LETTERS: NCT, Dec. 9, 2008

By Readers of the North County Times | Tuesday, December 9, 2008 12:10 AM PST ∞

Shopping tickets should be waived

After reading Deb Cole's letter (Dec. 3), I was surprised that Carlsbad would cite people for parking while they shop at our stores.

If I were mayor, I would dismiss all those parking tickets and apologize to those people for the inconvenience that it caused. I would also find out from the police department if it was absolutely necessary to have those streets clear at that hour (midnight). If that's not the case, then waive any citations.

If it was necessary to have the streets cleared, then find extra off-street parking adjacent to the outlet stores that can be used. Carlsbad is a unique community.

Surely we could find a way to encourage, rather than discourage, shoppers to frequent our stores.

Walt Meier

Carlsbad

Homosexual radicalism

Proposition 8 had nothing to do with preventing people from loving each other. It had everything to do with preventing our legal institutions from recognizing sexual deviancy as love. Now we are being threatened daily by the hate that comes from this love of sexual deviancy.

Make no mistake, this issue is not about loving another human being, it is about forcing everyone to accept perverted sexual inclinations. Gay sex is nothing more than desire gone haywire. And just like adults who have sex with children, it manifests itself as a perversion of love.

Now scorned, the gay lovers are on the warpath to champion their cause, and we had better put our own beliefs aside and follow their righteous cause or else. This is not a civil rights movement; gays already have every civil right to their deviancy.

No, this issue is about dominance. This is a movement to control us. Like a sexual predator, the radical gay movement will not stop until everyone, including our children, cower before them and admit we are not worthy of our own beliefs. Like any deviant sex, control is key to their satisfaction.

John Cusumano

Escondido

Letter was pathetic and un-American

Here we go again, Chris Pulse (Letters, Dec. 5). Long blond hair, peaceniks, anti-government pathetic. Thanks for your 100-year-old history.

If you hate this government and country and our brave military, why don't you go to Cuba? Better yet, go to Hugo Chavez's socialist country. It's not our military or government.

Genocide has been going on for years. Cambodia had its killing fields by the Khmer Rouge, Bosnia-Herzegovina killing. Iraq under Saddam, killing its citizens, women and children, and how about the Sudan, Rwanda? The killing in Poland and Germany and now the mass killing in Mexico.

Thank God for our government and our brave armed forces. We haven't been attacked in seven years. Call it what you want, it's your right to speak out, but don't blame us, because individuals like you fuel the terrorists. You give them hope to kill more and try to divide us and also trying to turn against each other.

Thank God for Americans who still believe, and Chris, semper fi and God bless America.

Rolando Garcia

Oceanside

Can you say 'hoodwinked'?

I was waiting for all the initial euphoria of the selection of this Hoodoo for our next President of the Socialist States of America by the liberal Democrats and some traitor Republicans to diminish. You all wanted change? Seems like you're getting another Clinton administration.

The cartoon caricature on the Nov. 24 letters section depicting your president select is right on. Can you say "hoodwinked"? I suppose those of your ilk who voted for Obama will enjoy eating your crow for the next four years. Oh, well.

Peggy Sloan (Letters, Nov. 23) attempts to ridicule Gov. Sarah Palin again. In my opinion, Gov. Palin has more class and intellect then Peggy would ever hope to amass in her lifetime.

To all of those impeachment dregs: Get over it (it isn't going to happen), you remind me of a bunch of pathetic lemmings.

Seriously, for the sake of the United States, I hope Obama won't be a failure. Semper fi.

Fidel "Jay" Jiron

retired, U.S. Marine Corps

Oceanside

Companies should use force against pirates

I've got a question about the pirates that are surrounding ships outside Somalia and taking them over.

Why don't these shipping companies hire soldiers, equip them with assault rifles and anything else they need, and then when any ship or boat approaches, blast them out of the water? Very soon, the pirates will no longer go after such easy targets. For one, they will no longer be easy targets. Why don't they use force against force?

These pirates are getting millions of dollars from these companies, which will only allow them to escalate to bigger and more powerful weapons. Nip it in the bud. Take these people out before we're at war with yet another terrorist group and have to bail out yet another country.

Don Snyder

Oceanside

Letters page was missed

Dec. 6, 2008, will go down as yet another day of infamy because there was no letters page. I enjoy reading the letters to the editor (and writing them) because it gives me a clue of what really is on the mind of my fellow readers and writers.

