Re: your Sept. 25 editorial, Protecting our ocean treasure”:

It is nice to think that the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary has been protecting a national treasure for the last 25 years.

However, it alarms me that the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is not opposing BHP Billiton’s proposal to build an offshore, liquefied natural gas terminal with three huge LNG tankers arriving per week, which will greatly increase the amount of pollution and greenhouse gasses in such a beautiful “sanctuary.” So much pollution that the Environmental Protection Agency has designated the Channel Islands National Park as a new and independent pollution zone. 

What else shocks me is that the marine sanctuary will be honoring Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at its 25th anniversary reception at the Biltmore Hotel. Is it aware that campaign finance records indicate that the LNG industry has donated over a million dollars to Schwarzenegger? Haven’t they heard that the governor’s top political adviser is running the LNG industry’s public relations campaign in support of an LNG terminal? Whose side is Schwarzenegger on? 

I didn’t think that it was possible to put a price tag on a “National Treasure.” Nor did I think our Channel Islands were for sale.

— Lisa Collier, Ventura

Our Los Angeles and Ventura counties evacuation system performed close to flawlessly, I know people who were awakened at 2 a.m. and told to evacuate. They all got a recorded message on their home phone and cars and trucks with sirens and loudspeakers went up and down the streets. They were simply advised to evacuate and told that, if they didn’t, it was their choice and rescue efforts may not be available until too late.

I think it’s interesting that there was a couple days notice for Katrina and zero notice about our fire here in California. Without going into relief efforts after the event occurs, the fact is that our evacuation and our animal and people shelter systems were executed almost flawlessly. The Ventura County Fairgrounds was filled with evacuated large animals Friday morning. Each evacuated area was told what route to take and where animal and people shelters were located.

Are Californians smarter when told to evacuate? Are our roads better? I don’t know but, for starters, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and the state of Louisiana needs to get its rear in gear and develop a system of evacuation and readiness.

Why was this not done ages ago? They’ve had an accident waiting-to-happen longer than we have and while Katrina rescue efforts left a whole lot to be desired, an effective evacuation plan would have prevented a lot of misery — and, of course, if someone knows they need to evacuate and doesn’t, it’s kind of their responsibility, isn’t it?

Am I missing something?

— Paul Schlapper, Ventura

Re: your Sept. 20 article, “War widow, peace activist”:

The Americans who fought World War II have been called the “greatest generation” because, besides a deadly dedication to victory, they knew that articles of the kind splashed over two-thirds of the front page of this newspaper a few days ago would encourage the enemy while disheartening the citizens of this country.

There were no front page stories highlighting the staggering losses of our young men in battle, which, in many battles, numbered in the tens of thousands.

As a concerned citizen, I see a need for some courses to be offered to the community through the Ventura County Community College District.

As the horticulture program is considered terminated — not for lack of trying by students and the community — we have to consider what courses would provide the greatest benefit for the most people at the colleges.

I have asked other students and people I come in contact with casually, and the consensus is courses that help people appreciate natural resources, plants, animals and each other.

Re: your Sept. 29 article, “Rita may have hit oil rigs worst of all”:

This article, about the oil and gas platform failures caused by the recent hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, did not mention the failure of the Typhoon oil and natural gas platform that is owned by BHP Billiton and Chevron.

This platform, as with the proposed BHP Billiton Cabrillo Port liquefied natural gas floating terminal, is supposed to be disaster-proof. BHP Billiton’s platform broke free of its moorings and drifted more than 100 miles.

Re: David Sheehan’s Sept. 28 letter, “An uphill battle against school district”:

As a parent with two children in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, I was, of course, concerned when I read the letter regarding purported child care inequities at Lang Ranch. However, once I checked out the Web site that had been printed in the letter, I quickly realized that in spite of any problems that may or may not have occurred regarding child-care placement, this was in fact an unreasonable parent run amok. And I came to this conclusion without knowing anything about the situation other than what he himself wrote and posted.

If the fire in Chatsworth is any indication of what can happen with road closures in the local area, what will it be like if we all encounter a major disaster like what happened in New Orleans or Texas?

It is a strong belief that it’s time for all of us who are involved in any logistics or security to step up to the plate.  What will happen if the freeways choke up like they are presently? God only knows!

I believe that a real disaster will transpire and that more people will vanish than we have ever believed possible.

Homeland security is a major issue with most of us.

Those of us who are residents of Ventura County have an opportunity to be proactive in helping with this issue. Our congressman, Elton Gallegly, has been very active with this issue through his activities in the House of Representatives.

A biometric, bar-coded national identity card is a vital item in this security effort. Unfortunately, the American Civil Liberties Union and those who have a vested interest in hiring illegal aliens at below minimum wage levels — and some for other reasons — have been successful in their opposition, and the bill is unlikely for the immediate future.

One can scarcely see a newspaper without reading every few weeks about some odd person being arrested on charges of cruelty to animals for keeping too great a number of dogs or cats in filthy and medically dangerous conditions, in their urine and feces, without water, food or proper veterinary care.

Yet the individuals responsible for keeping thousands of people in the same conditions in the Louisiana Superdome — to the same extent of degradation, inhumane treatment, and deaths — have not been arrested and charged with cruelty to humans.

In reading articles about the price tag of compassion, I have a few questions to ask.

Are we to believe that no person or business in the storm-affected area had any insurance of any kind? Also, due to the welfare rolls in this area, couldn’t we expect these people who are physically able to participate in the rebuilding process?

My family and I have contributed to the various funds for the people and animals affected by Katrina and do so without reservation. I do not lack compassion for these people and their current situation. However, I think this budget was put together without adding the survivor factor of the people who live here.

If you worked for a large corporation, and the bosses decided on their own to oppose or promote several ballot measures and political candidates and were paying for it with money arbitrarily deducted out of your paycheck, wouldn’t there be hell to pay?

Rest easy. No corporation that I know of is doing this, but labor unions are.

Proposition 75 on the November ballot would prevent unions (and corporations, too, if they tried it) from pilfering the paychecks of rank-and-file members to fund political activities unless they have written permission to do so from the union member.

While understanding that many of us have strong feelings about the possession of firearms, I believe sensible firearms control is something we must achieve in this state and country.

Making it more difficult for just one child to play with daddy’s loaded handgun, or making it tougher for a “soon to be murderer” to grab a few handguns from a friend’s house, hide them in a backpack, and later sneak up on harmless people and kill two while critically wounding another, is certainly worth whatever “upside” there could possibly be to anyone having accessible handguns and ammunition.

I am going to support Propositions 75 and 76. I personally have had it with the notion that unions, which have been riding on the coattails of former Gov. Gray Davis, can spend millions of dollars in commercials assassinating the character of current Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Unions for police, sheriff’s deputies and prison guards, along with teachers, are trying to paint a picture that this governor is trying to destroy them. No, he is doing exactly what we brought him in to office to do: cut back on these special interest groups that are costing us millions. Yet the above unions have spent millions trying to defeat these propositions.

Re: your Sept. 27 article, “Sacrificing science for test scores”:

In all my years — of which there are 88 — I have never encountered so detrimental or misguided a practice as that which I am reading as I type.

I will not go through why I consider the practice as being detrimental — nay, potentially nationally catastrophic — given the space allowed and the time it takes this hunt-and-peck typist to painfully create what I really feel regarding the counterproductive chipping-away at the critically important subject matter in our schools.

Re: Margaret Brownley’s Sept. 27 letter, “School fundraiser solution”:

I found the letter about school fundraisers right on! The fundraising assemblies do get the kids all hyped up about the lure of “winning” something — which is usually not worth much anyway, unless you sell super big numbers. But unfortunately, this precious school time is wasted school time.

I would never let my child go door-to-door selling anything these days with or without a parent. The kids from affluent or extended families may be able to contribute to this madness, but what about the larger number of kids who cannot?

I am a simple man, not one who cries or looks to someone else for everyday needs.

This said, why do our schools do such a bad job in educating our young and yet ask for more money to pay outrageous saleries for the very people who are doing such a bad job?

Where is the basic truth of “Do your job, rewards will follow”? Does this not apply to them? I realize California is an expensive place to live, but it is for me, too! Don’t ask me to throw money that I need down a rat hole because it makes you feel good.

— Gregory A. Hammer, Camarillo

Our state is currently spending $8 billion more than it takes in after taking the $15 billion deficit left by the Gray Davis administration and borrowing long-term to pay for it.

In November, we have several initiatives that will restore fiscal responsibilty and accountability, yet every day some well-intentioned teacher, firefighter or other unionized public servant is blasting those who would ask us to live within our means.

This message is for all those state employees: Do not be deceived by the propaganda coming out of your unions. Here is why you will continue to be victims if you do.

Re: your Sept. 26 article, “Official fights Prop. 76 backing”:

Kathy Long is on the board of directors of the California State Association of Counties.  A roster of the directors available on the CSAC Web site lists her as the representative for Ventura County.

The calendar of events on the CSAC Web site lists a board of directors meeting in Sacramento on September 8.

Item 3 on the agenda for that meeting is the consideration of November 2005 ballot initiatives. First on the list of initiatives is Proposition 76.

Would someone like to say what’s wrong with this picture?

The Ventura County Economic Development Association is holding a “Fueling the Future: The Politics of Power” conference via major financial sponsorship of foreign-owned BHP Billiton. The Australian company insists on building a liquefied natural gas platform with pipes going through the City of Oxnard without giving the City of Oxnard — our Mayor Tom Holden, Mayor Pro Tem Andres Herrera and Councilmembers John Zaragoza or Tim Flynn — any say-so. As a matter of fact, Mayor Holden is not even listed as one of the main speakers.

Re: your Sept. 25 letter, “Parking leads to death”:

This letter unwittingly points out still another way in which our society is diverse — although not always recognized as such. Parking laws are local.

