Letters

MassNews and FOX Doing Good Work

Wow, it is so good to see some of this abuse of power by states and governments in the news – and it seems as though FOX News and your newspaper are the only ones doing it.

Keep up the good work.

Michael P. Fuce
Westboro

Cheers for Freedom of the Press

I just finished reading most of your August issue. I am thankful I live in the USA where freedom of the press is the rule not the exception. I might disagree with most everything you advocate (and I do) in your paper, but it is nice to really see it in print.

Name Withheld

Media Ignores Home Schoolers

Thank you so much for the home schooling article. It has been a long time since I felt that anyone in the media really cared enough to find out who I, a typical home schooler, truly am.

Rhonda B.
MO

Home Schooling Moms Are Finally Portrayed as ‘Normal’

Thank you so much! Your article on home schooling is the first I’ve seen in a long time that portrayed us as normal mothers. I gave up a career for the privilege of home schooling my children, as did many other parents. I know I did the right thing. Your article shows that we aren’t people on the fringe, hiding from society, as so many are led to believe. It was well done. Thank you.

Kim Wood

Do Fathers Home School?

I just finished reading Izzy Lyman’s piece on home schooling and something struck me as odd: where were the fathers who gave up careers to “nurture” the development of their children’s educations? Are there Harvard School of Education studies in the pipeline that indicate men do a lousy job when it comes to home schooling? And if they do fail miserably at it, why?

Courtney Wayshak
Somerville 

Editor’s Comment: Almost everyone now agrees – once again – that men and women are different. Most, but not all, women want to stay home and nurture their children. It is, therefore, not “odd” that most home schooling parents are women, but I am sure we will begin to see that change.

Frightened to Move to Mass.

I am a 28-year-old who periodically visits your website. Originally a Californian, I moved to Massachusetts in late spring of 1999 because I had always maintained a special affinity for your beautiful state. Part of what attracted me to Massachusetts was my impression that it was a “Catholic” state.

My assumption was entirely wrong. Though my living in Massachusetts was a nice, actually a very nice, experience, after having perused your articles regarding the rabid promotion of various “lifestyles” and the apparent complacency on the part of residents of Massachusetts, I have concluded that, contrary to my intentions, I probably won’t move back to Massachusetts, however appealing I may have thought such a move would be.  The social climate of the state is the most liberal I have ever seen.

Hopefully, one day the Catholics of Massachusetts will take a thoughtful look at their professed religious principles. Once they realize that authentic Catholicism and liberalism are contradictions in terms, perhaps there will be a concerted effort to reassert traditional values on a statewide scale. 

Unknown
N.J.

Editor’s Comment: Don’t give up on Massachusetts yet. It’s starting to stir.

Dr. Diggs Is Right On

My congratulations to you for publishing the article and Dr. Diggs for writing it!

His comments concerning sex ed are very much on target from my perspective.

It has taken over 2000 years for man to climb out of the caveman environment into what we now call “civilization.” If we were to follow the precepts and pronouncements of the liberal, secular humanists, we would all revert back to the animal instincts and activities of a by-gone era. Maybe that is what they want. But certainly not Dr. Diggs.

He has my sincere thanks and appreciation for the courage to write such an article. I am only sorry it could not have appeared when Clinton appointed Dr. David Satcher as Surgeon General. 

Keep up the good work!

Hillard W. Welch
Centerville

Globe’s Hypocrisy is Glaring

On August 6, 2001 the Boston Globe editorialized, as only it and the New York Times can, that a man should not be found guilty of child pornography without “some sort of evidence that he was about to do so – and there was none – this is mere speculation without legal merit.”

If law enforcement found a husband in possession of pictures of his wife and children that detailed his fantasies of torture and rape towards them, does the Globe expect us to believe that law enforcement should protect his rights over those of his wife and children?

I still read the Globe each day, but their hypocrisy is becoming more and more glaring. It’s sad to see a once great Boston newspaper become the mouthpiece for the New York Times. Sadder still to read them editorializing from both sides of their mouth and not expecting anyone to notice.

