SAMPLE LETTERS TO THE EDITORS
This section's intent is to provide the reader with handy examples of letters written to the Elk Grove Citizen. The hope is that you can find wording or content that you can use in writing for Letters to the Editor. It is by far the most read section in newspapers across America.
March 5, 2008
Elk Grove Citizen
Attention: Editor
Via Facsimile
Re: Voters Beware!
Dear Editor:
With elections coming up, lots of voters are wondering what exactly each political party believes in. Lots of younger voters that have attended public schools tend to consider themselves Democrats. Just for all voters’ information, I give you the latest Democratic mischief in Sacramento. They have just introduced two bills, one of which attempts to make it legal for public schools to rent their facilities to organizations that wish to overthrow the United States Government, and the second which attempts to make the promotion of Communism in public schools legal.
Communism has actually been promoted through Advocacy and S.E.E.D. in Elk Grove for many years now through enforced diversity education that teaches all things hold equal value, but if the new bills pass these teachings can exit “circle time” and become regular classroom curricula (Can you believe they actually have “circle time” in high school now!).
I challenge anyone to find any nation in history that has been successful with communism (China doesn’t count; they have no human rights there). I challenge anyone to find any nation in history that has successfully combined communism and Judeo-Christian values. There is none. The Pilgrims tried it and they nearly starved to death. Only when ownership of private property became the law did America become successful.
So remember voters, when you vote, exactly what are you voting for?
Sincerely,
November 7, 2007
Open Letter
Re: Teacher Training Day, October 22, 2007
Eagle Forum of Sacramento stands for the political, social and economic principles upon which our Nation is founded. We attempt to educate and inform citizens of issues that many times will affect the most influential unit of our society, the traditional family.
I have recently corresponded with you regarding the teacher training day you had on October 22, 2007. Some teachers in the Lodi Unified School District were concerned about the racial content of the programs and DVDs that you chose to introduce. In spite of my correspondence, LUSD continued with the programs.
If each of you stays current with news and media, you will know that the University of Delaware recently instituted a program by Dr. Shakti Butler, the same person that provided you with the “Making Whiteness Visible” video that you introduced in Lodi. Amid much public outcry and outrage, the University of Delaware immediately ceased the program. I find it very alarming that LUSD ignored public and employee alarm and instead went forward with this program.
Dr. Butler’s definitions include: “A RACIST: A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality”; “REVERSE RACISM: A term created and used by white people to deny their white privilege”; and “A NON-RACIST: A non term. The term was created by whites to deny responsibility for systemic racism….” (Emphases added.)
The Lodi Unified School District seems terrifyingly unaware that a state and federal sponsored public education institution in the United States does not have the legal right to engage in a program of systematic thought reform. The First Amendment protects the right to freedom of conscience—the right to keep our innermost thoughts free from governmental intrusion. It also protects the right to be free from compelled speech. As the Supreme Court declared in the landmark case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943): “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.” The Court concluded that “the purpose of the First Amendment to our Constitution” was precisely to protect “from all official control” the domain that was “the sphere of intellect and spirit.” The LUSD’s teacher training education program is an unconscionable and unconstitutional incursion into the private conscience of teachers whose greatest offense is simply choosing the LUSD as a place of employment.
When you have a black principal allowed to get up and rant about how she wakes up knowing she is black and does not have white privilege, and support a video talking about how whites are racists and that whites think they are better than blacks, you are promoting racism. When this same black principal makes over $75,000 a year, and drives an expensive luxury sports car, and is talking to white teachers about how she is oppressed because she is black, you are promoting racism. When these same teachers are told that they cannot critique the comments made this day, you are engaging in denial of freedom of speech, and the right to freedom of conscience.
When you allow Kino Carson to go into children’s classrooms and tell them that the Statue of Liberty is a black woman, you are promoting racism. When you bring in “Cycle of Inquiry” where teachers are told to choose low-performing students and the only criteria is that at least one must be black, you are promoting racism and racial profiling. When Odie Douglas and Barbara Johnson are planning to go around talking with various teachers and at meetings, although the content of their speech is not yet known, Eagle Forum of Sacramento is concerned that it will be promoting racism.