When I lived in Troy, N.Y., it was in fact the law that the space in front of one’s house belonged to that resident, who had the right to chase off others.

Re: your Sept. 17 article, “Parents take school fundraisers upscale”:

There are many opportunities for schools with less-affluent populations to raise funds without a major time commitment from parents. I am the coordinator for “Free Programs” at Camarillo Heights elementary school. It has a diverse population of income earners.

Following are some of the programs I found that have big returns for little effort:

Re: your Sept. 20 article, “War widow, peace activist”:

I was shocked and dismayed by the front-page coverage given to Melanie House by The Star. This story was all about the anger and pain of the heartbroken widow of a Navy man killed in Iraq, and it glorified her anti-war activities.

The psychopathic killers our country faces in Iraq are probably the most hateful and dedicated enemies this country has ever seen. These militant Muslim murderers have loudly stated over and over that they are proud of their hideous acts. They are proud of killing more than 3,000 innocent people on Sept. 11. Their obvious aim is to subdue the entire world and force all of us to adopt their way of life, or just as satisfactory to them, die at their hands.

Re: your Sept. 26 article, “Doctorate in education bill gets signature”:

The article gives the impression that the doctorate in education degree exists solely for school administrators. However, all the Ed.D. signifies is that the doctoral degree is given in an area of education. Within the field of education there are many different areas of study. Doctorates in education are given in such areas as educational psychology, counseling, organizational development, curriculum and instruction, leadership, special education, etc., in addition to educational administration. For the professor at Columbia University to characterize all doctorate in education programs as being poor is incredibly ignorant.

Re: Tim McGuire’s Sept. 17 Arts & Living column, “Patience a tough thing to wait for”:

McGuire’s argument about capitalism fails at many levels, beginning with the headline. There’s no such thing as “unbridled” capitalism.

McGuire looks to Paul Stiles, author of “Is The American Dream Killing You?” (No, by the way). Much of what he cites sounds like warmed-over Marx. But it’s OK — this is the United States, so he’s allowed.

Supervisor Kathy Long again shows her disrespect towards her constituents by objecting to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s support for Proposition 76. Long has shown over and over again that she has little or no concern for the taxpayer’s hard-earned money and where it goes!

Gov. Schwarzenegger made the promise of cutting the fat from the bloated bureaucracies nestled within the enormous catacombs of the California political machines.

Re: Alicia Reynolds’ Sept. 18 commentary, “Katrina demonstrates U.S. drowning in a flood of inept leaders”:

I was quite surprised to see The Star print such an ultra-liberal and biased article as the one written by Reynolds. Her supposed “outrage” over Katrina was nothing more than another attack fulfilling a “liberalist” political agenda in an attempt to discredit the Republican Party. This isn’t politics, this is a terrible national disaster.

The Bush administration is not used to seriously thinking fully about problems on a long-term basis.

What I see is that thousands of displaced people are scattered in private homes and short-term arenas. These people are destitute and need government support to guide and maintain them after Katrina.

Surely there is government property such as Army barracks available. Mobile homes, such as those used in other disasters, could be rounded up and used for long-term housing. Where is the planning for long-term housing for these people? The blame game is unimportant at this time. Get these people housed and as independent as they can be, with the government’s help, and then point fingers at who is to blame for this mess.

— Marjorie Grate, Camarillo

The Star has a mantra to “provide balance and fairness” in every story. Yet, earlier this year, I wrote criticizing The Star’s completely one-sided coverage of the Social Security issue, basically the side of Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara.

Now, The Star has done the same thing with the Hurricane Katrina disaster, blaming the problem on President Bush and the federal government. On Sept. 4, there were four stand-alone articles on the subject. The Star picked an obscure, seemingly disgruntled ex-government employee, Tom Parker, to write, “New Orleans is Bush’s Waterloo.”

I was one of the 15,000 people at the peace march and rally in Los Angeles on Saturday. I made and carried a “Make Levees, Not War” sign.

This was my first peace rally. I did not see or hear a single pro-war supporter. I observed a very diverse group of marchers. There were a lot of young people, as well as those of us old enough to remember former anti-war protests, people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and cultures, supporters of a variety of political views and political causes.

In view of the timing of this rally, I would like to tie it in with the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
I consider Hurricane Katrina to be three disasters.

If I wanted to subscribe to the Weekly World, I would. But since I want as much factual information from my local newspaper as possible, please refrain from any more global warming cartoons tied to the hurricanes for at least a week.

Each day I am greeted by a new cartoon suggesting — no, stating — that global warming is the cause. The Star reported there is no scientific evidence to think this and, further, that this is a natural occurrence, not man-made. How come our global warming cartoonists can’t understand this? I would really like to get a view of their educational background.

Re: your Sept. 23 article, “Scandinavian Festival will take year off”:

Many of us are stunned that the Scandinavian Festival Committee would scrap the Scandinavian Festival at California Lutheran University. Maybe I should say “bewildered,” because The Star story made it sound like the leaders were in financial disarray.

We have attended the festival for more than 10 years, and my sister and her club have come from out of town almost every year to dance at the festival. Many, many of our friends also attend it religiously every year and have a ball.

Re: your Sept. 22 article, “Boxer says Roberts could put rights ‘in serious jeopardy’:

I had to laugh at the reality of Sen. Barbara Boxer pronouncing negative declarations regarding the confirmation of John Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Mr. Roberts has demonstrated nothing but class, dignity, intelligence, grace, patience, charm and poise during these hearings. In my estimation, his detractors have demonstrated little of these characteristics, yet they are judging him. How absurd, but that is the process. Maybe it’s hard to have peer review when you have so few peers.

I’m sure attacks against Roberts are just another form of Bush-bashing, which seems to be in vogue and becoming increasingly irrational with time.

— Tom Reilly, Thousand Oaks

Re: your Sept. 24 article, “More drivers getting tickets in Santa Paula”:

This article leaves the wrong impression to the public as to the true purpose of traffic enforcement.
The statement, “The city keeps most of the money from traffic and parking tickets, though a portion of some fines goes to the county of Ventura,” only misleads the public about the truth of fine distribution.

The California Penal Code determines the percentage of fine allocation in Section 1463. The cities of Ventura County are limited to a 16 percent allocation of the base fine for vehicle code violations. The exception is a flat-rate $100 allocation to municipalities for red-light violations, where the fine is substantially higher than most.

Fall is here. We know this not because of turning leaves, mailboxes clogged with Christmas catalogs or Santa Ana winds. We know it because of the school fundraiser brigade that beats a path to our front doors.

Yep, it’s that time of year again, the time when your children, grandchildren and neighbor kids stare at you with a hopeful look on their little faces. The sales pitch varies little from kid to kid or even from year to year. If they make so many sales, they’ll get to claim a pen, stuffed animal or key chain as their very own.

Re: Stanislaus Pulle’s Sept. 18 commentary, “Judge Roberts would help put America back on track” and his Sept. 25 commentary, “Agendas erode Constitution”:

While Mr. Pulle may be a dean and professor of constitutional law at a night school, he is not opining on proper application of the Constitution. He is writing about his own personal and moral biases. Personally, I find it rather frightening that this man is training would-be attorneys.

In his Sept. 18 commentary, this professor of law actually criticized Justice Sandra Day O’Connor for not holding her finger in the air to see which way the breeze was blowing before casting her vote in a Supreme Court decision on Texas’ law against homosexual sodomy.

Re: Marilee Ullmann’s Sept. 22 letter, “Burden on neighbors”:

This article is right on the mark. What’s next? Parking meters on Thousand Oaks Boulevard?

— Ramaul Rush, Thousand Oaks

Pa Ventura thinks that if 16 out of 32 teams have a 1-1 record, they are mediocre. What record would satisfy him? Should every team be 2-0? Wait, that’s mathematically impossible. For every team that’s 2-0, there is a team that is 0-2. I guess Pa Ventura would say there’s parity if 16 of 32 teams are 0-2. I say that’s mediocre!

— Douglas C. Kubler, Thousand Oaks

I have lived in Simi Valley for 20 years, and I can tell you there is probably no one more excited than I to have a mall in town. They are calling it, “a breath of fresh air” — so the developer, Forest City, says on its Web site.

Forest City has determined that we, the people of Simi, deserve a mall that allows smoking. They have decided that they are going to allow smoking at the mall. This is their choice, their decision.

When presenting the mall to the neighborhood councils, planning commission and city officials, did they discuss this issue? I have heard they did not.

Throughout this endless debate regarding the placing of low-candlepower lights in the dog park, the same phraseology and mantra continues to be written Waverly Heights residents — the dog park is “in their residential neighborhood.” Do they now claim that land as their own?

The dog park is located in an area surrounded by Highway 23, Avenida De Las Flores, the horse arena and Waverly Park. How is this in Waverly Heights? All this rhetoric about this park being “imposed” in their neighborhood is fraudulent.

To infer that the large, representative group using and enjoying the dog park on a daily basis, is a powerful “lobby” tool of “big money and developers” is absurd.

We are fellow citizens of Thousand Oaks. A diverse group of hard-working citizens who enjoy recreating with their dogs in a safe environment.

Asking the city of Thousand Oaks to represent all neighborhoods and lifestyles is what any citizen should expect from city government.

The majority of people who use the dog park and neighboring horse arena have coexisted harmoniously for almost four years. Let’s not let a small, militant, vocal minority destroy the positive relationship that has developed between these two groups that truly have something wonderful in common — the love of their pets.

The elitist group from “rural” Waverly Heights keeps complaining about the cost of lights being installed, and the wasting of taxpayers’ money. Yet, their imposed delays have resulted in all Thousand Oaks residents having to foot the bill for expensive traffic and noise studies, and the escalating rise in cost for installing the lights.

If Waverly Heights residents wants to keep everyone out of “their community,” they should organize to privatize the streets, put up a gate and then stay in their 1950s time warp.

Install the lights without further delay.

