Cities, water and the old bait-and-switch

All the cities of North San Diego County are imposing drought level two restrictions on their present homes and business, telling everyone to save 20 gallons of water per day per person. If it does save our water supply for our present residents, it is a good thing! However, the planning departments and the city councils of our North County cities are still going to be giving the gallons of water you saved per day to a developer to suck in a new tract of homes, a new beach resort hotel, a new football stadium, new commercial shopping mall, etc., so that the cities can continue to collect the income from these future projects.

In other words, we the citizens save water for the city councils to give to their developer supporters to continue to build, build and build, sucking up the water we saved? Oh! I almost forgot. They are going to fine you money if you don't save the water for them to give to their developer friends.

Gary Myers

Oceanside

'Cap and tax' is a sham

Many things trouble me about the Obama's dash to government control and pending socialism. However, I am deeply concerned that Congress is preparing to vote on legislation that, if passed, will negatively impact our economy and way of life forever! There is no doubt "cap and tax" is a sham created to attack the dwindling financial resources of all Americans.

Most disturbing is the tired excuse, global warming. No doubt another trumped-up charade designed to force through legislation billed as urgent and necessary to prevent the next phony crisis.

A word about global warming: Anyone with an ounce of common sense can see that over the past few years, we have experienced global cooling. Phoenix recorded the most days ever under 100 degrees in June.

No doubt the globe has experienced multiple occasions of warming and cooling over its long history. Consider the Ice Age that peaked more than 20,000 years ago. One wonders what the level of carbon dioxide emission was that caused the earth to warm enough to melt the ice glaciers …

America is watching this vote with special interest, especially of those who promote and support what will result in a massive tax on all consumers. …

Wayne Parkola

Fallbrook

Historical roots connect Zionism, fascism

In the newest letter in the ongoing debate with Chris Pulse, a critic accuses him of being anti-Semitic due to his contention that Israel is basically fascist. Yet neither Pulse nor critics seem to be aware of the seminal books by former rabbinical student Lenni Brenner that chronicle this specific history.

In the interests of halting the futile debate concerning an overt fascist connection, I suggest both sides take a hard look at the Amazon.com review of Brenner's 2002 book, "51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration With the Nazis." And though commonly assumed that the confiscation and forced relocation of the Palestinian lands and people was in response to the Jewish holocaust in Europe, Lenni's first two books ("Zionism in the Age of Dictators" and "The Iron Wall") chronicle the roots of Zionism dating to its inception about 150 years ago, calling for an establishment of a Jewish state that vowed forcible expulsion of native Palestinians into camps fully controlled by Jews â€"â€" i.e., well before Nazis rounded up the Jews in the more brutal Holocaust.

But how can one "never forget" that, when they never learn their own history, that propagates such madness unto today?

Sean Sheeter

Vista

School district thanks arts center

The Escondido Union School District would gratefully like to acknowledge the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, and to inform the public of the support the center provides to our district through many exceptional programs that have helped keep the arts alive in our schools.

Our music department is especially grateful to the center for the use of the concert hall and the technical support the center provides each year for elementary and middle school band concerts. In addition to these yearly concerts, the "Center Stage: Performances for Youth" series has introduced our children to many types of performing arts they may never had had the opportunity to experience. …

"My Story: Literacy Through the Arts" is the most recent creation from the center's education department. Teachers have seen tremendous student growth as students write their own stories and illustrate them with photographs they take themselves with digital cameras. …

The support of the CCAE has helped our district to incorporate the arts into the curriculum effectively. In times such as our state's current financial crisis, the support of the Center is even more vital to our district. We look forward to our future partnership as our students continue to learn about and become lifelong lovers of the arts.

Paula Pendell

coordinator of extended

learning support

Escondido Union School District

Perez can't let go of grudge against Castro

The North County Times chooses a Cuban-American to write opinions about Cuba. Miguel Perez is no exception. His column of June 10, "Clinton due nod for Cuba step," praises Hillary Clinton for placing conditions on Cuba's reinstatement in the Organization of American States.

Perez writes in favor of the Obama soft diplomacy, but continues to push the idea that Cuba has to change to earn complete reinstatement.

Perhaps Perez is right â€"â€" or not. We have been fed so much propaganda about nations we like to label as "enemies," that we even swallowed the outrageous falsehood that Arabs dying as martyrs receive 70 virgins in their afterlife. #…

But back to Perez, who was 11 when he and his family left Cuba and surely spent his youth absorbing stories from friends and relatives about how Fidel led Cuba into dictatorship and vile repression. That's not how some Cubans see it â€"â€" or most other people and nations in the world.

Certainly Fidel was not interested in letting go of power after he and others had shed blood to get it, but changes have been made in Cuba since 1959, including elections.

Perez … just cannot let go of his decadeslong grudge.

Dolores Welty

Encinitas

Data show health care falls short

Judging medical care in the debate over health care reform, it's worthwhile to ask about the function of a health care system. In its simplest form, it is to lengthen the lives of users to their full genetic potential.

Longevity statistics for the major industrialized nations are readily available. The data … don't support the belief that the U.S. has the best medical care in the world.

The U.S. spends 15.4 percent of gross domestic product on health care on a system with 2.6 doctors and 3.3 hospital beds per 1,000 people. Its citizens live to an average age of 78.2 years.

The United Kingdom spends 8.1 percent of GDP, has 2.3 doctors, 4.2 hospital beds and its average age is 79.4. In short, for almost half the cost, British citizens live a year longer.

