LETTERS: NCT, Dec. 11, 2008

By Readers of the North County Times | Thursday, December 11, 2008 12:10 AM PST ∞

Congratulations and welcome to councilmembers

As an Escondido businessman and a member of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce, I would like to offer my personal congratulations and welcome to both our new and our returning Escondido City Council members. I'm sure that I speak for many chamber members in saying that we look forward to the opportunity to work actively and cooperatively with the council as our city faces the many challenges that lie ahead.

And most important, I want to express my sincere, personal appreciation to departing councilman Ed Gallo for his dedicated service to our city during many years of public service and for his support of issues important to the business community and to all of our citizens.

Alex Galenes

Escondido

Al Gore, the colossal hypocrite

By proclaiming that "Earth has a temperature," Al Gore has effectively convinced a following of believers that a "planetary emergency" exists; however, to avoid having to prove his preposterous claim, he declared "the debate is over."

Having fabricated an invisible boogeyman called global warming on a foundation of smoke and mirrors, and by using some good old American capitalism along with a big dose of P.T. Barnum's philosophy, "there's a sucker born every minute," Gore is rapidly becoming a multimillionaire. He's declared a war on global warming that's being compared with World War II.

Now we're being told that we should feel guilty because of our excessive use of energy, yet Gore, the colossal hypocrite, lives in a mansion that consumes 20 times the energy of the average American home. He flies around the globe in carbon-spewing jets, preaching to the world why everyone else should reduce their carbon footprint by riding bicycles.

Yes, Gore's carbon credit scheme is becoming a giant capitalistic enterprise. But does anyone believe that Gore really wants to solve this make-believe crisis when there is so much money to be made by keeping it alive and by peddling carbon credits to fools?

Darrell Beck

Ramona

No tolerance for gangs in Oceanside

I am the Oceanside Gangbuster. We do not tolerate gangbangers or those who pose as gangbangers anymore. Type "Oceanside gangbuster thug hunt" into Google and grab the popcorn.

Dress up like a clown, elbow your way down the boardwalk and I'll make you a You Tube, Google and Yahoo star. The old days are gone.

Ronald Hinton

Oceanside

Obama's eligibility in question

Re: "Court rejects review of Obama's eligibility," Dec. 8: The lack of media attention given to the Obama eligibility court cases has been appalling. Here we are, in the middle of a nationwide crisis, electing a man who refuses to give proof that he is even eligible for the presidency. Now the Supreme Court won't even hear the cases alleging Obama's ineligibility, and the media is hugely to blame.

If the media had done its job by covering such an important story, the court might have felt a bit more compelled to discuss an issue that would ultimately decide the fate of America. The media should be asking questions like "Mr. Obama, why do you refuse to give proof that you are a natural-born citizen of the United States?" and "How is it possible that you were allowed to run for president without giving proof of eligibility?"

Liberals have stated that Obama shouldn't have to waste his time with stupid questions like these, but the answers to those questions could change our future drastically. We are not conspiracy theorists, but patriots who are concerned for the integrity of our nation and the possible violation of our Constitution. We, the people, have the right to know the truth.

Danielle Steinmetz

Carlsbad

Letter writer smitten with Sarah Palin

I was so insulted by Fidel Jiron's letter (Dec.9) saying I was dumber than Sarah Palin. Then I took a good long look at myself. Well, I went to a very good college in New York and graduated in four years. I also went to an excellent graduate school. Sarah went to six different colleges and graduated (no one is quite sure that she did) in six years.

Sarah is classier than I am, he said. I have been abroad a number of times, and she can see Russia from her house. I enjoy fine dining and she loves moose burgers and moose stew. I am an avid reader who subscribes to three newspapers and three magazines (Time, Newsweek and Money). I can name at any given times the novels, of all different genres, that I read. She reads, but just can't recall what books or newspapers. Listen, I can even name a number of Supreme Court decisions.

Fidel, methinks that you are just smitten and don't really care about her intellect or class. On Sarah's behalf,ˇif they ever resurrect the television show "Hee Haw" or make the movie "Return to Fargo," she's guaranteed a job!

Peggy Sloan

Escondido

Residents putting dogs before church?

