The article in the October issue of Massachusetts News, "Are They Teaching ‘Phonics’ to Your Child," inaccurately portrays Lesley College as an "anti-phonics" institution. We are mystified as to how anyone could draw such a conclusion. Lesley is the largest independent trainer of teachers in the Commonwealth, and a nationally recognized center of research and practice in the area of early literacy. The university conducts an annual Phonics Institute, a state Department of Education-approved professional development course which has been attended by hundreds of Massachusetts teachers. The university’s teacher education curriculum includes numerous courses that include phonics as an integral component of teaching children to read. Lesley faculty members have published extensively on the use of phonics. They include Professor Irene Fountas, one of the nation’s leading experts in early literacy, whose most recent book is titled Word Matters: Teaching Phonics and Spelling in the Reading Writing Classroom. 

In addition to mischaracterizing Lesley’s support for phonics, your article attempts to force-fit a discussion about literacy acquisition and pedagogy into a neat phonics-vs-whole language box. Lesley is a noncombatant in the reading wars. We leave it to others to argue the political aspects of this long-raging debate. We would simply note that phonics is a specific way to approach word recognition or word analysis. Whole language is a philosophy about the teaching of reading and literature. Contrary to the implication in your article, the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks talk about a great deal more than phonics, including the reading of and response to a variety of genres of literature, composition, etc. Lesley’s teacher preparation programs appropriately reflect the breadth and depth of those frameworks.

Paul Karoff
Vice President, Public Affairs
Lesley College

Editor’s Note: The above was received by us as we were going to press. We welcome the dialogue. We will re-examine this very important issue and report back to you in our next issue. 

I want to compliment Mr. Edward G. Oliver for his outstanding series on the abuse by the Child Welfare System of your state. 

I am the pastor that has been at the center of the "Wenatchee, WA Sex Ring Cases" that have drawn the attention of the international media. 

Thank you for allowing him the latitude and ability to aggressively attack the issue. I pray your reporting in Massachusetts will have as much impact in your state as the Seattle Post Intelligensier series "Power to Harm" has had here in Washington. 

Great Job. 

– Pastor Robert "Roby" Roberson  
Wenatchee, WA 

Kudos to Massachusetts News and reporter Edward G. Oliver for exposing the state’s dysfunctional child protection industry. It is apparent to those of us who study this issue that "political correctness" has stifled the voices of many otherwise ethical legislators and intimidated most journalists. Thus, hidden from the public is our nation’s dirtiest little secret: child abuse hysteria is the most virulent anti-family phenomenon in our country’s history. 

This series – and particularly your interview with Rep. Parente – encourages those of us who are determined to restore some semblance of rationality and humanity to the child protective enterprise. The courage displayed by Massachusetts News, Mr. Oliver, Rep. Parente and those falsely accused parents who have spoken out are a clarion call to fundamental reform. 

There were 3.1 million reports of child abuse and neglect nationally in 1995. Close to 70% were deemed to be "unsubstantiated" or "unfounded." Zealots masquerading as child advocates invariably evade culpability for these two-million-plus, erroneous intrusions into the privacy of the family as "erring on the side of the child." But the data becomes even more shocking when one investigates the ultimate outcome of reportedly "founded" cases: between one-third and one-half are determined to be bogus (or, in the child abuse industry’s jargon, to require "no further intervention"). Thus, we may validly conclude that between 80 and 85 percent of all child abuse reports are false. While our society would not tolerate this unconscionable error rate in any other arena, it has become de rigueur in child protection circles, among many journalists and has even infected the judiciary. 

The rate of false reporting in Massachusetts is even more appalling than national data would suggest. In 1995, according to the Massachusetts Department of Social Services, there were more than 90,000 complaints of child abuse or neglect. Only 26% were deemed worthy of investigation; 76% were dismissed as having no merit. The same source reveals that seven communities reported no child abuse complaints. While it may be contended that these seven communities are negligent with regard to child protection, it is more reasonably concluded that the state is not suffering an epidemic of child harm but has been caught up in the hysteria fomented by those with ideological and financial agendas. 

Massachusetts News and reporter Oliver have clearly documented the fiscal incentives that dominate the child removal decision-making process. What about the ideological roots of this travesty? 

The momentum toward ever more distorted and ineffective child protection efforts is fueled by an amalgamation of what may be called "strange bedfellows" composed of radical feminists, New Age gurus, unethical mental health service providers, and greedy attorneys. Their indifference and even antipathy toward family life is barely disguised, yet is typically overlooked.  

