She's appalled at Tri-City bond issue

I am appalled that Tri-City Hospital thinks it's OK to back-door another attempt to get a multimillion-dollar bond passed. It has become the status quo that if a measure or proposition fails at the ballot box, supporters just keep sending it back for a vote until they get the results they are looking for. This is a complete bastardization of the democratic process! Lobbyists and special interest groups have created a career out of manipulating the system, and it must stop.

I pose this question to Tri-City: with the general election just a few months away, what was the urgency of pushing for a vote via mail-in ballot only at this time? Why couldn't this measure have waited to be on the general election ballot? This all seems fishy to me.

I oppose this measure. There is no accountability for this almost $600 million bond. I find it unfair that property owners be on the hook for this measure for 40 years. As for renters, I'm sure the property owner will pass this expense on to you.

Rhonda De Nisto

Oceanside

California needs to evolve

In replying to my July 30 letter supporting marriage equality, Dan Shapiro (Letters, August 7) said, "Children raised in a home without a mom and a dad are more likely" to have problems, and claimed "there simply is no social research on children raised by same-sex parents."

Wrong. I did a quick Google search and found there are lots of studies, and, according to the abstract for the article, "Children of Lesbian and Gay Parents," by Charlotte J. Patterson, "More than two decades of research has failed to reveal important differences in the adjustment or development of children or adolescents reared by same-sex couples compared to those reared by other-sex couples." The Catholic Bishops of California recently came out with a statement supporting Prop. 8 and opposing marriage freedom and equality, using the same (faulty) argument that it's best for the kids.

Interesting that there's not much talk about protecting marriage lately, and that term won't be on the ballot. That argument didn't hold water, so "best for the kids" is the fall-back. Strike two. Gay men and lesbians are raising children anyway, and will continue to do so whether Prop 8 passes or fails. The real issue is whether California will evolve and recognize them and their unions as equals, or cling to ancient prejudice and discrimination.

Dick Eiden

Vista

VHS program thanks community

The Sports Medicine Program at Vista High School would like to thank the following community members for volunteering their time and expertise during the pre-season physical exams held June 6, June 24 and Aug 5: Tom Balcom, M.D., U.S. Navy; Kevin Seufert, M.D., Cassidy Medical Center; Andrew Cooperman, M.D., Orthopedic Surgery; James Esch, M.D. and Eric Stark, M.D., Orthopaedic Specialists of North County; Brian DeClerk, D.C., Oceanview Chiropractic; Ron Cottrell, D.C., Active Mobility Chiropractic; Charles Lewis, P.T., Tri-City Physical Therapy; Maria Mejia-O'Neil, P.T. and Sandra Lee, P.T., Rancho Physical Therapy; Dee Dee Leighton, R.N., Tri-City Hospital; Pattie Hoffman, L.V.N., Roosevelt Middle School; Roger Leighton, VHS soccer coach; Lynn Rigney, A.T.C. and Asami Minami, San Diego Sheriff Dept.

Vista High School appreciates their participation in these fundraising events for the athletic training program. We are very fortunate at VHS to have such an involved medical community. Also, I would like to thank them for their medical consultations during the school year, especially my team doctors, Tom Balcom and Brian DeClerk, who are always available for direction and medical expertise. We treat and tape more than 900 student athletes, from more than 40 teams, during the school year. This would not be possible without their efforts. They did an outstanding job and we look forward to working with them again in the future. VHS applauds their efforts.

Michelle Hamilton

certified athletic trainer

Vista High School

EVA: Let the parade continue!

The East Valley Association appreciates the efforts of the North County Times to save the 2008 Christmas parade. We believe the parade is a wonderful part of Escondido history and want to do what we can to come alongside the Escondido Jaycees. They have done a great service for the community for many years.

We have asked the Jaycees and the Escondido Police Department to look at all potential parade routes, including East Valley, to see if the cost of security could be reduced as compared with the route used over the last few years. When the Jaycees and the Police Department have developed the most viable plans, we will work with them and our community to develop sponsorship, recruit volunteers and ask for donations from supportive citizens.

Our plan is to feature the Jaycees and the plan for the 2008 Christmas parade at our next general meeting, at 8:30 a.m., Sept. 10, at the East Valley Community Center. We are bringing our new Web site on line at www.eastvalleyassociation.org and will update it as the latest plans are developed. For those who have been members of the EVA, we request you re-register at the new Web site so we make sure all the contact information is up to date.

