Let's not waste time on name-calling

Responding to a letter from Michael Campbell http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/05/opinion/letters/2_4_0817_12_21.txt">(Letters, Feb. 5): Mr. Campbell's enlightening letter alerted me to the "half-truths, distortions and fairy tales" that I have erroneously embraced as my personal convictions. In the future I will endeavor to moderate my actions accordingly, in spite of his letter's near-hysterical tone.

Even more importantly, during the preceding eight years, our country has suffered an indeterminable loss of integrity, both internationally and domestically, and we are entering a serious financial recession. Our national debt exceeds $9 trillion. It is imperative that we look for real solutions to restore our position in the world, and not waste time on ego-motivated name-calling, as was actually the content of this letter.

Sherry Robeson

Carlsbad

Where are the regular troops?

Ever wondered, like me, why the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are being fought by reserves and National Guard troops? These civilian soldiers' families are being destroyed because the regulars and their dependents - over half a million - are scattered throughout the over 6,000 military bases in 130 countries around the world. Since World War II, the U.S. has been establishing foreign bases. We have multiple bases in Germany, Japan and Korea, and the list continues to grow. Some have been occupied for over 58 years.

[Some of] these countries see us as a warmongering country and want us out. These bases are owned by the Pentagon, which claims to be the largest landowner on the globe. This is one reason the countries of the world hate us. I can't blame them.

The U.S. has destroyed so many lives by empire building. Now the world countries intend to reel us in, www.awardlabs.com/dubai. We are not the chosen world police and need to bring our troops and jobs home and restore the families again. Vote for someone who promises to do this, to restore the U.S. image and stay out of other countries' affairs!

Clifford Brown

Vista

Flag offenders are off base

Lately there have been some letters on these pages upset with the photo of Stephanie Dezee (Feb. 3) with the flag wrapped around her while she encourages people to register to vote. How much more patriotic can a person be?

The latest to be upset is Laila Charlson http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/11/opinion/letters/2_10_0819_19_36.txt"> (Letters, Feb. 11), who is upset because "the flag is never used as a decoration or as a garment." Haven't these people ever seen flag patches on jackets at the mall, or flag bumper stickers on cars, or stickers of the flag in the window? Have they never watched the Olympics and seen athletes with the flag draped around themselves after they've won an event for our country? Are these decorations and/or garments … disrespectful or are they a way of showing love and appreciation for this country?

The flag people who are offended by the photo in the NCT should drive through neighborhoods after sundown looking for flags displayed outside of residences without illumination on the flag, another flag etiquette faux pas. They could just go knock on the door to educate the offenders and then feel so good that they are helping save the republic. Does it seem that these flag rangers have wrapped themselves so tightly in our flag that they may have cut off the oxygen to their brains?

Bill Homann

San Marcos

Another reason to oppose concrete plant

Obviously, a majority of the Oceanside City Council [seems ready] to approve the Robertson's Ready Mix plant on Industry Street, as noted in recent remarks in the North County Times. This plant was decided in the NCT article and the public has not been heard by the council.

One day after the Planning Commission heard this issue, Reuters News announced the majority holding sale of Robertson's to Mitsubishi Materials for $900 million. This is no longer a family-owned business. Big money talks.

This plant will negatively affect many neighborhoods and the environment. … Remember this when you vote for council candidates.

Donna McGinty

Oceanside

It can, and will, happen here

Shortsighted, tax-adverse people in San Diego County need to prepare. When any emergency strikes, i.e., floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and even terrorist bombings (think WMDs), our fire departments are the first responders in all cases, nationwide. That's a fact! Not worried? Don't care? Our military will certainly be involved, but in what time frame for their call-outs? … We will never have 24/7 immediate response for national disasters on our own soil from the Army or Marines.

The modern (yes, modern) fire services are tasked to be all-risk, multi-function agencies and are expected to be experts in handling anything and everything that may be thrown their way. Volunteers are just that, volunteers, not experts in a field outside their normal lives. Proper numbers of dedicated, professionally trained and properly staffed fire and rescue resources (one in the same) can and will be required at a moment's notice, any day or every day, not just for wildfires every October.

