George W. Bush

Re “Bush Would Overhaul U.S. Environmental Laws,” April 4: Not only was Houston the smog leader last year but it is estimated that pollution controls of Houston area refineries lag those in California by some 10 to 20 years. Obviously, protecting the environment in Texas is not a priority. I question George W. Bush’s sincerity on this issue.

RAY ANTON

Mission Viejo

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We now see that Bush has come out with a plan for the environment. He has been governor of Texas for five years; Texas is 49th in spending for the environment and first in air and water pollution. Anyone who believes that W will do anything for the environment is a prospective purchaser of the Brooklyn Bridge.

JACK HEILPERN

Laguna Woods

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Chester E. Finn Jr. and Nina Shokraii Rees claim that Bush “has a sturdy education record on which to stand” (Commentary, April 3). I don’t think sturdy is the appropriate adjective, since Bush is governor of a state that is 41st in spending on K-through-12 education, 46th in high school completion rates and last in teachers’ salaries.

MITCHELL KRIEGER

Tustin

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Your April 2 editorial’s call for increasing teacher effectiveness by some combination of the Bush and Gore spending plans is a common but misguided approach, which maintains that if we have a social problem, the most effective way to solve it is at the federal level. In practice, the closer the decision-making process is to those affected by the problem, the greater is the effectiveness of the solutions arising from those decisions.

Only the Libertarian Party recognizes this principle and calls for the elimination of the federal Department of Education. A system based on funneling money from citizens to Washington to be centrally controlled and redistributed will never be as effective as a system where those closest to the problem can decide and spend as they see fit.

STAN WARFORD

Malibu

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Ronald Brownstein (March 24) reports that, if elected president, Bush would require public schools to “test all students in both reading and math every year from third through eighth grade” and that he would provide tax-funded vouchers to parents “to use to send their children to private school” for children enrolled in “public schools that fail to show progress after three years.”

Under a Bush administration, will the federal government require private schools to test all of their students every year? Will the federal government require private schools to admit all children from failing public schools who apply for admission? It would seem that to bring about improved education both questions must be answered “yes.” If that is the case, wouldn’t private schools become public schools?

JAY STEVENS

Long Beach

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The way I read the numbers, “Bush’s California Problem” (March 28) should be about Al Gore’s California problem. The GOP won 54.5% of the statewide vote for president, while the Democrats got only 43.3%. Republicans won in the delegate votes also, i.e., registered party members voting for someone in their party, 2,775,051 to 2,603,696. Finally, Republicans won in the crossover votes as well, i.e., registered voters voting for a candidate in another party, 1,275,313 to 604,471.

JIM ORR

Fountain Valley