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Sound Off for Aug. 3, 2008
| Saturday, Aug 2 2008 4:41 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Aug 2 2008 4:42 PM
Reader: I was surprised to find that, once again, Planned Parenthood was omitted from the list of health and wellness organizations named in the Annual Edition of the Kern Life Magazine.
For a magazine that claims to inform Kern County residents of available services in their community, I find omitting Planned Parenthood to be a huge disservice to those seeking a comprehensive list of options. Perhaps if editors were aware that the Bakersfield Planned Parenthood clinic gets more than 33,000 visits a year, they would not continue their huge mistake of neglecting to mention this organization committed to the health and wellness of Kern County citizens. Or maybe the editors don't know that Planned Parenthood is active in providing a variety of services for both men and women, ranging from STD testing and treatment to breast exams.
While I doubt this consistent omission has occurred by accident, I hope it has. Otherwise I will no longer have confidence in a newspaper and its associated magazines, which claim to be the source of accurate and complete information for their readers.
-- Amanda Whitney
Jenner: I can assure you the omission of Planned Parenthood from the 2008 print edition of Kern Life was not an intentional slight or the result of political bias.
The fact that this has happened more than once is embarrassing, but the omission was not intentional.
The organization is listed under Health and Wellness Organizations on the Kern Life Web site, www.kernlife.com, and will be included in future editions.
Reader: I am very upset about the preface to the homeschooling section in Kern Life. It is very misleading. The public needs to know that homeschooling IS legal in California.
Yes, we are awaiting the results of a court case; however, the Governor, District Attorney, and the State Superintendent of Schools all support the right to homeschool. In fact, all of them filed briefs for the case in question, urging the court to uphold the law as it stands. Furthermore, the governor has stated that if the courts do not protect the right to homeschool, the legislature will.
According to Kern Life, you should "contact the school district/Valley Oaks Charter school to determine if your homeschooling program is legal." The truth is, you do not need to do this. There is no law that says so. The public schools want to entice you to enroll your child into their programs, so that they will receive state funds.
There are other legal ways for non-credentialed parents to homeschool. Parents can file a simple form online, or they can enroll their children in a private school's satellite program, which provides oversight, support, testing, activities and more.
If you want more information about homeschooling, Christian homeschool support groups, or preschool at home, contact me, at mentormom@bak.rr.com. Don't be scared away from homeschooling by the legal mumbo-jumbo. Homeschooling is legal for non-credentialed parents.
-- Susan Lemons
Jenner: The last sentence of the homeschooling section mentioned the court ruling that said the right to homeschool was not guaranteed by the constitution. Kern Life Editor Jennifer Baldwin agrees that while it's an accurate statement, if taken out of context the sentence could give potential homeschoolers the wrong impression. She's deleted it from the Web site.
The reference to Valley Oaks was simply included as a resource for parents.
Reader: Last Sunday, Lois Henry wrote a column titled "Valley Ranks Low -- what else is new?"
In this article Ms. Henry leads readers to conclude that Kern County's worst qualities (e.g. poverty, ignorance) are attributable to the "demographics," specifically illegal immigrants. It is commonly understood in our society that the typical illegal immigrant is a poor and downtrodden person from Mexico or Central America. Consider the fact that the vast majority of this "demographic" is legal.
This particular article appears to be openly biased, it was not thoroughly researched, and it seems to manipulate the two leaders' opinions. With this particular type of article, the only major newspaper in the southern San Joaquin Valley appears to be influencing the public to wrongly believe that illegal immigrants cause Kern County to be a dump and hopeless. Please, consider that illegal immigration has complex causes and effects. Illegal immigrants are a fabric of our society. They are exploited. They take advantage of what they can; no different from others.
The consequence of this kind of journalism is the promotion of negative attitudes, including blaming, division, ill-will, all of which can lead to hate and hurtful actions at individual and community levels.
The people of Kern County, both legal and illegal, need people like you to help us all to be problem solvers and creative thinkers of good will. Illegal immigrants are not the county's problem; they are one part of the many serious problems we face. All of us, every single human being who lives and works in Kern County, are the problem as well as the solution. Let us be part of the solution, and not part of the problem.
Cordially,
-- Armando Apraicio
Jenner: I do agree that we have a responsibility to look for solutions to help our community. But we also have a responsibility to identify the problems.
It's neither divisive nor biased to look at Kern's demographics to try to understand why our poverty levels are so high and stubborn.
And our large population of illegal immigrants is a factor contributing to that problem.
Here's Lois Henry's response to your criticism:
"I agree there's more work to be done on this issue to get a clearer understanding of how illegal immigration affects our economy, but according to the numbers we do have (some of which I put in the article), it is an issue.
"I understand this is also an emotional issue for many people and that seems to be the case with this letter writer. But I was looking at it from a purely economical point of view.
"I do believe the vast majority of illegal immigrants are here to work and that they don't come here to live on welfare. But the truth is, they are also poor, uneducated and have a more difficult time climbing the economic ladder, leading to a permanent underclass."
Reader: Your Monday, July 28, 2008 article "DA's control of crime lab raises questions," included a sidebar that "Crime labs around the country have had trouble."
This letter is to correct a misimpression created in the final bullet point in that sidebar. That bullet reads, "In 2002, a San Jose Police Department detective described the use of ruse crime lab reports 'standard procedure.' The crime lab is a division of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office."
The ruse crime lab report was created and utilized by a San Jose Police Department detective unbeknownst and unauthorized by anyone at the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office or the crime lab. To the extent the use of phony crime lab reports was a "standard procedure," it was a practice that was not and never has been authorized by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office or its Crime Laboratory.
It should also be noted that the mistakes made by the investigator, who failed to mark the report as a ruse, and our prosecutor, who failed to recognize this, would have carried no more or less significance had the crime lab been privately owned or government-run.
I would appreciate your clarifying these important points, as the now discontinued police practice should not reflect on the integrity of my office or crime lab.
Very truly yours,
-- Dolores A. Carr, district attorney, Santa Clara County
Jenner: Thanks for clarifying this. The sidebar you mentioned was a listing of recent problems with crime labs around the country. In this case since it was the San Jose Police Department that wrote a phony crime lab report and the crime lab did nothing wrong, the listing shouldn't have been included.
Reader: While there is much to cause one misery in reading/viewing/hearing both the local, national, and worldwide news (especially with our own Kern County special brand of demagogues/looney tunes), just viewing the photographs on your "Tails" page(s) in the paper gives one Happy Thoughts.
Please continues to publish the "Tails" pictures and make them one complete page every day and two pages on Sunday. Whoever on your staff thought of this idea deserves congratulations, a huge bonus and a huge raise!
-- Janette McFarland
Jenner: The space we devote depends on the volume of pet photos submitted, but the feature's longevity depends on how long it remains popular with pet owners and with readers like you. Thanks for the kind note.
Reader: I just had to send a quick review of the recipe for "Slowcooker pulled pork sandwiches" from Wednesday's paper. I made this dish for dinner tonight and it was amazing. My only comments were that even on "low" it seemed that the meat was drying out so I mixed the sauce again, minus the cider vinegar and added it about half way through.
The red pepper flakes made the dish a bit hot for this wimp, so I put mayo and sliced avocado on my toasted bun to cut the heat. If there had been any room left in my stomach I might have had seconds -- like my hubby did. Great meal!
-- Sandy Moffett