— Susan Shotsky, Thousand Oaks

I did a little research on the “bill” touted by the letter writers that Rep. Elton Gallegly voted against. It wasn’t a bill. It was an amendment to a bill, specifically the Military Quality of Life Appropriations Act.

The amendment, offered by Democrat Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, wasn’t really a veterans health amendment, although that’s what it was touted to be. It was primarily to cut funding for the base realignment and closure process. It would have cut BRAC funding by $169 million, but only increase Veterans Affairs funding by $53 million. The VA increase was put in there to make it difficult for Congress members to vote against it because people knew Democrats would use it like a club in the letters section of local newspapers.

The tactic nearly worked. It only lost by one vote. But Gallegly isn’t swayed by political games and voted against it. Now, Democrats are using his vote like a club in a local newspaper that is more than willing to succumb to leftist tactics.

It’s important to note that the $53 million in the amendment would have been a drop in the bucket. According to the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Web site, the act as passed by the House funds veteran medical services at $21 billion, $1 billion more than the president’s budget request and $1.64 billion more than the year before. Over the last two years, funding for veterans medical care has increased by 18 percent. It increases veteran benefits by $1.5 billion over last year. It also provides $20 billion for the Defense Health Program, an increase of $1.8 billion over last year’s level.

That’s the bill Gallegly voted for, one that bypasses political tricks and provides the support and services our veterans need and deserve.

— Richard H. Linsday, Westlake Village

Re: your Sept. 18 editorial, “Enough talk — it’s time to act”:

The excellent Ventura County work-force housing conference Sept. 14 challenged employers and public officials to find creative ways to enable their current employees to live close to where they work and to make it possible to recruit new employees.

I am disturbed, however, by the definition of “work-force housing” espoused by several speakers at the conference and repeated in The Star editorial.

By utilizing this definition (work-force housing is for households of four earning 50 percent to 120 percent of average annual median income or $38,700-$92,880), we exclude a very large number of working people in Ventura County including single-earner households, farmworker households, entry-level workers and many people involved in healthcare, sales, hospitality and maintenance work, among other occupations.

The rationale for this definition is that people earning less than $38,700 yearly are eligible for special-housing subsidies and programs not available to middle-income households. The truth is these programs are limited and only become available to a small percentage of the working people in Ventura County who need them.

Let’s agree that the Ventura County work force includes all working people and challenge ourselves to bring public and private resources together in innovative ways to address the housing needs of every single working person.

— Ellen Brokaw, Santa Paula

Re: your Sept. 22 article, “Governor removes Web request for stories of bad teachers”:

The governor and his cohorts have shown their true colors with the inclusion of a form on their Web site in which the public is invited to share horror stories about incompetent teachers. Although the form was removed following inquiries from a newspaper reporter, the message is clear:  Arnold Schwarzenegger has contempt towards teachers.

According to a study by Education Week, 20 percent of new teachers quit the profession within three years. The top reasons given for leaving the field were dissatisfaction with working conditions, student misbehavior and relatively low salaries.

To all persons who are considering a protest to importing liquefied natural gas: Are you not awake?

The Star reports that heating costs will rise 32 percent this winter. Gasoline is nearing $3 a gallon and still rising. And electricity costs are still at an all-time high as a result of increased demand.  Where do you think all of tomorrow’s energy is going to come from? It’s time to wake up, folks.

Since no one is willing to deal with the real problem of overpopulation, importing fuel is one of the last affordable options left. LNG may very well be a good short-term solution, from fueling our cars to running our economy.

Re: Alicia Reynolds’ Sept. 18 commentary, “Katrina demonstrates U.S. drowning in a flood of inept leaders”:

I was surprised that The Star would provide such a large forum for Alicia Reynolds’ misinformed diatribe regarding the Katrina storm aftermath. I would like to address her misinformation point by point.

— There were never any images of floodwaters “full of dead bodies” as she claims. Her exaggerations were very Michael Moore-ish.

Re: your Sept. 21 article, “Man gets 58 years to life for 2003 Oxnard murder”:

“If he would have moved his car 10 feet, none of this would have happened,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Harman said after the sentencing.

You must be kidding. People are allowed to park anywhere they want within the confines of the law as indicated by signs on the street. I had a crazy neighbor like this once, who felt he owned the road, and he complained all the time if you or anyone parked in front of his house. He was a typical Californian who just couldn’t get along with people.

— Bruce Jonsson, Ventura

Re: Patricia Kochel’s Sept. 20 commentary, “Watch what you say in front of children”:

I always read Ms. Kochel’s commentaries, since I am interested in what those at my children’s school are thinking.

I have to say while I have not always agreed with her, I have never felt more offended. She refers to children using profanities as coming from damaged homes and that “teens from damaged homes use words to appear tough. But for teens from strong, healthy families, their armor is their parent’s love and support.”

Re: your Sept. 18 article, “Abortion foes hope to limit access for state’s minors”:

This story misses a key point with regard to Proposition 73. Of course, as a parent of two daughters, I would want to know if they were pregnant and seeking an abortion. But I also want what’s best for them. Above all, I want them to be safe. While I hope my daughters would come to me, even in the best families I know teens are afraid of disappointing their families. Their safety is more important than my need to know.

Re: Timm Herdt’s Sept. 21 essay, “The 100 percent campaign”:

I agree with Timm Herdt: Every kid should have health insurance! I guess the only question is how to fund the program.

Herdt made no mention of a funding mechanism, only that “the first-year cost would be negligible, less than $10 million.” Yet California needs every dollar of tax money currently received, especially now, to fund levee upgrades and repair and for a peripheral canal to assure continued water supplies to Southern California.

Re: Rick Freeman’s Sept. 21 letter, “Display of disrespect”:

While I strongly disagree with Melanie House (and Cindy Sheehan) in their views and protest of President Bush and the Iraq war, I respect the right afforded to them to stage these protests. One lost her husband and the other lost her son to preserve their freedom to express their views.

What gives me the right to state my opinion? I grew up without my father. A Marine aviator, he paid the ultimate sacrifice in the South Pacific during World War II for our freedom.

Re: Rick Freeman’s Sept. 21 letter, “Display of disrespect”:

Susan House has been a close friend of mine for more than seven years. I am unable to understand why Freeman would write such a hurtful letter.

No parents could have been prouder of their son, Navy Corpsman John Daniel House, as a sailor and a man, than Susan and Larry House. I witnessed the pain and devastation his death caused his parents; his wife, Melanie; and siblings Jim and Liz. It is hard to look at John’s wife and son James and know John cannot be with them.

Re: your Sept. 20 article, “War widow — peace activist”:

I want to personally thank the House family, while working through such a life-changing tragedy, for having the courage and strength to honor their fallen loved one. I am proud to call them friends.

Navy Corpsman John Daniel House served his country honorably. He loved the Marines he fought with. He is without a doubt an American hero. He paid the ultimate price in service of his country, fellow servicemen and family.

Re: Rick Freeman’s Sept. 21 letter, “Display of disrespect”:

I believe most of my friends, family and co-workers know how I feel about the war in Iraq. But apparently some citizens of the county are under the misconception that my lack of a “media presence” signals my tacit approval of Bush administration policies. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Re: Alicia A. Reynolds’ Sept. 18 article, “Katrina demonstrates U.S. drowning in a flood of inept leaders”: 

I enjoyed Alicia Reynolds’ commentaries while she spent the past year as a Fulbright exchange teacher in Northern Ireland. I read her articles because my son was attending a university in the United Kingdom during his junior year as a participant in the University of California’s Education Abroad Program. I found her articles insightful and non-partisan.

How is it possible to fall so quickly from non-partisanship to blatant partisanship in such a short time after moving back to the States?

I was stunned to hear of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s intent to veto AB849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, passed by the California State Assembly and Senate earlier this month. This bill is historic legislation that will finally bring equality to gay and lesbian Californians. 
 
AB849, while granting civil marriage, also states that no religious leader or church has to perform weddings that it doesn’t agree to. So the falsehood that this will force particular religious groups into doing something is just simply not true.

Re: Alicia Reynolds’ Sept. 18 commentary, “Katrina demonstrates U.S. drowning in a flood of inept leaders”:

Have you ever noticed that when people have a personal agenda, they blame everyone and everything? They never offer solutions, their sense of memory is selective and their timeliness for events begins and ends whenever it is convenient.

Alicia Reynolds suffers from this personal blame problem.  

When I read about the recent events surrounding the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the rush to do good in its wake, I am reminded (as I often am as I grow older) of my father’s admonition that “charity begins at home.”

As a young man, I was confounded by this statement that my father would make whenever there was a public display of charitable acts toward those in need outside our family. I first thought that this was a selfish philosophy but then later realized the true depth of his directive.

Before we go off to faraway lands — be it another state or another country — to do good, perhaps we should examine what we do in our everyday lives to make life better for those around us.

The report prepared by Shilts Consultants, Inc., emphasizes the many benefits of the resolution for forming a benefit assessment district to fund a synchronized traffic signal system down Santa Rosa Road.

These benefits include increased traffic safety, improved ingress and egress, decreased noise, decreased pollution and a smoother, faster and safer commute along Santa Rosa Road for all motorists.

I am so disgusted by the continued poor sportsmanship being displayed by France.

Every time someone other than a French person wins their Tour de France, they scream, “Cheat.” I am sick to death of their attitude.

Lance Armstrong has never cheated. He has never had to resort to that because he is the best in the world. If they want to win, then maybe they should train as hard as he always has. They are showing the world what poor sports they are, once again. Give the man his due! He won it fair and square seven times and deserves the recognition that comes with that impressive record.

Workers’ compensation rates have tripled in three years for the small businessman. Most claims are exaggerated or outright fraud. The system is only making attorneys, doctors and insurance companies wealthy. Workers’ comp is far from being fixed. 

