we declared a side in their terrorism against each other?
Caldwell further claims that “painting Democrats into their cut-and-run corner” will maintain the Republican majority in Congress. He calls the Democratic base “increasingly liberal – or should we say, leftist?”
Obviously, the Republican strategy is to once again question the Democrats' courage and patriotism, but the American people won't buy that old line anymore. They do not believe that Democrats are afraid to fight terrorism, and they know we owe it to our brave troops to demand accountability in a war that continues to cost American and Iraqi lives. They know that in order to increase our ability to fight the global terrorist network in Afghanistan and throughout the world, we need to redeploy to the perimeter of Iraq and let the Iraqis develop their own form of freedom and democracy.
And finally, the American people know all about the myriad of other mistakes made by this administration and the Republican Congress and will not allow their attention to be diverted from all the real issues to be faced in the coming election.
Fool us twice...
Candace Toft
Lassen County Times
September 11, 2007A Letter to Our Neighbors
We are brand new residents of Susanville, and we made a newcomer’s serious mistake – we mowed our dry brush on a windy day. A spark from the tractor’s exhaust started a fire that within minutes had begun to spread at an alarming rate, threatening homes on Amesbury and Gold Run.
My husband quickly used up three fire extinguishers and had just started spraying with our garden hose when the first neighbor drove up, jumped out of his truck with a shovel and ran down the bank to begin pushing dirt on the fire. Within a very few minutes, many others had arrived, running with shovels to lend a hand in protecting the neighborhood. The fire trucks arrived quickly, but the fire had already covered two acres and was still moving rapidly through the brush. Our neighbors stayed, continuing to attend to smoldering embers and build defenses for the houses across the road, until the fire was out.
Since that day, my husband has visited people whose land was burned and everyone was not only gracious, but forgiving of our blunder. Other neighbors have stopped by to reassure us that “accidents happen” and that we are still welcome here.
We had heard about how people are there for each other in Susanville, but have never experienced such kindness. Our neighbors dropped everything they had planned to do on Labor Day to help protect us and others on our road and then took the time to make us feel better about what happened. We are so sorry the scorched land has created such an eyesore but are grateful that nobody was hurt. And we discovered what Susanville is all about.
We must apologize for the fear and anxiety we created, especially in those whose homes were threatened. We are deeply appreciative of our good neighbors and feel blessed to have found such a place to make our home and live our lives.
Sincerely,
Mathew Levine and Candace Toft
| Candace's Home | Awards and Background |
| To Be Released | In Search of a Publishing Home |
| Emergence | The biography of a heavyweight boxer,
Off the Ropes: The Ron Lyle Story (working title) or The Fight of His Life: The Ron Lyle Story |
| Published Novels | An Award-Winning Poetry Chapbook |
|
The Trap A Mingled Yarn A Thousand Strands | Poems to My Mother |
| In the Works | An Award-Winning Essay |
|
Portals | The Love That Sees Me Through |
| Letters to the Editor | |
|
Letters-to-the-editor |