Letters to the Editor 9/5

Drunken pirates of GOP

Sen. Sam Blakeslee, a local boy, wants to cut services to the needy in California. He represents the “Greedy Old Party” and the only constituents he cares about are the mega-corporations and the top 3 percent of income recipients in the nation. Bush’s tax cuts should not be extended for this elite few. These people do not create jobs. Ask Alan Greenspan and Warren Buffett.

The Republican Party wants to dumb down our nation by cutting education, health care, Social Security, Medicare and other social programs that help the poor and the shrinking middle class. None of these services should be “for profit.” They are essentials and should be set up as strictly “nonprofit agencies.” 

Blakeslee’s obstructionism and divisiveness has resulted in the “fearful fifth” that follows Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. They don’t share facts and they make up hateful ghost stories that the uneducated eat up. They seem to love fear and hate and want endless war. 

These conservatives, who spent like drunken pirates on wars, want to divide our country through misinformation and feed hate based on old prejudices. They appear to want to start another Civil War. Wake up people and vote in November!

Scott Jenkins

San Luis Obispo

Best article ever

I thank The Tribune for publishing Bob Cuddy’s excellent column (“To all involved in this mess, take a good look inside,” Aug. 31). What courage and humility it took for Cuddy to write this article! Thank you, Cuddy, for admitting that you erred by making an assumption regarding Annie the dog.

Here’s something that is fascinating. Have you seen a picture that can be interpreted in two ways? For example, there is one picture that can be seen as an old woman. If someone sees that old woman, they become convinced that picture is only a picture of an old woman. They’ll argue that is the only view.

However, that same picture is also a picture of a young woman (For more information, research Gestalt principles). The point is that we have to stop being convinced that we see something as accurate and as the one and only truth. We need to stop being so quick to make judgments and then unwilling to see the issue from a different perspective.

Thank you, Cuddy, for writing the best article I have ever read in The Tribune.

Angela Carpenter

San Luis Obispo

Be humane to pigeons

Myron May’s letter to the editor suggesting that pigeons in Pismo Beach should be shot is an example of how fear can lead to irrational decisions (“Shoot the pigeons,” Aug. 15).

The intestines of most warm-blooded animals, including humans, contain E. coli. The presence of bacteria, such as E. coli, within our intestines is necessary for us to remain healthy.

So, it should not be a surprise that pigeon droppings and dog excrement contain E. coli.

It is important to note that there is a harmful strain of E. coli bacteria that has been responsible for massive beef recalls over the years, but that strain was not measured in the Pismo Beach study.

It is unfortunate that the Pismo Beach study did not address the issue of risk nor studied any reported cases of illness resulting from pigeon droppings in Pismo Beach.

The large population of pigeons at the Pismo Beach pier was caused by humans feeding them, causing their flock to increase, and we need to be rational and humane in how we deal with them.

Johanna Andris

San Luis Obispo