Gene Heyer

board member,

East Valley Association

Escondido

Crissman missed grand jury's point

The commentary of George Crissman ("SANDAG reacts to grand jury") on Aug. 3 was good, but ignored the main recommendation of the grand jury report, and that was our growing infrastructure deficit and that SANDAG should be providing the public an annual report showing whether "the infrastructure can support" continued growth by county district. After all, that is the question in the title of the report: "How much growth is sustainable?"

As citizens, we should know and care how many police and firemen in our district we are short. Are the roads keeping up with growth? How many hospital beds are we short? Will our water and energy supplies support any new growth? I know SANDAG does not control Land Use Authority, but it does publish many reports and has this data available. SANDAG has a tough job and they were complimented in the grand jury report, which Mr. Ed Gallo and others in Mr. Crissman's piece chose to ignore in their discussions. … Maybe both Mr. Gallo and Mr. Crissman would like to volunteer for the grand jury, and then they can provide a firsthand account of the research and approvals necessary to get a judge to sign a report before it is released.

Jack Key

Oceanside

She remains an angry woman

John Schueler (Letters, Aug. 6) rightly chastised me for being vindictive. I am no longer the person I was before Bush took office eight years ago. There are millions of people who feel as I do. Bush and his band of crooks totally trampled on our Constitution. As of today's paper, Iraq will profit from the "fake war" and our country will go further into debt. Osama continues laughing. A bi-partisan committee said Bush knew there were no weapons.

So our brave men and women will return to what? They will be a visible reminder of this war because there are more "melted faces" from IEDs, more missing arms and legs, and more post-traumatic stress disorders and suicides.

So John, when these Bush supporters write in about watching out for the evil Democrats, I get angry. Real angry. After this eight-year debacle, they need to clean house rather than making up lies. Here's some truths. John McCain left his first wife for the heiress, he has nine homes, and wears $500 shoes. Taxes will have to be raised to pay for Bush's war debt no matter who gets in, and Barack is not a Muslim. I am angry, I am.

Peggy Sloan

Escondido

Story used scare tactics

I've never seen a more deliberate and obvious attempt at swaying the public vote with scare tactics than in the story about Proposition 2 and the egg industry ("UC study reports Prop. 2 would destroy state egg industry," Aug. 6). Prop. 2 is not targeting the mom-and-pop farms that many of us grew up with â€"â€" it was written for the factory farms that are putting them out of business. The photos accompanying the story were not battery cages, the housing shown was not typical of a factory-type farm where the animals are kept in dark, filthy, feces-ridden warehouses, and in the comments section your journalist (who obviously has nothing better to do than monitor the online comments to his story) was argumentative towards another poster and stooped to criticizing the Humane Society of the United States, who supports Prop. 2. Dare I expect your paper to give equal time to supporters of Prop. 2, The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act?

Susan Burke

Carlsbad

Red hostage in a blue state

I am so hard-pressed to understand the representatives of my state. I know I am in a blue voting state. This is a Democrat state by voting records. The Democrats' platform is: 1. We believe in abortion upon demand. 2. We believe in gay marriage. 3. We believe we need to bail on Iraq. 4. We believe in man-made global warming. 5. We believe amnesty cannot happen fast enough. The Democrats preach global warming to the tune of "Do as I Say, Not as I Do."

And now comes the price of gas! No help from Congress. Nancy flew off to sell her new book and cut the power to the microphones and the cameras to C-Span on her way out of Congress while Republicans stood on the floor asking for an energy policy!

What a mess this state is. No budget, sky-high gas prices and politicians playing politics. I know Nancy does not represent me, nor does Arnold. Boxer and Feinstein represent everyone but the average citizen of this state. We are just tax-revenue fodder to them. So how much is the sales tax going to increase? I feel like a red hostage in my own blue state! This state is insane. As soon as I sell my home, I can't wait to be from California!

JoAnn Walker

Escondido

Proposition 2 will ensure wholesome food

Proposition 2, which would redesign the California egg industry, raises controversy. Many critics claim that the price of eggs will increase because the poultrymen will have to change their practices or shut down. What they don't see is that the current egg industry methods are unsustainable and unnatural. Chickens naturally eat bugs, grasses and seeds, providing weed and insect control, and their "by-product" returns important nutrients into the soil.