We had left the house and driven to a nearby intersection where we stopped to wait for the cross-traffic to clear. We were in our Sunday best. There was a woman dressed in typical sports casual at the same intersection holding two dogs, a scooper and a plastic bag to collect the droppings. I know that our church had mailed beautiful photographic invitations to every home in our area. I now know that, while I did not know her name, she must have received one of those cards.

For the short time we waited for the traffic to clear, we literally gazed at each other. She, in her sports casuals, and my wife and I, in our Sunday best. Without a word being spoken, we easily read each other's minds. All three of us knew how we would utilize the next few hours. I now know that she had the memory of the invitational card and was embarrassed by the tools she carried.

During the rest of our drive, we saw eight dogs and their masters. Again, I know that every one of them did receive the same postcard because I can assume that the post office did their part. I would be interested in knowing how many placed doggie ahead of the invitation.

Warren Talbot

Vista

Headlines raise questions

Re: "Key senator calls for GM head to step down," Dec. 8: This from Sen. Chris Dodd, who was part of the mortgage companies' meltdown. He was accused of taking a sweetheart loan.

Frank, Pelosi and Dodd will surely fix everything! Most politicians would break an iron football! The only thing they could fix is a horse race!

Another ludicrous headline a few days ago: "Threat of piracy could push up cruise insurance," Dec. 6. No kidding! Answer: A few Q ships armed with Gatling guns and some politicians who are not afraid to let the sailors use them.

If the middle-class blue- and white-collar workers do not get control of these gutless wonder politicians, soon we will lose it all!

Sunday's paper had an article about finding a native American's tooth in a highway construction area ("American Indian remains may complicate Citracado connection"). So what?

Our governor says the state is broke. Wonder how much taxpayer money will be squandered on "Toothgate."

George Bolton

Carlsbad

Democrats did their best to throw election

Following a plea for bipartisanship by President-elect Obama, I am reaching out to Junius Montgomery and his ilk to commiserate with them for the failure of the McCain-Palin team in the November election. They tried hard, even to the point of putting up a maverick vice presidential candidate who skillfully converted the pregnancy of her unwed daughter into a Republican virtue.

Don't get me wrong, Junius. We Democrats did our best to throw the election your way. Just think of it: a black candidate who is pro-abortion! You could have had a field day with this combination of race and values issues.

Unfortunately, because the Bush gang had made such a mess of their years in office, the Democrats were forced to win in spite of their heroic efforts to lose.

But Junius, I see a silver lining here. The incoming team has inherited the impossible task of cleaning up the stinking detritus of the last eight years.

This will give the Republicans a second chance to resuscitate the mess, if they win the next election.

Sorab Ghandhi

Escondido

We need community projects funding!

The loss of community projects funding would be a disaster for Fallbrook's nonprofits who work to improve our community. These funds are vital to unincorporated areas. Most county funding is locked in place by the various county departments. There is little discretionary funding available.

While grant funding is a tedious, bureaucratic process, community projects funding provides immediate assistance for often-urgent needs. The purpose of community projects funds is to help nonprofits improve schools, libraries and parks and to assist with economic development and recovery.

I have witnessed the benefits of these funds on local projects, including the beautification of the Mission medians, downtown flowerpots, improvements at Beech Street Park and along the Pico Promenade.

While tax revenues are down across the county, these funds will be even more important to sustain nonprofit organizations. As the economy worsens, the need for services increases.

Jerri Patchett

president, Fallbrook

Beautification Alliance

Rider column missed two key issues

Two items Mr. Rider fails to recognize or write about in his column, "Pension plan drives out county assessor," Dec. 9: Regarding public employees in civil service:

1. A new replacement employee will not come in at top step on the pay scale and will have to earn merit raises over the next several years based on an established step-raise system, thus saving taxpayers money each year for some years to come, and

2. The retiree's income comes from the San Diego County Retirement System, a completely separate entity from the county, not the county government nor the taxpayers outright, and has already been paid for by a combination of employee and employer contributions into the retirement fund coming out of each paycheck.

These contributions are pooled and invested for the long term, with 70 to 80 percent of the retirement income coming from investment interest alone. Thus the taxpayers will not being paying two salaries, as Mr. Rider suggests, and will actually be saving tax dollars because of the lower starting salary of the new employee. This is why the government agencies are pushing for and allowing so-called "early" retirements.

