Letters

Paul for sound money

Of the four GOP presidential hopefuls, only Ron Paul has tackled one of the most important issues of our time: sound money. His book, “End the Fed,” chronicles the devastating results of letting the secretive and unconstitutional Federal Reserve manage our money supply. The Fed’s ability to arbitrarily create dollars inflates the supply, leading to boom-and-bust cycles, the currency’s devaluation and rising prices. The Fed’s manipulation of interest rates, currently held at artificial lows, stifles our ability to build savings for investment in new businesses or for retirement.

Since the Fed’s surreptitious creation on Christmas Eve 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost 95 percent of its purchasing power. Of the candidates, Ron Paul alone is calling for a complete audit of the Fed, gold-backed currency and sound monetary policy. Years in advance, Paul predicted our current crisis, and he is the only candidate with the wisdom and the will to extricate us from it.

Nadine King

Mead

No useful data in tests

In your commentary, “Teacher evaluation bill shows promise,” you write that schools are overwhelmed with leniency for bad teachers.

You write that “… educators are the most important factors in determining whether students will receive a high-quality education.” And here, you are correct.

But then you go on to indicate that the solution to bad teachers is a test of our students. But our state tests produce no useful information; none about students and less about teachers.

A measure of teachers could come from the uncounted hours we give to our students – 55 to 60 hours per week during the school year – and our hours of training in all seasons.

A measure of teachers could come from students who phone us and stop by in the years after they leave us. It could be counted in the young adults who have purchased homes and are raising children, and who are doing just fine.

I was in business for 17 years before I taught. I am now in my 17th year of teaching. If I have not met the teachers of whom you write, where are they?

There is an old saying, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Michael A. Page

Nine Mile Falls

Romney’s faith misjudged

I was recently discussing the upcoming presidential campaign with friends. In the 1960 election, John Kennedy, who was a Catholic, was elected but there was much concern over how the Catholic Church might adversely affect his presidency. As it turns out, it did not have an adverse effect.

Given the current political controversy regarding a person’s religious beliefs and practices, what kind of influence do people think the Mormon Church would have on our president any more than the Catholic Church had on John Kennedy? Do people take time to know a Mormon personally? It appears that a lot of people are judging Mitt Romney on his Mormon faith, which makes him the person he is, but has nothing to do with his being able to lead the United States.

Unlike some of the other Republican candidates, Mitt Romney doesn’t get riled up and loud over an issue but instead takes time to calmly analyze the situation. This does not make him a pushover who is incapable of leadership. In fact, it does the very opposite. He is a moral upstanding citizen and would certainly lead this country in the way our U.S. Constitution dictates.

Ella Ingram

Spokane