State-Journal.com - Your Letters

The State Journal encourages readers to submit letters to the editor for publication by noon Wednesday for the following Sunday's paper. All letters must contain the writer's full name, mailing address and telephone number for purposes of verification. The State Journal will not withhold the name of a writer. Any letter received without a mailing address and phone number will not be published. The State Journal will not publish thank-you letters, obvious form letters or letters addressed to third parties or to the public at large. All letters submitted for publication are subject to editing for length, form and content. Letters may be no more than 500 words long. Letters may be mailed to Letters to the Editor, The State Journal, 1216 Wilkinson Blvd., Frankfort, Ky. 40601; faxed to 227-2831, or e-mailed to rherron@state-journal.com.

America needs
more immigrants
To the Editor:
I teach about immigration policy at Kentucky State University but the views expressed here are simply my own, not my employer's. For 27 years I have, by marriage, been part of a Mexican-American family, so I am deeply offended by the bigoted tone of your recent "Nation of interlopers" editorial. Nativist disapproval of immigrants has existed throughout America's history, but is rising today as hate groups scapegoat Latinos. (The Southern Poverty Law Center documents this at splcenter.org.) Like racism generally, prejudice against people of Mexican and Central American descent is often based on ignorance.
Bigoted people believe that nearly all Kentucky Latinos are here illegally. That misconception, which your editorial reinforced, has consequences. My wife, the Texas-born granddaughter of a Mexican immigrant, and her older brother, a Vietnam veteran, have spent much of their lives listening to people telling them to "Go back to Mexico," calling them "Mesicans" or "wet backs" and suggesting that they somehow are inferior members of society. Consider also the intolerance experienced by a Central American friend of mine, a professional who holds a graduate degree and has taught English. At times store clerks treat her badly; sometimes they don't even speak to her but simply point to numbers on checkout terminals, assuming she is incapable of speech. Her children, like those of other Frankfort Latinos, are subject to racist taunting by peers in the schools.
Integrating immigrants into American society requires adjustment by both newcomers and natives. Immigrants (including Latinos) really do assimilate over time. Natives can, and must, learn to tolerate cultural and racial differences. In many ways today's blue-collar Latino immigrants are much like the working-class Italian, Polish and German immigrants of a century ago. In both eras many immigrants have worked long hours and had little time and energy left for attending English classes. Learning English was often a slow process for Ellis Island immigrants, with fluency only acquired over the course of decades or lifetimes. Fortunately, those immigrants' children almost universally learned to speak English well, as do today's Latino youth. Only 7 percent of second-generation Hispanics are "Spanish predominant." Seventy-eight percent of the Hispanic third generation in the U.S. cannot speak Spanish at all.
For America's economy to continue growing and for central Kentucky to retain its tobacco farms, tourist hotels and horse industry, the U.S. needs to receive a continuing inflow of 1.5 million immigrants per year. That economic need has existed for over 15 years. Congress, however, only permits about one million foreign persons to enter annually, about two-thirds of the number of immigrants which the economy requires. Many blue-collar Latinos do not take the "legal route" into the U.S. because for them there is no such route. Perhaps because their skins are brown, not white, they are not given an Ellis Island option today. Immigrants who do dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs which would otherwise go undone should not be criticized simply because Jim Bunning, Mitch McConnell, Ben Chandler and the rest of Congress have failed us all. Editorial writers should promote reform of our immigration laws instead of scapegoating Latinos.
Christopher Daniel
Frankfort

"Green' Wal-Mart
does not compute
To the Editor:
The reports of Wal-Mart's green business model are greatly exaggerated.
Three weeks ago, Wal-Mart unveiled a new Earth Month "merchandising and marketing campaign" in an official press release. While Wal-Mart claims the marketing blitz "takes going green" mainstream, the campaign's keystone is a massive buy of print advertisements, weighing in at nearly one third of a billion pages.
I don't believe a mountain of wasted wood pulp celebrates the spirit of Earth Day. Wal-Mart's recent ad buy flies in the face of its promise to produce "zero waste." It seems clear that Wal-Mart's "Earth Month" promotion is just one symptom of a broader problem. Wal-Mart is greenwashing, and it is getting away with it.
In spite of all the "green" hype at Wal-Mart, the company's business model presents serious environmental shortfalls. The long-anticipated Wal-Mart sustainability report cited a significant global increase in CO2 emissions in 2006, after the company's green campaign began. Even worse, at a recent conference, Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott flatly declared "we are not green" to an audience of economists. Despite these facts, Wal-Mart continues to generate positive headlines with its enviro-marketing.
I agree with Mr. Scott. Wal-Mart is not a green company. I, for one, would welcome a serious investigation of Wal-Mart's performance as a steward of the environment.
Jennifer Luttrell
Frankfort

Is Lynn Bowers
really a winner?
To the Editor:
As city voters get ready to cast our ballots for a new mayor of Frankfort, I'm seeing signs telling me and others we will "Win with Lynn." I'd like to know exactly what I'll be winning with Lynn. Could it be all city taxpayers will win higher utility bills or maybe just another four years of great decision making such as "Is a goat a pet or just a farm animal?" This is such thought provoking leadership. This past Sunday's issue of The State Journal ran an article entitled " Utility rates about to rise." I wonder how much this "cost-of-service" study cost the taxpayers of Frankfort. Do we not have the leadership capable of knowing when we have a revenue shortfall and when we need to raise water 25 cents or cable $2? Perhaps we need to hire an outside firm to come in and do a study on management cost and qualified personnel. As an example, on several occasions I have tried to work with city employees in the municipal building concerning city taxes and independent contractor license. Not one person was able to give me a direct and correct answer. The final result was an overpaying of taxes and a refund had to be mailed to me.
Several weeks ago Frankfort received several inches of rain and once again Holmes Street was flooded. How many years has this community asked for our city leaders to help these homeowners? Our leaders have continued to fail these citizens. These people are hard-working people who pay taxes and businesses who are threatened each time we experience these heavy rains. How many years will city government continue to disappoint the Holmes Street taxpayers?
So as you read the signs "Win with Lynn" you may want to ask yourself what have we won in the past years?
Darryl Blackwell
Frankfort

State orchestral
education lacking
To the Editor:
On April 8, I had the extreme pleasure of attending the University of Louisville Symphony Orchestra's year-end concert under the excellent direction of Kimcherie Lloyd. Featured with the approximately 80-piece orchestra were concerto competition winners Kevin Arbogast (saxophone), Amy Ensel (flute) and Luke Darville (cello). The performance of these soloists and orchestra was outstanding, particulrly Mr. Darville who received a standing ovation from both the audience and his fellow orchestra members.
While listening to this stellar concert, I wondered why more emphasis isn't placed on orchestral education and related activities in Kentucky grade schools, high schools and colleges. The University of Louisville should be complimented for being, in my opinion, the only school in Kentucky that is a shining light and example of what can be achieved in the art of orchestral music. One needs only to travel to Europe and parts of the rest of the world to see how much orchestral music is a vital part of their culture and the significant impact it has on their youth. As an example, recently the New York Symphony orchestra played in North Korea and was received with tumultuous accolades from the audience of this so-called barbaric nation. It seems to me that if North Korea can see the value and importance of orchestral music, why can't Kentucky?
Albert F. Kuhr
Danville