D.C. EDUCATION PROPOSAL

MARY KATHARINE HAM wrote that D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty supports keeping the Opportunity Scholarships while being generally ambivalent about vouchers ("The Shame of the Senate," March 23). Perhaps Fenty's objection to standard vouchers is their nonegalitarian nature, since relatively affluent parents could supplement vouchers with their own funding so as to skim off some of the better public school students and send them to higher-cost, exclusive private schools. Actually, there's a way to achieve totally egalitarian universal private education-at no additional cost to the D.C. school district and without having to depend upon Senator Dick Durbin and a capricious Congress for a limited number of "Opportunity Scholarships."

The plan is to (a) use the public school budget to provide scholarships that are set equal to the per-student average public school classroom operating costs (primarily teachers' salaries) to every D.C. student; and (b) lease existing individual public school classrooms or entire schools at no cost to the private education service providers who successfully attract enough students to fill them; while (c) requiring that the scholarships be accepted by the private educators as payment-in-full.

The competing private education service providers will undoubtedly draw upon those who had been the better public school teachers. President Obama's ostensible education objective of "mov[ing] bad teachers out of the classroom" would automatically occur as the process of competition and choice brought genuine opportunity to all.

GEORGE R. COMPTON
Dallas, Ore.

FASHIONABLE LIBERALISM

NOEMIE EMERY'S "Showered with Praise" (March 23) is an outstanding piece which captures the media's infatuation with our president-and its corresponding rejection of conservatism-in a poignant and refreshingly direct fashion.

I live in Manhattan, one of the epicenters of liberalism generally and Obamamania specifically, where one's liberalism and a Democratic affiliation are, at least in some cases, more of an indispensable fashion accessory than the product of thought, conscience, or reason. It never ceases to amaze me how my peers and neighbors, who possess very flattering views of their own intellect, flatly rule out the possibility of voting Republican despite frequently recognizing that liberal policies are neither good for the country as a whole nor in their self-interest. All the while they voice, albeit in hushed, very elegant, and articulate language, the self-interest (and, often, intolerance) that they smugly attribute to suburban and rural Republicans.

I used to attribute this primarily to guilt fueled by liberals' claim of a monopoly on civic virtue and good intentions. While I still think that's a driver of the phenomenon, it's becoming clear to me-and Emery's piece effectively illustrates-that the urban elites simply embrace liberalism because they think it's cool. It's much like going to the hottest new club in town: You may not like the music, but you're nobody if you're not there anyway.

JAMES E. BERGER
New York, N.Y.

IN SEARCH OF STOCKTON

JONATHAN V. LAST'S entertaining column ("On the Road," March 23) leaves the impression that New Jersey has underappreciated the contribution of Richard Stockton to our nation's founding. Please note that in addition to a rest stop, Stockton State College bears its name in his honor. Nonetheless, I would agree regrettably that New Jerseyans are not as aware as they should be of one who pledged his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor for the birth of our nation.

EDWARD WUILLERMIN JR.
Hammonton, N.J.

HOMAGE TO THE HUNT

AS THE OWNER OF A COMPANY that provides video services to many Virginia horse shows in prime hunt country, I am becoming increasingly familiar with the tradition and nature of the hunt ("Chased by Modernity" by Roger Scruton, March 16). Contrary to the beliefs of gung-ho animal rights activists, hunting with hounds is-as Scruton points out-not about merciless killing. It is a celebration of nature and the natural order of things. This celebration is something that I did not fully appreciate until I got the opportunity to watch hounds work a hot scent. To see a pack of hounds move together like a school of fish is a thing of beauty, as is the ingenious line of the fox, as it uses all the tricks in the book to fool the pack and lead it astray. Do I feel a bit bad for the occasional rabbit that crosses the hounds? Certainly. That passes soon enough, however, as I realize the natural balance of the hunter and the hunted.

I do hope that this issue gains recognition, and that foxhunting, as a sport, gains educated support, for the thrill of the chase could not take place without the cooperation of landowners, well-trained hounds, steady and confident horses, savvy equestrians, and clever quarry.

Long may this sporting tradition live.

ASHLEY GIBBON
Medford, N.J.