Obama should pick Richardson for VP

Putting Hillary on the ticket as VP would be a disaster! McCain would tear her apart over her and Bill's connection to the United Arab Emirates. They would destroy the ticket.

The best choice for vice president, IMO, would be Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico. He is an honorable man who was one of the first to come to Obama's side. He would attract the huge Latino vote also and help win the Western states â€"â€" such as Arizona, New Mexico and even California.

I hope the Obama people understand this and get behind his selection.

Clifford Brown

Vista

Acknowledge all people who were picked on

In regard to Chris Pulse's letter (June 4), I tend to agree with him. While, yes, the Jewish people were the most hindered during WWII, there were others who were targeted by Hitler.

I am also tired of hearing about reparations to the Japanese people for being put in camps by the U.S. during the war, but no one talks about the Italians who were treated the same. And while we are on the subject, all you hear about is how it is awful the blacks were enslaved, but there is no mention of all the other races that were subject to slavery.

If we are going to continue to talk about WWII atrocities and slavery, then we need to acknowledge all of the people who were picked on.

Joseph Cristarella

Escondido

A polite complaint

I miss Miss Manners!

Liz Ferguson

Carlsbad

Smoking ban will save lives

Although I am not a resident of Carlsbad, I felt strong opposition toward the May 16 editorial, "Smoking bans are result of failures." I frequently visit Carlsbad for a nice day on the beach, and am more than ecstatic to hear there is finally a ban on smoking at the beaches and the city parks. Strangely, some do not seem to be as thrilled about the new law as I personally am. Those in disagreement weakly argue that the government is somehow trying to ruin their lives by the new proposal and want citizens to take a stand.

Those people need to wake up from their delusional world and realize the city is actually saving lives rather than ruining them. By placing a ban on smoking on beaches, thousands per day will be saved from the exposure of secondhand smoke and the beaches will become a cleaner environment.

I do realize this might put an inconvenience on those who are compulsive smokers and my only response is, too bad. They might not mind progressively killing themselves, but the rest of us would like to keep our bodies smoke-free and healthy while enjoying a peaceful day on the beach.

Megan Metsgar

student,

Chaparral High School

Murrieta

A real role model for youth

Thank you for publishing the Student of Merit article on Monique Barrios ("Determination and scheduling drive Monique Barrios," May 26). We saw a rare quality in her when interviewed for the Julian American Legion Auxiliary's Girls State Delegate from Ramona High School. She represented us well, and continues to do so.

It is refreshing to read about a positive role model for our youth. We know Monique will succeed in any endeavor she pursues. She has it all: intelligence, personality and true beauty within.

Sandy Traverse

Escondido

Think twice before redefining marriage

Regarding gay marriage, the biggest misconception is that gay rights are today what the rights of blacks were previously. Not true. Blacks are virtually identical genetically to other racial groups, and so any discrimination against blacks goes against common sense as well as common decency.

But men and women are not genetically identical to each other. While racially mixed parents are simply "dad" and "mom" to their kids, a woman cannot really be "dad" or a man be "mom." And kids really need a dad and a mom. I know that many children grow up without a dad, but many studies have shown that boys who grow up fatherless are at much more risk for juvenile delinquency and criminal behavior. Girls who grow up fatherless are at much more risk for early sexual activity, teen pregnancy and psychological distress.

Finally, heterosexual marriage is not purely a religious issue. Marriage has been defined as between men and women for all of human history, even for the ancient Greeks, who were very open to homosexuality. We should think long and hard before redefining a word that goes back to our earliest history.

Charles Maxwell

San Marcos

Democratic Party flip-flop

Amazing how, in the 2000 election between Gore and Bush, the Democratic Party argued that all votes counted, and attempted to determine the intent of a voter simply by viewing whether or not a ballot had been punched correctly or not, pregnant and hanging chads and attempting to prove that voters were denied the right to vote.

