Driving is a privilege, not a right, in CA

Virginia Mendez's comment that "In our heart, we want to have an opportunity to have a driver's license. We pray to (God) to give us an opportunity to have our legal rights" is a pretty good example of the type of upside-down thinking we often encounter today ("Most breeze through checkpoint," Dec. 31).

The fact of the matter is that Ms. Mendez has no legal right to a driver's license. As anybody who reads the Department of Motor Vehicles handbook would know in California, being able to drive is a privilege, not a right.

It would be refreshing to learn that some of the unlicensed, uninsured drivers endangering us on our roads had at least read the handbooks on driving, which, by the way, are available for free, in several languages, at every DMV office (the closest DMV office is on the same street as the spot where Ms. Mendez had her car impounded, about a quarter-mile away).

Jim Steinberg

Rancho Bernardo

Prayers for the Israelis

We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We pray for the innocent Israelis who get pounded by Hamas rocket fire. We pray for innocent Palestiniansˇmurdered by Hamas, which purposely fires rockets from population centers and refugee camps.

And while we pray for salvation for the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, we pray for the swift destruction of those illegal, murderous, bloodthirsty groups. … We pray that the Palestinians will wake up and realize that if they would just get rid of those criminals, the Jews would embrace and help their half-brothers and sisters to have peace and prosperity.

In an incredible act of sacrifice, Israel evicted its own citizens from Gaza and gave it to the Palestinians. Almost immediately, Hamas illegally took over and started attacking Israeli population centers. They kill everyone: Jews, their own people, Arabs living in Israel.

The very existence of Israel is a modern miracle. From the time that the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 A.D. to the Holocaust, the Jews remained a distinct race, religion and culture, despite having no homeland. No ethnic group has ever survived more than a generation or two being dispersed. Woe unto those who call good evil and evil good.

Barbro Edwards

San Marcos

Don't be calling 911 in Vista

On Friday while driving on a Vista street, I observed a pickup truck weaving all over the street. I wanted to pass, but followed instead.

I noticed that the front of the truck was smashed and that vehicle parts were hanging from it. It is against the law to use a cell phone while driving, so I followed the truck for three miles to a store. … The driver got out and went into the store, got a drink and made a phone call on the pay phone.

I called 911 while parked across the street. … The Vista 911 operators have to be the most incompetent … people Vista can hire. I am a former Marine Corps air traffic controller. I know that diction and annunciation and abbreviation are paramount. Communicating with a Vista 911 operator is a lesson in the abstract. …

… I called the Sheriff's dispatch three times. Finally, someone listened and took my information. They told me that this was an active hit-and-run case and the information … was very important (data) that they did not have.

My advice: Don't get involved with the Vista Sheriff 911. Dispatch does not really care. …

Larry Barry

Oceanside

Israel, Hamas and peace in the Middle East

In response to Alexandra Cloney's letter (Letters, Jan. 2): Criticizing the actions of Israel does not make one anti-Jewish; it is precisely because I love the people of Israel and those of the Arab world that I find fault with Israel and Hamas' actions.

We will never be able to bridge the divide between these two peoples until we truly and honestly view the conflict with a rational and measured mind. There are legitimate grievances on both sides and acts of terror perpetrated by each â€"â€" neither is worse or more cruel than the other.

Unfortunately, Ms. Cloney falls into the same trap as many others and chooses to cherry-pick favored details and vilify the other side. Sadly, she closes out her letter condemning bigotry by jumping into the fray herself with anti-Arab commentary.

When will we have peace in the Middle East? When parents on both sides care more about their children's future than the slings and arrows of the troubled past. And that dream is one that some of us will never let die.

Kyle Clark

San Marcos

Need accurate Mideast reporting

There are no civilians in Gaza as I write. The illegal terrorist government of Gaza is fully supported by the powerless Mahmoud Abbas. The so-called humanitarian supplies to Gaza are being kept away from the population of Gaza by Hamas. After years of launching rockets into Israel, the sniveling cowards of the Arab nations are feeling the sting of bombs from outraged Israel and are running to their anti-American pals in the United Nations.

Of course, the brave French are proposing to run a truce after allowing the Moslem mobs to destroy their cities and the credibility of their own government. Remember American fries?

The George Bush-Condoleeza Rice pandering to the terrorists will soon be replaced by the much worse surrender-without-conditions policies of Hussein Obama …

It is too bad that our media have turned their backs on us at this time. We need accurate reporting of the involvement of Muslim religious dictators of the Arab world with terrorism, as in Iran. If Rice-Bush are afraid to name Muslim preachers using their mosques to store weapons for terrorists, who will?

Vincent Morrison

Oceanside

California has spending problems

Real leadership in Sacramento would be explaining every day to the media (thus the residents of California) that this mess was created by overspending. As the governor has stated, the state has a spending, not a revenue, problem. The so-called solutions in the past were just smoke and mirrors and now are coming back to haunt us.

We are in tough economic times, and raising fees and taxes is not the smart thing right now. If the state had been following a fiscally responsible budget, tax increases and program cuts would not be on the table.

Before this budget mess can be solved, a mandatory fiscal plan must be established to make sure this mess never happens again. Only then can we look at ways to solve the budget mess.

It is not fair for the cities, the counties, the school districts and all of the other government entities to have to wait to see how much Sacramento is going to take away or give them for a fiscal budget.

A fiscally sound plan that the Legislature is forced to live by is the only way. Surpluses would be put away for emergencies, not for creating new programs and expanding existing ones.

Roger Covalt

Poway

Letter writer is more than masterful

I've recently returned to my home in Carlsbad after spending a little over a year in Montana caring for an elderly family member. I naturally renewed my subscription to the North County Times. In the Jan. 3 edition is a letter from the one and only Junious Montgomery ("The new OJ, tasty stuff"), and he hasn't changed a bit! He's the writer of (in his own words) "masterful critiques."

