Civil freedoms separate from religious ones

Re: "State religious leaders push for gay marriage ban," Sept. 25: Since when does California have "state religious leaders"? Your gaffe points, though, to the crux of the debate regarding separation of church and state.

Also, I am dismayed to read of the amounts of money being spent to prevent "those" people from having the same civil rights and responsibilities afforded me. If a gay couple want to enter into a legally recognized union, that in no way diminishes the sanctity of my own relationship. How does one person's right to marry somehow cheapen, threaten or nullify the existing union of another couple?

With the financial struggles our community faces, why not put your money and effort into providing decent housing for the homeless; into cleaning up homes of elderly folks … ? Don't spend your money on fear and negative action to prevent someone else from having the same legal rights as you have.

If your church wants to set rules for whose marriage they sanctify, by all means! That is religious freedom â€"â€" your right and mine. It is separate, however, and must remain so from the civil, legal partnerships recognized by the state, aka we the people.

Peggy Watson

Vista

Liberal media bias again

It was no surprise to see another conservative complaining about the liberal media bias in the North County Times letters page (Oct. 2). The only surprise was that Rex Geivett didn't threaten to cancel his subscription unless the editors shape up.

It's true that the letters have been running way pro-Obama lately. That doesn't mean the editors have thrown up the white flag of surrender, however. (Surge is working, victory is in sight, drill, baby, drill.) If you look at the page on the left, where the professionals show up, you'll note a distinguished succession of right-wing luminaries, including the convicted criminal Ollie North, McCain lobbyist Dick Morris, cheerleader Michelle Malkin and ball peen Krauthammer. They're getting paid to tell you what to think. Those letter writers are just amateurs.

Rest easy, Rex. It's only the people who are pro-Obama. Mere citizens. … Hardly the sort to throw out a corrupt cabal of neo-GOP war criminals. Surge is working, victory is in sight, drill, baby, drill. These aren't the 'droids you're looking for.

Gerold Firl

Poway

Rewarding the wrong behavior

So it looks like our government is going to loan the big automakers $25 billion for their incompetence. They have had decades of profit and chose to reward their fat-cat CEOs with big salaries and bonuses, and for what? They have no foresight and do not even have 20/20 hindsight.

It was in the late '70s (after the Arab oil embargo) that they said, "Oh, please help us, Mr. President, 'cause the Japanese are making more fuel-efficient cars and we just can't compete."

Where is it written that our government has the right to make these bailout decisions? Personally, I would rather see our government give progressive and forward-thinking companies money than loan it to those whom have proven to be foolish with money they have had. Think companies such as Aptera could create a few jobs if we gave them a hundred million? It won't happen, so I can only hope that these little startups don't sell out to but will engulf and devour the big four. Stay your course and I hope you each become the next Richard Branson.

Glenn Zajic

Fallbrook

Time to fire everyone

In a time of a national economic crisis, our Congress passed a bill that could possibly save this country's economic future … The guts of the bill included over $111 billion of pork for the various senators' treasure chests. This includes Sen. Ron Wyden's (D-Ore.) amendment to help the wooden arrow industry in the state of Oregon. What does all of this have to do with the financial crisis this country is facing? We have an election coming up. It is time to fire everyone.

Jeff Lassle

San Marcos

Heyneman will protect our quality of life

Fallbrook's quality of life is under constant assault by developers, whose aim is to convert Fallbrook's rural lifestyle to high-density urban. They are currently processing high-density development amendments to the county's general plan update in progress, even before it is adopted! …

This is why you need to elect members to the Fallbrook Planning Group who will fight to protect your quality of life. Jackie Heyneman is such a person. She has her fingerprints on numerous Fallbrook endeavors over the years, which have enhanced Fallbrook's quality of life. Jackie has been attending FCPG meetings for years and is serving appointments on the Planning and Land Use and Design Review committees. Jackie will fight to ensure that planning decisions in Fallbrook are consistent with your community plan and will benefit your rural lifestyle.

Proposed developer plans for the area northeast of Interstate 15 and Highway 76 will create a future ghetto â€"â€" which flouts our community character, results in gridlock traffic, increased crime, pollution and a degradation of your quality of life. Your future depends upon you electing people like Jackie.

Gerald Walson

Bonsall

The cheerleader and the professor

Sarah Palin and Joe Biden debate as we watch the cheerleader and the professor. It seems a shame this is what our presidential election has become.

