Outsourcing is a lose-lose situation

I work in a doctor's office and for the third time today, I called an insurance company and the person on the other end was located in a foreign country.

Besides our unemployment situation, outsourcing labor, both clerical and manufacturing, is why our Social Security fund is shrinking. Something needs to be done about that immediately. These companies outsource jobs that should be done by American workers who would be paying into the Social Security system. But instead, the foreign workers are paying no income tax or Social Security and receive no benefits such as unemployment or disability and also no medical insurance, so these companies are making a fortune on the backs of the foreign workers and unemployed American workers.

It is a lose-lose situation, and I wish I were younger so I could make some waves with someone in control.

Jeanette Hurst

Oceanside

Hold illegals accountable

Re: Mr. Andy Pino's letter on May 10: How ignorant can some people be? Definition of allegiance: loyalty to a nation. Mr. Pino feels that entering this country illegally is showing allegiance? Mr. Pino asked if I had a choice of where I was born: Obviously not, but my mother did and she chose not to break the law. She was born here after my grandmother came to this country legally.

Illegal immigrants should be deported for breaking the law the minute they are found out, no matter what the circumstances. If a mother doesn't want the truth written on her child's birth certificate, then don't come here illegally to have a child on American soil. These women take full advantages of our benefits by clinging to the Constitution that they have no right to hide behind. If they are willing to break the law by coming here illegally to have babies, then they should be ready to have some consequences.

Mr. Pino uses innocent children as a scare tactic to support his beliefs. This birth certificate does not take away from the "citizen," nor make him or her a second-class citizen; it simply holds the illegal mother accountable for her actions.

Glenn Vega

Encinitas

Ideas to save California money

Driving around town this past week, I saw more orange and green license plate registration stickers than the current blue or yellow. If I can see the expired registration stickers, so should law enforcement. Just think of the money collected when the car registration is paid current. The city would earn daily costs for impoundment, the added interest to register the vehicle properly and the satisfaction of returning a stolen vehicle to the rightful owner. Enforce the law and bring revenue back to the state.

California legislators need to remove the option for city sanction. Law enforcement within the state of California has the obligation to arrest and deport illegal immigrants. When someone breaks the law and is legal, they go to jail. When illegal immigrants break the law, they are excused from the law because they are not legal. Deport an illegal individual â€"â€" please.

Sam Williamson

Oceanside

Fly in the ointment

I have a gut feeling that something is rotten in Denmark. It seems the only solution is by our federal and other secular progressives. It's by throwing more good money after bad! These programs are called bailouts, stimulus and earmarks. All this is part of the new axis of the corporate and federal complex. We are broke! These intellectuals even want to get involved in health care. This is called post office health care for everyone. They were never taught to balance the budget?

At the same time, our Chinese counterparts are using our federal debt to buy gold. Maybe they know something we don't? Has our federal government figured out the domino factor that could be in our future?

The fly in our ointment could be Israel or Iran. For our god of relativism will produce its just reward. This for not being absolute in mental, spiritual and monetary beliefs? It could be the cause for us falling into the valley of obscurity and our society as we know.

Stanley Peterson

San Marcos

America spends wisely in Israel

It's disheartening to read letters such as Mel Crawford's of May 13. He's miffed about the money sent to Israel over the years. Well, I can tell you that our Pentagon is not miffed.

Look at a map of this very dangerous area, and you will see that Israel is surrounded by Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and let's not forget Iran. This is a group not too friendly towards the United States.

Israel has not squandered this help. It has developed into one of the finest fighting forces in the world. Ready to defend democracy and itself against enemies that have tried to destroy them ever since May 14, 1948, when the United Nations declared it a nation.

Today, Israel is a beautiful country turning desert into vegetables and flowers with a thriving high-tech industry. Where even the Arabs who live there are happy.

When did you ever hear of Arabs helping Arabs? When did you hear of Saudi Arabia or any of the countries listed above helping out their fellow Arabs? … But you do hear of Hezbollah and Hamas.

We live in a strange world, and I think that in this case, America spends wisely.

Stuart Goodman

Oceanside

Story of the downfall of our economy

Once upon a time, there were two federal organizations (Freddie and Fannie) that guaranteed home loans to buyers who could not afford them. …

Then by and by, a mean old ogre by the name of "W" came along to say, "Stop! Wait a minute." But Congress ignored him …

… One day signs began to appear in front of thousands of houses of the people who had believed the Fairy Godmother, and then, no matter what, they couldn't afford to make the adjusted payments. The signs read "Foreclosure."

So then the investors who bought the loans found out they were only worth fairy dust and were not insured at all. …

So they went to Congress and said, "Fix it." But Congress had no money to spend and …

But just in the nick of time, "Super G" arrived to save the day and said, "Let there be money," and the presses at the mint started to roll. …

This might have been a tale with a storybook ending if not for the fact that our children and grandchildren will be paying all that money back ad nauseam for years to come.

So much for Fairy Godmothers.