Your staff has done an excellent job with this page, and the paper, despite the obvious handicap of only having one feed, the Associated Press, which I find is a despicable, agenda-driven, aggressive, partisan, flypaper type of pinko mind control and re-education. Just thought you would like to know.

Fred Schuster

Vista

Printing money is theft

As regards Joe Martin's letter, Nov. 28, "Just keep on printing money": I thought he was joking. Today, I'm not sure. On talk radio, I heard Ben Stein, the guy who produced and directed "Expelled," saying the same thing as Martin, and no callers, nor the "conservative" host, raised a moral objection.

Personally –– and I hope some of your readers will agree with this –– I consider the deliberate devaluation of our dollar, in order to cheapen debts, nothing less than theft. It robs our creditors of what we rightfully owe and it robs fellow citizens of the value they have earned and saved. Debasing the dollar's value by pumping borrowed or printed money into the economy is an insidiously immoral way to tax.

The first people to use the "new" money –– that's Congress and their chosen few –– make out very well; those at the bottom of the trickle-down get stuck with the cost as consumer prices rise and the value of personal savings accounts diminish.

Grant Kuhns

Carlsbad

Stolen Christmas lights held many memories

Every year, my husband and I look forward to decorating our home for Christmas. But this year is one I would like to forget.

Thursday night we had a large section of our decorations stolen from our yard. Some we have had for years. Why would someone do this? I keep asking myself that and don't understand why. They were old and not worth a lot, but held many memories of my grandchildren standing in front of them, as well other children.

We love the holidays and enjoy decorating our home to share with others. We even go so far as to dress as Santa Claus and hand out candy to the folks who drive by. So I hope whoever took our decorations will enjoy them as much as we did.

It's just a shame that they had to take them that way. Now all I have are memories and some very precious pictures.

Lorri Allen

San Marcos

Incentives are needed for energy independence

"Carrots and sticks" are needed to become energy independent. Incentives are needed now to produce the large and rapid reductions in carbon emissions that are essential to prevent runaway climate change. We must reduce CO2 now to avert flooding, droughts and the related problems that come with climate change.

1. We must put a price on carbon to create the will to move towards renewable energy. A carbon tax quickly would reduce carbon consumption.

2. Feed-in tariffs have proven to be the world's most effective incentive for speeding the production of renewable energy. They provide payments or tariffs to individuals who produce electricity from renewable sources and feed-in electricity to the grid.

We need to encourage legislation for a National Feed-in Tariff Law and a Carbon Tax.

Amy Bennett

Encinitas

Shelter doesn't care about children

Re: "Youth shelter plan suffers setback with commission's vote," Nov. 6: Many residents of San Marcos have told me that the management of Casa de Amparo must not care about the children or they would not wish to locate there.

The cross-through traffic coming and going north on I-15 is very heavy during peak hours. In addition, there are huge semi-type trucks pulling huge trailers loaded with aggregate coming from the quarry, numbering as many as a hundred a day.

Eleanor Filkins

San Marcos

No 'Dubya' to kick around anymore

Just a little over one month left until George W. Bush, as president, is finished. In these last days, I invite as many of you fellow "patriots" to write a blurb about our president and what he has meant to you and your country –- because after that date, he will be old news and letters about W. will be unimportant to the press.

Everyone has an opinion, so seize this last chance to praise or critique this sitting president.

In a recent television interview, George W. Bush said that he thinks history, in the long run, will remember him as being true to his ideals and that he didn't sell out. Little or no mention of the recession, war costs, our health care mess, or America's standing in the world. George W. also said that he is intrigued with the idea of "contributing" to fighting AIDS and malaria in Africa.

We certainly will watch to see whether ex-President George contributes to society or just plays golf for the rest of his life.

G. Lance Johannsen

Carlsbad

Predictions about affordable housing

I'm going to make another prediction, just like I did back in the late 1980s. Back then, I said the way prices are rising on condos and houses, pretty soon people are going to have to sell for less than they bought. A number of supposed real estate experts said to me, "No way! Real estate always goes up."

Well, guess what? I was correct.

Over the past decade, I've been expounding against the folly of continuing to build all these two- and three-story monstrosities they call single-family houses that have sprung up everywhere like weeds. I've been saying that pretty soon, people are not going to be able to afford these faux castles.

Once again, I was correct.