Hey, Junious, don't be so modest. You're far more than "masterful" â€"â€" you're the greatest, man! You keep sensible thinkers like Robert Tormey supplied with material that is so easily torn apart that sometimes replying to it hardly seems worth while.

Your never-ending hatred of all things Clinton still has you obsessed, huh? If you'd only pause for a moment to fairly compare the eight years of Clinton in the White House to the tragic embarrassment that will finally end on Jan. 20, even you should see that we were far better off during the former than the latter. But you'd never admit that, would you?

So, Mr. M., just keep writing your drivel (I love that word!) and I'm sure that Bob Tormey will continue to respond accordingly. And you can expect the occasional letter from me as well because … I'm back, Junious!

Patrick Frawley

Carlsbad

Solution for In-N-Out in Escondido

I have a solution for those who want an In-N-Out restaurant in Escondido. I hope you won't disregard it simply because I live in San Marcos.

It's very simple. Count all of the McDonald's, Burger King, Jack in the Box, Starbucks and Wal-Mart franchises in Escondido. Buy out the one doing the least business. Replace it with an In-N-Out Burger franchise.

Trust me, the other companies have so many stores sprouting up all over the place, a single nonproductive store is like an ingrown hair. The CEOs would never miss it.

And a 50-foot sign is a more welcome addition than a Starbucks eyesore any day, right?

Henrik Harbin

San Marcos

People of Carlsbad are against lawsuit

Anthony Forlenza has it all wrong in the Jan. 1 letters. Carlsbad is not stopping Oceanside from building a shopping center. It's Westfield's frivolous idea. Citizens of Carlsbad are appalled at Westfield's actions. We hope that the judge throws the papers out of court so hard, they land in the Pacific Ocean and sink to the bottom.

Anthony should know better than to knock our award-winning city golf course. The San Diego County Taxpayers Association gave us a very prestigious award last year.

Carlsbad citizens and the City Council are well aware of what is going on in our backyard, as well as the front. There may be a few pinhole leaks in the hull of our vessel, but nothing to stop our ship from staying on course.

Walt Meier

Carlsbad

Shame on Congress

Special interests wish to destroy our secret balloting. Ironically, it is called the Employee Free Choice Act. Our protection against big government is to vote as we please with no one knowing how we vote. Special interests contributing millions to politicians will be able to use threats, coercion or even to fire people if they know they have votes against their interests.

Any unnecessary legislation that interferes with people's privacy to vote should be considered evil. You, as a citizen, should be concerned and fight against the Employee Free Choice Act.

Neal Hook

Escondido

Letter writer has no clue

Letter writer Junious Montgomery has gone from writing bad conspiracy fiction ("Obama's choosing Hillary smells of a payoff," Letters, Dec. 21), to writing, in his words, "masterful critiques" about "Obama Juice" (Letters, Jan. 3). How juvenile.

If we wanted opinions disconnected from facts, we could watch Fox News. Montgomery is a serial letter writer with a grandiose sense of self-importance. The Letters page should offer some fresh ideas, serious solutions and some new writers â€"â€" at least to those who have a clue!

Robert Tormey

Escondido

Ford pardon of Nixon an example

To those who agree that the so-called far-left's attempt to make an issue of a possible pardon for Bush is worthy of a beam-up to the Mother Ship (Letters, Jan. 4), take note: There are both good and bad sides to firing off a snippy retort to the North County Times' editors before reviewing your history.

The good is that the NCT will print it. The bad is that the NCT will print it. Ouch. So, please, dust off your search engines and enter "Ford pardons Nixon."

On Sept. 8, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford issued Proclamation 4311, granting a full pardon to former President Richard Nixon. Nixon had not been charged or convicted of a crime, either. Nixon "accepted" the pardon, without ever admitting any guilt beyond making mistakes in dealing with the Watergate break-in.

Not so far-fetched, is it?

Renee Richetts

Escondido

Transportation secretary is earmark king

Barack Obama said during his campaign that congressional earmarks should be reined in, but his choice for Transportation secretary, retiring Rep. Ray LaHood, is one of the leading purveyors of pork in the House. In fiscal 2008, the Illinois Republican secured $62.7 million in earmarks for his district, either alone or working with other House members, which put him in the top 10 percent of House members when it came to pork-barrel outlays.

Bob Ference

Carlsbad

Responsible and irresponsible are found all around

First, Mr. Flores (Letters, Jan. 3), I am not anti-immigration or anti-civil rights. In fact, I walked in Cesar Chavez's march to Sacramento, and I was a civil rights investigator during the 1970s. I support civil rights for all people, and I wholeheartedly endorse legal immigration.

Sneaking into the USA illegally is not immigration. Driving is a privilege, not a civil right. If someone has deportation orders, he or she should be deported. Responsible people do not violate immigration laws. Responsible people do not drive without a proper driver's license. Responsible people are found in every race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion â€"â€" and so are irresponsible people.

Lynda Tammone

Vista

Latest lawsuit is a bad move

The latest lawsuit against Carlsbad is a "good cop, bad cop" ploy to do one thing that Carlsbad believes will benefit it: Widen La Costa Avenue to four lanes. With the traffic-calming measures, Encinitas is about to employ for Leucadia, this move is a bad one. Basically, we are widening our road for the Ponto development in another city, when they can comfortably use Poinsettia Avenue for all of their freeway access. The roundabout planned for La Costa Avenue and 101 eliminates the need for a four-lane expansion for the four blocks to the freeway. But it looks like we're gonna get our cake and eat it, too.

Fred Caldwell

Leucadia