The legal problems posed by programs such as these are abundant and cut to the core of the most essential rights of a free people. Possible claims include violations of the right to privacy as well as federal and state constitutional claims for having and enforcing an unconstitutional speech code, and for violations of the right to freedom of conscience.
To be clear, however, Eagle Forum of Sacramento is not a litigation organization, and our objection to programs such as these is far more than legalistic. What makes programs like this so offensive is their brazen disregard for autonomy, dignity, and individual conscience, and the sheer contempt it displays for all of the District’s teachers.
As aggressive as organizations like Eagle Forum may seem, at the heart of all concepts relating to freedom of the mind is a recognition of our own limitations—like us, those in power are neither omniscient nor omnipotent, and therefore have no right to dictate to others what their deepest personal beliefs must be. Concerns for free speech and freedom of conscience are rooted in the wisdom of humility and restraint. The teachers’ training day that you had on October 22, which presumes to show teachers the specific ideological assumptions they need in order to be better people, crosses the boundary from education into unconscionably arrogant, invasive, and immoral thought reform. We can conceive of no way in which teacher training programs such as this can be maintained consistent with the ideals of a free society.
We ask for nothing less than the immediate and total dismantling of the all such programs that promote racism and white privilege theory within the District.
Very truly yours,
September 24, 2007
Elk Grove Citizen
Via Facsimile
Re: Advocacy/Advisory in Elk Grove Schools
Dear Editor:
Once again the question: What is Advocacy/Advisory? It’s a mandatory class where credit is earned, and students must fully participate to pass. But, according to EGUSD, it is a “non-class”. Because it is a “non-class”, the curriculum is “non-curriculum” (District words, honest!). Because this “non-class” teaches “non-curriculum”, it is the only class in the District which allows curriculum to be taught that has not passed through the appropriate committees.
In this “non-class”, students are required to sign a statement that they will participate fully and be an active learner. So what exactly are they participating in and learning? Why would the District absolutely refuse to let these learning materials into a committee like other learning materials?
At Edward Harris Middle School, they learn how awful capitalism is, and how nice it would be if we had a redistribution of wealth in the United States. They play a little game, and the children are actually instructed to get angry and show anger towards the child chosen to represent the top 10% of wealthy individuals in the United States! They are told how much money they would have if this money was distributed more evenly! Does this classify as communism, or is it just the softer version of the far left, called socialism? It is actually cultural Marxism, which is illegal to teach in California. If you work hard for your money, how do you feel about these children being told that they should be angry because they cannot have what you worked for? Nothing like teaching them to steal, is it?
At Valley High School, the children learn the Eightfold Path and Four Noble Truths of Buddha. As a non-Buddhist parent, would you not like to know that your child has been required to sign a statement that he would fully participate and be an active learner of the concepts of Buddhism? Is this separation of Church and State? Well, it doesn’t count because it is a “non-class” and “non-curriculum”.
This is just a small sampling. Advocacy/Advisory brings in dangerous concepts of the S.E.E.D. program, which is anti-American, anti-Capitalism, anti-white, anti-Christian, and anti-heterosexual male. And they use the term “non-class” to bypass curriculum committees and Board approval. If you are a parent, please contact your school, Dr. Ladd’s office, and the School Board Members and let them know that you would like ALL materials that are taught your child go through the proper channels.
Very truly yours,
April 24, 2007
Elk Grove Citizen
Attention: Editor
Via facsimile
Dear Editor:
OK, folks of Elk Grove, where is our pride? Where is our class and dignity? I just read the article last week in the Elk Grove Citizen about the ‘wonderful and entertaining’ play titled Urinetown. Really! What is next, Feces Village? We are in bad shape when we stoop to having plays about bodily excrements for our entertainment. And to top it off, I gather that the performance is to point out ‘class and social injustices’ in America.
Let’s don’t forget that a monopoly is not the same thing as capitalism. Monopolies are already against the law; capitalism is the best thing economically in the entire world. If people want to see class differences, go to a third world country in South America. We have the best class structure in the world here in America, and trying to make in seem bad through plays about bodily excrements is, well, stinky!
The biggest class difference here in America that is emerging is the difference between the “class” of people that think bodily excrement is highly entertaining, and those of us who choose to be entertained in more “classy” ways.
