Lots of questions remain about IMPACT process Re: "Cleaning house a decade late," July 26 Jonetta Rose Barras presents the use of the IMPACT teacher evaluation system as if it is a clear known quantity, when I am sure she has little idea of how it actually works since even teachers who are being evaluated don't have a thorough understanding of it.

While I agree that we need to get rid of unqualified teachers, Barras suggests that IMPACT is not a fair evaluation system when she says she supports the idea that Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chancellor Michelle Rhee "concocted" over three years ago. Contrary to Barras' assertions, Rhee has been ensnaring herself in the political process, not the union.

I was a teacher in Harlem for less than three years. Even during my short tenure, I knew that many circumstances impacted classroom grade results in any given year. Research shows that most teachers don't come fully into their own until they've been teaching between five and 10 years. Clearly they don't come out of college, or Teach for America, ready to perform at the highest levels. We need to know much more about IMPACT before we can say this system is fair.

Peter D. Rosenstein
Washington

Liberal media has no right to brand anybody a racist Re: "Toward a more honest discussion of race," editorial, July 25 One of the most underhanded tactics used by the left over the past 40 years is the libeling of conservatives with unfounded charges of racism. So in 2010, it is no surprise when prominent liberal journalists such as Paul Krugman, Frank Rich and Joe Klein accuse the Tea Party of being racist simply because it is "monochromatic" and lacks that essential ingredient needed for legitimacy -- "racial diversity."

As a local Tea Party activist in Stafford County, I decided to see if the liberal media was living up to the standards of diversity it so gleefully imposes on everyone else. I researched the identities and backgrounds of the 32 leading figures at ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Time and Newsweek. I found that all of the CEOs, senior publishers, senior editors, chief political correspondents, news bureau chiefs, et al., were white.

Of the 32, 28 were white males, and 21 of those white males were Jewish. As a half Jew myself, I find it delightfully delicious to illustrate this appalling lack of racial and ethnic diversity at the top echelons of the liberal media. So, using their own standards, I declare the liberal media "racist" -- and remind our liberal friends that journalists who live in all-white glass houses should not throw stones at the more diverse Tea Party.

Mark Jaworowski
Stafford, Va.

Alcohol regulations are there for a reason Re: "Liquor wholesalers cash in on sobriety rules," July 14 Your recent article highlighted some of the challenges related to alcohol regulations. However, too much of the discussion was on describing the financial beneficiaries of alcohol sales and marketing, and not enough on the need to protect and improve existing safeguards without which our communities would be at risk.

Current state and local laws regulating alcohol sales were designed to prevent underage drinking and to protect communities from consumption abuses. Since the end of Prohibition, these regulations have ensured that alcohol is only sold in appropriate retail locations and not to minors. They provide rules regarding ID check and a multitude of other protections promoting temperance and preventing binge drinking and drunk driving.

Eliminating these local laws is not the answer. In fact, it is a mistake of catastrophic proportions. Not too long ago, the United Kingdom deregulated alcohol. The result: Underage alcoholism skyrocketed.

We don't need that. What we need is for Congress to pass legislation that clarifies our constitutional right to protect our own communities and regulate the sale of alcohol.

Rico Piccard President, United Front 436 Orlando, Fla.