If you read the comments and letters, you can judge who votes for whom. I have a lot of jokes about the cheerleader, but there is nothing funny about where Dick Cheney now sits. The facts of his (and Bush's) lies and deceit are not funny. There is no joke in the Marines coming home in body bags. Remember, we went to Iraq to find the weapons of mass destruction, and there were none. Lies and deceit have led this great country to war and now economic ruin.

You voted for Bush and Cheney. If you vote for McCain and Palin, you qualify those lies and the body bags for 100 more years. Bless the Marines and soldiers who were courageous enough to volunteer, but the lies and deceit have to stop. Do not kill another with your vote.

Alonzo Hall

Vista

We need someone who looks ahead

Want to learn more about the economic problems? Watch this video, or do nothing and vote for who looks good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxgSubmiGt8. Do it soon before it gets taken off.

John McCain warned that Freddie and Fannie were in trouble as early as 2001 and again in 2003 and 2006. He tried to pass legislation on two occasions, which was turned down by the Democrats. The Democrats have been in power and are a do-nothing Congress. … Obama encouraged affordable housing and look what happened. They all made loads of money.

Look into the past and how Greenspan warned in 2005 that we would have a disaster and how the Democrats said all was OK. The only one who acted was McCain on many occasions.

We need someone who looks ahead, uses his head and experience, and that is John McCain. He is someone we all can trust, who has devoted his lifetime to public service, not just for 173 days. McCain associates with people who love America and has picked a running mate with great moral values, Sarah Palin. His experience, concern and contacts can save this country and keep us safe.

Ruth Smith

Escondido

What the bailout will show

The bailout was passed, not because the bill was improved with safeguards for the taxpayers, but because the bill was loaded with bribes, lawmakers call them earmarks, totaling over a hundred billion dollars, to get our representatives to vote for it.

This gives every registered voter an excellent opportunity to identify the lawmakers of both parties who are so self-serving that they take their own personal interests above what is best for the citizens who they have sworn to represent. These politicians were bought and paid for with money we the taxpayers will be paying for through the next generation.

Now that this giveaway of our money has allowed us to identify those lawmakers who are not honestly representing us, it is our responsibility to vote them out of office.

Mike Muttoni

Escondido

Discomfort no reason to take away rights

I am straight, happily married, with a small child, and I'll be voting with a resounding no on Proposition 8. I have been reading the letters in support of Prop. 8, and they seem to be from people who dislike gay people "just because" and are hiding behind religion to validate their argument.

It's been a while since my Catholic catechism days, but my recollection is that Jesus taught a message of kindness, tolerance and non-judgment. I have a number of friends who are gay, and they are just people, no better or worse than anyone else. It isn't anyone's place to judge them and say that they don't deserve basic freedoms just because they weird you out.

Churches aren't required to marry same-sex couples, so you can rest easy in that regard. Prop. 8 would change our Constitution to take away rights from a group of citizens. Maybe you aren't comfortable with the idea of a same-sex couple who love each other, but is your discomfort really a valid reason to take away their rights?

Rachel Rott

Vista

Depression message is phony

The whole corporate media message of "be afraid" of a depression is just phony. They cite facts that have nothing to do with a credit crunch, like car dealers failing because of gas prices and their huge inventories of gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs.

Dick Blom

Oceanside

The many lives of a plastic bag

Christina Williams (Letters, Sept. 21) might want to think a little bit more about the plastic bags used by the North County Times.

In my experience, they have several post-delivery uses: 1. Occasionally, the delivery person accidentally throws the paper on my lawn, which is often damp from early watering. 2. I slip my portable phone into the bag and place it on the edge of my bath tub/shower during my morning ablution. Makes this elderly lady feel safer. Afterward, I drape it over the faucets to drip dry, then put it in the recycle bin. 3. The Sunday edition bag is large enough to hold a pair of shoes. I save them for packing my footgear when I travel.

Some of your creative readers can probably think of many other reuses.

Pat McDonald

Oceanside

Big government already controls us

In the Sept. 23 letters, Marcy Young starts her letter by saying, "Barack Obama's 'change' policies would mean a bigger and bigger government â€"â€" not the conservative, limited government our country was founded on. … "

Does she actually believe that our government seizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, buying 80 percent of AIG, and approving $700 billion to bailout the financial industry will make our government smaller? She also states that Obama's "change policies" means "big regulations on our liberties." Has she never heard of the Patriot Act?