I do realize that humor is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder, and we even have a “class” of people that pay big bucks to hear profanity repeated over and over. That is the beauty of America, we have lots of freedoms. But can’t our colleges and campuses give us tasty classics? We’ll see, maybe next year.
Sincerely,
TERI LAWRENCE
March 21, 2007
Elk Grove Citizen
Attention: Editor
Dear Editor:
Lately, all we ever hear about is “giving back”. The kids are forced to do community service to graduate from high school; Cingular is now donating money from new phones purchased to Africa; even American Idol is climbing on board to “give back” to Africa and the poor in America.
I ask: give back to whom? Who are we “giving back” to? Have these people given something to us that I am unaware of? If we actually “give back”, we should be giving back to our parents and other tax-paying citizens, our employers, etc. We are forcing our children to collect money and items for people that are already sucking out of the system, and this is not “giving back” to the community at all. This is simply giving more to the nonworking. It is the taxpayers and parents that are the community. We build the schools, libraries, community centers, and parks.
The homeless and welfare recipients should be out collecting their own coats and clothing. They could be picking up the trash off the streets. That is one less thing the working taxpayers would have to worry about. They could ride the wonderful City buses we are paying for and collect these items.
Why are we sending money to Africa? Could someone please tell me where in Africa this money is going? Africa is a huge continent, and some of these countries are quite wealthy. Africa has lots of fertile soil, and they could feed their own if they would work the ground like we do here in America. Most of their problems are a result of corrupt local governments and an unwillingness to work, and unless that changes, I don’t feel inclined to send money to some nameless pot called “Africa”.
As long as anyone here in America is working and providing for himself, he is under no obligation to “give back” to anyone or anything. His tax dollars are providing everything in the community, and he has already “given”. I think I speak for millions of Americans.
Sincerely,
September 6, 2006
Elk Grove Citizen
Editor
Via Facsimile
Re: Prayer in Opening Meetings
Dear Editor:
I read with delight in the Citizen of Ms. Sophia Scherman’s desire to begin City Council sessions with prayer. I think this is a wonderful idea, and those who object do not understand the foundations of America.
However, I was dismayed over the Citizen’s staff writer Shannon Savage’s obvious lack of knowledge of the United States Constitution. There is absolutely no “separation of church and state clause” in the Constitution! Ms. Savage stated incorrectly that there is, and there is not! She also states that “Although prayer in schools is against the U.S. Constitution under separation of church and state, . . .” I would like the public to know that there is nothing against prayer in schools in the U.S. Constitution! This is something that tyrannical judges have created with help from the American Civil Liberties Union!
Our Founding Fathers would be horrified if they realized that prayer had been taken out of the public schools. You can go back directly to when it was taken out and see the damage that has been caused among our children.
Prayer is a wonderful and powerful thing, and everyone needs to know that there is nothing at all in the Constitution about separation of church and state. The Constitution is a fascinating document and I recommend all the Citizen staff read it.
Sincerely,
April 4, 2006
Editor, Elk Grove Citizen
Via facsimile
Dear Editor:
Below is a poem from S.E.E.D., a “diversity and tolerance” program in the Elk Grove Unified School District. This poem “explains” why 9/11 was our fault. In truth, it is propaganda and lies This is what the EGUSD is promoting. Let’s elect a school board that loves America and its values!
“From the Other Side
. . . I’ve got to be still And silent as the trees
To find the presence
To witness The humanity
Implied in the halftone Photograph
Of the man falling head first
From tower top to asphalt
Preferring this terrible dying
To the horror
Of allowing himself to be
Consumed in flames. Merciless.
. . . I must ask
What Is behind this
What drove people to condemn and execute so many
So ruthlessly
Let me look into the faces of the perpetrators and let me
Listen, Dear God, let me learn
What those World Trade Towers Mean,
What the Pentagon means
From the other side.
When we stopped paying our dues at the U.N.
What did it look like from the other side?
When we refused to abide by the judgments of the World Court
What did it look like from the other side?
When we refused to be bound by the laws of the International Criminal Court
What did it look like from the other side?
When we refused to sign the Land Mine Treaty
What did it look like from the other side?
When we refused to sign the Kyoto Agreement
What did it look like from the other side?
When we walked out of the International Conference on Racism
What did it look like from the other side?
