Readers of the North County Times

Opinions from comics to pirates

I enjoy "Family Circus" and others in the North County Times placed in separate sheet, Opinion or Sports section. It's an occasion for me to find them.

Tri-City Medical Center has lost a good CEO. When he first arrived, I was in the cafeteria to enjoy the buffalo burgers. He questioned me about being assisted as a wheelchair user. He came back in 20 minutes to verify my service. He cared about the hospitality offered at TCMC, formerly Tri-City Hospital.

Most May ballot offerings were voted previously and switched to a new format to try and confuse the electorate. I learned them all.

Whatever happened to local term limits for politicians? Let us try again for a charter for Oceanside. How about the state of California? Just curious.

Ships should be able to defend themselves against pirates. Way to go, Larry Elder. 100-day assault on the United States. That's all for now, folks.

Dolores Skolimowska

Vista

'No' votes equal more freedom, money

Regarding the displeasure Mr. Tinkess expressed with Congressman Duncan D. Hunter's "no" votes, may I say, I love all those "no" votes (Letters, May 4). They mean more freedom and money in my pocket.

Rachel Meyer

Ramona

Tea party, participants were a hoot

I thought it would be a hoot to go to one of the tea parties! Having never been in a "march" before --- I dressed up as I usually do and went to the Oceanside Tea Party.

I met the most lovely people at the Oceanside Tea Party!

The streets were absolutely clean -- not one person was smoking, not one person was drinking and not one person was using foul language. They were happy, polite and with great senses of humor! Especially the kids! We all had a blast meeting one another!

I guess you just have never seen "us" before -- we have been too busy helping our neighbors around the world!

We are honest, hard-working, generous, loving people and we have given our hearts and our money out to millions of our fellow brothers and sisters all over the world for years and years (we just don't brag about it, until now -- seems necessary!).

I just feel like fighting back at y'all finally. You are bullies and engage in character assassination. We quietly do what is right and obey the laws of the land.

Penny Eppler

Rancho Santa Fe

Forget, if you can

I'm consistently astounded at the torture apologists. Forget for a minute how ineffective it is, according to many experts. Forget how many false leads our intelligence operatives had to chase. Forget how it puts us in the same league as the Gestapo, Pol Pot, North Korea and Saddam Hussein.

Forget how enemy combatants will fight to the death rather than surrender and face torture. Forget how Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured six months after the foiling of the Library Tower plot he supposedly helped thwart. Don't ask why the CIA illegally destroyed 92 interrogation videotapes.

Forget that we executed a Japanese soldier for waterboarding our GIs.

Forget how desperately the Bush administration wanted to find a link between Iraq and 9/11, and thought they'd found one, but it turned out to be false.

Forget all that, if you can. The latest argument is that torture is OK if it works and keeps us safe. By that logic, Iran is morally and legally justified in torturing American journalist Roxana Saberi, whom they accuse of spying.

Sleep well, America, if you can. I'm pretty sure Ms. Saberi cannot.

Douglas Crews

Oceanside

Complete support for President Obama

I write to express my complete support for President Barack Obama and the tremendous job the president has done in his first 100 days in office. Upon election, President Obama was handed a country that was on the brink of destruction. The policies adopted by the previous administration nearly bankrupted our country by cutting taxes and borrowing the money needed to fight two wars (one of which, the Iraq War, was clearly a war of choice).

However, with the support of millions of Americans, President Obama was able to get his budget passed by Congress, and there are signs of hope on the horizon that our country can and will be pulled back from the brink of destruction. But President Obama's budget is just the first step in a bold plan to rebuild our economy and put our country back on the right track.

It's up to us to make that change a reality. This grass-roots movement for change starts with people like you and me, who finally have a voice in our government and our politics. To learn more about how you can get involved in restoring our country to its former glory, visit www.barackobama.com.

Miles Tilly

Escondido

Opinion writers don't need to be objective

In response to Toni McNeill's letter published on May 6 regarding Gail Chatfield's column, Ms. McNeill asks, "Shouldn't journalism be about objective reporting?" I would like to point out that Ms. Chatfield is an opinion columnist and not a news reporter and as such, is not required to be objective.

I'm sure Ms. McNeill reads -- without objection -- other opinion columnists whose favoritisms and opinions are more compatible with her own.

Marlene Brannon

Carlsbad

Recall effort is a waste of time

After receiving so many questions about whether or not to sign a recall petition that is paying professionals to gather signatures to recall Councilman Jerry Kern, I found answers to some of the questions:

1. It will cost an estimated $450,000 to $500,000, depending on the registrar's cost.

2. The money will come from the city treasury, probably from its meager resources.

3. The earliest a recall election probably can be held is January 2010.

4. The next regular City Council election is November 2010.

5. If Councilman Kern desires to remain on the council he probably will run then, whether recalled or not.

My conclusion is it is a waste of time, effort and money to remove him from office for, at best, nine months.

Then I had another question asked about rent control on mobile homes. I learned that the council fears mobile home park owners are seriously considering selling out, which would work more to the mobile home owner's disadvantage than loss of rent control.

My conclusion: It is folly to sign the recall petition and waste hard-earned dollars on a recall that would be effective for less than nine months and accomplish nothing. Don't sign. I haven't and will not.