— Kevin O’Connor, Santa Barbara
 

The state fights continue. But money is not the problem, and fighting over it is not the solution.

When the focus changes to identifying what is working and what isn’t, and accepting that, then we’ll have change for the better.

Here are two examples.

— Schools. Instead of fighting over teacher tenure, let’s recognize the common ground of “We all want our children to get a better education.” Some schools are doing really well, others aren’t.

In the United States, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women.
 
One in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. It is very likely that your wife, mother, daughter, aunt, grandmother or girlfriend will be affected by breast cancer.

There are some easy ways you can help fund the fight against breast cancer. Here are 10 ways you can help:

1. Buy some stamps. “Fund the Fight — Find a Cure” postal stamps are available at your local post office, or visit www.usps.com.

Why must so many people believe in a mythical daddy in the sky?

Now, for the first time, a lobbyist in Washington is representing an estimated 30 million (and growing) people in the United States who consider themselves free-thinking atheists. Some in Washington and elsewhere think now is the wrong time for that because “after Katrina, many people are turning to God for strength.”

Hmmm. Wow. He can do no wrong in these people’s eyes. I think the time to put a call in to their guy upstairs should have been before the waves hit.

In all the discussions about Proposition 75, there is one simple truth that is always glossed over. Every public employee union member in California has the right to opt out of political contributions. A seven-word e-mail, fax or letter will permanently remove their dues from political activities.

It’s that simple. Everything else from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s camp is a misdirection to cover the fact that an unpopular governor is trying to silence his critics.

— Jason Hodge, Oxnard

Re: Tim McGuire’s Sept. 17 Arts & Living column, “Patience a tough thing to wait for”:

Once again, McGuire is right on the money! The modern business manager seems to believe that it is better to do something right now rather than take the necessary time to do it right!

For many years, I have had a sign above my desk which is a quote attributed to General Dwight D. Eisenhower: “The urgent is seldom important, and the important is seldom urgent.”

Please join us Saturday at 11 a.m. at Plaza Park in Oxnard to say no to liquefied natural gas tankers and terminals for Ventura County.

U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, will join Assemblyman Pedro Nava, Port Hueneme Mayor Murray Rosenbluth, Oxnard Councilman John Zaragoza, former Oxnard Mayor Dr. Manuel Lopez, Socorro Lopez Hanson of the Oxnard Union High School District, Calabasas Mayor Barry Groveman and others in speaking against the proposal to put an enormous floating terminal, the size of three football fields, in the environmentally vulnerable waters and shipping lanes off our coast.

Re: Judy McLaughlin’s Sept. 9 commentary, “Time to enforce immigration laws”:

I couldn’t agree more.

Believing in following immigration laws does not make me a racist. I am very tired of being considered a racist if I believe in following the rules. The race card is an easy way out for those who choose to ignore the problems of illegal immigration and instead resort to name-calling to intimidate those who feel there is a problem.

Re: Alicia Reynolds’ Sept. 18 commentary, “Katrina demonstrates U.S. drowning in a flood of inept leaders”:

While Hurricane Katrina was perhaps the worst natural disaster ever to befall the United States, this tragedy has also turned into one of the most sickening political spectacles in recent memories, and sadly, Ms. Reynolds’ article is just another example.

While people were dying or trapped in hellish conditions in New Orleans, many on the left, including Ms. Reynolds, jumped with an indecent glee at the opportunity to blast their Great Satan, President Bush, and his evil reign.

Re: Bill Schmidt’s Sept. 14 letter “Clashing colors”:

I drive on Wells Road in Saticoy several times a week and have been admiring the beautiful colors on the new senior housing complex.

It is so refreshing to see the bright, coordinated colors instead of seeing row upon row of boring beige and tan. I love it!

— Betty White, Santa Paula

Re: your Sept. 16 article, “Governor signs ban on school junk food”:

I applaud the governor for his efforts in addressing obesity, especially in children. It’s important to teach our children how to make healthy choices and provide the means to do so.

However, the article also stated, “Officials said that obesity threatens to surpass tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death in California.” I have seen this type of statement more than once since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its reports on the number of deaths attributable to obesity.

Christians’ insistence on displaying their “God” in and on publicly owned property and our money, and by praying to their “God” at government and public school functions, is a manifestation of an early human survival mechanism designed to foster tribalism through fear, intolerance and divisiveness.  And today, when the tribal claims are threatened by rational challenge, the charge of persecution is leveled.

Imagine what the reaction would have been if the God-neutral Pledge of Allegiance that existed into my fifth grade had been changed to read “absent God” instead of “under God?”

Re: Bill Schmidt’s Sept. 14 letter, “Clashing colors”:

I, too, have wondered in amazement how the builders and contractors got away with putting together this horrible, embarrassing building, a senior citizen apartment building in Saticoy.

It actually does look like a circus has come to town. I live on Aster Street, right behind this monstrosity, and it is so sad to think that I will be looking at this “colorful, overbearing place” instead of my beautiful little chapel, which was burned down.

A very important descision regarding further encroachment on Mount Clef ridge will soon commence.

For all of my 24 years, I have lived at the base of this Conejo Valley landmark. My earliest memories in life are of family hikes viewing wildflowers, taking photographs, and collecting rocks in an old coffee can with my father.

Wildwood is my home. Thousand Oaks is my home. In the early ‘80s, my father said something while up on the ridge. He said, “They’re going to build all of this.” That statement has stuck in my mind for more than 20 years.

Re: Robert Louis Chianese’s Sept. 14 letter, “Lack of common sense”:

This rambling diatribe offers few facts, many complaints and no solutions. It’s another example of Bush-bashing, the popular sport these days from those on the left.

Let me offer more common sense:

Re: your Sept. 13 article, “Affordable housing matters”:

The author of the article, Dawn Dyer, suggests that we need more affordable housing to increase our local workforce.

She asks the question, “What if your neighborhood school closed down due to declining enrollment because young families can no longer afford to live in your community?” This is fantasy. Most class sizes are much larger than teachers want to handle.

Instead of fantasy, here are some facts.

In spite of his elusive answers to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,  there’s no doubt in my mind where Judge John Roberts stands on the issues. Just remember who appointed him — George W. Bush, whose base constituency is the religious right wing of the Republican Party. Don’t let Roberts’ pleasant demeanor or intelligence fool you. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

— John Blumenthal, Westlake Village

The Council on Aging of the City of Thousand Oaks has been reconvened for the 2005-06 term. Its first televised broadcast will be aired on Oct. 5 on Adelphia cable’s Channel 10. The broadcast starts at 1 p.m. and will be rebroadcast on the following Friday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

During this program, the COA intends to bring seniors of this area up-to-date information on the Medicare prescription drug program, Social Security reforms and Propositions 77 and 78, which deal with costs of prescription medication.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton is exactly the kind of judge this nation so desperately needs. His ruling declaring the phrase “under God” unconstitutional in the Pledge of Allegiance is right on the money.

The pledge was originally written without the phrase “under God.” It was inserted in the mid-1950s by those anti-Constitution, neo-fascist, conservative McCarthyites who very much intended to establish adherence to religion as a test of loyalty. The circumstances of the addition of this phrase is a prime example of exactly why it must be eliminated. Those who demand its retention need to seriously re-examine their commitment to the real American values of diversity and freedom for all — Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Wiccans, agnostics, athiests and deists of all manner and philosophy.

— Ira Cohen, Thousand Oaks

Re: Robert Louis Chianese’s Sept. 14 letter, “Lack of common sense”:

I would like to recommend this letter as the letter of the year. It is the most intelligent letter I have read in years.

Mr. Chianese says that what this country needs for a president is to find the most common-sense, middle-class, one-for-the-real-people kind of person.

What is common sense? Well, for one, it means that when you are asked to sign your full name for a letter to the editor, you are to write in your middle name if you have one.

Why is it that most of what we hear from the media are the accusations of various Democratic politicians that somehow the disaster at New Orleans was the fault of President Bush?

Why is it that it is widely believed that it is the federal government, and in particular the president, that is responsible for all emergency planning and execution in the United States, and that the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of the great state of Louisiana are just a couple of innocent onlookers? The mayor even blessed the country with some choice profanity about the federal government’s “slow reaction” to the disaster, for which he bore primary responsibility.

Re: your Sept. 13 article, “Cigarette prices could double”:

In contrast to the headlines of the past few weeks, this one was like a breath of fresh air!

— Lynne Herron, Thousand Oaks

So a judge has ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it refers to “one nation under God.” What next? Shall we declare that all American currency is illegal because it states, “In God we trust”?

Whatever happened to “majority rules”? It would be a sad day in this country if the majority of Americans did not believe in God — in some form. For those who do not believe there is a “higher power” — let them be silent during the Pledge of Allegiance, but don’t force the majority to be silent.

— Janet Walker, Simi Valley

In the aftermath of the death and destruction that results from such horrific tragedies like Hurricane Katrina, we are witnesses to the beauty and collective compassion of the people of the United States and other countries as we all come to the aid of countless victims.

Here, in Ventura, we are lucky enough to have our own international relief foundation, founded by Mark and Angela Kirwin in response to the Andaman Sea tsunami that devastated Thailand last December.
Mark and Angela were in Thailand with their two children when the tsunami hit and were so moved by the human suffering taking place that they decided to form their own foundation.

Bad things happen to good and not-so-good people. The hurricane was an act of nature — an act of God. New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama will recover.

My son, on the other hand, is in Iraq fighting for — not us!

Somehow, Iraq got put on the back burner. Floodwaters sell more papers than American troops fighting in some far-off place.

To my way of thinking, Iraq needs to fight its own battles, just as this country did! If they want freedom, then fight for it!

According to the latest census figures, more than 90 percent of the residents of New Orleans left town before the storm hit.

Sure, some of the population was unable to leave because of being hospitalized and otherwise unable to move. But the other morons have to take some personal responsibility for their actions or lack of.
I understand that a small percentage of the population can’t get by without their daily handout from the U.S. taxpayer, but we have become too used to instant drive-through service in our lives.

