Letters to the Editor 11/22

A day of equality nears

Our democratic values and equal protections are threatened when ballot referendums are created putting the rights of a minority to a popular vote.

We vote on whether people who are already committed to one another, already paying taxes, already contributing to the community, and in some cases, already raising children, can legally be married to one another and enjoy the rights and privileges that accompany marriage.

Putting the rights of a minority up to a vote of the majority, as was done recently in Maine and previously in California and other states, is undemocratic and contrary to Constitutional rights.

One day in the not too distant future, same-sex couples will enjoy the same freedoms, rights and responsibilities as opposite-sex married couples. It is a matter of social justice, human dignity and civil equality. The voices of prejudice and fear may win small victories along the way, but eventually the voices of reason and fairness will prevail.

A day will come when this great land will live up to its cherished ideal of equality for all citizens. It may not be today, tomorrow or next week, but I have no doubt that all God’s children will one day have equality.

Rev. Mark Richardson

Los Osos

Cut the party bashing

Several letters have appeared on The Tribune’s opinion pages in recent weeks comparing liberals and conservatives to each other. The first one extolled the virtues of conservatism and cast the liberals in a bad light (Differences, Nov. 5). Naturally, this prompted rebuttals from the other side of the aisle which praised liberalism and portrayed conservatives negatively.

Is it possible that both perspectives contain elements of truth and half-truths, as well as a healthy dose of unadulterated balderdash? Forgive me if I’m not impressed.

It’s easy to find fault and blame one’s opponents for all that’s not right in the world, but that only makes finding common ground more difficult. As a nation, we’re currently facing many grave problems that will only get worse as long as we remain so divided.

When Democrats and Republicans stop bashing each other and start focusing on their own shortcomings and correcting their own faults, perhaps we can re-discover the vast common ground that we share as Americans and start working together to solve the problems we face as a nation. Now, that would be truly impressive!

Kim McDaniel

Cambria

K1 considerations

Most of the residents of San Luis Obispo County have received information regarding obtaining K1 in case of release of radiation from Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

We can all get two tablets per household member. Keep them somewhere safe, know where they are. So far so good. But how are all the kids at school supposed to get the tablets in case of such a horrible emergency?

The tablets are supposed to be taken in “an appropriate and timely dosage.” What exactly is timely?  There is no guarantee that the kids will be home at the time of such an emergency.

Kids may not take pills to school with them. If they need medication while at school, it is given to the school nurse for safekeeping. However, most schools no longer have school nurses. Who deals with this in such cases?

Will parents be able to leave K1 tablets clearly marked for their kids with somebody? Has any thought been given to this? The K1 tablets do not provide protection other than for the thyroid gland, but in children, I must assume that this is protection worth having — while we scramble to get out of harm’s way!

Evy Justesen

San Luis Obispo

The cost of oil

Iran is financing and arming terrorists who are killing our soldiers. The Saudis are building mosques in America that advocate Sharia Law and hatred of our culture.

Where do these rogue nations get the money to finance our culture’s downfall and our death? They sell us their oil. We buy $700 billion a year of their oil so they can have the money they need to kill us. This is insane.

Every time you fill your gas tank you are buying ammunition used to kill American soldiers or finance domestic terrorism.

The Utopian dream of an oil-free society is generations or even centuries away. We need too much oil to run our country. Off our California coast, in the Gulf of Mexico and in Alaska is enough oil to reduce the price so low that terrorist nations will have to choose — kill us or their own political survival.

Start drilling now, provide lots of high paid jobs and lots of cheap oil. We can cut down terrorism while we pursue the “no Big Oil” dream. Think how great you’ll feel when all that cheap oil destroys Big Oil’s obscene profit.

Paul Allen

Morro Bay

Palin and minorities

There was a stunning number associated with the throngs lined up for Sarah Palin’s book signings on national news. And that astounding number was the number of minorities lined up to enthusiastically embrace Palin and her politics of death panels: none. And also astounding — none of the media breathlessly covering Palin’s pseudo-events wall-to-wall even noticed.

D. Duane Wall II

Cambria