Stuff the birds six to a small cage, then force them to eat a diet that consists primarily of corn, and you destroy a natural process and create unsanitary living conditions and huge piles of excrement that run off into waterways or seep into ground water. Caged birds, vulnerable to disease, are fed antibiotics. The bacteria become antibiotic-resistant, and then we have another potential disaster when the resistant bacteria enter the human food supply.

Prop. 2 is about more than "happy" chickens. It's about a safe food supply. Costs to the community from food-borne illness exceed the cost of running clean, humane businesses. Americans want cheap food, but you get what you pay for. I, for one, want the confidence that what I put into my body is wholesome.

Karen Holmgren

Oceanside

Let's market Carlsbad's exotic, designer salt

After wondering about the residual salt from the desalination process, I realized, hey, I have special salts from 11 different countries in my pantry. I love to cook and would be eager to buy a unique designer salt from Carlsbad.

I e-mailed their Chamber of Commerce and tried to contact Poseidon months ago to suggest them doing this and calling it by some exotic name â€"â€" Sal D' Laguna, Sal Del Mar, etc. Waste not, want not â€"â€" and here's to a whole new local industry!

Lyn Asaro

Oceanside

Obama's American roots are questioned

Recent allegations surfacing on the Internet are questioning the birth certificate of Barack Obama. A person born at the same hospital and at about the same time as Obama says there is a discrepancy in the hospital forms. Other concerns about his eligibility for the presidency are also being investigated.

Given his dubious background, concerns have also arisen about his early education, since he appears to be lacking in basic civic and geography common to the American school system (e.g., his remark about our 57 states and in Europe, that he would be our president for the next eight to 10 years).

After the first 10 such historical gaffes, reporters have lost count. Add to all this his reluctance to either salute the American flag or wear an American flag lapel pin â€"â€" it is no small wonder that his American roots are in question.

Irene Edwards

Fallbrook

For Pelosi, politics above service

This letter is to point out something about Nancy Pelosi and her latest tactic of shutting down the Congress and not allowing an up or down vote on oil drilling. What she did was nothing short of taking away our free speech by way of our elected representatives. They represent us and speak for us. Every member of Congress (us) has the right to have their voices heard. Pelosi and her "do-nothing" party will do and say anything if they think it will benefit them politically. They do not care about the citizens of this country.

Obama said he is not sorry that our gas prices are this high, only that he was surprised that they went up so quickly. You see, folks, he wants us to become just like Europe. The Democrats want full control over our lives, and it's called socialism. "Free" everything, except they take all our money to pay for these "free" programs and we have no say in any of it. Hope the good people of this nation are waking up to see what a bad choice the Democrats and Obama are for the future of our country.

Janet Price

Escondido

Supercilious Kirk clings to obsolete idea

Richard Kirk's predictable take on the question of offshore oil drilling ("A new song: California Drillin'," Aug. 12), keeping in line with brain-dead conservative talking points and policies, does nothing to address the issue of the long-term energy needs of this country. The Department of Energy estimates that there are 18 billion barrels of recoverable oil in offshore areas of the United States. At a current consumption rate of over 20 million barrels a day, that oil would be gone in 2 1/2 years. However, oil is a globally traded commodity, and at current global rates of consumption, it would last less than seven months.

Kirk further states that some experts believe that access to resources can be achieved within a year, contradicting a D.O.E. report issued last year that predicted that it would take at least two decades for drilling to have any noticeable effect on domestic production â€"â€" a view shared by former "straight talker" John McCain until he recently flip-flopped for political expediency.

Kirk's subtle mockery of "optimum tire pressure" reveals his argument as nothing more than a supercilious lecture by someone clinging to an obsolete status quo, and singing the same old worn-out tune.

John Musser

Vista

NCT's political bias is unacceptable

Barack Obama, who leads in every major national poll, made a major speech to more than 200,000 people in Berlin, Germany that was well received. Yet the North County Times published comments, and they were all negative. Meanwhile, McCain visited a German restaurant in Ohio and received positive coverage. Your political bias is unacceptable.

Daniel Lynch

Vista