Now, quick step to the 2008 election, and they attempt to deny Democratic voters a voice in Florida and Michigan simply because they decided to hold their elections earlier than the Democratic Party said they could, and now they decide to allow only half the delegates from Florida and Michigan to vote in regard to the Democratic Party candidate who will attempt to win the presidency of the U.S. This almost harkens back to the days where certain U.S. citizens' votes were only to be counted as half a vote. The flip-flop hypocrisy of the Democratic Party is never-ending.

Stephen Logan

San Marcos

Is Iran the next war?

The Bush/Cheney junta, along with their neoconservative cheerleaders in Congress, the mainstream media and right-wing think tanks, are bound and determined to launch a unilateral, pre-emptive attack on Iran before the war criminals leave office next January. Witness the most recent attempts by Bush, Petraeus, Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen and other members of the war machine to drum up support for an attack by claiming that Iran was smuggling arms to the Mahdi army and planning to show off what they claimed were Iranian arms captured in Karbala. These attempts failed when Prime Minister al-Maliki refused to support the U.S. military's claim about Iranian arms being smuggled, and the plan to show off the supposed Iranian arms had to be canceled when U.S. munitions experts examined the weapons in Karbala and found no evidence to credibly connect them to Iran.

Unfortunately, neither of these major embarrassments to the Bush administration and its drumbeat for war was reported in the corporate-owned mainstream media. It appears that they are too busy regurgitating the junta's latest propaganda handouts. That is, when they can pull themselves away from talking about "American Idol," flag pins and other inanities.

Bruce Silva

Vista

Holocaust letter a new low for writer

Well, Chris Pulse (Letters, June 4) has sunk to a new low. He's sick and tired of hearing about the Holocaust, eh? The only reason the Holocaust is ever brought up by the "Jews" is because the likes of Pulse, William Dreu, Robert Green, Mike Thielk, et al., keep espousing their anti-Israel stance. Those Russians and Poles he mentioned happened to be the majority of Russian and Polish Jewry wiped out by the Nazis. And I never heard of the U.S. systematically murdering American Indians; sadly, they were killed trying to protect their land from the increasing westward movement of the white man.

As far as this country "bowing and scraping" to Israel, they are the only sane nation and strong ally we have in the Middle East. I know why Pulse mentioned Finkelstein's book. … This rogue Jew is a disgrace to Jewish people throughout the world who are deeply ashamed of him!

By the way, is this the same Chris Pulse who recently knocked the U.S. Marine Corps? If it weren't for them and 16 million others, he'd be writing his misinformed and hateful letters to a Japanese or German newspaper!

Jack Strumpf

former Marine

Escondido

We need more Sprinters

I am writing to you today to tell you about the horrible traffic conditions in the city of San Diego. I have lived in San Diego County my whole life, and have noticed every day how bad the traffic conditions are.

I do have a solution that I think will solve this traffic problem. Build a more-efficient and larger Sprinter system that travels all through San Diego County, for example, to the airport. In my opinion, the Sprinter would make the city more money because almost everyone would be riding the Sprinter because of the traffic and gas prices. It would also be much quicker to get to your destination.

The city of San Diego needs a Sprinter system that goes all through San Diego. If we had this, it would make everyone happy and would also cut down on a lot of the pollution that cars produce. It would also save people money.

Travis Murray

Vista

Disrespect for our laws hard to comprehend

Escondidans, Californians and the American people are fed up with the out-of-control illegal alien invasion … that continues unabated under the corrupt, protective and watchful eye of certain treacherous politicians. Yes, there are a few token busts here and there, but no substantive, across-the-board enforcement of our laws and securing of our borders, which in many parts now resemble war zones that rival Baghdad and Fallujah (aka Tijuana and Nuevo Laredo)!

While our state and nation sink deeper into recession, thousands of criminal illegal aliens flood across our borders daily, destabilizing our communities and siphoning limited resources from legal Americans and their children. The costs to Californians alone run into the billions annually to educate, medicate and incarcerate these lawless invaders. …

In Escondido alone, our schools are some of the worst in the state and nation, gangs are out of control, many neighborhoods [have] too many people living per dwelling and graffiti is out-of-control. The hate, contempt and disrespect that illegal aliens, and their political and corporate handlers have for our laws and the American people is awfully hard to comprehend.

Gary Walker

Escondido