Letters to the Editor 8/18

A tragic loss

Camp PAWS, which has been offered to children in SLO County for the past 12 years, has become a victim of the budget crisis.

This program touched the lives of more than 700 school-age children in our county. Campers learned how to behave around animals and how to train shelter dogs, making them more adoptable. It also provided leadership opportunities for hundreds of teenagers who volunteered thousands of hours.

I want to thank Linda Hardy, whose position as humane educator for San Luis Obispo County has been eliminated. Her dedication to the children and animals of SLO County has touched lives well beyond her beloved Camp PAWS.

She saved many children from dog bites through her annual educational visits to elementary schools. Thanks to humane education, SLO County has one of the lowest “child bite rates” in the nation. Linda worked tirelessly toward educating us to be responsible pet owners and her work dramatically reduced the number of euthanized animals in our county.

We are a better and more “humane” county because of her work. This is a tragic loss. Thank you for your years of service, Linda. You will be missed.

Tami Gunther

Santa Margarita

Where is scrutiny?

Bob Cuddy, your Sunday column was spot on and well argued.

After 42 years of practicing journalism, I would add that too many of today’s reporters, correspondents and even pundits lack a knowledge of and/or a respect for history. Our “in the moment” and “breaking now” obsession and mentality ignores that now is linked to all that precedes it.

The Arab Spring, for example, may have been ignited by social networks, but it was fueled by a history of abuse, neglect and heavy handedness. Eruptions in London followed chronic unemployment and lack of hope or vision.

All the players were once able to handle complexity. Today’s reporter may be glib and look good in parroting back the sound-bite themes of candidates and spin doctors, but where is thorough examination and scrutiny? Covering my second presidential campaign in 1968, the average “sound bite” from the candidate was between 45 and 48 seconds. It used to be that candidates, the media and voters could focus on more than one sentence or a tweet.

You are right. It is time to call a spade a spade, and stop covering politics like it was a Super Bowl.

Tom Cochrun

Cambria

Supporting Ron Paul

Reading the letter on Aug. 14 about the serviceman who was dishonorably discharged for refusing a fourth rotation in Afghanistan, I was overwhelmed. Our servicemen are so incredibly brave. No human should have to endure what they are forced to endure.

My sadness was suppressed, however slightly, by the results of the GOP straw poll in Iowa on Saturday. Against a litany of status-quo Republicans who wouldn’t change anything significant from how Mr. Obama is leading, the one candidate who will change our country for the better had a great showing.

Ron Paul would, among other necessary things, end these aimless, undeclared wars that are costing our country trillions of dollars, bring our troops home and allow the Department of Defense to actually play defense.

Many of my fellow citizens are supporting Ron Paul. His positive attributes are many. His position on the issues is impeccable. He’s like no other politician (in fact, he’s a medical doctor by training).

If you haven’t heard of Ron Paul, or even if you have and think you know about him, I implore you to go to YouTube, search “Ron Paul” and let him tell you about himself. Don’t take my word for it and certainly don’t take the media’s word for it.

Paul Bischoff

Grover Beach

Government people

To those who would like to protect big corporations from paying their fair share of taxes because “corporations are people”: Might you also be equally adamant that government should not be “shrunk to the size that can be drowned in a bathtub” because government is people?

Leslyn Keith

Morro Bay

How we got here

Despite all the discussion about Measures A and B, the one subject that has been conveniently forgotten is “How did we get into this mess in the first place?”

The supporters of these two measures would have us believe that things on the labor front here were just perfect before 2000 and that passage of these two measures will make things perfect again. Which begs the question, “Whatever possessed the voters to overwhelmingly approve these concepts?”

The obvious answer is that the public got sick and tired of the city’s unwillingness to bargain in good faith with the police and firefighters unions. Knowing that these public safety employees could not strike and were therefore powerless, the city routinely failed to address the union concerns during negotiations.

Contracts were allowed to expire and were not renewed for months or years. The city could and did simply stonewall the negotiations until the unions were forced to accept whatever pittance they could get.

If Measure B passes the unions will once again be powerless and the city will have no incentive to bargain in good faith. Measure B allows the city to declare an impasse and impose its “last, best and final offer” on the unions.

Vote no on Measure B.

Bradley Prior

San Luis Obispo

Who are they?

I am so, so, so out of the loop, I need help. All over the news lately is the upcoming marriage of one of the Kardashians — either Klingon, Krandy or Krash, I can’t remember which. But, my question is ... does it really matter? What I want to know is, who, I mean who, are these creatures? Have I missed their past contributions to society, their grand charitable donations or their inventions that have improved our lives? I am a very old lady who needs a little excitement in her life and these tiny waisted, false-eyelashed bimbos aren’t doing it for me.

Patti Launders

Nipomo