Marriage rights for all!

Congratulations to same-sex couples and all who are empowered and affirmed by the recent California Supreme Court decision. I'm sorry that Rocky Velgos didn't live to see this happy day, and I'm sorry that some misguided people are still trying to take away this victory and impose their narrow religious beliefs on everyone else.

Our Founding Fathers helped evolve concepts of freedom, justice and equality from the Dark Ages and earlier. Although they advanced these concepts greatly, their vision was limited by the times they lived in. Happily, slaves were later freed and their descendants are now full citizens, women can vote and own property, children have rights, etc. The concept of marriage has evolved too, especially since 1820. See NorthCountyForum.org for more information.

North County Forum will do what it can between now and November to educate the public on the proposition that would amend the Constitution to allow discrimination. We invite others to join with us in what we propose to call the "Rocky Velgos Coalition" to defend same-sex marriage. Contact me at ncforum@sbcglobal.net if you want to attend the first meeting or otherwise participate in this important work.

Dick Eiden

director,

North County Forum

Vista

Change, please!

Ever since Sen. Obama entered the presidential race, his theme has been change, change, change. I have yet to hear what he wishes to change. More important, how does he intend to change the issues with which he has a disagreement? He needs to prove to me why I should vote for him. What are his strong points? At this point, he has not proven to me that he can make change for a quarter.

Maggie Owen

Oceanside

Prosperity is a common achievement

You hear many conservatives talk about being self-made people in terms of financial success. They view taxes as theft of their hard-earned money and begrudge the poor assistance of any kind. Government should protect the country from invasion and citizens from other citizens and that's about it. Government should be small enough, as one famous conservative put it, to strangle in a bathtub.

Are the wealthy truly self-made? If you develop an innovative product or service, through hard work and determination, your dependence on the commonwealth increases. You rely on the military and police as mentioned, but also depend on public roads to transport your product … and education for your work force and for more affluent customers.

Workers with health care and adequate nutrition produce more than sickly, starving workers. You need government to provide a stable currency or the system won't work. Without infrastructure, entrepreneurs couldn't exist. For proof, imagine Bill Gates born in Bangladesh or sub-Saharan Africa. Why is this important? For nearly 40 years, our commonwealth, our vital infrastructure, has been eroded by the rich and powerful. It's time for we the people to take it back.

Paul Cavanaugh

Ramona

Don't support the troops

Thomas Godwin's June 12 letter, "Backing our military, but not our war," exemplifies the problem with the current anti-war movement. Godwin states that "… supporting our military yet reviling the war will never be a contradiction in terms for me. Their commitment to an illicit war was ours to decide, and we, not they, came up short." This notion that the troops are helpless puppets of the U.S. government is wrong and it is past time that we face this fact. The troops are free individuals with the same capacity for rational, ethical thought and action as everybody else.

While the leadership and the people are responsible for the atrocities being committed as well, the troops are the most responsible, for they are the ones actually carrying out the war crimes.

The sooner people of conscience realize this and stop supporting the troops, the sooner we can end the U.S. occupation, heal our economy and, hopefully, move toward some just compensation for the Iraqi people.

Brian Williams

Oceanside

True democracy in action

As an involved community activist, it is sometimes very disheartening when city officials look at issues from a different perspective than my own and those of my neighbors and act accordingly. But I was very encouraged at the recent Vista City Council meeting, which heard the appeal by a renter in Vista who had challenged the decision of the Planning Commission to deny her request to expand her day care business in a residential area from eight to 14 children ("Council rejects Shadowridge day care expansion," June 11).

This meeting was well attended and the mayor maintained order for an emotional issue that easily could have gotten out of control. All who requested to speak were heard. Each council member asked several questions of the applicant with respect and attention.

In the end, in spite of significant outside pressure, the entire council showed considerable courage in voting unanimously to uphold the earlier decision by the Planning Commission. This was truly a demonstration of democracy in action and I am sure that the spirits of many residents were uplifted by this important decision.