When the Big One, i.e., the earthquake, hits Southern California, what are you going to do? Think about it - it's going to happen. Not if, but when.

Dennis Schwander

retired fire captain,

Orange County Fire Authority

Oceanside

Injury to one is an injury to all

Mr. Mel Gallegos http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/12/opinion/letters/2_11_0817_43_23.txt">(Letters, Feb. 12) wants to separate himself from those he describes as "illiterate persons from Mexico who crawled across the dry riverbed last night." In short, he is asking for validation from the dominate culture. …

It is true that Mexican-Americans are different in many ways from our newly arrived brothers and sisters who, like our grandparents, are seeking a better way of life for their children. However, no matter how much Mr. Gallegos pleads for acceptance, until we work together to fight the rising tide of hatred toward Latinos, neither newly arrived immigrants nor those Gallegos describes as "ancient citizens" will find redemption.

As Martin Luther King stated, an injury to one is an injury to all, and I would add that is especially true when we look alike. Fredi Avalos

Vista

Troops being wrongly tried

Sgt. Evan Vela's U.S. Army trial is disgraceful ("Army sniper accused of murder in Iraq weeps on stand as he recalls shooting," Feb. 10). The Army is trying our troops in Iraq because they cannot be convicted in America. In America, these troops would be represented by civilian attorneys who would actually defend them. The usual military "fix is in" culture would not work in America. These young men would have their families in the courtroom supporting them.

When a general states he wants them convicted, no officer on any court-martial will violate his wishes. Military defense attorneys are willing to, and capable of, giving the accused less-than-adequate representation. …

Military justice is nonexistent when our generals kiss Iraqi backsides. These military generals should open their eyes to the hatred American people are starting to feel toward them for persecuting our heroic enlisted personnel who do the actual fighting. What happened in the University of California, Berkeley, is nothing compared to what will happen if they continue their hatred toward their military enlisted warriors. No one will go in the military.

Patricia Walker

Fallbrook

I-15 is a racetrack

As a rebuttal to Mike Cowan's letter to the editor http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/10/opinion/letters/9_9_0721_36_27.txt">(Letters, Sept. 10, 2007) on my letter: I would like to point out that Cowan is right, I was talking about Interstate 15 and not Highway 76. Three points to Mr. Cowan, who obviously has no clue what he is talking about. Has Mr. Cowan ever heard of a turbo-charger? Check the Internet, there are 1700 hp Vipers out there.

Second point, no, I do not normally drive a sports car to work - it is a '94 Viper with 10,000 actual miles on it. Do the math and, finally, I was driving on the second lane from the right southbound. No, I was not in the passing lane; however, whatever lane, the speed limit is still 70 mph. I-15 is a racetrack and seems very few people obey the speed laws. Mr. Cowan should find another topic to explore or check his facts before he writes.

Jeff Lassle

Fallbrook

Please explain it to me

What a great idea! President Bush and his Environmental Protection Agency will not require an overpolluting power plant to fix its pollution problem. Instead, to meet its pollution requirements, it may purchase credits from a less-polluting plant. Yes, that is a great idea, one that I shall attempt to use here in my own neighborhood since I have been accused of not maintaining my home as required by the association's CCRs. I realize that the old rust-covered bus my son left in my front yard has a lot of weeds growing around it; that my boarded-up front window has not been replaced; that I never finished painting my house (especially the front); and that I don't take my trash containers in for a day or two after pickup. I will get around to it, but some things do take time.

In contrast, my neighbor has been charged with leaves beneath his deciduous tree. Now, if I go down and rake his leaves, will that give me credit for tidiness?

Harry Titus

Oceanside

GOP venom directed at Democrats

Regarding the extraordinary venom from GOP candidates: Has the RNC or the media denounced this sort of rhetoric? Not that I know of, and I have heard nothing about the media contacting the RNC or asking other Republicans what they had to say about it either. I've been waiting to see if anyone would condemn this extraordinary venom.