One need only recall one of the mantras of the neo-feminist movement, "All heterosexual activity is rape," to understand the anti-father and anti-family bias that characterizes the child protection establishment. While every non-ideological social scientist recognizes that fatherlessness is a seminal cause of and correlates highly with antisocial behavior among youth, a cadre of "alternative lifestyle" advocates suggest that fathers are not only unnecessary, but are undesirable. 

As recently as yesterday, One Voice, an organization that purports to represent female victims, issued an anti-father call to arms: 

"NOW (National Organization for Women) in Washington needs summaries of cases in which a known batterer and/or child abuser has been granted custody (full or joint) or unsupervised access to a child or children." 

We are to believe that massive numbers of child abuse perpetrators are likely to enter the legal arena in order to gain access to victims. This is sheer nonsense. The real perversion inheres in the attempted transformation of loving and committed fathers into monsters. The current federal lawsuit filed by a group of Massachusetts fathers may ultimately reveal the rampant prejudices that have come to dominate this enterprise and its co-opted enforcement arm, the justice system. 

In the meantime, Massachusetts News has performed an invaluable community service. One hopes that your reportage will give rise to a comprehensive review of the state’s inept and self-serving child protection establishment.  

(Clarification: I am not an aggrieved father who has been wronged by the system. I am an academic and mental health professional who is incredulous about the degree to which traditional democratic principles and national values have been warped and corrupted by destructive ideologies.) 

– Howard Fishman 
Philadelphia, PA 

Like so many others, I want to thank you for your excellent articles exposing the problems of lack of due process and the money driven policies of the DSS in MA. If only we in the US had more responsible journalists as yourself and your bosses. 

I have referred a Missouri reporter for the Associated Press to your stories. Hopefully, he will see fit to contact you. He is working on a similar story here in Missouri. 

Thank you so much, & God Bless!! 

– Allen Smith 
President, VOCAL of Missouri, Inc. 

Edward, you have broken ground in a very muddy area. The Kings and the Queens look down upon such writings as yours as insubordination, punishable by banishment or worse, if you have children. I know first hand what punishment they can hand out.  

You reported the truth about a system that is a runaway freight train, crashing through families all along its cross-country route of destruction. In its wake it is leaving tens of thousands of heartbroken parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and relatives devastated, and children traumatized. And the system still has the nerve to hide behind the statement, "This is all in the best interest of the child." I commend you Mr. Oliver, for stepping up to the plate and delivering a grand-slam home run. 

What is needed is nothing short of the dismantling of a broken down system, a system that was designed to work for the people, but has become an out-of-control monster. This system has stepped outside the realm and its purpose of helping families and children to its current state of committing serious offenses against families, children, and individuals. It is ignoring the state, Constitutional, civil, and God given rights of parents, children and families across this nation. Your story truthfully and literally hits home. I will pass your writings on to as many people as I can, because you have said it best. You stood and delivered. I take my hat off to you sir. It is sure good to know there is still some dignity left in the papers and media. 

Thank you sir. God bless you for standing up and telling the truth. You are a good man. You truly are a hero to many. 

– Mike Harris  
Haverhill, MA 

Thank you for your report! It takes a lot to go against the flow, and you prove to all of us that you care about us and our children by reporting the whole truth, not just what the government wants reported. I live in Clatsop County, OR. We have a population of 34,700 people and there are 22 "measure 11" cases that are to go to court before February, 2000. We too have a system high on power! I feel that you may find information on Oregon’s "SCF" department (services to children & families) quite interesting! 

Please feel free to contact us if you want to hear our story. I am telling as many people as possible, and hopefully we can make a difference! 

– S. Alicia Wing 
Clatsop County, OR 

What a great job!! Too much truth can be very problematic in this very "controlled" country, be careful. Your section on Texas was very interesting. I’m a 51-year-old business consultant that had a run in with the typical "child saving" hysterical CPS (our version of DSS) caseworker last year. 

– Royce Bordman 
Texas 

I just wanted to write to thank you for reporting the truth about DSS. It is refreshing to know that there is one paper not afraid to stand for truth in their publication. I am writing specifically to thank Mr. Edward G. Oliver, reporter for Mass News, who wrote a three part series blasting the illegal tactics DSS uses to remove our children. He left no stone unturned and, unlike most reporters, did not sugarcoat his articles in DSS’s favor. We need more of this everywhere to save the lives of families! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!  

– Mary Silver 

Having thwarted four attempts by Nebraska’s version of DSS’s attempts to kidnap my son and me and sell us into adoption, Parente has my full support. If the money can be raised to fight the federal "baby-snatcher act," it ought to be an easy win. 