When we embargo and bomb Iraq daily – without a thought –
Without a moment’s reflection on the flaming buildings, the broken bodies,
The human suffering that we’re causing,
For the first time I can say I have a clue
What if feels like From the other side.”
Sincerely,
January 11, 2006
Elk Grove Citizen Editor
Via Facsimile (916) 686-6675
Dear Editor:
What is S.E.E.D.? Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity, a “diversity and tolerance” program that the teachers in this District are encouraged to participate in. The District pays lots of money to indoctrinate our teachers in the S.E.E.D. message, and teachers are, in return, taught how to bring these principles back into every aspect of the classroom. So what exactly is S.E.E.D.? Below are quotes of the key themes of S.E.E.D.:
“. .the Constitution [is] an ‘agreement with Hell’. .”
“Capitalism relies on rich people having uninterrupted access to poor people’s bodies.”
“American Myth: This is the land of opportunity where anyone can grow up to be President.”
“Why Whites Have the Bucks.”
“Which communities of color are routinely ignored or not seen by white people you know?”
“Unless we eliminate white power and privilege, people with lighter skin color . . will be more highly valued than people with darker skin.”
“Relatively small population groups such as Native Americans often deserve large amounts of retribution.”
“Heterosexism and homophobia work together to enforce . . that bastion of patriarchal power, the nuclear family . .”
“Consider White individualist ideology. Consider U.S. Education. Consider capitalist values. And note, Marx didn’t really spell out privilege systems well, either!”
“Fundamentalist religions ‘naturalize’ all the differences between men and women which they teach.”
“. . high hopes of building a more just society through communism. . joined the newly established American Communist Party. .”
“. . men of color will never be truly men until we rediscover the feminine within ourselves.”
“Men would go back to a time when their training in being ‘manly’ or ‘masculine’ was new and they knew it was not natural for them.”
“in support of one feminist value – that all the forms of human love be respected and validated.” (this includes pedophilia)
“We know the litany of dominants: white people, males, Christians, heterosexuals. .”
S.E.E.D. is an anti-white, anti-heterosexual, anti-Christian anti-male program that seeks to “transform”
our teachers into a thinking of how horrible America, Christians, whites and heterosexuals are. Parents, and business leaders in this community, WAKE UP! If you love America and the life you have, please call the School Board at 686-5085 and demand that this program be removed from our school district.
Sincerely,
October 10, 2005
Editor, Sacramento Bee
Via facsimile
Dear Editor:
I recently read an article in the Elk Grove Citizen about the opening of the new Point Pleasant High School. The principal stated that the school’s central theme and focus this year was not necessarily academics, but advocacy. I shudder to read statements such as this. Many parents may be wondering “what is advocacy?” I have paused a moment to find out.
Advocacy in the Elk Grove Unified School District teaches that all religions are equal. Advocacy teaches that religion breeds prejudice and discrimination. As a Christian parent, this discriminates against my and my child’s freedom to practice religion. Christians teach their children what the Word of God says, not prejudice and discrimination. If the school believes that God’s Word is prejudiced and discriminatory, they need to take those issues up with God, not our children in the District.
Elk Grove, through Advocacy, also teaches Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theories of Moral Development. What are these theories? They teach our children that by age 10-12, they must be aware that no moral decision should be based on God or any other authority figure. Kohlberg’s Theories teach our children that their moral decisions should be based on their own self-interest, and that alone. Kohlberg’s theories further state that the ultimate goal of moral decision should be made for the common good of all, but most people never reach that stage. These theories are also teachings of Karl Marx (father of communism).
Does the above sound like things you want your child to be learning? The EGUSD lets each school choose to teach what they want. They are undermining your authority as a parent and teaching your child that they are not accountable to authority figures. As far as I have ascertained, none of these materials go through any sort of committees for approval, nor are they approved by the school board. This is certainly not what the school will tell you if you call asking what advocacy is. You will get some sort of politically correct hogwash that actually tells you nothing.
If you are a parent and want this stopped, call the school board and tell them you want all advocacy materials to be processed through committees and voted on by the board, just like all other curriculum. In the meantime, please opt your child out of the advocacy class at your school. If they are sending all the kids to the library, this nonsense will stop. And remember your Second Amendment rights, we may need to have a revolution!
Sincerely,
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