Letters to the Editor 10/2

The ideal candidate

Suppose a relatively unknown Republican candidate had just won the presidential straw poll in Florida, beating the existing leading candidate by double that candidate’s popularity in the national polls.

Suppose the following were revealed: 1. Born to a chauffeur father and mom who was a cleaner, he rose to become chairman and CEO of a nationally-known corporation, a true job creator; 2. Former chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City;

3. Mathematician who once worked as a civilian scientific employee for the Department of the Navy; 4. Former syndicated newspaper columnist; 5. Holder of a master’s degree from Purdue University; 6. A church minister; 7.

Won the prized Horatio Alger Award as a self-made man who rose from poverty.

It is probably safe to say that Republicans would be celebrating the miraculous appearance of their ideal candidate, the solution to their uneasiness about their current crop of leading candidates, brimming with enthusiasm about their chances in the coming presidential election. They would probably support him, promote his accomplishments, and shower him with campaign funds.

Ironically, they have such a candidate already running. His name in Herman Cain. He won that Florida straw poll. He also is their only black candidate.

Jack Morrow

Cambria

Face penalty for actions

In response to the article (Sept. 9) on Kaylee Ann Weisenberg, on trial after CHP officer Brett Oswald was struck and killed in Paso Robles in 2010: Weisenberg had her attorney for 13 months, and on the day of the sentencing now Weisenberg wants to hire her own attorney and appeal for a new trial? Not to mention the waste of our taxpayers’ money!

The criminals who break the law and fail to live as law-abiding citizens need to face the penalties for their own actions. Instead, these unlawful criminals search for another chance to pursue a lesser charge or even freedom. 

Weisenberg, you were convicted of second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Officer Oswald deserves justice. Why should you get a second chance at a new trial? Oswald does not get a second chance. He is dead. He is the innocent one here, not you, Weisenberg. It is disgusting to me that Oswald’s life ended to take someone like you off the streets. Take responsibility for your intolerable choices and the loss you have caused.  

My heartfelt condolences to the Oswald family for your deepest loss. You all deserve peace one day. May justice prevail and may justice help you grieve.

M. Leek

Grover Beach

Comparing percentages

David Brooks, in his commentary of Sept. 22, offered the oft-repeated argument that the rich contribute so much more in taxes than the average worker.

I am self-employed and pay 15 percent of my income into Social Security (in the hopes of collecting it one day). I also might pay a paltry 10 percent of my income in federal income taxes and perhaps as little as 5 percent to the state in income taxes (that does not include sales or property taxes, of course). So my total income tax burden adds up to 30 percent of my income of $60,000, leaving me with a whopping $42,000. That 10 percent of top earners who pay “nearly 70 percent of all income taxes” pay a lot more than I do. However, I’ll take the 60 percent remaining of their million dollars in income ($600,000) any day over my 70 percent of $60,000.

My heart goes out to these “job creators” trying to get by on the pennies left after the federal government extorts their pound of flesh. A graduated income tax is as old as civilization itself. I say let those who benefit the most by being citizens of this great country contribute the most!

Michael Morin

Atascadero

Poor Runabout service

I am a handicapped senior. For the past six months, I have been confined to an electric wheelchair, making it impossible for my friends to pick me up. I have been relying on our two handicapped bus services, Runabout and Ride-On. They both have fine equipment, very courteous and helpful drivers and a wonderful service.

Ride-On tells you what time they will pick you up and arrives on time to the minute. Runabout, which is a government service, gives themselves a half-hour window. My experience has been that 50 percent of the time they are 15 to 20 minutes later than that.

For a recent 12:45 appointment, I was picked up from home at 11:45 and not picked up from my appointment until at least 3 p.m. It seems that Runabout doesn’t really think that’s a problem. The first time I scheduled an appointment, they never arrived at all.

This makes the service so unreliable as to be useless, and I have been told that Ride-On only allows four trips a month.

I often have more appointments than that.

Laurie Rice

San Luis Obispo

Cite obnoxious noise

Good job, Tribune, photographing our elected officials, four out of five violating their own trash can concealment law. This is no surprise from a council that accepted a memo last year from outgoing Chief Linden stating that enforcing motorcycle pipe noise laws was too “complex” for her and her officers, and not safety-related.

That’s intolerable. Progressive cities like El Segundo and Huntington Beach don’t find enforcement difficult. When one can’t sit at a downtown cafe without disruption, can’t sleep in their bedroom without disruption, can’t exist without disruption from those intentionally shaking you because — as offenders disingenuously say — “It’s America; it’s for my safety from cars that don’t see me; my bike came this way from the factory,” why would our council bother to stick up for any law?

Car and cycle noise standards are identical in federal law since the early 1980s (80 decibels max), so their beloved “thunder” is absolutely not legal nor factory-issue. Suddenly disrupted sleep is a major marker for health issues. Local CHP records show citations (27150 CVC) are being issued on the obnoxious noise.

Thank you, Highway Patrol. SLO City Council, not.

Rick Clark

Los Osos

Just plain American

According to the latest census report, Latinos make up about 16 percent of the U.S. population.

This was due mostly to babies born here, not immigration.

Why should this growth in population be considered a voting bloc? There is as much diversity among Latinos as in any others. We hear of voting blocs of liberals, conservatives, Southerners, the Religious Right, tea partiers.

We have African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latin-Americans, Native-Americans. But nobody ever talks about European-Americans. Maybe that is because they have been here since the Mayflower.

How many generations does it take to be a just plain American?

Joan Leon

Santa Maria

Vehicle pollution

Pollution emanating from the OHV area isn’t limited to the particulate matter being spewed into the air from ATVs. Walk down any street and look down. You’re sure to see oil stains left by many vehicles over the years.

Now go visit the OHV area and look straight ahead at the ocean. Most of the vehicle-generated oil stains are there, having traveled from the sand, courtesy of the effects of high tide. What, if anything, is being done about that?  

Vic Montalban

Grover Beach