Re: Bill O’Reilly’s Sept. 10 commentary, “Hurricane Katrina provides real-life learning experience”:

The Star should drop Bill O’Reilly’s column after he had the audacity to blame those “floating face down in the water” for their own deaths because they were poor and being poor was their own fault.
He explains this in terms of personal responsibility, but this raises the question, “What, then, is the role of government if we do not consider it our responsibility to protect our own citizens in a time of disaster?”

Re: your Sept. 12 obituary, “Robert W. Funk: Controversial biblical scholar”:

I must take issue with The Star’s editing of Dr. Funk’s obituary.

The Star portrayed Dr. Funk as a once credible scholar who became a “kook” in old age. When I looked up the original article in the New York Times, I found that Laurie Goodstein had written a more unbiased obituary.

Whereas Ms. Goodstein included quotes by two biblical scholars, The Star chose only to use the statement by Luke Timothy Johnson, the more conservative. Here is what The Star omitted:

The United States actually believes its entertainment fantasies. Some fantastic solution is supposed to appear immediately to resolve all our dilemmas or rescue us from disaster. Some must think the federal government can conjure up “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” technology to beam up survivors from tragedies — natural or man-made — instantly. The federal government is expected to be there at the speed of light to save us.

Well, folks, move away from your theater or TV screens, your video games and your fantasy novels. This is the real world, where we have to look after ourselves for awhile as we wait for the cavalry to arrive — and be grateful when they do. We’re beginning to look like a whiny, finger-pointing, helpless nation. It’s not a pretty picture — from outer space or anywhere else!

— Robin Willis, Thousand Oaks

I wonder how many people still feel we are more secure knowing that the money spent on the war in Iraq was responsible for the levees not being repaired in Louisiana? I mean, what kind of security is this, when one war costs the lives of those abroad and at home? I might add that it’s an illegal, immoral war insisted upon by one man, our selected leader.

And who profits from all this? President Bush, the Carlyle Group, Halliburton and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Re: your Sept. 12 article, “Court workers warned to watch what they say”:

I’m sure I’m not the only one to appreciate the incongruity between Sgt. Patti Salas saying that nobody is listening to the audio recordings and they will only be used, if needed, when disputes and other incidents occur at the three screening stations and Bruce Doenges saying to the District Attorney’s Office and others who work in the building that they’d better say only nice things about their supervisors because everything is being recorded at the screening equipment.

Of course, there is no incongruity if the members of the District Attorney’s Office are bad-mouthing their supervisors while being involved in “disputes and other incidents” at the screening devices!

— Christian Menard, Esq., Oxnard

Re: your Sept. 13 article, “Cigarette prices could double”:

Let me see if I have this right: Smoking has dropped, therefore revenues also, but pensions, salaries and housing have not?

What I see here is a racist, prejudicial attitude against people who smoke cigars, pipes and cigarettes, and the people who sell them.

Racism takes many forms, and this is one of them. To single out one group of people is indeed racism. To single out one industry is prejudice.

A large number of Ventura residents attended the City Council meeting to ask the council to clean and maintain our beach.

One of the points the mayor made was that the beach is going to get even more debris because of tides and more storms, so why should we clean it when it will just get dirty again? Well, I would hate to see his house, because I clean my house all the time and it just gets dirty again, but I continue to clean, pointless as it may seem.

Please clean and maintain the beaches. They are a valuable asset.

— Irene Simpson, Ventura

Re: your Sept. 12 article, “Panel looks at education for children of immigrants”:

So Melinda can’t go on to college because she’s illegal. What a crying shame! She’s been in this country all this time getting a free education, and now we’re supposed to feel sorry for her because we can’t pay for even more education. Maybe we should buy her a new condo and a Lexus while we’re at it just to prove that we’re “progressives.” 

Of course, Melinda is just one of millions of illegals in this country living parasitically off the white middle class. She, along with others, gets a free education, free welfare, free job training, free child care, preferential admission to college, etc., and in return all she can do is whine about how oppressed she is.

Why did BHP Billiton choose the Oxnard/Port Hueneme community as the site for its dangerous, polluting, industrializing regasification terminal?

To many, this answer is clear: because we are a working-class, heavily Hispanic community.

Let’s face it. There are different classes in this country, and the health and lives of our working-class, heavily Hispanic population just aren’t worth as much as the health and lives of the wealthy and powerful.

The pervasive disasters  being revealed by Hurricane Katrina are perfect examples of what can happen when someone — in this case, President Bush and his administration — decides to fix something that is not broken.

When the Federal Emergency Management Agency was an independent cabinet-level agency, it was an efficient and effective operation. Well-trained and competent people had a network of communications, a network of responders and a protocol for who was in charge when and where. FEMA was a system that worked.

Re: Tim Gallagher’s Sept. 4 commentary, “Time has come for liquefied natural gas”:

The world’s oil supply is peaking now, and its natural gas supplies will probably peak within a decade or two.

Then what?

Mr. Gallagher got it wrong when he said to trade imported oil for imported natural gas. (By the way, natural gas, or methane, is more hazardous to our environment than carbon dioxide!) He wants LNG shipped in from Asia, despite potential serious conflicts with China and other emerging Asian nations competing for those same resources.

Re: John Johnson’s Sept. 11 letter, “Consider symbolism”:

The idea that our freedom exists separately from economic and military abilities is naive. The sacrifice of life given since the War of Independence to now is indicative of our nation’s ideas and spirit against oppression. The many immigrants from all areas of the world yesterday and today should attest to the importance of our economic capacity.

While not perfect, our country will be defined by its citzenship. In the dictates of safety, terrorists and street gangs can impose upon others’ freedom. Our eyes and ears — and those of your friends and family — can be of enormous help in preventing terrorism and illegal activities. 

The current administration says that you can attend the Freedom Walk in Washington, D.C., as long as you have a pass. If you try to enter without a pass, you will be arrested — not turned away, but arrested.

This is an administration that says you either agree with us or you’re against us. It says you can attend a public Republican political event as long as you don’t wear any anti-government or anti-Bush signs. Do so and you’ll be thrown out.

This administration says we want to know what you read, where you go and whether you may have ever been associated with any organization that has a connection with what we consider terror — such as the American Civil Liberties Union.

On Friday night, my husband and I were enjoying the concert/telethon being broadcast on Direct TV channel 203 (Court TV). Abruptly at 10 p.m. the program was terminated and another show already in progress was broadcast.

I believe this to be an insult to the celebrities who donated their time and talent to this endeavor and the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Upon calling Direct TV, they stated that they had no control over what their programming stations did. Upon calling Court TV, I was granted the privilege of leaving a message. I think that this needs a relevant explanation by Court TV.

— Kerrie L. Cortez, Ventura

The experts keep reminding us how to prepare for a natural disaster after Hurricane Katrina. The residents of Oxnard can better prepare for a man-made disaster by not allowing the liquefied natural gas pipelines through our city.

— Alice P. Madrid, Oxnard

As we live in a democracy, the legislative branch represents the people and their interests.

In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down a Virginia law against interracial marriages, proclaiming that marriage is a “fundamental civil right.” However, homosexuals have been continually denied this supposed “fundamental civil right” for too long.

Yet the California Senate is making history in doing what is right for people all across the United States. By becoming the first legislative body in the nation to approve same-sex marriage without a court order, we are setting a precedent for true and non-discriminatory equal rights (one might even think this phrase would be a given).

Re: Chuck Kuenstle’s Sept. 9 letter, “Ugly side of U.S. revealed”:

Mr. Knuenstle states that this disaster showed the world the ugly side of the United States. I say, what is viewed is in the eye of the beholder.

The fact is that horrible disasters can happen anywhere. It is not realistic to expect the government to be perfectly prepared for anything that happens, although there is no doubt that the local government in New Orleans was woefully ill-prepared.

The American Red Cross advised Fox News Service on Wednesday, Sept. 7, that it had huge supplies of food, water and other necessities ready to take to the Superdome and the Convention Center right after the hurricane but were not allowed to do so by the governor of Louisiana and the state’s Homeland Security Committee.

Why?

The governor and the committee were afraid that more people would show up if the word got out that aid was available, while they wanted the people to leave. That insane decision cost many lives.

As developer for the Town Center at Westlake Village, I’d like to address recent letters that included misinformation.

First, a major misconception is that multiple choices exist for this site. In fact, only two choices exist: (1) 370,000 square feet of office buildings up to four stories, or (2) the Town Center at Westlake Village. Given these two choices, we’ve received strong support for our mix of shops, restaurants and, yes, the Lowe’s home improvement store.

California is our state!

We love democracy but democracy on our terms, democracy mandated by the California Democratic Party Central Committee and our appointed California Supreme Court judges, not the so-called democracy of voters and constituents.

Why struggle, citizens? Don’t go out on the cold and windy streets and try to referendum and petition us out the Capitol door. It won’t work. We have you in our clutches. Our liberal big spenders and influence-peddling cronies know what is best for you.

While California voters’ attention is with Katrina, the kingpins in Sacramento legislated same-sex marriage, driver’s licenses for illegal drivers and lavish spending for pet projects.

These cunning politicians are no dummies! Some of the legislation passed when no one was around — sometimes at night, and doing it this past week was brilliant. Making matters worse, the teachers are mad at the governor and are spending millions destroying him with ads on radio and TV almost every hour.

Now that Democrats in both the state Senate and Assembly have voted to approve homosexual marriage in this state, we have been given an opportunity to see how morally confused the Democratic state legislators are.

Their moral compass points to Sodom and Gomorrah.

— Jim McClurkin, Fillmore

I have friends in Japan who communicate with me daily. They have news of Katrina on their TV and newspapers almost equal in volume and content to what we have.