Gene Ford

Vista

Someone who doesn't do the family shopping

When Steve Chapman says there is no inflation, you don't need a Charlie Chan to tell you who doesn't do the shopping in his family ("The return of stagflation?" June 13). And, as a purchasing agent for a small cosmetics firm, I see price increases every month on the same ingredients. In the past two months, they have accumulated to 40 percent.

If consumer indexes are down, it's due to slashed real estate prices due to foreclosures and dealers practically giving away cars. And using the price of gold as an economic barometer makes as much sense as using stock market prices. They are both based on investor confidence only.

Yes, the dollar is holding fast at $1.57 for .62 euro. And as the government debt continues to pile up, that will only get worse. Get a grip, Mr. Chapman.

Peggy Sanders

Oceanside

Artist's letter of intention

I'm a visual artist and writer. In lieu of all that I've gone through, overcoming shadows doubtful circumstances, notwithstanding, those whom I've known that deny me my rights of artist merits of authorship, applied for humane, human dignity's inspiration. I work exigently faithfully in my artist studio. Fending for what I share. Held in toll of whoever bares false witness against me for peace to be the strength of my freedom's liberty heard, felt and seen. For honest appreciable witnesses through this incredible reach … discerned in all good moral conscience.

My art was displayed as a one-man show in Solana Beach City Hall gallery; no one from this city's powers that be showed up from Escondido to support me in any way, not even my studio opening years ago, nor have I been listed on the Second Saturday Artwalk, or the DBA's Experience Escondido Web site.

The DBA wants to raise its fees ("Council may revamp merchant fees," June 4), when I've been struggling financially in my artist studio for 12 years. I must work through myopic tunnel-vision's blind-sighted witless wondering, to save any days for future development proclaimed honestly. If you care you care to share what you truly believe in wholeheartedly.

Steven Drake

Poet's Den

Escondido

Terrorism redefined

I would like to respond to Amanda Barr's letter titled "We will always be in a war against terror," June 1, in which she states, "I hope we will always be in this war against terrorism."

I must point out that our country is no safer, nor in any more danger, than pre-9/11. Our so-called Homeland Security has not stopped daily border crossings in the south by illegals, who are mostly trying to better their lives. I'm not saying they are terrorists, but the potential exists (more so than our borders do, in my opinion).

Take that into consideration and look at how there has not been one single terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11. Now go onto the Internet, and go to Youtube.com and type in "police brutality." You will find over 2 million videos (although some are from other parts of the globe). You just may redefine your view of terrorism. And while you're on Youtube, watch "Loose Change."

Arne Hansen

Valley Center

Downward mobility?

Most of us have learned in our career that by taking on more responsibility our salary and bonuses have grown. So it would only stand to reason that now, with less responsibility, the yearly bonus and salary structure should decrease.

While we are in this recession it is expected to occur naturally in private industry due to lost profits, but I am not so sure it will occur in the local transportation sector. Both MTS and NCTD have had recent cutbacks, which should result in a decrease in responsibility at the top of the salary structure. Will we hear of bonus and salary reductions at the top, or will they just fire a few folks at the bottom?

Then there is the question: With less water coming to us, is there less responsibility for the high-paid folks at the water department?

Jack Key

Oceanside

Strife in Middle East began with Israel

Before Phil Epstein (Letters, June 6) attacks my letters, he should arm himself. During the British mandate over Palestine, the British helped the Zionists take over a part of Palestine to the detriment of the Palestinians. So the U.N. in 1947 decided, under American Jewish and American diplomatic pressure, to divide the land between Zionists and Palestinians, and civil strife began. Twelve days after the adoption of the U.N. resolution, the first expulsion of Palestinians began. The main purpose of the Arabs in the war was to get part of Palestine.

Jordan had an agreement with Israel on the eve of the war to take the West Bank. The strife we see today began with the atrocities of the Israelites in 1948-49 with the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. The countryside, the rural heart of Palestine, with its colorful and picturesque villages, was ruined. Half of the villages had been destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, and three-quarters of a million Palestinians became refugees.