McCain has said: "Democrats will surrender to the enemy, wave the white flag. The terrorists will win." Now Romney has charged that "a Democratic victory in the presidential race will turn America over to the terrorists." There are a lot of Democrats fighting and dying in Bush's wars. How do you think they feel from this rhetoric about them?

As a Democrat who lost two brothers in WWII, I resent and am outraged with this kind of talk. My brothers were Democrats and they truly loved our country. No one was more patriotic than they were. The media and Republicans are dead silent on this. What a despicable way to speak of fellow Americans and get away with it! And I, for one, hope it brings about the ruination of this silent Republican Party for some time to come. Decency and competitiveness are not mutually exclusive.

Joanne Goodwin

Oceanside

Blame the Democrats, not conservatives

It's time to educate misguided know-it-alls like Garth Hansen about the truth http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/09/opinion/letters/2_8_0817_35_27.txt">(Letters, Feb. 9). It was Clinton who allowed the Enron disaster and Osama bin Laden to escape, not Bush or Cheney. It was the Louisiana Democrat governor and New Orleans mayor who failed Katrina victims. Bush announced before the storm hit that federal help was available. However, by law that help could not be given unless asked for by the governor and mayor. It was the governor who sat on her thumbs while the mayor allowed hundreds of buses to sit idle while citizens in and around New Orleans waited for evacuation, and some died.

Only a complete idiot fails to realize it was the greed of banks, loan brokers and buyers who created the subprime problem, not Bush, who had virtually no control over those loans. Although the economy suffered as a result, how do you spin that into a Bush failure? Lenders who made the loans and people who bought more than they could afford now want Bush to bail them out.

Democrats have been in control of Congress for some time now and have failed to do anything constructive for America. Maybe it's time to give full control to conservatives so things can be set straight, at least until the next round of Democrat control.

Ernest Sparks

Vista

Stick to berating parties, not ideologies

Garth Hansen has been an outstanding contributor of left-wing propaganda to this paper for many years http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/09/opinion/letters/2_8_0817_35_27.txt">(Letters, Feb. 9). I truly enjoy his twisted logic and self-righteous indignation.

However, Hansen has finally gone over the top citing conservatives as a failure at everything they have tried, thus causing a "crushing blow" to our economy, our culture and our world standing. Really, Garth? In doing this, Garth has departed from his usual rant on Republicans and now wants to include all conservatives, many who may be Democrats, Libertarians and Independents. Heck, I even know some conservative Green Party members.

In fact, two modern-era Democrat presidents were moderately conservative in their views: Roosevelt and Kennedy. Even President Clinton had a conservative side.

Garth should stick to berating the Republicans. Picking on people's ideology is not for the faint of heart. I should know. I pick on liberals and socialists all the time. It takes time and research. You can't just reach out and grab a war here, a hurricane there. You have to back up your claims with some facts when you attack ideologies. Otherwise, you'll find yourself in the minor leagues with the Crews brothers, Parish and Pulse.

Mike Kania

Carlsbad

Hypocrisy in the White House

Your Sunday, Feb. 10 edition had an article about President Bush denouncing Congress for putting earmarks into legislation being passed through Congress ("Bush's budget seeks money for pet projects"). He says it is wrong and wasteful for Congress to do, while this president, buried deep in his budget, had a request for $330 million to deal with plant pests. He thinks he's in Congress, too. He sought $800,000 for the Neosho Natural Fish Hatchery in Missouri; $1.5 million for a waterway in Louisiana named after Sen. Johnston, D-La.; and $894,000 for an air traffic control tower in Kalamazoo, Mich. Now here is a hypocrite for you.

