Arizona Daily Star 8/4/09

Sen. Kyl's concerns hard to understand
Re: the July 26 commentary "Reforming health care" by Sarah Garrecht Gassen.

Sen. Jon Kyl states that the Democrats propose to pay for a new health-care plan by raising taxes on upper-income families, a majority of whom are small-business owners.
According to the Web site of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institute Tax Policy Center, roughly 97 percent of small business will not be affected at all by increases in the top tax bracket.
Why would Kyl make a statement that is demonstrably false? Perhaps because, according to the non-partisan Sunlight Foundation, he has over the course of his Senate career, accepted $2.5 million in campaign contributions from for-profit insurance and health-care industries.
And Kyl's concern about the Democrats rushing into health-care reform is difficult to understand. He has been in the Senate since 1994 and served two terms in the House and has never put forward any health-care reform plan.
Jenise Porter
Retired librarian, Tucson

 

 

 

4rd Annual Arizona Literacy Educators Conference t.b.a.

from the 3rd

A Place at the Table:
Communicating Our Message to the
Public, Press and Policy-Makers.

Steven Krashen

Writing Letters to the Editor: Who Cares?
[link to video of Dr. Krashen's Speech, introduced by Carole Edlesky]

Stephen Krashen is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Southern California. He is best known for developing the first comprehensive theory of second language acquisition, introducing the concept of sheltered subject matter teaching, and as the co-inventor of the Natural Approach. He has also contributed to theory and application in the area of bilingual education, and has done important work in the area of reading. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from UCLA and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and served for two years in the Peace Corps. His recent papers can be found at http://www.sdkrashen.com. Krashen describes himself as a “recovering linguist.” He is the author of over 350 published books and articles and is a prolific writer of letters to editors of publications around the world and to policy makers in the United States. http://www.eslminiconf.net/september/krashen.htm