Richard L. Davis

ADL Exploits ‘Hate’ for Profit

Your article about Lexington, “the hate-free town,” reminded me of an incident back in the 1980s when there was an episode of vandalism of synagogues in Hartford. The press reported the crimes with great frequency and indignation –- along with the usual comments about how sick our society is. Soon a letter arrived in my mailbox from the Anti-Defamation League citing the Hartford crimes as part of a “frightening wave of violence sweeping the country.” The letter asked me to join in their crusade to fight this plague. Now what do you suppose they wanted me to do? That’s right! Send money. Just how this money was going to be used to fight “hate” was not specified. Never mind about that, just give.

Then, mysteriously, the whole thing blew over. Not another word was mentioned about it. About one year later I learned from a friend in Hartford the case was closed. It turned out that the crimes were all committed by one teenage Jewish boy. The police and rabbis were suspicious that the desecrations were directed at sacred objects whose location wouldn’t have been known to outsiders. Their investigation led to the culprit whose family belonged to one of the temples.

So I was relieved to learn that there was no rising tide of hate and violence in America after all. I confess I did not give in to the ADL’s appeal. But only because I doubted it would do any good. Ever since, a question has lingered in my mind: do you suppose the ADL ever gave back the money they collected?

L.R.
Framingham

Church Leaders Should Band Together for Marriage

On June 8, 2000 a public statement was signed by Cardinal Law, Bishop Murphy, Bishop Allue, Bishop Boles and Bishop Irwin (all of the Boston Archdiocese) and the Bishops of all of the other dioceses in New England. In it they expressed their full agreement with the efforts of Bishop Angell of Burlington, VT, in his efforts, especially through public rallies, to protect marriage as being “the intimate partnership of a man and a woman which constitutes the married state (that) has been established by its Creator.” They stated: “Furthermore, we support Bishop Angell as he encourages the people of Vermont, through their legislators, to rectify the situation brought about by passage of the Civil Unions bill, if necessary, through committed efforts to pass an Amendment to the Constitution of the State of Vermont.”

On July 26, the Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage (MCM) held a public rally at Pemberton Square in downtown Boston, to begin an initiative to pass an Amendment to the state Constitution so that citizens of Massachusetts can have a vote in deciding how marriage is defined in Massachusetts law. 

Those who support same-sex behavior relationships are presently doing everything possible to redefine marriage in order to legalize their relationships. It would seem that such an Amendment to the Constitution would be fully supported by the leaders of the Catholic Church in Boston and other New England states, just as they supported Bishop Angell in any efforts to allow voters to vote on such an amendment in Vermont. What is good for Vermont is equally good for Massachusetts.

Alice Slattery
Framingham

Planned Parenthood Hires ‘Bottom-of-the-Barrel’

It is amazing to me that Planned Parenthood has chosen a medical director with at least two lawsuits against her. One is about Dr. Heather Sankey’s “failure to timely diagnosis the plaintiff’s breast cancer” (Docket number 99-1007).

Once again Planned Parenthood has hired a bottom-of-the-barrel physician. If she is so pro-women’s health, why are her ex-patients suing her?

Unfortunately some women are guinea pigs for greedy abortionists. To see the actual document see the website: www.angelfire.com/tv2/madmen.

Robert Mayo
Lowell

‘Don’t Ask’ Policy Puts Boys at Risk

The Massachusetts Minuteman Council -- the state’s largest Boy Scout Council -- unanimously approved a bylaw allowing avowed homosexuals to be Scoutmasters as long as they do not discuss their sexual orientation with those under their care.

What were they thinking?  Don’t they care about our children, especially our boys?

As a Christian I am opposed to homosexuality, for God has declared it to be an unnatural act (Romans 1: 26-27). However, if I rejected Christianity I would still not want homosexuals to have charge over my children because male homosexuals and bisexuals (who make up no more than two percent of the population) are wildly disproportionate among pedophiles, committing at least thirty percent of these crimes against children.

What was the Minuteman Council thinking when they unanimously passed this bylaw?  I am appalled and frightened for our children!