Aaron Burstein

Lake San Marcos

Give park rangers a chance

We have a new park ranger program. These guys watch the parks and have an interpretive method for dealing with park issues. Spend the money on that program. Hire a couple of extra part timers and you are in business. This is not a police problem and certainly not for a contract guard. Use the rangers for this problem, for juvenile problems and after hours problems. When that fails, the cops can handle it. I prefer rangers who have a genuine concern over all park issues. Give them a chance to work this out. - David Douglas

Temecula

Exxon profits help drive economy

I'm no fan of Big Oil and its impact on the planet, but to equate the financial success of Exxon-Mobil to the languid state of our economy as Rhett Miller does (Letters, Feb. 6) is simply backwards. Let's have a quick economics recap. What does an American firm's success mean for the economy? For one, shareholders of XOM (Exxon-Mobil) benefit. No, not just S-Class driving, La Jolla denizens, but pension funds, college-savings funds and likely anyone who has a 401(k) as XOM is the largest stock (by market capitalization) and widely, widely held. In fact, CalPERS' largest holding is XOM - are we going to decry our local teachers witnessing an increase in their nest eggs' value?

More profits for Exxon also mean more taxes paid to Uncle Sam, enabling the government to spend more. As this happens, individuals will now have more to spend (in economic patois, "consumption"), thereby strengthening other sectors of the economy. Considering that our economy's robustness is measured by Gross Domestic Product (defined as consumption + government spending + business spending + net exports), Exxon's success is inarguably good for the overall economy. Instead of lamenting Exxon's profits, Mr. Miller can always partake … by buying stock!

John Matthews

Escondido

Negative political ads disappoint Scout

I am a 12-year-old Boy Scout from Troop 524. In scouting we learn to be trustworthy, courteous, kind and reverent.

The last few weeks I have been seeing many negative ads about the candidates. Each one has been tearing down their rivals. I'm very disappointed in their actions. This is not what the scouting principles teach.

Because of all the backbiting, people are not focused on what the future president will do for the country. The bitter arguments have no practical consequences. I want a president with principles and a person of conviction and loyalty to the people and the country. I want to see less backbiting over trivial things and more answers to our problems. I will be very happy when I can turn on the TV and the attack ads are gone. Negative campaigning turns me off as a future voter.

Christopher Ries

Murrieta

Vote-rigging scandal?

Well, Super Tuesday is over and for some of us, it's a scandal.

A friend called me on Tuesday reporting that he and his wife, registered Republicans for 20 years were not allowed to vote in the primary. He polled some of his neighbors and some of them had also been denied. Their preferences had been changed from registered Republicans to independents or something else that disallowed them from voting in the Republican Primary.

They were not offered provisional ballots.

By Wednesday morning, stories of this vote rigging scandal were rampant.

It is as though someone hacked into Registrar databases in several counties and made changes to voter registrations. It is plausible that using data from whatever sources, someone analyzed and determined likely conservative voters and proceeded to alter Registrar databases in order to preclude them from voting.

I have mused about Temecula resident and columnist Paul Jacobs' beating the drum long and loudly over electronic voting computer vulnerability to tampering. He has successfully caused the Riverside Registrar to mothball its computers and go to a paper ballot. It seems that he both had a point and missed a point: Computer voting is apparently not fail-safe. And, registrar computers are indeed proven to be vulnerable.

California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring needs to hear from disenfranchised Republican voters and to learn who did this, and to rectify this. Call him at (916) 448-9496. Nehring needs to make sure that someone ends up in the hoosegow.

Jim Horn

Sun City

Former member, Riverside Republican Party Central Committee

Fresh from the Web:

Home sales tumble, inventory rockets

Readers respond to our Feb. 13 story about how home inventory across North County ballooned in January, increasing the downward pressure on sales prices and sending the county further into a market that favors buyers, according to a report released Tuesday by the North San Diego County Association of Realtors.

No customers

john: When will a realtor ever figure out the simple fact that after this last price surge they have no customer base. Sure we said "How could anybody afford a home here?" so the funny financing was developed. Well that was it, it's over now, so if you don't qualify for a 500K loan with 20% down, see ya. Build them, but who will buy?

Wrong increases

Mary: Stop issuing building permits. Start issuing 50-year mortgages. The former will help the high inventory problem and the latter will enable more buyers to purchase. To qualify, I bought my first home with a 40-year mortgage. It lowered the mortgage enough so I could swing the deal.

