Letters to the Editor 11/11
Back to Mexico
It is incredible to me that most of my fellow Californians chose to go completely insane and return the tax and spend crowd to the state government.
Not that Arnold was any prize (a Republican in name only), but come on, Gov. Moonbeam back? Barbara Boxer back? Two career politicians with all of their arrogance, their big money and union ties?
They are so out of touch with the true needs of the people.
And then, the majority votes against holding back the draconian emissions/regulations bill just until we build employment back up.
California is losing jobs and companies daily to Texas, Oklahoma and other states whose leaders understand how to attract business and employ their people. And yet, California continues on the path of total self destruction. I vote to return California to Mexico.
Joseph Kenny
Arroyo Grande
Remember this point
Thank you for your informative article on city employee salaries (“Overtime is big in SLO salaries,” Nov. 7).
One thing seems clear: If our public safety employees can perform their duties in a safe and efficient manner while working that much overtime, then the hours required to earn their base pay need to be increased.
I hope that this point is not lost on whoever represents the taxpayers in the next contract negotiations.
Steve Carter
Paso Robles
We must reinvent
Listening to a friend recall World War II experiences the other day caused me to reflect on my mother’s and father’s stories. Amid the Great Depression and war, the 1930s and 1940s were trying times. Sacrifice and inconvenience were part of everyday life.
This election clearly demonstrated national dissatisfaction with our country’s current state in another time of difficulty.
Nevertheless, conditions during the Great Depression and World War II were of a magnitude few today can appreciate. Both threatened to extinguish our country. The consequence: America pulled out all the stops. Rising national debt or being a politically correct world neighbor became inconsequential. We were fighting to survive.
My lesson: we have lost that spirit of people who survived war and depression six decades ago. Are we being buried under a flood of entitlements, activism, bureaucracy and taxes? Of course we are. But rather than follow Limbaugh and Co. and label our president as Satan incarnate, Congress must embrace his wisdom and vision in charting a new path.
This is not business as usual. Just as those earlier decades, the coming one will be a watershed. America must reinvent itself. And it will prove inconvenient.
Mike Broadhurst
Cambria
Regurgitation
Regarding John Kepler’s letter to the editor titled, “Déjà vu all over again” (Nov. 7):
When you recycle, you expect the results to be useful. This last California election was more a regurgitation.
John Gajdos
Morro Bay
Worth the cost
I returned home late the other night from the hospital, where my 11-week-old son had just been taken by ambulance after he stopped breathing, to read AnnMarie Cornejo’s analysis of the 50 highest-paid city employees in San Luis Obispo, who turned out to be mostly police and firefighters (“Overtime is big in top SLO salaries,” Nov. 7).
You can image my disgust that the livelihood of some of the people who just saved by baby’s life was being scrutinized in a public forum because of events that occurred in Bell. Apparently, only public employees are subject to statewide guilt by association.
The excuse that our taxes pay their salaries is unavailing. All companies pay wages on money taken from someone else in commerce. The excuse that “sunlight is the best disinfectant” is disingenuous when the publication of this information is meant to elicit a certain response, specifically, that they are overpaid.
I challenge those who believe this to volunteer to exempt themselves from 911 service or to only go to the least expensive doctor they can find. No one will take that challenge; they will simply force others to. Please stop the jihad against our public servants.
Jon-Erik G. Storm
Los Osos
Fraudulent voting
With universal acceptance of the fact there are millions of illegal immigrants living in California, one has to question what proportion of the reported 22 percent Latino voter pool in the state is fraudulent.
California’s voting laws are notoriously lax regarding voter identification. Personal identification used to register to vote is seriously compromised by counterfeit documents available on the street at a price anyone can afford.
Once registered to vote, no identification is required at the polling place. This is a recipe for cheating.
With citizenship in our county comes the important right and obligation to vote. It’s past time to modify our voting laws and secure our personal identification documents so that noncitizens, by their illegitimate votes, can no longer influence our destiny.
Donald Hirt
Paso Robles
Leash laws
My heart goes out to Mickey Lawson (“Leash your dog,” Nov. 1). Like Lawson, I have been the target of unleashed and aggressive dogs in my neighborhood. Several neighbors have told me of similar problems.
In 2009, the average cost of a dog bite claim was $24,840. In a recent study published in the medical journal “Pediatrics,” there were a reported 109 dog bite-related human deaths over a period of six years. Over half of the victims were children under 10 years of age.
If you are a resident in a homeowner association, your HOA could be sued by a dog bite victim (and you could pay special assessments) for the failure of your association to take reasonable care to enforce its covenants, conditions and restrictions regarding leashing of dogs.
Residents who are threatened by dogs are becoming increasingly intolerant of violations of leash laws. We will use every law and regulation available. We will call animal control, request that they remove your dog and insist that our homeowner associations take action. We will file lawsuits if necessary.
Ray Berger
Arroyo Grande
Capitalism’s limit
I’m curious as to why shoppers don’t mind nor object to buying from communistic, socialistic and third-world manufacturers? Why do people vote against their own best interests? Why don’t they object to all the outsourcing of jobs?
Why wouldn’t people want health care that will protect them? Why should there be for-profit insurance companies strangling us with exorbitant premiums and reaping huge profits, unlike any other health care system in this world?
Folks need to educate themselves, for their own sake and for the good of all, because we’re all in this together. Capitalism has its limits and that limit is here!
Arne Setran
Los Osos
Road fix
I just wanted to thank the city of Arroyo Grande for fixing West Branch Street with new pavement. Just in time for In-N-Out Burger.
I am looking forward to you doing the same with El Camino Real and the new super-duper Brisco interchange.
Lenny Jones
Arroyo Grande
This story was originally published November 10, 2010 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Letters to the Editor 11/11."