Eugenia Whaley

Carlsbad

Support recall of 'King' Kern

Oceanside City Councilmember "King" Jerry Kern is raising money by sponsoring a so-called "wild bird hunt" to the tune of $1,000 per person.

These "wild birds" are captive born and bred and would die quickly if actually released into the wild. They are simply "dropped" in front of the "hunters" to be shot.

Basically, it's like fishing with dynamite â€"â€" the animal has no chance whatsoever. Those supporters who can't quite stomach this senseless slaughter can help to the tune of $250 each by attending a luncheon after the hunt.

This luncheon will be strictly from the menu â€"â€" no freshly shot birds included.

So the birds will not even have been slaughtered for the after-hunt meal. What a cruel and senseless waste!

This wretched behavior is reminiscent of pre-revolutionary French aristocrats, just before the people removed them from power. "King" Kern and his wealthy buddies may amuse themselves with cruel blood sports, while they drain the lifeblood of our city to benefit their big developer paymasters, for a short while longer. However, their stranglehold on our city is about to be broken by the wrath of the people. "King" Kern is headed to the electoral guillotine.

Support the recall!

Michael Byron

Oceanside

Greatest problem facing mankind

The human population is increasing at a rate of about 2.3 people (births over deaths) per second, or the equivalent of the entire population of North America in a mere three years. We need sustainability, and we must work towards this goal now. Moreover, no woman is truly free until she has full access to a range of family planning methods. We will never have global peace and prosperity unless we stabilize the world population.

Overpopulation and human need are the main driving forces for mass migration. No one wants to leave home unless they have to. We should be providing the United Nations Population Fund with several billion dollars per year so that this agency can do what is best for us and the world. We must do all we can by working to decrease the human population in a humane way.

Hundreds of studies have shown that whenever birth control methods become available anywhere in the world, the birth rate falls dramatically. It would take an estimated $30 billion annually to provide the entire world with these essential services. It's time to put our money where it helps.

Milton Saier

Encinitas

Get Adam Lambert's school right

Re: Adam Lambert: Why do they keep saying "Mount Carmel High School, San Diego" when it's really in Poway? Don't they deserve the credit for where he went to school and where he performed in their Performing Arts Center?

I hope there are other people in Poway and Escondido who feel the same way I do. All three of my children graduated from Poway High School and I'm very proud of that, as I would assume Adam's parents would feel the same. The story needs to be corrected.

Sarah Murphy

Escondido

White on yellow hard to read

When Poway pays $200,000 for new directional signs sprinkled throughout the city, one would think that legible color combinations would be a top consideration. Especially during tough economic times, it's wise to research before spending huge sums of money.

A simple Internet search on sign legibility brought up color charts and lists of options, all of which indicated the combination of white letters on yellow background to be one of the lowest in visibility. Elderly or colorblind people may find it almost impossible to see the letters.

With good vision, I find it difficult to read unless I'm very close to the sign. That's a distraction to a driver who may be looking to the signs for direction, and can't make out the words from a reasonable distance. A sign may look pretty to pedestrians who can stop and appreciate it, but a sign next to a busy street should put visibility before clever color combinations.

As with some poor color choices the city has made, I find this to be yet another one. This $200,000 is a lot of money. I think it would have been worth an Internet search to determine what color combinations are most readable to drivers.

Mary Lou St. Lucas

Poway

If you care about O'Side, recall Kern

I have written a couple of letters that the North County Times did not choose to print. It almost seems that the persons in charge of approving letters have no history in Oceanside. To make sure that this letter is published, I will simply say that I believe that all the reasons given on the petition to recall Jerry Kern are valid reasons. Therefore, I would ask that everyone who does care about Oceanside and has a history with the community sign the recall petition.

Pat McKee

Oceanside

Escondido is example for Sacramento

On May 13, the city of Escondido was awarded a Golden Watchdog Award by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association for cutting expenses instead of increasing taxes ("City Council receives Golden Watchdog Award," May 14). This decision will save taxpayers $800,000 this year and go a long way to balance next year's budget.

The award was graciously accepted by Councilman Dick Daniels. The City Council set a good government example that should serve as an example to our legislators in Sacramento.

Thomas Francl

Escondido

Torture by any other name

By Webster's definition, enhanced interrogation techniques qualify as torture because they cause pain and agony. Understood to be legal, one may question the morality of waterboarding, sleep deprivation, the cold cell and long time standing. Now compare these techniques to those used to abort a fetus: dismemberment, saline poisoning and burning of lungs and skin, piercing the skull and suctioning out the brain. Both techniques are legal, but only one is called torture.

In the ongoing argument about when a fetus can experience pain, there is no consensus in the scientific community. Several reliable experts have testified that a human fetus can experience pain from at least 20 weeks, though some physicians believe it is as early as seven or eight weeks and some as late as the 28th week. Using the 20-week marker, each year more than 75,000 unborn children are tortured to death.

Where is the outrage? Where are the congressional investigations and demands that photos of these poor mangled bodies be released to the public? A horrible double standard exists.

Until all human life is considered sacred, humanity is at the whim of whoever is in power.

Rita McGranahan

Escondido