Randy Mitchell

Oceanside

An honor to be a public servant?

Nearly every politician, upon election, thanks his constituents for giving the "honor to serve" in public office. What pure baloney! Any and every person who wants to "serve the community" should and must be willing to serve without salary. Yes, expenses should be reimbursed (on presentation of proof of expenditure). Discretionary funds should not be permitted to be expended except to pay down the applicable governmental debt.

Not one elected official is worth one darn cent of pay. He/she should be honored just to serve and do the job required. The voters want honesty and integrity in those selected to serve.

Integrity includes not burdening the electorate with nonessential expenditures such as bloated salaries for a lot of talk and no action.

Wake up, citizens. Require frugality in government at every level.

Joseph Edwards

Oceanside

Every person is African-American

In the article on Africa and genetic variation ("Africans have world's greatest genetic variation," May 4), I noticed that it says that modern humans arose in Africa. Presumably this means that the oldest human remains are found in Africa.

If this is correct, it would make every person in the United States African-American, even President Obama's mother.

William James

Oceanside

U.S. is far behind in terms of health care

After more than 50 years since a single-payer universal health care plan was first proposed by former President Harry Truman, the U.S. continues to languish far behind most other civilized, developed countries in the world as to health care and its availability. Militarily we are first; but as to health care, vast numbers of¿our citizens suffer inadequate to no health insurance coverage.

This is a national disgrace of monumental proportions that only the most craven of our elected representatives chooses to ignore. It is far past time that the matter is settled completely with the enactment of a single payer universal health care plan for all citizens, without delay.

Jack Love

Escondido

An important message for seniors

I thought I should write a letter on an important subject. I have a cable company that includes phone, television and the Internet -- the bundle. Our electricity went out on March 3 for 20 minutes because we had a surge. A car ran into an electrical line, which caused the electricity to go out and burned the cable converter box. This affected many residents in the Escondido area, and they were out of cable for around seven hours.

I wanted to alert seniors: If you don't have a cell phone, please don't take cable for your phone service. … (That way) if the electricity goes out, you still will have a phone and, in case of an emergency, you will be able to dial 911.

I didn't realize how important this was until my phone went out for several hours after my cable went out.

Carol Graham

Escondido

North County uniting for change

After the election, I was somber. I knew the hard work had just begun. So I hosted a "Change is Coming Party" and met others dedicated to Barack Obama's vision of change. We hosted a health care community discussion to get residents talking about health care reform. We coordinated a food drive at Major Market in Escondido. The nearly 500 pounds of food collected in one day for the North County Food Bank served as a testament to the community's dedication to service.

At our economic recovery meeting, we discussed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Now, $23 million could go to Escondido alone for infrastructure projects, police officers, public safety programs and energy efficiency initiatives such as installing solar panels on government buildings ("City could get more than $23 million from stimulus package," April 23).

We celebrate the president's budget, because we know investing in health care, education and energy is crucial. But it will take more than just an election to create lasting change. A government "for the people" does not work without our involvement. That we have learned.

President Obama needs every one of us more than ever to make change a reality. Find out how you can get involved at www.barackobama.com.

Noel Steiner

Escondido

Allegation frustrates search for crash truth

The May 10 North County Times local section reported on the death of two in a small plane crash ("Two killed in small plane crash"). The report cited an Federal Aviation Administration spokesman saying the plane had been doing aerobatics. The article indicated the plane was not designed for aerobatics, implying the pilot deliberately exceeded the structural capabilities of the plane.

For those who knew the pilot, he was a careful, certified aircraft mechanic and a conservative, safety-minded pilot. It is not believable that he deliberately exceeded the aircraft's limits. It is possible that the aircraft had a mechanical failure that -- even as the pilot attempted to regain control -- caused departure from normal flight that looked from the ground like aerobatics.

That is only a hypothesis, but so is any implication that the observed behavior was deliberately caused by the pilot. The National Transportation Safety Board is charged with determining the truth. For those of us who wish to learn from the tragic accidents of our friends, the allegation of aerobatics only frustrates the search for facts.

In your future rush to report, please refrain from unnecessarily biasing explanations of sensational events.

David Leedom

Escondido

Bill O'Reilly is no journalist

Bill O'Reilly has chimed in with his take on the ridiculous Miss California uproar and wags his hypocritical finger at his usual cast of straw men: MSNBC and the "far-left" ("The destruction of Miss California," May 9). O'Reilly accuses them of persecuting Carrie Prejean, and then states that "MSNBC … has delighted in mocking and demeaning Prejean almost nightly" (a blatant lie). Yet once a week, O'Reilly has comedian Dennis Miller on his show and allows Miller to mock every one of his favorite villains, all of which O'Reilly has labeled as "secular progressives." And of course, he occasionally hosts the hateful right-wing shrew Ann Coulter.

Freedom of speech? This from a bloviating bully who repeatedly told Jeremy Glick, whose father was killed at the World Trade Center, to "shut up" when he did not agree with Mr. Glick's stance on the Iraq war.

Bill O'Reilly is no journalist. Like Limbaugh, Hannity and host of others, he is an entertainer. Walter Cronkite was a journalist. I never saw him hawking "Walter Gear" at the end of his newscast, or brag about his ratings and book sales, which O'Reilly does shamelessly.

John Musser

Vista