BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D BTR EC. 3-9, 2021 13
letters & comments
Elderly woman on wheelchair at home with daughter. Photo via Getty
Images
The importance of the
Alzheimer’s Caregivers
Support Act
To the Editor,
November is National
Caregiver Month. My sister
and I cared for our mom,
who had Alzheimer’s disease,
for almost 20 years until she
passed away in April 2020.
We cared for her in her home.
We didn’t consider ourselves
“caregivers,” we were caring
for our elders as it had always
been done in our family.
Alzheimer’s disease is
more than memory loss. It
affects emotions, senses and
movement. Each experience
is unique to the individual.
Caring for mom was a 24-
hour, 7-day a week responsibility.
My mom was not eligible
for Medicaid so we paid
for everything out of pocket.
Caregiving resulted in fi -
nancial strain and also wore
on us mentally, emotionally
and physically. We received
no formal training for the
many challenges of caregiving.
The Alzheimer’s Caregivers
Support Act will provide
critical training and relief
to unpaid caregivers. It will
also increase awareness in
medically underserved communities
and communities
of color of the services available
to them.
Please join me in thanking
U.S. Rep. Richie Torres
for co-sponsoring the Alzheimer’s
Caregivers Support
Act. Thanks to his support
we hope to touch the
many lives affected by Alzheimer’s
disease, especially
in underserved communities
and communities of color.
Margaret Alexander,
NYC Chapter Alzheier’s
Association
To the Editor,
President Biden, Senate
Majority Leader Schumer,
House Speaker Pelosi, along
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Letters to the editor are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed
care of this newspaper to Laura Guerriero, Publisher, the Bronx Times Reporter,
3604 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY 10465, or e-mail to bronxtimes@cnglocal.com.
All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be signed and with a
verifi able address and telephone number included.
Note that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the
name will be published or withheld upon request.
No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves the
right to edit all submissions.
with their respective Democratic
House and Senate caucus
members claim that both
the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure
and $1.75 trillion Build
Back America bills are fully
paid for. The non-partisan
Congressional Budget Offi ce
found that the fi rst bill would
add $228 billion and the second
bill $367 billion to our $29
trillion and growing national
debt over the next 10 years. If
they are so confi dent of this
fi nancing scheme, let them
all put up their respective future
pensions, 401k’s, stocks,
bonds, jewelry, automobiles,
mortgage homes and property
assets, and social security as
collateral. Place all of these assets
in a blind trust on behalf
of taxpayers. This can serve
as a small down payment to
cover the inevitable multi-billion
dollar shortfall in anticipated
revenues to pay for both
bills over coming years. Ask
their spouses or signifi cant
other to do the same.
Biden, Schumer, Pelosi and
company remind me of J. Wellington
Wimpy who famously
said “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday
for a hamburger today.”
Tuesday may never come for
taxpayers who have to pay for
all the goodies promised by
them within their lifetime.
Larry Penner
Federal bills aren’t fully
paid for as pols claim
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
To the Editor,
In their search for topics
that would galvanize their base
prior to the 2022 election, Republicans
have seized on the issue
of “parents rights,” claiming
that the right to determine what
books and ideas are included in
the curricula of public schools
is within the purview of the
parents whose children attend
these schools. Many Republican
led state legislatures are
now busying themselves with
regulations that limit the scope
of what can be taught in their
schools, a lamentable tradition
dating back to the 1925 Scopes
Monkey Trial, which revolved
around the teaching of modern
science in schools. In 1954, parents
fought desegregation under
the banner of parents rights.
While governor of California
Ronald Reagan, revered by right
wingers today, declared that the
state “should not subsidize intellectual
curiosity” and as president
cut federal spending on education
in half, while reducing
the power of local school boards
by routing funding to states
rather than localities.
Despite the desperate political
effort to rile up public school
parents, they have never had
the right to impose their will on
what school boards decided was
appropriate curricula. If parents
are unhappy with what is
taught they have a right to withdraw
their child from public
school and home school the child
or enroll him in a private or religious
school. As Robert Reich
notes, “the structure of schooling
simply cannot replicate in
every particularity the values
of a child’s home.” Parents have
never possessed the right to determine
what is taught in public
schools. The purpose of public
schooling is to prepare young
people to think for themselves;
this is a civic good. The ability
to think critically, to analyze,
interpret and evaluate ideas is
crucial to democracy.
Unfortunately, conservative
groups like the Independent
Women’s Forum, described in
a New York Times editorial as,
“a right-wing policy group that
provides pseudofeminist support
for extreme positions…”
are busy stoking parent dissatisfaction
with public school
boards. This group, funded
by billionaires, continues the
assault on public education,
with privatization as the goal.
School board offi cials nationwide
have been harassed, physically
assaulted and have even
received death threats, compelling
the Department of Justice
to consider federal intervention
to protect these public servants.
Instead of working to solve
real problems that affect their
constituents, such as homelessness,
income insecurity and
climate change, many Republican
politicians are actively creating
dissension and discord
by inventing non-existent problems.
As David Korn notes,
“The Republican Party is not a
party of ideas or policies. It is
a party of grievance — including
phony grievance — that is
animated by the organizing
principle of tribal resentment.”
Anyone doubting Korn’s assessment
is invited to review
the 2020 Republican Party platform.
Oops, it does not exist.
Pasqual Pelosi
Republicans new focus is
an assault on our schools
Classical Charter Schools in the south Bronx earned placement in top
NYC high schools. Photo courtesy Classical Charter Schools
corrections
In the article “Mici fi les to run for U.S. Senate,” it stated that U.S.
senators are elected to serve two-year terms. Senators are elected to
six-year terms.
The notice of the annual Throggs Neck Tree Lighting ceremony
stated that the event will take place on Sunday, Dec. 6. The correct
date is Sunday, Dec. 5.
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