Getting it right

My 18-year-old son (a graduating senior at Arroyo Grande High School who participates in varsity track and cross country, is a jazz band member, has a 4.6 GPA and is a scholarship recipient to Santa Clara University) drove to San Luis Obispo on May 31 about 6 p.m. to pick me up from work. An “older” woman in a gold minivan began aggressively tailgating him, then sped up dangerously to pass him on Highway 101 North, only to roll her window down to yell, “No Obama,” hysterically at him, waving her arms and endangering everyone on the road.

Yes, we have a small bumper sticker on our car.

My son’s comment:

“I would never do that to someone with a political sticker I disagreed with. That’s just rude, stupid, dangerous and doesn’t get us anywhere.”

He was picking me up to go to the AGHS senior awards night. What a great contrast that evening was to the stupidity of the woman who endangered my son’s life. Thank goodness we have a generation of young people who seem interested in getting it right, rather than being right.

Congratulations to all the fine young adults heading toward education, life and adventure. To that old lady, you should be ashamed.

Karen Libby

Shell Beach

A handful of points

Some thoughts:

1. I’d like to pull a “Jamie Dimon,” lose billions of dollars and get $23 million for it!

2. To the Senate Republicans: Of course companies are guilty if they aren’t paying equal salaries regardless of gender!

3. Regarding the lack of oratory in Congress: “Tales told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing!” (Apologies to the Bard.)

4. If Mitt Romney doesn’t realize that the world’s economies are interconnected, then maybe he’s not the great businessman some think he is.

5. There are so many lies flying around about candidates that we really need Fact Check more than ever!

6. The more depressed you are about our government, the more you need to vote!

Helen Anderson

San Luis Obispo

Union differences

Lots of talk lately about unions, collective bargaining, etc. What I don’t see pointed out is the difference between private-company unions and public-employee unions.

I personally work in a job that has me in a union. My union negotiates with the company management to get me the best wage and benefits package it can. The company management does its best to keep the most money for the stockholders. This goes on until everyone is satisfied, if not happy, with the resulting contract. Government unions negotiate with legislators to whom they give massive amounts of cash. Legislators then give public employees ridiculous, unsustainable benefits because they won’t have to answer for it.

I think it may be time to stop unions and corporations from donating to candidates. Only allow individuals to donate, and make public how much and to whom they donate.

Wasn’t something said in the last election about making government more transparent?

Shelby Rinck

Los Osos