No monopoly on slaughter

I hope Mike Kania (Letters, Dec. 31) can take his foot out of his mouth before he starts slinging his steel-toed work boots at we Americans who don't agree with his opinions.

Mike's recent letter reminds us that "radical Arabs and Muslims have been slaughtering innocent people in this world for thousands of years." Like a good crusader, he conveniently sidestepped the fact that radical Caucasians and Christians have also been slaughtering innocent people for thousands of years.

Neither fact constitutes a rationale for the war in Iraq.

Mike goes on to suggest that it was actually Clinton who failed to prevent 9/11 since Bush had been in office for only nine months when the attacks occurred. This is a classic example of the flawed neoconservative values that make a complete sham of the concept of personal responsibility while enshrining the idea of passing the buck â€"â€" not unlike the deadbeat dads who refuse to accept responsibility for the nine-month pregnancy they conceived.

Seems to me that the only reason Bush didn't get nailed by that journalist's shoe is that he is a master ducker. He ducked after Katrina, no WMDs, the economic meltdown and too many others to list within a 200-word limit.

John Webster

Vista

Be thankful for fire trucks, not judgmental

Re: Raymond Deming's letter on Dec. 29: A fire truck responds when 911 is called for injuries, etc. The firemen on the fire truck are mostly all paramedics. The fire truck has all the life-saving equipment needed to help victims. It doesn't have the capability of transporting.

In Oceanside, there are about five ambulances. The population is close to 180,000. There are more fire trucks, so the paramedics on the fire trucks respond, then if needed, call the ambulance. We should be thankful when they arrive, not judgmental. When the fire truck arrives, you are getting no less than three highly qualified paramedics. P.S. I'm not so sure the "Jaws of Life" is stocked on an ambulance…

Denise Rogers

Oceanside

Fallbrook's disaster streak

It seems that Fallbrook has been cursed â€"â€" in the past two years, the "Friendly Village" has experienced an increasing number of tragedies, the latest being a car accident that killed a woman and injured three teenagers ("Woman killed in South Mission Road crash," Dec. 30).

While I do not question the morality of the town of Fallbrook, I am forced to ask myself whether these accidents, ranging from the death of the beloved cross country coach to the paralyzing of a well-known football player, could have been prevented by a healthy dose of common sense.

I realize that the deaths of the former baseball coach's wife, the track coach Marty Hauck, the former ASB director Bob Burton and the FHS employee Janice Borges-Stepan, could not have been helped. However, I know that the recent car accident that paralyzed a student could have been prevented by a mere seat belt; I know that Sean Jordan's death could have been prevented by not drinking and driving. This is why I question the cause of the most recent car accident: Could this accident have been prevented?

The community of Fallbrook needs to reconsider the image we are portraying. Please Fallbrook, use your heads!

Chantal Creighton

Fallbrook

DBA doesn't have city's best interests in mind

We are saddened and embarrassed at the same time about Downtown Business Association CEO Debra Rosen's actions concerning the once-successful Cruisin' Grand event.

It is obvious to all who have attended the event and to all longtime Escondido residents that the founder, Steve Waldron, had only the best interests of the community in mind when he worked so hard to start the event.

What is also obvious is that as an outsider from Poway, Rosen has only the monetary interests of the sponsorships in mind when she got involved. The DBA is supposed to bring customers to the businesses located in the downtown. That includes Steve's T-shirt business. To take the Cruisin' Grand T-shirts out of the city (to San Marcos) is in direct violation of their purpose. Why not sell pizza slices out of the DBA booth then, too? Will Filippi's mind? Maybe that is next.

Shame on the board of directors or the City Council, whoever is in charge of this DBA, for allowing this to happen. My family will join the ranks of hundreds of others who are never going back to Cruisin' Grand again.

Michael and

Loretta Freeman

Escondido

Extremely thankful for checkpoints

On the front page on Dec. 31 was another story of the traffic stops and complaints by civil rights groups and Latino activists ("Most breeze through checkpoint"). No, it isn't terrible that the police are trying to keep unsafe drivers off the streets; it's to be commended. Thank you!

