Online education

Many students graduate from high school not knowing what they want to do with their futures. Fortunately for me, I have discovered my passion at a young age. Thanks to my career readiness classes at my online school, Idaho Technical Career Academy (ITCA), I’ve gained valuable skills and knowledge that set me apart from other students.

My career readiness classes expose me to subjects that are essential for my future in forensics — while still in high school. These classes help me to understand the material beyond simply reading a book and studying for a test. I can now break down the lessons, ask critical questions, and apply the material in real-world settings. For example, in my pharmacy tech classes I am learning what medicine does and how it affects different parts of the body.

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I know the knowledge I’ve gained about medicine and the body thanks to my early preparation has set me up for success in my future forensics career. And because of that, I’m excited for what my future holds.

Lauren Telfer, Meridian

Donald Trump

Trump boasts about the economy. However, the Obama administration deserves the credit. When Obama was elected, the country was losing 800,000 jobs a month. His administration required several years to recoup. Anyone who followed Obama would have inherited a growing economy.

Trump pits citizens against each other. He said he could shoot someone without repercussions. He labels individuals with derogatory names, has detailed actions he admits to have taken against women and revels in his own debauchery, per Access Hollywood. He has told nearly 5,000 lies since becoming president.

The “tax cuts” are a laugh; only the rich benefit. New laws throw a few crumbs at the middle class and the poor. To pay for these “cuts” Republicans will gut Social Security and Medicare; they have said so. They decry deficits when Democrats are in the majority, but deficits don’t matter when Republicans are in charge.

Trump has alienated our allies and befriended our enemies. He threatens Democracy. He complains bitterly about Clinton’s emails, but insists on his own unsecured cell for conversations. He shares government secrets with the Russians in the Oval Office.

Most surprising are evangelicals who support Trump. True evangelicals’ principles are the complete opposite of Trump’s.

Luis Vendrell, Ontario

Heritage Foundation

Your Oct. 21 article, “Heritage Foundation suspends ‘training academy’ for judicial clerks,” referred to Heritage Foundation as a “conservative group.”

What does “conservative” mean? Fabian, fascist, corporatist?

While President Obama is credited for Obamacare, it actually came from Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation. Interestingly, Butler was co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute (Wikipedia), supposed experts on “free market” solutions — in reality, elitist monopolies.

In the May 15, 1991, issue of JAMA, Butler recommended mandatory health insurance, suggesting, “There would be fines for families failing to include proof of insurance with their tax return.”

Ron Paul’s article, “Obamacare’s best allies: The courts and the Republicans,” published locally on July 5, 2015, stated, “Obamacare is not socialist but corporatist. ... Even Obamacare’s individual mandate originated in a conservative think tank ...” Forbes also wrote about this Butler/Obamacare association.

The late Eustace Mullins maintained that Heritage was closely associated with the elitist Fabian Society, as does Charlotte Iserbyt, vocal critic of the phony education “reform.”

While at Heritage, Stuart Butler pushed for healthcare “reform,” education “reform,” and Enterprise Zones. Butler’s book, Enterprise Zones, credits that idea to Peter Hall “former chairman of the Fabian Society, the intellectual center of democratic socialism in Britain.”

God help us.

Violet Fuller, Nampa