Kieran Murphy
Dracut

Pollack and Feminists Don’t Want Dads Around

I have been following the saga of Dr. Pollack and his questionable research on your website. Let me say first that I encourage you to keep the pressure on Dr. Pollack.

I have a theory as to why there hasn’t been much denouncement of what is now obviously wholly unreliable data or its interpretation.

Feminists have long tried to claim that fathers are not necessary for raising children. However, in recent years more and more liberal Democrats have come to the conclusion that it is more beneficial for children to be raised in a home with both a mother and a father.

Even Bill Clinton and Al Gore have begun to embrace this philosophy.

Thus, the radical-feminists were left with little or no support for their belief that fathers are only necessary at the moment of conception (and in their ideal world aren’t even necessary then, but only at some time earlier with a specimen cup.)

Then along comes Dr. Pollack and his ludicrous thesis that fathers actually do more harm than good when it comes to the rearing of male children.

What more perfect thing could the radical-feminists ask for to prop up their near-dead philosophy? I have no doubt that the radical-feminists were ecstatic when Pollack’s book came out. And why shouldn’t they have been happy?

Jim Eisenmann
Madison, WI

People Like Pollack Put Children at Risk

Being a lifelong Vermont Native American, and also pro-life and pro-traditional family, I find this “so-called” Dr. Pollack typical of the feminist, homosexual wing.

Since the Civil Union fiasco in Vermont, I have been doing research and interface with others of like mind. The evidence is overwhelming to anyone who takes the time to find out the truth that their agenda is to radically change society for the worse. Destroying the traditional family as it goes along its way is paramount in order for them to prevail. That’s why they have to attack men and boys. It’s paradoxical and hypocritical of these groups to feign caring for society when they long to destroy it.

Being a former Marine of the Vietnam era with a healthy respect for those who fought and died in past wars to preserve our freedom and way of life, it’s depressing to know that so many so-called “Americans” have bought the feminist/homosexual lie. Just take a gander at the intentions of the “Green Mountain Fund for Popular Struggle” to see what I mean.  Read their “mission statement” at www.together.com/~gmfps/ .

Want to know what they have in mind for your kids?  Visit Planned Parenthood’s “teenwire” at  teenwire.com/index.asp.

Also visit International Planned Parenthood Federation’s website at www.ippf.org/ and read their “Youth Manifesto.”

Not enough?  Then try going to “Just Say Yes: The Coalition for Positive Sexuality” (CPS)  www.webcom.com/~cps/.  Read what their plans are for our kids.  Check their counter to see how many kids have been to the site, and then ask yourself why our kids are so screwed up about sex and life. 

Also, radical homosexuals (with the help of the ACLU) are systematically subverting our very laws against sodomy in every state in the union:

At: www.aclu.org/issues/gay/sodomy.html and www.sodomylaws.org/ you see for yourself.

Please pass this information along to people of like mind. It’s very possible that we will have to take a confrontational stand in the near future to save our kids from these people. Otherwise we won’t only lose our future generations, we’ll lose our liberty in the process.

David D. Demar
Georgia, VT

Silly Parents! Teacher Knows Best!

How dare parents in Duxbury offer input on their children’s education?

Superintendent Eileen Williams is outraged that a “small, vocal group of parents ... have ... ridicule[d] and denigrate[d] the education we are providing to students” in sex education.

She said the school committee’s job is to represent children. But, according to the paper, she believes that a small group of parents has moved the issue beyond health education to “censorship and academic freedom,” questioning certain books in the school libraries and discussions about current events.

This is translated as follows: “We, the government school bureaucracy “represent” children (their parents do not). We direct the teachers (not parents). We have trained the teachers (told them what to say) and anyone “robbing teachers of the opportunity for professional judgment” must do so from within (be in my position).

Citizens need to be vocal about how their tax dollars are spent, how their children are educated and what their employees do.

Jeffrey Foxmore
La Jolle, CA

Child Support Guidelines Ineffective

Like many citizens, I have followed the public forums being held this month to gather public input to the child support guideline review. As difficult a process as this may seem, there is a long tradition in this country of allowing citizens access to the government that determines and enforces the law.