On page B-3 was an article of another DUI hitting four cars ("Suspected DUI driver hits four parked cars") and guess what? No license, no insurance.

My husband's car was hit and totaled by someone who had no license, no insurance, no registration and no brakes, plus he had a woman and child in the car to boot.

Please continue to enforce the law and try to keep our streets safe. Thank you!

Elizabeth Nienhaus

Escondido

Let all unlicensed drivers drive cars?

Let me get this straight: Civil rights groups think that traffic checkpoints in Escondido are unfair because they catch the very people that they are intended to catch, i.e., unlicensed drivers ("Most breeze through checkpoint," Dec. 31)? They also think that illegal aliens should be allowed to drive without a license because, after all, they have to go to work and run errands, etc.

Well, then, why not let all unlicensed drivers drive cars? After all, even convicted drunk drivers might have to go to work.

This reminds me of the story of the young man who was convicted of murdering his parents and then threw himself on the mercy of the court because he was an orphan.

Joe Scarantino

Carlsbad

What really happened on 9/11

On Sunday, Dec. 28, we got a revelation from Arne Hansen and Dwain Deets concerning the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings. I am sorry they are so uninformed, when everyone knows that Bush hired space aliens to fly their invisible aircraft into the buildings and bring them down! They could only spare a few minutes because the remainder of the aircraft are still busy holding the sky up!

Ed DeCanniere

Oceanside

The new OJ, tasty stuff

Speaking of "wasted space" (Robert Tormey, Letters, Dec. 23), the opposite of "Clinton drivel" must be "Clinton Kool-Aid drinkers." Robert Tormey needs to get off that stuff and try the Messiah's new drink, "Obama Juice."

Robert does cause me to be in quite a dilemma. He wants me to stop writing "Clinton drivel," Peggy Sloan wants me to "lay off" Obama, the Messiah; who then would be my target? Joe Biden? No. Harry Reid? No. Nancy Pelosi? No. Mayor Sanders? No. All not big enough to be worthy of my masterful critiques!

Sorry, Robert, it will be same old, same old Clinton drivel, not the Clintons of 1992, but the modern-day money- and power-grubbing Bill and Hillary, who are in the news daily, suckering America and the world!

Junious

Montgomery

Carlsbad

Checkpoint article was superficial

Re: ("Most breeze through checkpoint," Dec. 31): Chris Nichols' article on the use of roadblocks by the Escondido Police Department was disappointingly superficial. Noting that civil rights and Latino groups oppose them, Nichols did not include statements from either. Rather, the article included unchallenged remarks by police that the practice reduces hit-and-run accidents, though there is no evidence. The Escondido Police have yet to explain why there are similar reductions in hit-and-run accidents in other cities where roadblocks are not nearly as frequent. They have also withheld information on roadblocks' cost and the ethnicities of those cited.

Civil rights and Latino groups have pointed out that there is no coincidence that the same city that tried to enact an unlawful rental ban ordinance is now engaging in a practice that seemingly targets those who are ineligible to be licensed drivers. But worse than this, police mischaracterize deportation orders found during these stops as felony warrants, which results in arrests that destroy families …

The face of the anti-immigrant, anti-Latino campaign appears to have shifted from councilmembers Waldron and Abed to Chief Maher.

Bill Flores

spokesman, El Grupo

Escondido

Vanity would be dishonorable goal

Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit hath a man, a man of all his labour which he taketh under the hot, sultry Hawaiian sun. One generation passeth away while another bikini-clad generation cometh to savor the young king in all his sunlit pectoral glory.

A little fun with Ecclesiastes. How could our Holy Book not be holy with such wisdom and such beauty? When a very wise man searches for answers to man's most puzzling and most destructive power, that of his own vanity.

When Barack Obama came on the scene, it awakened my curiosity as to where he stood in his quest for greatness; greatness in quantity of successes, not quality. I'm not sure whether or not Obama understands his own ambitions. I'm not sure he understands the relationship between ambition and formidable intellect. If his emotional goal is the sweet swelling of his vanity and not an honorable effort for the good of mankind, it will come to no good.