There are two kinds of typhoons in Japan: the wind type and the water type. A water typhoon went slowly through the southern Island of Kyushu with so much rain that an empty dam filled up. That is a lot of rain. Schools had to evacuate, and 27, so far, died when homes were flooded and destroyed.

I know the magnitude of that storm compared to Katrina is much less. A famous historical shrine is now surrounded by ocean. The friends and families of these dead people add up to a pretty large number of victims, living and dead, from the typhoon.

The blame game that is going on regarding the delay in helping the Hurricane Katrina victims is a serious matter. The local, state and federal government will all share some of the responsibility, some more than others. People who were victims and needed to flee their residences died during the four to five days while they were waiting to be evacuated or were at the designated evacuation centers that had no water, food or medicine to sustain their lives. This delay was shocking to U.S. citizens and to those around the world who witnessed the events on television.

It has now been more than a week since Katrina roared ashore along the Gulf Coast.

New Orleans, one of America’s great metropolitan areas, is for all intents and purposes a dead city. It seems likely that the number of dead will be in the thousands, most of whom probably survived the storm itself but found themselves incapable of surviving the inept, incompetent pretense that characterized the federal response by the Bush administration. Now, trying to draw attention away from his bush-league efforts, the president says this is not time for “playing the blame game.”

Re: Beverly Kelley’s Aug. 22 commentary, “Public not buying ‘I.D. is not science’ argument”:

This commentary trivializes some very important issues for Americans.

Kelley frames the discussion by suggesting most Americans have drawn their conclusions about whether or not intelligent design is science from the publicity campaigns of its advocates and opponents in the debate.

Kelley ignores major issues in her commentary.

The fact that intelligent design has gained such traction speaks highly of its savvy PR campaign. It also speaks lowly of our nation’s level of education, both in scientific specifics and in philosophical fundamentals. While the state of the former is a perennial subject of newspapers articles and studies, few seem to wonder about the latter.

The distinction between normative and positive propositions is crucial to understanding why scientists reject intelligent design. By definition, a normative statement cannot be disproved. It is an opinion, belief or value-judgment. In contrast, a positive statement is falsifiable, meaning it has the potential to be disproved.

Re: Linda Warren’s Sept. 6 letter, “Keep faith at home”:

Ms. Warren says belief in evolution and belief in God are compatible and that “there’s no need for religious people to feel threatened by the theory of evolution.” On the contrary, evolution and God are diametrically opposed to each other.

William Provine, evolutionary biology professor at Cornell University, says, “Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear.... There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind.” Yet the Bible clearly tells us that God created the world and man with a specific purpose.

The doings of the Ventura County Community College District over the last 30 years are as ridiculous as a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.

In the first act, the chancellor of the three colleges pulls up the flag, which was hung at half staff by the students on the day of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He then secrets a million dollars. Two sharp-eyed students from the Ventura College Press discover the theft and learn that he planned to use it for a computer. To rid the system of this chancellor cost several million.

Re: your Aug. 28-31 four-part special report, “LNG: County caught in the crossfire”:

I want to commend The Star on its special report on liquefied natural gas. I hope this report will open the eyes of Ventura County citizens and especially our county supervisors and city councils of all our cities. 

The citizens of Ventura County have not heard very much from our county and city representatives about LNG, except for a letter from the Oxnard City Council to the powers that be, and that was more than a year ago. 

Re: your Aug. 26 article, “Season of the hummingbird”:

Native plants are a great way to attract hummingbirds and birds. Your readers should be aware that the tree tobacco recommended in the article is considered an invasive (destructive) plant by the California Invasive Plant Council (http://www.cal-ipc.org).

If you would like to learn more about which California native plants hummingbirds and other birds love, visit the Web site of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants at http://www.theodorepayne.org/plants.html. Just click on the “plants for birds” link.

Recently I submitted a question to Rep. Elton Gallegly concerning his vote on the veterans care bill. I received a response, and I understand his viewpoint, as self-serving as it is. I understand there is not much he wants to do about providing for the veterans because of the administration’s stand on taxes.
The veterans care bill was defeated 213-214. It was a vote against providing trauma care and prosthetics for wounded veterans returning from Iraq.

Gallegly stated, “There were other important programs that would not be funded if that bill was passed.”

This is an abhorrent and unreasonable answer.

I don’t know why we have to fight wars or experience disasters, but I do know we in America are blessed above and beyond 95 percent of the world’s population.

Perhaps we need to step up to the plate and make a bigger sacrafice now than ever before.
Let us pray for the health, safety and welfare of our world and send lots of resources to where they’re needed most.

“Obstacles are opportunities, brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems.”

— Kerry Berman, Simi Valley

Once upon a time, the United States had a formidable U.S. space program: a glimpse of far-off worlds, rovers outlasting their Martian lifespan, an impressive six-member shuttle fleet. NASA, persevering with every conceivable effort, pushes onward and upward to keep us flying with just three of those original birds. Inhabiting space and low-earth orbit is no longer about the race to get there, but to keep chasing each dream — to be there.

A human presence outside our biosphere gives us a unique perspective of our single ecosystem and a renewed spirit of stewardship. Discoveries from space may be science from our frontier, but they are the promising technologies needed to mend for the better of all Earth. American ingenuity and synergy with cooperative nations is as vital as the initiative and intention of individual pursuit. This beautiful and bold nation, with her vigor to excel and propel ideas into action, with peripheral insight, challenges us to endeavor each stage that redefines our essence and purpose.

Re: Kermit Beck’s Sept. 4 letter, “Poor judgment and anger,” which discussed Richard Larsen’s Aug. 23 essay, “An urgent need to dissent”:

Mr. Beck states that blaming President Bush’s vanity in the death of 1,866 Americans in Iraq was factually incorrect because Mr. Larsen ignored the role of the United Nations and Congress in granting the use of force in Iraq.

Mr. Beck himself seems to have conveniently ignored that Bush and his White House staff only shared a small portion of the information from our intelligence departments — information that somehow coincided with their wishes to go to war with Iraq — but ignored the vast majority of information that failed to show that Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction or ties to al-Qaida.

As our people die in the sands of Iraq and in the floodwaters of the Mississippi delta, in the face of war and record deficits, in the wake of the destruction and the human misery wrought by Katrina, how does Congress find the time and energy to ram home another tax break for the richest and most privileged members of our society?

Onerously dubbed the “death tax” by Republicans, the new legislation seeks to correct the injustice of taxing heirs and heiresses should they gain by inheritance more than $1.5 million from a deceased parent. I prefer to call it the “Paris Hilton Relief Act.”  

It deeply saddens me that the governor of California, who pledged to never allow discrimination in his state, pledged to veto two bills, thereby directly showing prejudice against gays and lesbians.

I will still never understand how gay and lesbian marriage impacts anyone else’s marriage. If I can decide to never have children, should I not be allowed to marry? Whom do I report this to? Who are the marriage police? None of this impacts anyone else in the least.

If it will bring millions of dollars to our state in revenue, instead of spending billions in an election that is nothing but a special interest election to get the governor’s way on issues, then I am all for it.

— Kathie Myers, Simi Valley

Re: Tim Gallagher’s Sept. 4 commentary, “Time has come for liquefied natural gas”:

It’s about time. After months and months of some of the most complicated and convoluted details I’ve ever seen, someone has injected some much needed common sense into the LNG debate. Leave it to Tim Gallagher, after tens of thousands of words of nonsense, to cut to the heart of the matter. America needs more energy, new sources — and sooner rather that later.

Of all the lessons we will learn from Hurricane Katrina, one will surely be the fact that we are all in this together. For the good of our region and the country, it’s time to build again.  That means a logical and sensible approach to bringing more energy on line. That should include LNG.

— K. James Burnett, Port Hueneme

I have lived in Ventura for almost six years now. I would would like to make a plea to the people of Ventura and the county officials that we not allow them to put in liquefied natural gas pipes in Ventura County, so we can keep our homes safe from a disaster similar to what we’ve seen in New Orleans. 

— Yolanda Bunes, Ventura

What are all these scare tactics regarding pipelines that carry liquefied natural gas?

I was stunned reading the recent reports about the proposed LNG facility and all of the people who are afraid of the pipelines that will bring natural gas to shore and then to our homes and businesses. How’s it supposed to get here? The natural gas fairy?

I am sick and tired of so many people who want their homes heated and cooled, hot and cold water all day and all night and inexpensive gasoline for their SUVs — but they don’t want to let anyone build any of the means we need to bring it to us.

What we have just witnessed in the Hurricane Katrina event on the Gulf Coast is a disaster all right — a man-made disaster, and the question is: Who, or what, caused it?

Many in the chain-of-command of government, from New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, to Gov. Kathleen Blanco and all the way to President George Bush, as well as such folks as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, have expressed their opinions of just what caused the chaos.

I would like to submit the theory that this monumental mess was not caused in the last seven days but occurred due to the effort, and lack thereof, of the last seven decades.

“The most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. Since September the 11th, 2001, we’ve taken bold and vigorous steps to prevent further attacks and overcome emerging threats. We face a new and different kind of enemy. The threats today are unprecedented. The lives of our citizens are at stake. To protect them, we need the best intelligence possible, and we must stay ahead of constantly changing intelligence challenges.”

This speech was given by President Bush on March 31, 2005. Unfortunately, this nation’s president did not take bold enough steps to protect the citizens of these United States.

“The most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. Since September the 11th, 2001, we’ve taken bold and vigorous steps to prevent further attacks and overcome emerging threats. We face a new and different kind of enemy. The threats today are unprecedented. The lives of our citizens are at stake. To protect them, we need the best intelligence possible, and we must stay ahead of constantly changing intelligence challenges.”

This speech was given by President Bush on March 31, 2005. Unfortunately, this nation’s president did not take bold enough steps to protect the citizens of these United States.