While it is still unclear if the public forums will be a sincere effort on the part of the trial court to improve the child support guidelines, there are early signs of trouble. Most notably, statements made by the apparent panel chairman, Associate Justice Edward Ginsberg, have left forum attendees uncomfortable.

At the end of each forum, Justice Ginsberg has made statements that leave attendees feeling that improvements to the existing system are futile. In the Lawrence forum on July 18, the judge indicated that “the guidelines work 90% of the time.” While we do not know the basis of Justice Ginsberg’s comment, perhaps a review of the facts is in order.

In September 2000, I completed a study, “Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines: A Benchmark Analysis.” Among other things, my research found that for cases involving one child, the Massachusetts child support guidelines produce awards that approach twice the national average, and greatly exceed federal statistics estimating the cost of raising a child. Contrary to studies on child costs, the Massachusetts guidelines also produce awards that take a larger share of family income as income rises. Virtually all research on child costs (including estimates published annually by the USDA) show that families spend a decreasing share of their income on children as income rises.

Connecticut goes so far as to explicitly state this pattern in their public child support documentation:

“Economic evidence establishes that the proportion of household income spent on children declines as household income increases. This spending pattern exists because families at higher income levels do not have to devote most or all of their incomes to perceived necessities. Rather, they can allocate some proportion of income to savings and other non-consumption expenditures, as well as discretionary adult goods.”

Further, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that 55% of single parent households involve one child, which strongly suggest that the percent of cases where the guidelines work falls far short of Justice Ginsberg’s 90% statistic. Additionally, this does not factor-in that for low-income situations involving two or more children, the Massachusetts guidelines produce some of the lowest awards in the country.

However, the judge appears to already have made up his mind on the subject, and Massachusetts can expect little or no meaningful review of the current situation.

David Weden
Dover

Fisting Lesson Inappropriate -- Even for Liberals

I can’t believe that even ultra-liberal parents would want their 14-year-old children learning fisting. What possessed these teachers to think that this is appropriate sex education?

Teaching girls self-esteem in a relationship, negotiating skills and how not to be a receptacle for a man’s semen would have been more helpful and appropriate. Sex education empowering young women to make wise decisions is appropriate. This fisting scandal needs to be exposed.

Whether or not the teacher is a lesbian is irrelevant. I had a lesbian gym teacher in high school who taught health. She was highly appropriate and highly respected by her students. It’s what you do, not who you are that is important in this case.

Name Withheld

Sen. Joyce Says He’s Pro-Life -- Sort of

With the recent re-evaluation of state Senator Brian Joyce’s long held anti-abortion beliefs, it would be interesting if he could explain for everyone in the 9th Congressional district the seemingly hypocritical explanation that precipitated his change of heart: Joyce states that although he is personally opposed to abortion, he feels that he should not force those beliefs on others.

Taking that morally bankrupt position, why can’t somebody carry that argument further and state that one is personally opposed to bank robbery but doesn’t want to impose their value system on those who may “choose” to rob a bank?

If Joyce is so pro-”choice” now, why do he and the rest of the Democrats (who are all in bed with the Massachusetts Teachers Association) block parental school choice initiatives? If I use Joyce’s argument, why is the Democratic Party interfering in the choice of parents to have their children taught in good schools rather than failing ones? Why is he interfering with those parents’ “right” to choose? What a hypocrite!

A couple of years ago, Joyce flopped on his support of the death penalty. That “change of heart” along with this most recent flip-flop makes me wonder if Joyce holds any principles that he would not sacrifice in the name of political expediency.

Joyce’s shameless flip-flopping is not a matter so much of whether one is pro or anti-abortion; it brings to light a serious lack of integrity and shows that to some elected officials, ideals and principles are flexible entities that can be manufactured and changed to fit the political whims of the day.

Stephen Irons
Milton

Fed Up With Animal Rights Terrorists

Ridiculous! Next you’ll be after fly swatters, RAID and ant baits.