Ray Erler

San Marcos

Bush and Cheney rewrite history

As the Bush-Cheney rewrite-history-spin-legacy project hits high gear, the worst president ever might not have as much to worry about as he rightly thinks he should. After the Republican defiers are finished with their history rewrite, he will be an often-invoked icon. Just look at Reagan. He tripled the national debt and fought an illegal war. Sound familiar? Reagan traded arms for hostages with Iran, then took the loot from said transaction and funded the Contras in Nicaragua, which Congress specifically said he could not do. Ollie North is now some sort of hero. How quickly we forget.

Remember the 444 days that the hostages were held? The Iranians wanted to release them months earlier, but Ronny thought it would look better for him if the release happened after his inauguration. How thoughtful. Now Reagan is mentioned as if he were some sort of demigod, synonymous with true conservatism (he tripled the national debt!).

Don't you wish we could get these blanket rewrites of all our actions? Charlie Manson would be remembered as having worked with Mother Teresa, but war crimes are still war crimes, no matter who writes the book.

Nathan Wesley

Solana Beach

No to handouts, automatic citizenship

I completely agree with the Kennedys' letter regarding the free ticket illegals receive at our expense (Dec. 30). I personally tried to help two young women from Mexico (here with work visas) learn English. I gave them the Channel 19 schedule of ESL programs, how to get the free workbook and info on free classes at Escondido Adult School. Neither one took advantage of this opportunity. Why should they? The game plan is, don't return home when your visa expires and give birth here as soon as possible, ensuring against deportation since the child is an American citizen.

One is expecting her first baby soon, and I expect her sister will soon follow the plan. Forget any support from the boys who father these babies. We taxpayers pay for the prenatal care, welfare, food stamps, WIC coupons, health care, education and interpreter services for these women and children.

These people know how to play our system to get their needs met. Our citizens are losing their jobs, homes, health care, college savings and retirement funds, yet we continue to support this invasion. Our laws need to be changed to prevent any assistance to illegals or their children. No handouts, amnesty or automatic citizenship!

Kathleen Scott

Escondido

Ireland wants U.S. amnesty, too

An article in the Belfast Telegraph on Dec. 28 hinted that things might get better with the new Obama administration for the 40,000-80,000 Irish illegal aliens living and working (illegally) in the U.S. (http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/new-administration-may-b%20ring-hope-to-undocumented-irish-in-the-us-14121827.html).

Apparently, Mexico is not the only country demanding "rights" and amnesty for their law-breaking citizens who ignored our borders and our immigration laws to come to the land of milk and honey (and welfare). Of course, Mexico, being a much shorter swim to America, has far more of their citizens living here illegally, an estimated 10 million-15 million!

Many of the Irish illegal aliens live in the Boston area and work in the underground economy there. There are likely a relatively small number of Irish illegals in San Diego County, but they too are here in violation of our laws and must be deported when caught, just like illegal aliens from any other country.

"I have a dream" that the new administration will restore our system of legal immigration to America in the coming years. We citizens and legal immigrants will certainly continue to push for it.

Jeff Schwilk

founder, San Diego

Minutemen

Vista

Don't try to turn Oceanside into Carlsbad

Rebecca Brown immediately lost my business when she said "the plan is to spruce up the watering holes and give them 'kind of a Carlsbad area feel.'" ("Two downtown watering holes get new owner," Jan. 2). Why didn't they just buy in Carlsbad? Or, more to the point, why don't they give the Pier View Pub and the Whiskey Barrel an "Oceanside-y" feel? They can "gentrify" the pubs for the proposed upscale visitors to the luxury hotel, while keeping the neighborhood pub atmosphere.

I am so tired of people coming into Oceanside and trying to turn it into Carlsbad. Oceanside has a different demographic and attitude. It will be interesting to see how long the new Orange County owners last.

M. Eliane Weidauer

Oceanside