We lived on Dana Drive in Santa Paula for 40 years, and during that time, we rescued numerous cats and other animals. The many cats we had were all adopted from the dumped ones on the hill. We had, as residents in our yard, many foxes, skunks and snakes. We had raccoons who brought their babies up on our deck and napped while their babies romped and looked into our family room. Our yard was an aviary because of the numerous bird feeders we had in the yard. We always encouraged wildlife in the yard.
The wildlife officer, John, was always so helpful. Never would he have permitted the shooting of a mountain lion until the Department of Fish and Game had exhausted all other means. As other residents on the street have written, there must have been other alternatives in moving the animals.
The police officers need better training in handling situations regarding wildlife. This was a sad day for Dana Drive.
-- Anne Dryden, Camarillo

Is anyone else as outraged as I am that Santa Paula police officers could think of no other way to hold off the "threat" of a 15-pound mountain lion cub than to fatally shoot it? Did they really need the two officers to shoot the poor cat? How far away from the cub were these officers that they were deceived into thinking it was 40 pounds?
My 8-month-old Sheltie puppy weighs 15 pounds, and she is a tiny little thing. Honestly, what were these officers thinking?
Police officers should be trained, if not how to use tranquilizers, then to at least be able to disable a mountain lion. Wouldn't it have been a little easier to wound the cat enough to wait for the Department of Fish and Game to take care of it?
I don't understand the logic, and I certainly don't understand how the police chief in Santa Paula can stand behind such ludicrous actions. Wild animals should be handled with care; certainly human safety in a neighborhood is important, but shouldn't some respect be paid to the animals whose habitat we invaded?
I understand that problem cats need to be taken care of, but a 6-week-old cub? I just don't see that as "life-threatening."
-- Rachel Peters, Thousand Oaks

Re: your Feb. 21 article, "Board pitches ideas to rescue Wright Library":
What is the Ventura Library Advisory Commission thinking? The first scenario, to keep Wright Library open only during school hours for a library that services, by my count, six schools -- Balboa Middle School, Mound and Elmhurst elementary schools, Buena and Foothill high schools and Ventura College -- is ridiculous. If this is going to work, the hours need to be switched. The second scenario is more family-friendly and would probably save both libraries.
-- Kerrie L. Cortez, Ventura

Let me get this straight: The state has a combination of tax increases and program cuts they call a budget. In other words, they want me to pay more and get less. And I'm supposed to vote yes on this in May?
-- Keith Salvas, Camarillo

Re: Kathi Smith's Feb. 15 Pulse page commentary, "Public education 'shovel-ready'":
I would like to compliment Smith, president of the Ventura County School Boards Association, for her insightful and compelling essay. Smith emphasized the need to "maintain the existing [K-12] programs we currently have in place, the teachers we currently employ, the quality of education we currently provide our children."
As a professor at UC Santa Barbara who has taught more than 10,000 students, I can assure your readers that the quality of the UC system is critically dependent upon our California K-12 teachers who prepare the majority of our students. As emphasized by Smith, we cannot tolerate increases in class sizes that may well result from budget cuts.
While "shovel-ready" technologies and infrastructure are of course desirable and warranted, well-trained and well-supported teachers with moderate class sizes of no more than 25 students are far more essential.
Class size really does matter for our K-12 schools. Private K-12 institutions invariably emphasize their small class sizes -- and with good justification, as quality of education is well-correlated with this factor.
To conclude, the next decade of California history should not be one of increasing crime rates and expanding prisons, but rather one of a return to the pre-eminence of its K-12 and college educations. There is no better deterrent to negative social behavior than good parenting supported by outstanding public education. As so well articulated by Smith's essay, California education is way more than "shovel-ready."
I hope that many of your readers will continue to press their elected representatives at all levels to make K-12 education one of their very highest budgetary priorities so that California can ascend to its former envied position as the top educational state.
-- Tom Dickey, Ojai

Reviled by the media and the literati as being one of the dullest knives in the drawer, George W. Bush needs a positive affirmation for his eight years as our president.
May I quote from David Frum, former Bush speechwriter: Bush was a "good man who is not a weak man. He has many faults. He is impatient and quick to anger; sometimes glib, even dogmatic; often uncurious and as a result ill-informed; more conventional in his thinking than a leader probably should be. But, outweighing the faults, are his virtues: decency, honesty, rectitude, courage and tenacity."
Now that he is gone, may the Bush bashers acknowledge that we could have had worse than someone who did his best for his country?
-- Jack Weber, Oxnard

Wasting money? If it weren't so serious, it would be funny. President Barack Obama's stimulus plan has more pork in it than a Hawaiian luau, yet now he's telling all the mayors he will "call them out" if they waste any money. I don't see how anyone could waste any more than what's being wasted now. Don't waste the apple.
-- Steve Prebble, Oxnard