Dennis Schwander

Oceanside

Pardon would be a slap in the face of justice

Allowing this president to pardon himself and criminal members of his administration from prosecution would be a cold slap in the face of justice. The fact that they haven't been impeached after the overt crimes they committed speaks badly enough of the shambles of our Democracy; to allow them to pardon themselves would be the pinnacle of injustice. It cannot be allowed to happen.

Don Novkov

Encinitas

U.S. cannot ignore reality of Afghan mess

Re: "Taliban vows violent response to U.S. troop increase," Dec. 9: There is little doubt that sending more troops to Afghanistan will not defeat the Taliban. This would only lead to a greater quagmire than Vietnam or Iraq. The terrain is totally different, the enemy is thoroughly familiar with its nuances, and we would be fighting a never-ending battle.

The comment by John McCain that the situation "is going to get harder before it gets easier" offers little hope of our getting out in the foreseeable future.

President-elect Obama and his advisers need to proceed with caution before committing more troops; in fact, they should be planning now as to how soon we can get out. Can we tolerate the continued losses in manpower and treasure as the economy worsens and our military services need to enhance their weaponry and fighting forces manpower?

I say our priority should be to focus on increasing NATO's participation and commitment rather than expanding our involvement in a no-win situation. We will still be in Afghanistan when Obama leaves office in 2013 if we continue to ignore reality.

Ira Landis

Oceanside

Thanks from a candidate

I would like to thank the more than 2,000 Oceanside voters who listened to my message about Oceanside politics. As informed voters, you realized that the Oceanside political system is ripe for change. That was clearly seen when unions, developers, big business and the airport PAC pumped money into their favorite candidates who would protect their future interests.

As citizens, we need to take back control from the special interests and the two sides that have controlled Oceanside politics for decades. We continue to have mean-spirited elections with polarized council sides who cannot even talk to each other.

As citizens, we need to break up this majority-block mentality that basically leaves us with three like-minded councilpersons deciding our future –– which would be all right if the three were not indebted to their special-interest campaign donors.

Oceanside is one of the few remaining cities in San Diego that does not have campaign finance reform. I ask you to join with several other community members who will draft a campaign finance reform ordinance for Oceanside that will be ready for the next Oceanside general election.

If you are interested in joining the citizens advisory group or interested in supporting this endeavor in the future, contact Rick.Kratcoski@cox.net. It is time for a change! Let's work together to take the power from the special interests and put in back into the citizens' hands.

Rick Kratcoski

Oceanside

Printing different from borrowing

Grant Kuhns, on Dec. 9, decries the government printing money as "deliberate devaluation" and "theft." Perhaps a primer on the mechanisms of money supply is in order.

Whenever the government needs money, it doesn't merely physically print it –– that would be silly. As nitwitted as our federal officials can seem sometimes, their understanding of economics is a bit more sophisticated (thankfully!).

Rather, the government auctions off Treasury securities to investors, thereby raising funds. While the potential implications of adding to the national debt are another issue entirely, borrowing is entirely different from printing new money.

In recessionary times, inflation is the furthest of worries, as the wealth being destroyed far outweighs the growth of the money supply. Recent occurrences in the marketplace prove this.

On Dec. 9, the Treasury raised $27 billion in the cheapest auctioning of securities ever –– meaning a record number of investors would gladly receive tiny yields rather than risk their money deflating elsewhere. Also, October core-CPI data shows that prices decreased across the board. And, most obviously: Has Mr. Kuhns purchased gas lately?

Inflation arises during economic boom times. To that end, I only wish inflation were present to worry about right now.

John Matthews

Escondido

No complaints about Carlsbad's spending

Re: "Taxpayers' group chastises city over power plant campaign," Dec. 8: It is beyond me why the North County Taxpayers Association would complain about an educated and informed public. Dollars used from city coffers to inform the public on NRG's proposal to build 458 megawatts of power in Carlsbad are well spent.

The citizens of Carlsbad have a right to understand what this unsightly and air-polluting plant will do to our beautiful city for the next 50 years. I suppose if the city of Carlsbad did nothing to inform its residents about the proposed power plant project, it would be criticized for that, too?

The real question here is: Why does a new power plant that does not use ocean water for cooling belong on our coast? It's the City Council's responsibility to protect the city and its beautiful coastline from profit-driven energy companies.

Julie Nygaard

Carlsbad