The Hurricane Katrina flooding was a preventable disaster, so why did this happen? Why weren’t the levees upgraded in New Orleans as was recommended by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? Why wasn’t the National Guard put on call? Where was our president when Katrina hit? And why was response afterwards so slow?

The answers are many, but here are a few:

No funding was provided to New Orleans for its levees after Bush came into office. Instead, this money went to tax breaks for the rich and for the war in Iraq.

It is unbelievable how this paramount catastrophe in the South has been described as a racial situation.

There has never been a natural disaster of this magnitude in the United States. There is virtually no fathomable means of preparing for this type of devastation.

I heard the Rev. Jesse Jackson in an interview on television regarding this situation being racially driven. He questioned the use of the word “refugee.” He said it was too racial, or something to that effect.

I’m a 35-year-old man, happily married, with two kids. One has just started kindergarten at Dos Caminos School in Camarillo.

After the second day of school, my son, who is 5, had an altercation with another student over some crayons, and we got the call from his teacher. She asked us if he was ready for K-1, and if we had any suggestions on how to handle him. She also suggested that he might need to go back to preschool.
We were shocked, first that she had no suggestions, and second that any teacher of minds that young would turn her back on a child rather than trying to reach him in some way.

The Star must oppose the nomination of Judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court on the grounds of his interpretation of eminent domain. His appointment may hinge on his interpretation of private property rights.

This tragedy in the South will create the largest land grab in recent history. The apparent abandonment of lands belonging to the displaced will allow wealthy developers to steal the land by eminent domain. This is evil and must be opposed.

— Jack Crow, Port Hueneme

Re: Paul C. Campos’ Sept. 7 commentary, “White House spin on disaster slanders Louisiana governor”:

I am disappointed in The Star for giving Paul C. Campos a forum for the particularly venomous partisan political rhetoric he spews out so freely in the commentary section. For an individual who teaches law, he apparently is unaware of federal regulations that govern the federal government’s role when natural disasters occur.

Re: Sharon L. Hillbrant’s Sept. 7 letter, “Wary of relief group”:

Operation Blessing International is a first-rate organization, worthy of our donations. Its huge, gleaming trucks are rolling everywhere, with much needed aid and welcomed supplies.

This group been responding to human need and suffering around the world since 1978.

Most often, OBI teams up with the Salvation Army, which provides the canteens and kitchens to cook and serve the food that Operation Blessing brings. Often, they back up their huge semis next to each other so the food goes right from truck to truck, never touching the ground. It’s very efficient!

I personally don’t care about the governor either way. I was really angry about the way former Gov. Gray Davis handled the energy crisis and would have voted for Dilbert to replace him, but the issue of gay rights is another matter. I come from the school of “they should be able to suffer like the rest of us and be able to pay child support, etc.” So for the governor to cop out and throw the ball to the judiciary is right up there. He lost my vote, for one.

— John Parker, Thousand Oaks

Re: Roberta A. Orvis’ Sept. 1 letter, “Where’s the aid?”:

If the United States wants help from foreign countries, it will ask for it. We haven’t, as of yet. In fact, President Bush made a point of saying that we would get through this ourselves. We are a developed country, and getting many other countries involved would be rather counterproductive to our aim.

As for the United States being one of the first on the scene in all disasters, I fail to see where we assisted in the massive flooding that has plagued both the United Kingdom and Europe. The reason is that these countries are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. These countries have already done more than enough by sending troops into a war that even Americans denounce.

What a disgrace our government’s response to Hurricane Katrina has been! Like deer caught in the headlights, they just watched for days — some while on vacation — as thousands died, some from the lack of the simplest things such as water and basic nutrition. And it still continues.

Is that what we pay taxes for? To watch catastrophes slowly unfold on television? To have our elected officials watch them unfold from positions of comfort and spin stories?

The lack of adequate response smacks not only of racism but also of classism. Who could blame those affected for taking things into their own hands when those less able — like the old, disabled and infirm — around them died? Is this a new sort of urban renewal, a la Adolf Hitler? What an example we are sending out to the world: You need to take up arms and take things into your own hands in order not to be eliminated by the U.S. government’s incompetence!

I have watched and read about the rescue efforts involved with Katrina. I am extremely disturbed to hear criticisms aimed at our government, blatant political rhetoric turning this disaster into a racial issue and selective media coverage using sensationalism to hype ratings. Here are some facts people should know:

— The federal government cannot just walk in and declare any state area a disaster site without the permission of any sovereign state’s governor. They must be asked to do so, with the exception of an act of war.

Re: Andy Burroughs’ Sept. 2 letter, “Where are offers of aid?”:

Help has been offered to the United States by several countries — Canada, Australia, Cuba, Venezuela and Sri Lanka, just to name a few. News about these offers don’t really grab the attention like headlines of “Death, menace, fear, rape — anarchy.” I imagine that is why they don’t see print. Sometimes even we need help, and I hope our government accepts these offers.

I have read the story with the headline I mentioned above, and I have seen it on several news sites. What I have not seen is anyone producing one person saying they actually saw young girls and women being raped in the convention center or anywhere else. Only a reporter — and I use the term very loosely — said there have been reports of rape. Sure, it could be true, but then lots of things might be true.

Re: Leo Jones’ Sept. 7 letter, “Don’t blame Bush”:

Mr. Jones is dead wrong.

I just heard that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has 25,000 body bags for Katrina victims.
I wonder if Ventura County and local governments have that many body bags available for Ventura County citizens in the case of a disaster.

After reading letters in The Star regarding lack of aid from abroad, I wanted to reassure folks that the international community has indeed responded. Perhaps this perception is more a failure of the national media to report offers from overseas than of international governments to respond in our hour of need.

There have been more than 44 foreign governments and international organizations that have offered aid to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, including Sri Lanka and Indonesia, which have been recipients of U.S. assistance after their tsunami. Even Cuba and Venezuela have put aside differences with our government to offer assistance. Venezuela, a major oil exporting country, is offering to send cheap fuel.

A number of readers of The Star have recently been asking, quite viscerally, in the face of the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina: Why hasn’t there been an international offering of what might be called “reverse foreign aid” — other countries coming to the aid of the United States in this, our terrible time, as we have so often gone to the aid of others during their times of need.

I sensed a bit of jingoistic smugness in these self-righteous comments. Had these complainers read the papers, they’d have seen that, in fact, offers have been received from many nations, our friends and otherwise. Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany, Jamaica, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and, most exceptionally, Venezuela — the country whose president was recently suggested for assassination by our friendly religious icon, Pat Robertson — have all offered significant aid.

To the people who stole the kid-sized shopping carts from the Vons on Telegraph Road in Ventura:
The shopping carts were meant for kids who are customers, not customers who act like juveniles. Shame on you.

— Colette Covault Lipscomb, Ventura

It is not rocket science.

The buses arriving at the Superdome could have been filled with bottled water when they arrived in Houston and other destinations before returning to New Orleans. If buses can arrive at the Superdome, then trucks filled with water could have done so long ago.

It was reported that a helicopter flew over the Convention Center and dropped approximately 500 meals-ready-to-eat down to the waiting crowd estimated to be perhaps 10,000 to 20,000.

President Bush has announced that he will personally lead the investigation into how government failed to respond in a timely fashion to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

How reassuring. Isn’t that like assigning the fox to guard the hen house?

— Phillip Gold, Westlake Village

Re: your Sept. 3 Page One coverage of Hurricane Katrina:

My usual low expectations of The Star were met. Despite heroic efforts by many deserving some credit, we were given a negative story about the situation in the Astrodome, an incredibly insulting article about racism and response to the disaster, and another inflammatory quote from the New Orleans mayor. Ray Nagin should look at himself and his equally vocal finger-pointing police chief, Edward Compass, in accepting the majority of responsibility for the lack of preparation and minimal first response.

What this horrific disaster has shown the world is the vast ugly underside of this so-called magnificent and great world power.

Katrina has ripped open the ugly wound and exposed America’s hypocrisy to the world. The Third World of poverty, ignorance and disease exists right here in the good ol’ United States of America.
While the rich and super rich live in castles, we have a poverty belt across the nation. Poor whites, poor blacks, poor Native Americans and Hispanics: We must unite! Our battle cry should be, “Remember New Orleans!”

I think President Bush has lost touch with his primary job of running this country. In recent speeches in the hurricane zone, he referred to the Gulf Coast region as “this part of the world.” The area devastated by Hurricane Katrina is “this part of our country.”

— Chris Slane, Ventura

I’m just waiting for President Bush and Vice President Cheney to award Halliburton a no-bid contract to rebuild New Orleans.

— Earl W. Wallace, Ventura

Re: your Sept. 3 article, “Storm of speculation”:

Who decided that the Sept. 3 Religion & Ethics section would ponder the conundrum of why Hurricane Katrina afflicted our nation’s Gulf Coast?

All we need know is “what”: tens of thousands of displaced Americans, many of whom are suffering hunger, many of whom are dying of thirst. Those of us with the ability should now use our heads, hands, hearts and money to help them.

Re: Andy Burroughs’ Sept. 2 letter, “Where are offers of aid”: 

Andy Burroughs is disgusted that no other country offered to help us in the wake of Katrina. In fact, there have been many offers of aid from other countries, some as early as the day after the storm, when, according to Yahoo news, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela offered food, fuel and water.

The error was not really on the part of Mr. Burroughs, however, as I did not see any of this reported in the mainstream media. The real question is: In the interest of having an informed population, why were these offers not reported by The Star?  

— Bernard Ayling, Ventura

President Bush could use Economics 101’s definition to justify why we should now leave Iraq. Economics is simplistically defined as the allocation of scarce resources to meet alternative needs.

As the household manager of the United States, Bush must allocate America’s limited resources to satiate the needs of the United States. In the wake of Katrina’s devastation, the needs of homeless, thirsty, hungry and dying Americans in areas banished from the map by the hurricane are paramount to be answered.