Far to fall

Stan: Ten years ago, under traditional lending standards, only the richest could afford a $500,000 house. Now that banks are returning to stricter, more sane, lending standards, most people will only qualify for a $200,000 loan. Prices still have a long way to fall.

Look on bright side

Optimist: Shame on the North County Times for an inflammatory title on this story. Why not: "It's a good time to buy. Prices and interest rates are lower than ever." Instead the NC Times is irresponsible and beats the drum of pessimism and defeat. Shame!

Scientists: Mead, Powell dry by 2021

Readers respond to our Feb. 13 story about a report released Tuesday by two Scripps Institute of Oceanography researchers showing that Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the massive Colorado River reservoirs that help keep Southern California wet, could run dry by 2021.

We come second

michael a: Real estate developers first, citizens second. Ignoring these drought warnings is like ignoring the earthquake risk in the LA basin. It's stupid. But I guess it makes sense from the politician's point of view. To prepare for an "empty" Lake Mead would mean an immediate halt to all new building permits. And local politicians get a lot of their money from real estate developers. Better to let people suffer in the future than to prepare for a disaster now. Typical conservative politician.

Getting warm here?

Concerned-1: Wow, what's next? NCT headline: "World to End Tomorrow!" And great picture, the guy standing in front of a big picture of Earth with red and yellow all over North America. Hmm, do you think it could be global warming? It's great fodder for posters like Michael. I do believe global warming is going to kill us, but it won't have anything to do with the temperature of Earth.

Denial

That river in Egypt: Just keep on over-watering your desert lawns (and all the concrete). I'm sure the water will materialize out of somewhere! But as long as y'all keep your heads in the sand, you won't see the Colorado drying up anyway.

Called evaporation

Steve: The idea that global warming will reduce rainfall is backwards. Global warming will actually increase rainfall because it causes the oceans to warm up. Global warming is supposed to increase the "El Nino" effect, not reverse. The desert conditions we have in SoCal are caused by colder ocean temperatures, leading to reduced rainfall.

Target nixes plans for second Escondido store

Readers respond to our Feb. 13 story about Escondido city officials saying that four months after submitting plans for a 140,000-square-foot store off East Valley Parkway, Target Corp. has abruptly withdrawn its application for the project.

Bad neighborhood

Robert24 : It probably wasn't the actual cost of the store that changed their mind as much as the annual cost of graffiti clean up and missing shopping carts that would have had to budgeted in …

Undesirable neighbors

vcguy: The article ignores the obvious. Why would major stores like Target or Wal-Mart want to expand among all the tattoo parlors, 99 cent stores and buildings with graffiti on East Valley Parkway?

New plan

K: They should consider a mixed use project of some kind. Smaller stores and apartments above them? Even a larger store could work with the right design. Another large strip mall by itself is not going to improve that neighborhood, regardless of who eventually occupies it.

Scientists: Mead, Powell dry by 2021

Readers responded to an article Wednesday discussing the rapidly diminishing water supply in the Colorado River basin:

Please explain

Sensationalism!=Science: First: A 50:50 chance, in scientific terms is the definition of "We don't know." Anyone who makes a press release about that is not a scientist, but an activist. Second: the NWS has a hard time predicting the weather two weeks hence - please explain how predictions for the next four years are to be believed? …

Great picture

Concerned-1: Wow, what's next? NCT headline: "World to End Tomorrow!" And great picture, the guy standing in front of a big picture of Earth with red and yellow all over North America. Hmmm, do you think it could be global warming? …

Getting colder

George: Don't be fooled by the Democrats. The planet is global cooling, not warming. It is getting colder each winter.

Heads in the sand

That river in Egypt: Just keep on overwatering your desert lawns (and all the concrete). I'm sure the water will materialize out of somewhere. But as long as y'all keep your heads in the sand, you won't see the Colorado drying up anyway.

Mother Earth fights back

"Mission accomplished!" Very exciting: These are very exciting times, biblical perhaps. Nothing can save us from ourselves. If current childbirth rates continue to soar, Mother Earth will have to fight back in the form of weather-related catastrophes & disease brought on by these conditions.