The April 11 letter by Sally T. Grant, board member of the ACLU of Maryland, left me contemplating how much good this organization could do if they would simply look out for children and lobby against criminals. But for decades Ms. Grant’s organization has  lobbied in favor of every failed education initiative. In fact, virtually every social metric has gotten worse since this organization got a say in matters of education, social welfare and separation of church and state.

The American Civil Liberties Union is a misnomer. The ACLU also has no reigning desire to expand civil liberties, only the civil liberties their elitist backers support. A high percentage of their efforts are geared toward restricting what Americans can say, where we can say it, what can or cannot be taught in schools, where private groups (like the Boy Scouts) can hold meetings, and a multitude of other American activities.

When any organization counts among its favorite clients violent criminals, terrorists and child molesters, and counts among its primary adversaries private school children and Boy Scouts, they deserve more scrutiny. Having failed the children of America for decades, perhaps it’s now time for the ACLU to pull out of the debate entirely, and to leave the education of our children to folks who are more competent, less bitter and who clearly have the best interest of our nation at heart. On the issue of encouraging private businesses to support education, The Examiner’s editorial board clearly has it right.

Michael  P. DeCicco

Severn

Biofuels path to the future

I strongly disagree with the April 15 editorial, “Biofuel quotas risk lives.” The thought that an increased demand for corn is taking food out of other people’s mouths and killing them is moot; with the increased demand, the supply will also increase, and people will be fed.  Ethanol quotas have spurred a new industry, something our lagging economy needs right now and in the future. Publicly traded companies like Vera Sun Energy Corp. should be encouraged to increase production rather than curtail it. 

Another alternative energy conversion company is Rentech; they convert coal to ultraclean diesel and jet fuel and can convert ordinary landfill garbage to fuel as well. These companies should have made available to them government funds and grants to be used for expanded research and development to make fuel conversion a more efficient and cost-effective process. In conjunction with lowering the demand for foreign oil, biofuel conversion is creating new jobs and helping farmers financially via the increased demand for corn. Who knows, maybe our government will wake up and stop doling out millions of dollars to agricultural landowners who are being paid for “non-production,” and divert the funds to more biofuel and alternative energy incentives.

Mark Wised

Kingsville

Require pre-K programs where they’re needed most

I couldn’t help but respond to your April 15 article “Schools chief Alonso bemoans ‘wasted potential’ of gifted students.” While I agree that these students deserve quality course work to further their growth, I feel Baltimore City, the state of Maryland and the U.S. as a whole are missing the point. Early childhood intervention is in dire need of expansion. More money allotted for Head Start and early learning environments would create many more prepared preschoolers.

As a speech pathologist in Baltimore City for more than 27 years, I have worked with students from 3 years old through high school. The years from birth to 5 are critical for learning language, which sets the stage for reading, writing and math skills. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard pre-K and kindergarten teachers tell me, “If only these kids came prepared for school, we wouldn’t be playing ‘catch-up.’ ” Parents in our city have so much on their plates socially that reading and talking to their children are not a priority for many families. Head Start and early learning centers are a tremendous resource for 3- and 4-year-olds. But unfortunately, pre- K is not mandatory and there are way too few Head Start centers. At the very least, we could begin with making pre-K mandatory in select schools showing the most economic need. Maybe then disadvantaged children will come prepared to kindergarten, knowing how to write their names, count to five and to name colors — skills many more affluent children are doing well before they enter kindergarten.

Nancy Rosario

Kingsville