We should not blame Bush anymore for cutting the improvement budget for the New Orleans levees to beef up Iraq’s war chest.

A long time ago, my mother knelt at the bedside of each of her children at bedtime. Together, they addressed God with a simple four-line verse: “Now I lay me down to sleep….”

Some groups today are attempting to do that which men have tried in vain to do since time began: reduce God to man’s size. Every effort has failed and will always fail.

No, the thrust is to depersonalize God and make Him an “it.” “We’ll give God a new name. That will surely diminish His authority!” Wrong!

Re: Tim Gallagher’s Sept. 4 commentary, “Time has come for liquefied natural gas”:

Mr. Gallagher’s commentary is missing the basic facts. LNG is liquefied natural gas, a polluting fossil fuel, like oil. LNG comes from foreign countries, on foreign tanker ships, with foreign crews. The profits go to foreign countries.

A big community “thank you” to reporters John Krist and Tom Kisken and The Star for the outstanding four-part liquefied natural gas series. The in-depth research reports answered many questions and gave clarity to the many pro-and-con arguments related to the two proposed Oxnard LNG facilities.

Obviously, LNG will have a tremendous negative impact on the Oxnard economy, change our “quality living” gains, damage our environment and, of great importance, put at risk people’s lives and property. Earthquakes, huge pipeline installations and leaks pose real dangers.

Residents of Westlake Village were recently deluged with a slick public relations piece touting the Town Center project, also known as the Lowe’s home improvement store. The propaganda piece also asks residents to petition the City Council to approve the project. The problem is the mailing badly misrepresents the project.  
 
The four-color glossy mailing waxes poetic about the shops and greenbelts while devoting a scant four words to Lowe’s. The lovely artist renderings would lead one to believe this project is the next Westlake Promenade. The problem is the picture painted of this project is badly at odds with the facts as reported Aug. 18:

Re: Tim Gallagher’s Sept. 4 commentary, “Time has come for liquefied natural gas”:

Huh? Liquefied natural gas is an alternative energy, like nuclear power? What are you saying, Tim?

Folks, liquefied natural gas is not an alternative energy. It is just more of the same dependence on foreign fuel. Cabrillo Port would have liquefied natural gas shipped in from Australia. That is the plan. It has to come from somewhere else.

Can you possibly be of sound mind to believe that race played any part in the rescue efforts going on in Louisiana or anywhere else in the world? These people need to get a grip and recognize that the only racists most Americans see are those who continuously play the race card.

— Rick Freeman, Simi Valley

Re: Bill O’Reilly’s Sept. 3 essay, “Going to the extremes”:

As usual, hard-right extremist Bill O’Reilly has it all wrong. Rather than divert attention from Iraq, Katrina has forced us to look at Iraq by focusing attention upon the complaints that had been voiced by the Army Corps of Engineers over the past four years that funds that were to be devoted to reinforcing the levees had been diverted to the war.

But the war in Iraq provides only part of the explanation as to why levee fortification efforts and pre-disaster preparedness were underfunded, and why the government’s post-disaster response was both tardy and ineffective.

The incompetent response our federal government set in motion in response to the devastation of Katrina is exactly what many of us knew was coming. Most of knew our elected officials do not spend our tax money wisely, nor do they protect our borders or even our country from attack.

The Washington officials are not the only culprits. I have not read a single word in the newspaper about who is in charge right here in Thousand Oaks or the San Fernando Valley during this national disaster. Where is my congressman? My mayor? The newspapers are either failing to report what these leaders did on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, or our leaders are paralyzed in their offices. As a matter a fact, who is in charge locally if we were attacked, and how would we get instructions to have an orderly response?

I will never forgive the leaders of this nation for letting the people of Louisiana down. What have they ever done to deserve such disrespect? All the leaders sat in front of their televisions and watched while the bone-weary U.S Coast Guard singlehandedly rescued people, only to have to deposit them in the Superdoom (no, it’s not misspelled). I wasn’t amused listening to them beg.

Our leaders are competent with all the resources in the world, and yet they just didn’t care about these people. 

— Mary Hadnot, Simi Valley

I suppose it would be too much to expect, but maybe the Mexican government can cut us some slack for a few months by not exporting their “surplus citizens” so that we can use that money to help our own citizens affected by Hurricane Katrina.

— Sean Heid, Newbury Park

I am dismayed that at least three readers have ignored all news about other nations offering help. Both Russia and Canada have offered to send emergency workers, and Qatar has offered $100 million.
Don’t use this disaster to divide the world, when it can be a chance to renew some friendships.

— Brian Dennert, Simi Valley

This is not the time to assign blame for the massive failure to respond to the needs of the victims of Katrina. Blaming at this point just makes us all the more confused and tired.

Our challenge is enabling everyone to re-enter a new phase of life and living. What do we do now? What’s next? Where do we go? How shall we all live? What is the short-term and long-term plan?

Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the problems brought by the dust bowl and the Great Depression with a comprehensive federal response to house, feed and get the people back to work. He gave the residents of the United States of America hope.

The headline in one of Europe’s newspapers read “Third World America.” The story was about the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. As devastating as Katrina was, I believe what is more devastating is how we treat our poor in this country and to be dubbed “Third World America.”

These people were so poor that they couldn’t even evacuate if they wanted too. They couldn’t get to the store to stock up on water or food to give to their little babies crying from hunger and thirst, and they didn’t even have transportation to leave town. Did any of the wealthy and fortunate folks around them give them a second thought, or did they only care about getting their own selves out of harm’s way?

How sad is this?

Hurricane Katrina is a natural disaster. Global warming may or may not have contributed.
Its effect on New Orleans is a man-made catastrophe. At the risk of being accused of politicizing a horrible disaster, I would like to ask the media to look at at least three human factors that have contributed to the New Orleans devastation. 

1. There are at least 400 members of the 141st Field Artillery and 3,000 members of the 256th Infantry Brigade of the Louisiana National Guard with their high-water equipment in Iraq. I am told that most of the heavy helicopters and trucks that could have assisted are in Iraq.

Re: Tom Parker’s Sept. 6 commentary, “New Orleans is Bush’s Waterloo”:

Retired FBI agent Parker, a former assistant special agent in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, is obviously a fanatical “Bush hater.” It is affecting his judgment and reasoning. To allege that President Bush caused the Katrina disaster is ludicrous. New Orleans didn’t sink below sea level during the Bush administration. For decades, it has been a disaster waiting to happen.

Parker is trying to make us believe that had a few Band-aids been applied to those tired old levees by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the past three years, they would have withstood the onslaught of this Category 5 hurricane. 

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.”

Thus begins our Constitution.

Re: the Rev. Anthony Guillen and Rabbi John M. Sherwood’s Aug. 31 article, “All faiths unite to fight local hunger”:

If The Star is interested in clarity and confirming to the truth, then please don’t say “All Faiths”.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are not a large force locally, but we are 6.5 million strong throughout the world We don’t have any interfaith dealings with any other religion, albeit a well-meaning and harmless one such as fighting hunger. On the other hand, we Witnesses have, as a group and as individuals, helped many due to our love of God and mankind.

I just don’t personally want people reading this headline to think all religious groups are united in this work.

I appreciate The Star’s sensitivity in this matter.

— Linda Cotton, Simi Valley

The Gulf Coast states have just suffered the worst natural disaster in America’s history, with hundreds dead, water and food in short supply, homes and businesses lost. So far only Americans are responding to this disaster. Yet, when disasters occur in other countries, Americans are nearly always the first on the scene to lend assistance.’

Where is the assistance from those other countries now that our citizens along the Gulf Coast need help?”

— Margaret A. Long, Oxnard

After watching the horrible destruction and loss of life inflicted upon the citizens of the gulf states by hurricane Katrina, it seems to me that the only logical course of action for the president to take would be to support the rescue and cleanup efforts by immediately infusing adequate dollars, personnel, and equipment into the effort.

Think of all the needs that could be initiated and sustained for those people of the hurricane-ravaged states if only the president would stop spending billions of dollars in Iraq, which has only lead to the death of almost 2,000 excellent American military personnel. The victims of Katrina need our undivided help now. Wake up, President Bush.

— Ralph C. Schumacher, Camarillo

With the rapid rate of glacier melting, more frequent tropical storms and the damage we have done to the environment with pollution, it is time to wake up and stop the damage and start to repair.

We must do this to keep this earth livable. The government is once again turning away from the scientific facts of global warming.

— Sandy Emberland, Thousand Oaks

Please tell your readers how easy it is to walk into a Ventura County Lowe’s and make a donation to help the victims of hurricane Katrina. Lowe’s was the first corporation to say it would match up to $1 million donations made at their stores by the public. The money will then be donated to the Red Cross.

Being curious if the Ventura Lowe’s would have the information to actually do this, I went to their store. Each register has a small sign complete with bar codes so the donation can be readily made. Checks are made out to Lowe’s, and one can note that it is for the Red Cross. Lowe’s gives the donor a receipt that states, “Donation.”

Kudos to Lowe’s.

Hopefully, Lowe’s example will be followed by other retail corporations.

— Janice Turner, Ventura

After seeing the undescribable tragedy that has hit our country’s Gulf Coast, a place I remember well as a former Seabee training in Gulfport, Miss., I am in awe. I am in awe of the devastation, the rescue, salvage and help efforts and the U.S. pulling together to help our countrymen in their time of need.

Also, I am disgusted, sickened, angry, frustrated and really not surprised any other country hasn’t offered us any help. Yes, we sent billions of taxpayer dollars to the poor victims of the recent tsunami in Asia. Isn’t it ironic how assistance and/or money doesn’t reciprocate internationally in our crisis situations?

I’m sick and tired of our money going to places when they need help-and then, when we need help, just turn their backs, but still have their hands out for money.

God bless America. Land of the free, home of the brave (and too generous).

— Andy Burroughs, Ventura