Bill Homann

San Marcos

Overcrowding needs our attention now

One good thing about the problem with the Carlsbad High School football field is that our kids get to visit some nice schools for the home football games. Shame on Carlsbad Unified School District for extremely poor management. It is a travesty that Carlsbad High School campus is a mess compared to Oceanside, El Camino, LCC or any other school in the area. … The new school is still years away and further delayed due to the gnat catcher bird or whatever.

What to do: How about addressing the overcrowding problem, at least for the next school year? It is very simple. It makes no sense to have several elementary schools and three middle schools channeled to one four-year high school.

In a wrong-way decision for our kids, the school board moved sixth grade to the middle schools a few years back instead of addressing a very crowded high school campus. What they should have done, and should initiate in the fall, is to move sixth grade back to elementary and move ninth grade to the middle schools. This helps CHS, keeps populations similar at the middle schools and has minimal impact on several elementary schools. Inaction to improve the situation as much as possible is not an option we should accept.

Robert Watson

Carlsbad

U.S. still a great place

None of the commentary of pundits I heard expressed surprise that Barack Obama expressed such nostalgia for the 1960s when his father came to the United States. He inferred those were the days the United States was respected.

Those were also the days of terrible turbulence, when three prominent leaders were assassinated, racial intolerance pervasive and a climate of unease existed as college students rioted.

Sen. Obama is seemingly unaware that people continue to clamor to enter the United States, even risking their lives in some instances. We do have problems, but I can't think of anyplace I'd rather live. If Obama is our president, we'll have cradle-to-grave government supervision. What a shame!

Gerrie Ryan

Escondido

Who's to blame?

The bailout passed muster in Congress. The blame game now begins. For those really interested, regardless of party affiliation, check out Jeff Jacoby's Boston Globe column of Sept 28. But that's one man's opinion you say. OK, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPSDnGMzIdo. You can hear it right from the horse's mouth at about 1:03/1:26 in the segment.

And finally, ultimately, who is responsible? Look in the mirror. Too often we buy on credit to satisfy the desire to have something now. Feeling guilty, we encourage lending institutions to lower their credit standards for others. We send people off to Washington and pay no attention to what they are doing. As Walt Kelly said: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

Dan Shapiro

Oceanside

Irish eyes smiling on Nov. 4?

Will Irish eyes be smiling on Election Day? Joe Biden's mother's grandfather came from Ireland. Barack Obama's grandmother's grandfather came from Ireland. Barack is Scotch-Irish on his mother's side. It looks like Irish eyes will be smiling on Nov. 4.

Daniel Lynch

Vista

A dermatologist's misdiagnosis

Ruth Larson's letter (Oct.3) characterizing John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as vice president as irresponsible was published a day late. We just watched Gov. Palin blow Joe Biden off the stage during the vice presidential debate. This is a man with 30 years in the Senate and an experienced debater who, with a sour demeanor, filled the air with falsehoods regarding McCain's record (www.Factcheck.org).

Palin proved she is the fastest study on the block, articulate, authentic and in touch with the American people. As a physician, I love her pro-life stance. As a believer that science matters, I also recognize there are a multitude of objective scientists who are uncertain to the degree man is responsible for global warming. I have no problem with hospitals attempting to get insurance companies to pay for rape kits. …

As far as Larsen labeling Palin as a fanatic, she forgets Obama was an acolyte for 20 years to his spiritual mentor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I would bet the terrific dermatologist, Dr. Larsen, the price of a skin biopsy that Palin could beat the slow, hesitant, analysis-paralysis Obama in a debate, anywhere, anytime.

Charles Smith

Pauma Valley

Deregulation has cost the consumer dearly

Re: "Blaming the real culprits," Oct. 7: Mr. Richard Kirk asserts that deregulation is not the cause of the present financial crisis on Wall Street. His long-winded diatribe states the Democrats precipitated the crisis. The facts are that on Oct. 22, 1999, the Clinton administration and congressional Republicans reached an agreement that set the stage for the most sweeping banking deregulation bill in American history, and a decade of abuse, including the Keating S&L scandal.

The Financial Services Modernization act of 1999 did away with the restrictions on the integration of banking, insurance and trading, imposed by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 (brought about by the 1929 crash and bank failures).

It is a well-known fact that deregulation has cost the consumer dearly. Perhaps if Mr. Kirk had stuck to straight talk, and avoided innuendoes such as "K Street cronyism," his message might have been more effective. I don't understand how he can claim that the Democrats and Barack Obama are completely responsible for this fiasco. The real culprits are Congress and lobbyists representing special interests. …

John Naranjo

Oceanside