So now, I'm making a third prediction. All the people who are so worried about the declining property values of their neighborhoods if more affordable houses are allowed to be built will one day find themselves being crushed financially under the weight of these giant two- and three-story symbols of affluence that they insisted be built instead.

At that point, they will finally come to the realization (too late, I'm afraid) that maybe they should have gone for smaller instead of larger.

Tom Di Roma

Oceanside

Physical fitness does not have to be expensive

Your Health section of the Sunday, Dec. 7 edition features an extensive Associated Press article titled "An American obsession: Youthful appearance can be ours, but at what cost?" Physical fitness is a subject that has interested me ever since I reached my 50s.

I've kept current with the literature and have established my own fitness program. ... Initiating a program of eating healthy foods coupled with aerobic and non-aerobic exercise (training with weights and doing push-ups) is a must. One does not have to invest in expensive health store foods nor start going to a gym. I'm blessed with a wife who enjoys cooking. We eat at restaurants only on trips or on a special occasion. A simple weight bench with minimal equipment can fit in a garage.

All it takes is discipline and motivation to stick to a schedule that you start. Spending vast sums of money on physical fitness is not necessary.

Jack Pomeroy

Escondido

Letter-writer changing into Clinton

It appears that letter-writer Junious Montgomery has a strange fixation about the Clintons ("If Obama seeks 'change,' why insiders?" Letters, Nov. 22 and "Obama changing into Clinton," Letters, Dec. 7).

Doesn't the North County Times have a limit on Clinton drivel? If not, we are sure to see Montgomery changing into Clinton for weeks on end.

Robert Tormey

Escondido

Free market must change

You hear a lot about free-market capitalism, but little discussion of how it works. Faith in free markets has ruled our economy for the past 30 years, and the recent troubles with the markets have cast doubts on the system.

If big players in the economy cannot succeed without government handouts, does the system even work? An economic system succeeds by serving the people, creating wealth and meeting the needs of as many people as possible. Free-market capitalism creates wealth, but distributes it unevenly. It also does a poor job of meeting peoples' needs, instead focusing on their desires.

You want proof? Big Pharma makes pills to help erectile dysfunction, leaving cheap anti-malarial drugs that could save lives for another day. Guys who can drop a ball into a hoop reap endless rewards, while day care workers struggle to pay the bills.

Cash to protect the capitalist system flows endlessly to the military (without accountability), while education costs are scrutinized. Money is protected by guns in banks and armored cars, while children are vulnerable and millions starve. An economic system that ignores human needs cannot survive. Capitalism should be harnessed to make life better for all humans.

Paul Cavanaugh

Ramona

Let other countries deal with their own

Kudos to Paul King of Carlsbad (Letters, Dec. 5), regarding his "bring our troops home" comment. As he pointed out, we have many bases in many countries around the world, costing taxpayers billions each year.

I agree with him. Using Germany and Okinawa as examples, one must agree that the war causing occupation has been over in excess of 50 years. The threats that existed then, and a decade or two following, are not so grave today to require forces on their soil permanently.

Agreements can be established to store supplies in those regions, to allow reinsertion if requested by the host government, coupled with prepositioning equipment on container shipping. The latter would allow supplies to be moved to a region where problems are brewing. With our capability to rapidly deploy forces anywhere in the world, we could be in a trouble zone in a matter of hours. However, great discretion must be used by the executive and legislative branches of government before any deployment to foreign lands is put into play.

Finish the job in the Middle East, get us out, and allow other countries to deal with problems facing them.

Jack Cargile

Vista

9/11 debunker lags behind

In his letter of Dec. 8, Victor Chabala was still promoting the idea that World Trade Center 7 "took so long to collapse." That was the position the National Institute for Standards and Technology was taking when they issued its draft final report in August 2008.

NIST found that the portion of the collapse visible in video images (18 stories) took 5.4 seconds to fall, agreeing precisely with its mathematical model. This, they said, was 40 percent longer than it would have taken if it were in free fall. Taking such a long time ruled out the possibility of free fall.

In response to NIST's call for public comments, high school physics teacher David Chandler submitted an analysis of the video images, observing that there was a 2.5-second time period in which the building was accelerating within a few percentage points of free fall. NIST was apparently cornered.

In their final report issued in November, they explained a more careful analysis of the visual images revealed a 2.25-second time period in which the building fell at an acceleration equal to free fall. If the building were in free fall even for 2.5 seconds, all resistance to downward motion must have been removed. Only gravity was at work.

Dwain Deets

Leucadia