You folks need to get a life and stop worrying about this little stuff. I will gladly kill rats and mice if they insist on invading my home. So sad that you folks are a sell-out to the animal ‘rights’ freaks. Next will be bacteria and other ‘defenseless’ microbes. Better stop brushing your teeth. I’m fed up with animal rights terrorists!! This argument has been shown, repeatedly, for what it is: bunk.

Name Withheld

Editor’s Comment: Obviously this reader doesn’t realize that he’s on our side. He doesn’t understand that the monthly Mickey Mouselover column is satire and we label it as such in each issue. Unfortunately, however, the problems that the world suffers from because of Newton’s extreme policies are very real.

Catholics Should Allow Married Priests

Cardinal Law has responded in the sex abuse case about Father Geoghan. I hate to say this, but the Catholic Church is getting what it deserves.

The church has, since 1123 A.D., forbidden priests to marry even though those with some knowledge of the Bible would admit that the so-called first pope, the Apostle Peter, was a married man. (Matthew 8:14:  “And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.”)

That being said, God only knows why celibacy is still part of the church dogma in spite of plenty of Biblical evidence to the contrary.

Cardinal Law’s stance on sexual abuse now is credible, but past sexual abuse is becoming a problem, especially when it is hidden under the rug. As a result, the abuser goes on to abuse again and again somewhere else, with full knowledge of people in power like Bernard Law.

A bigger issue that most will overlook in this case has to do with the Catholic Church’s own theology and its own sacred Councils, especially the Council of Trent and its viewpoint of the Priest “intentions.”

The Council of Trent (Sess VII, an 11) declares: “If anyone shall say, that intention, at least of doing what the church does, is not required in ministers while performing and administering the sacraments, let him be anathema.”

Everyone that Father Geoghan touched by way of his priesthood and through the Catholic Sacraments would be invalidated.

Every Catholic Mass, through its communion, every confession, wedding, baptism, funeral and other consecrated actions while he was still a practicing priest for those 33 years, would be null and void because his “intentions” were not pure.

How many hundreds if not thousands of parishioners are involved here?

Joseph Rizoli
Framingham

Incumbency Not Always Worth Preserving

In proposing new Congressional districts, the legislature seems to be talking not about what’s best for the citizens or the towns, but what’s best for the people who happen to be representing those districts at present. They talk about preserving incumbency. It’s time for us to respond in outrage. The legislature’s job is to draw the districts to provide fair and equal representation for all the citizens of Massachusetts. Determining incumbency is – our prerogative.

Richard N. Freedman
North Billerica

Column in MetroWest Was Wrong

(This letter was previously published in the MetroWest Daily.)      

Regarding your opinion column (Law not tough on devious deadbeat dads), no case is that simple to have a few sentences answer it.

However, it’s like basic management 101. If you empower the people, they will take ownership, be involved and get the job done. The same with fathers.

If the system, ex-wives and girlfriends treat fathers like they don’t count with regards to parenting issues, and that child support is the only responsibility for dads, not parenting, then many fathers are just going to walk or slowly fade away.

Let’s face it, our society has not promoted fathers in our children’s lives for several decades now. Men and fathers are treated with disrespect and disdain by the system, courts and in many cases their ex’s. So the result of bad policy and behavior is poor outcome -- dysfunctional families and children. It’s unfortunate and sad. The children suffer, and many long for their dads.

Also, mothers can’t expect to move around with the children and have the system follow them at their whim from state-to-state, to provide them relief, go after the father for support, etc.

Shouldn’t men and fathers have the same right to move around and seek opportunity as women and mothers?

Furthermore, the government and court system is inefficient. They think they understand our issues, but they really don’t. They’re barely scratching the surface to make heads-or-tails of the cases going on in their own back yards. How are they to get a grip (process effectively) on multi-state matters?

If women can’t handle all the choices they have today without relying on men, they should at least relinquish the parenting opportunities to men and fathers so we can work toward stabilizing our nation’s family situation.

Mike Franco
Western Mass. Coordinator
The Fatherhood Coalition

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