What Parente doesn’t know is that there is an international mass movement that intends to abolish adoption as we know it. Argentina is prosecuting for "Crimes Against Humanity" nine former government officials who did exactly what Parente talks about. In the U.S., couples are for the first time in history being prosecuted for buying foreign children for adoption. 

In Dorchester, MA, you have a vital component of the anti-adoption movement. "Grandfamilies House," a 42-unit apartment complex specially built and managed for relatives who care for children in unfitness and inability cases. 

– Eugene Austin 
Tilden, NE 

Since mandatory sentencing has been in place, the courts and judges have been using prosecutors and probation officers instead of judges to decide the fate of defendants. We pay judges high salaries to sit back and let probation officers decide what happens to defendants before District Courts. 

– Ann Weld 
Rockport, MA 01966 

This is a printed article that has shown this newspaper’s ignorance to the world. Mental illness diagnoses have only been in existence for a very short time span in the history of mankind and are still being defined. To not understand the history of mental illness diagnosis is to repeat the horror of past years’ ignorance of the mind. 

A twelve-year-old male starting in 1966 was tested by Dr. Rabinavish, a top national child psychologist at Hawthorne Center in Northville, MI and diagnosed as Hyperactive. Ritalin was used for only a couple of months. Testing continued yearly until the age of sixteen. At this time, the parents were unaware that the child began self-medicating with illegal street drugs. There was no available drug education for the general public at the time. The male continued the drugs until the age of 21 when he had a spiritual experience and stopped using. At the age of 23, drug free, he had a major breakdown with psychotic episodes. The attending psychiatrist at a state mental hospital outpatient department prescribed medication and told him to return in one month.  

He was assigned a social worker. The social worker encouraged biweekly therapy with medication compliancy for return to normalcy. His treatment was successful. This male was able with medication to obtain a social worker aide position in this same hospital. He worked for seven years until the pressure became too much and then resigned. There were many hospitalizations since the first breakdown. Today, this male is on social security disability. He has been able to maintain a successful marriage relationship for the past seven years.  

The diagnosis started with Schizophrenia to Bipolar to Bipolar w/ rapid cycling. A couple of years ago, there were very serious Parksonian symptoms from the medication. With the advent of Zeprexa, he returned to normal reflexes and hospitalizations have been reduced to zero.  

Recent statements are that he should have been on Lithium at the age of twelve to have prevented the many breakdowns with hospitalizations. No one knew enough in 1966 to properly diagnose. Many prescription medications had not been developed and marketed or were in the development stages. 

It was just Hyperactivity in 1966 that all boys outgrew. Today, the medical profession knows better. Individuals are put on medication at an early age. One does not outgrow mental illness. Look where we have come in 33 years. Do you really think that all the data is in?  

Attention Deficit Disorder is not a mental illness. It is a condition that causes disorder in one’s life, therefore the Disorder diagnosis. Females slip through the cracks with ADD as the hyperactivity may be hypo in females. There are probably as many women with ADD as there are males but if one is not looking for it, one will not find it. Why do so many more women have depression than males? Dsythemia (low key depression) is a part of ADD. Many gifted women have ADD and are able to make accommodations for the inattention and are never suspected.  

It appears that little, if any, scientific research was present in this article on the subject of ADHD. Personal opinion seems to run rampant. Ignorance would not appear so blatant if correct assumptions were made. Again, I repeat this Newspaper has printed an article to let the world observe its ignorance. 

– Nonnie 
Detroit, MI 

I have received several unsolicited issues of your ridiculous newspaper, and I was most pleased to read "last free issue" on the latest copy I received. I don’t know how I was unlucky enough to get on your mailing list, but to say it was a mistake is an understatement.  

As a homosexual, I find your paper disturbing, offensive, and ironically uninformed. You people really need to get a grip. Your hatred of homosexuals is frightening and sad. Each issue I received had a lengthy "Special Report" on the evils of the homosexual ‘agenda.’ It leads one to wonder if the rest of your paper is merely filler to beard an anti-gay crusade.  

Your arguments are ludicrous at best, dangerous at worst. Your ‘article’ on pedophiles states, "The only people who molest young boys are homosexuals (plus bi-sexuals and a very few women). Therefore, if we refuse to talk about homosexuality when we talk about pedophilia, we are going to ignore all molestation of boys." Homosexuals are dangerous for this reason, you go on to argue. Well, let me make an argument of my own: It cannot be denied that the only people that rape women are heterosexual men. Therefore, there is something inherently dangerous in straight men. If the only people who rape women are heterosexual men, then all heterosexual men are capable of rape, right? 