Epstein talks about the "whipping boy." No, I guess that someone else did these things and Israel is getting blamed. Read "A History of Modern Palestine" by Ilan Pappe to verify all I've written.

Chris Pulse

Vista

RMWD pump charge unfair

The Rainbow Municipal Water District charges a pump charge to some people, primarily in the community of Rainbow and in Morro Hills. Others in Fallbrook or Bonsall do not pay this charge.

There will be an evening meeting of the board on June 24 where I will present information demonstrating this is an unjust charge. If you are paying this unfair assessment, I hope to see you there.

Maureen Rhyne

Fallbrook

Ill patients deserve this right

I am writing to express my support of Assembly Bill 2747 â€"â€" The Right to Know End-of-Life Options Act. I believe strongly that this is a very important bill to empower patients to have more control over their end-of-life care.

By requiring doctors and nurses to offer counseling to terminally ill patients on their options, this gives the patient diagnosed with the illness and their families an opportunity to talk together and with their doctors about what they feel most comfortable with. Who could be opposed to that?

Sven Jonson

Carlsbad

Stop discriminating against gays

In the past, African-Americans were enslaved and, even after being freed, were denied basic rights. Other ethnic and some religious groups were excluded from activities enjoyed by others. People with disabilities were not accepted in many settings. Interracial marriage was illegal. We have a history of denying rights to people who are different from us. We fear them because we are humans who tend to fear what we do not know well, what is beyond our comfort zone.

Currently, we want to deny gay persons the right to marriage. In stating reasons for this, we attempt to cast them in a negative light, as an entire group who are somehow not deserving of the same rights as the rest of us. It is time to accept our gay fellow human beings who deserve the same rights as the rest of us and stop stereotyping and discriminating against them because their sexual orientation is different from ours. They are people who should be accepted, loved and given a chance to prove themselves in society, just like the rest of us.

This letter is dedicated to Rocky Velgos, who worked tirelessly for gay rights until the day he died.

Joan Horn

Carlsbad

Footprint this!

I can't believe the way people are buying into this CO2-global warming bologna. If someone says anything against it, people treat them like a pariah. It is ridiculous to think we have the technology to forecast the weather or global conditions 100 years into the future when we cannot even get the weekend weather right.

Al Gore got a Nobel Prize for writing a book that is pure fiction and foisting it onto the world as fact. Of course, you have to remember Jimmy Carter and Yasser Arafat also got Nobel Prizes, so he is in like company.

Global warming is a way for governments to gain more control over citizens. It is nothing but human arrogance to believe we can make computer models that will accurately predict the infinite parameters necessary to prove this crazy theory â€"â€" yes, I said theory, not fact. As it is my own arrogance to think that this letter will make any difference. Oops! Did I say that out loud?

Mark Payne

Ramona

Thoughts to ponder

Tell me why: 1. Gays want to be married â€"â€" straights don't. 2. Prisoners get treated like pampered guests. Get those "guests" out cleaning up the fire hazards such as brush, dead trees, etc. Make them earn their keep, a la Joe Arpaio. Our sheriffs would do well to copy his tactics.

3. Why drivers can't move their middle finger an inch or two to activate their turn signals. Or are they saving them for other signals?

4. Why Christians seem to be the only ones to whom the First Amendment does not apply. 5. Foul language, indecency and immorality are protected by free speech, thanks to the liberal Democrats, the anti-Christian Lucifer's Union, the freedom from religion people, ad nauseam. Something's very wrong here.

6. Why Scott Peterson is charged with double murder for killing his pregnant wife, but doctors kill millions of babies â€"â€" some during the birth process. 7. It's acceptable to use the name of Jesus Christ as a cuss word, but to worship and honor that precious name is offensive. The ridiculous idiocy going on is scary.

People, wake up! Christians, get to work. Let's get this country back to decency, morality and common sense! It is sadly lacking in all three.

Joyce Wilson

San Marcos