The results are the same for other countries. Canada spends 9.8 percent, supports 2.1 doctors, 3.6 hospital beds, average age 80.6 years; France, 10.5 percent of GDP, 3.4 doctors, 7.5 beds and age 80.6; Spain â€"â€" 8.1 percent of GDP, 3.3 doctors, 3.8 beds and age 81.

Tell me, what does a for-profit private health insurance system do for Americans' lives?

Zoltan Lucas, M.D.

Oceanside

Support public health care

This "recession" is leaving most taxpayers without health care, since laid-off workers can't afford costly COBRA.

Remember, the greedy, excessively compensated, insurance execs caused this economic disaster (e.g., AIG).

Insurers will cut health care costs by continuing to deny and delay treatment â€"â€" and rescind contracts after very sick patients have paid premiums for years (the movie "Sicko" showed us suckers the truth).

We have the highest health care costs in the world â€"â€" with some of its poorest morbidity and mortality outcomes. Do you trust insurers? …

Even medical doctors favor public health insurance â€"â€" with its prompter payment and 5 percent overhead versus HMOs, et al., with slower payment and 30 percent overhead.

Please let Congress know that the voters deserve the same health care that they enjoy.

Nora La Corte, RN

Carlsbad

Children deserve to pay our debt

If I hear one more time about the debt that "our" children are going to be stuck with, I will hurl.

For most of us, it was our "children" who determined the outcome when they jumped on the bandwagon for a president who, as Chavez put it, was left of him and Castro. So maybe the lesson they will learn is do your homework before going to the polls. For if you did, you wouldn't be stuck paying for his social engineering when you have the money they want.

Thankfully, in California we have a Republican governor who can cause the gridlock needed to stop the taking of our money. And that is what smarter people intended (our Founding Fathers) when they drew up the branches of our federal government â€"â€" to cause gridlock so one group wouldn't steal from another, which is unfortunately is happening now.

Kevin Konczal

Carlsbad

Where is the change?

There was supposed to be a major change in … government, but it didn't happen. As a long-standing Democrat, I am disappointed that most government functions are going about the same as they did under Bush.

President Obama now states our troops won't be out of Iraq in 16 months, but some will still be there for several years.

Any health care reform will still include the HMOs that have been jacking up the costs. A single-payer system, which is the way to drastically reduce costs, is not under consideration.

Hundreds of billions of dollars are still being given to the greedy lending institutions that cannot be trusted. Big business is still free to exchange American workers for cheaper foreign workers.

There is no talk about a campaign financing system paid for only by taxpayers so the control of our government by big business can be stopped.

We still attempt to compete in a global trading system even though our labor costs are 10 times greater than many other countries.

Corruption of government officeholders is still at an unacceptable level. Positions change, but it seems all politicians operate about the same on major issues and just follow the dollar.

Herbert Pairitz

Carlsbad

Proof simply does not exist

Answering John Terrell (Letters, June 19): First, eye/skin color does not fall into the same category as left-handedness, or homosexuality. Eye/skin color cannot be altered. Left-handedness/homosexuality can.

Second, it is not up to me to supply proof that homosexuality in not inborn, no more than me supplying proof that stealing, smoking, drugs, prostitution, lying or infidelity are not inborn. Homosexuality provides no constructive purpose to the human race other than personal satisfaction. If you think it does, it's up to you to prove/validate what that purpose is, further, demonstrating that it is an inborn condition.

As far as Richard Green demonstrating that latent homosexuality could be reliably predicted well before puberty, based on a children's "gender-inappropriate play," dolls vs. toy cars, only proves that homosexuality is influenced, not inborn. A child would have to "learn" that dolls are for girls. Green demonstrated predictability, not causation.

With respect to "Is it a choice? The Science of Sexual Orientation," The Simon LeVay study, difference in brain size between homo-/heterosexual men, was cited. What was not noted is that LeVay observed, "People who think that gays and lesbians are born that way are more likely to support gay rights."

Frank Lancelotti

Oceanside

Recall tactics questioned

Now that the recall petitions of signatures for Councilman Jerry Kern have been turned over to the City Clerk's office, I hope the clerk's office not only verifies each and every signatory, they also contact each person and ask them whether they knew they were signing a recall effort.

My wife and I were asked to sign this petition during the past few weeks under the guise of "objecting to a local landfill project" and a "support for senior citizens." I bet many of the folks who signed had no idea that they were signing a recall effort.

The tactics of those obtaining signatures can be described as less than forthright. I will volunteer my time for free to contact each and every signer of that petition and verify they were aware of what they were signing. I hope others join me in doing so.

Michael Clark

Oceanside

Politicians overspent by $24 billion

Re: "Governor sees opportunity in budget crisis," June 3: Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, the problem is on your doorstep! Balance the budget. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is as bad as Gov. Gray Davis. He believes when voters rejected five tax measures in May, that they were frustrated by being asked to vote on complicated issues that should be decided by elected officials. …

The reason we voted on this is precisely because we cannot depend on our elected officials to make decisions to benefit the citizens rather than political donors.

The taxpayers dumped five tax measures to bail out the governor and elected politicians from a bottomless tax pit, allowing the same problem for years. It is time to do your job and forget the unions!

When Proposition 13 passed by a landslide, it should have told California politicians to live within the money available and not get greedy. It is not Prop. 13, it is the politicians looking for votes and overspending.

Say no to unions. We need California back for its citizens. …

No public employee should have guaranteed-for-life employment. In the private sector, if you do not do your job, you do not have a job.

Buddie Gran

Escondido