Am I making my point? It’s exactly the same argument as yours, and it has no basis in fact, correct?  

Let me explain something to you: pedophilia, like rape, has little or nothing to do with sex. Pedophiles and rapists have a sickness; it has nothing to do with their ‘sexuality.’ Pedophilia makes me sick as much as it makes you sick. Stop trying to blame all homosexuals for it. Homosexuals don’t "teach" how to be gay and they don’t "recruit." These suggestions of yours are insane. Just like in any segment of people, there are those good and those, unfortunately, bad.  

Nothing good ever comes of hate. If you really want to have a serious newspaper, report the news. Stop reading the Globe with a fine tooth comb looking for liberal views to expose. Report your OWN news! And I don’t mean homophobic ranting; I mean REAL news.  

– JoJoSno 

Editor Responds: 
The reader is absolutely correct that there are "good" and "bad" homosexuals, just as in any other group. We state that clearly in our articles, but apparently he did not see it. These subjects are so emotional for many people that it is difficult to read the printed word clearly. 

We do not believe nor do we say that "homosexuals are dangerous." To the contrary, we say that most of them are not pedophiles. But some of them are. The refusal to acknowledge that fact is a very serious problem in Massachusetts. 

The dictionary doesn’t have a definition yet. It is so unthinkable that Americans can stoop so low that it is hard to put it in words. 

In a hospital they might call it a "procedure." It would be more accurate to call it "murder." To take a little baby ready to be born and decapitate it and dismember its tiny body and sell its parts to a harvester. This is on a par with Hitler’s diabolical "experiments." 

Many times the mother goes into labor before the doctor is "ready," at which time he has to hurry and pack all these fetal parts in ice immediately in order to get the maximum price. This must be done within ten minutes to be sure of the quality of these items. They frequently hasten the death for convenience. 

Senator Bob Smith showed on C-Span a price list of all of these parts – so much for a heart, a liver, a kidney, an eye, etc. When the woman comes in to have the abortion she has carried the baby for nearly nine months. It must be a very emotional moment. No doubt she has worried, deliberated and vacillated. The abortion folks are there to reassure her this is all for the best – The best for whom? Not her. She could easily suffer lacerations that might cause permanent damage and emotional problems for the rest of her life. 

America can go on justifying this so-called medical progress, but the word in the Good Book of Proverbs says it simply in Chapter 6, Verse 17, "Six things the Lord hates, nay seven . . . Hands that shed innocent blood." 

– Eileen Marguet 
Greenfield, MA 

On July 12, 1999, The U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Con. Res. 107, "Sense of Congress Rejecting the Notion that Sex Between Adults and Children is Positive." This resolution was in response to an article in the "Psychological Bulletin," a publication of the American Psychological Association. The article, appearing in the July, 1998 issue (vol. 124, no. 1), suggests that sexual relationships between adults and children are less harmful than believed and might even be positive for "willing" children. The article was co-authored by Robert Bauserman, who has also written for "Paidika - The Journal of Pedophilia," a publication advocating the legalization of sex with "willing" children. 

Thankfully, the resolution passed overwhelmingly, with 355 members voting in favor. Curiously, Rep. William Delahunt voted "present." On August 3, 1999, I e-mailed Rep. Delahunt, asking him for an explanation as to why he did not vote in favor of this resolution. I told him clearly that I, as a constituent, was concerned about his unwillingness to take a stand on this issue and that, in the absence of an explanation, I would assume that he agrees with the sentiments expressed in the article and that I would therefore expect him to base future voting decisions on that premise. 

I received no response to my August 3 e-mail. I retransmitted the e-mail with an additional message on August 13. Again, no response. On August 23, I called the Cape Cod office of Rep. Delahunt and was told I would receive a response shortly. I again received no reply. On September 15, I called his office in Quincy and spoke to an aide, Daniel Condon, giving him all the particulars and sending him copies of my e-mail messages. Mr. Condon called me back and apologized for the lack of response. He said the reply letter was being drafted and that I would receive a copy by the end of the following week. 

As of this date (November 17), I still have received no response from Rep. Delahunt. I am frustrated for two reasons: (1) That an elected official who is charged with the responsibility of representing me has consciously refused to answer my question regarding his voting record. And, (2) more frighteningly, that as a supporter of pedophiles, Rep. Delahunt is in ANY position of authority which would allow him to promote the legalization of adults having sex with children. Perhaps this letter will inspire others to request an explanation from Rep. Delahunt. Maybe he will even answer someone! 

– James B. Witkowski, Jr. 
Scituate, MA