There may be many others like me who have had it with state legislators who conclude their ideology is more important than the orderly operation of the state of California.
Assemblywoman Audra Strickland and Sen. Tony Strickland do not impress me as leaders, able to solve problems and get things done. They are ideologues who stonewall the state budget process, convinced that their resolve will be admired and rewarded.
Democracy cannot function when a minority can hold the state budget hostage. My local representatives showed no leadership in solving this great problem of the budget. They would rather see the state go bankrupt than agree with the majority opinion of voters like me who think it is their first job to keep the state running.
In my opinion, Audra and Tony Strickland have deserted the voters of Ventura County in the most important conflict of our era. This is one voter who will not forget this.
-- David Michael Smith, Camarillo

Re: your Feb. 10 article, "Defense appeals judge's ruling in school shooting":
I urge the court to reconsider the decision to try Brandon McInerney as an adult.
Brandon McInerney was barely 14 years of age when, after many months of sexual harassment and public humiliation, he took the life of his tormentor.
I do not condone his action, for which he should be punished. However, I do question whether the case should be tried in adult court. I believe it is in the public interest that when we apply the power of the justice system, we use it not only to render punishment but that it be appropriate to the offense and to the court to which it is assigned.
Numerous studies have shown that a child's brain does not fully mature before the age of 18. Brandon McInerney was 14 and had no previous confrontation with society. Given the facts of his age and his history and the likelihood of a successful rehabilitation, I urge that the case be referred to juvenile court.
-- Marie Offerman, Ojai

Re: your Feb. 10 article, "Defense appeals judge's ruling in school shooting":
Surely Brandon McInerney's lawyers realize that charging the teen as an adult is as a result of Proposition 21. In 2000, the people of this state, being fed up with increasing violent juvenile crime, passed a law giving prosecutors the discretion to go directly to adult Superior Court with a 14-year-old for, among many other crimes, first-degree murder with a firearm. McInerney's attorney, Scott Wippert, could also look up Sec. 707b of the Welfare and Institutions Code, which clearly spells out the law.
Wippert also should be aware that Proposition 21 has been tested and upheld by an appellate court.
What Wippert needs to concentrate on in his defense of Brandon is: Did Brandon know the wrongfulness of his act? That is the issue.
At 14 years old, somehow I suspect he did.
-- Don Boger, Camarillo

When we bury a "commander in chief" who has never served his country in uniform, we give a very public burial with full military honors.
When young men and women die serving our country overseas, we fly them into some military air base under the cover of darkness.
We must lift the photo ban and honor these men and women as they deserve to be honored. Publish the photos and tell us who they are and how they died. Those wearing civilian clothes in the Pentagon will tell you it's a "privacy thing." It's more of a numbers and recruiting thing.
The politicians within the Pentagon look at it this way: They have nothing to gain if these photos are published. They look for a win-win situation and know that flag-draped coffins do not help recruitment and do not help politicians sell war.
The Pentagon took the tragedy of Spec. Pat Tillman and attempted to turn that into a win-win situation. They could not profit from telling the truth, so they created a made-for-Hollywood story. This is what the spin masters do.
We should lift the photo ban to honor these men and women, as warriors defending our Constitution should be honored.
We should lift the photo ban, if only to remind America that going to war has a price. Some seem to have forgotten.
-- Hugh P. McLarnon, Ventura
(The writer adds that he is a former U.S. Army infantry officer and rifle company commander and a disabled veteran. -- Editor)

Hey, all of you 21st century anti-war hippies: Remember bashing former President George Bush and telling him to "end the war now?" Remember President Barack Obama's promise to end the war?
In my travels right here in the United States, I witnessed protests on America's streets against the war and many signs derogatory toward Bush.
Now we're told that 17,000 new troops are being deployed to Afghanistan. Do you think maybe our new president has learned a thing or two about what will keep us safe here in the United States?
Perhaps the zealots were wrong. What else do you think Obama and staff may be wrong about?
-- DeAnna Brown, Camarillo

Re: your Feb. 18 article, "Ventura council delays action on cuts":
Here are some suggestions to all parties:
- City employees, no job losses.
- Maintain Artwalk. It generates revenue and supports our moniker of "Art City." Utilize the volunteers of the City Corps folks to work Artwalk.
- All city management should take a 10 percent cut in pay for the remaining fiscal year.
- Increase the sales tax, not by a half cent, but by a temporary one-quarter cent.
The city must change its methods and be business- and building-friendly.
The article states, "The city is facing a $6.3 million deficit in the current fiscal year, which ends in June, because of steep declines in sales and property tax revenues and building and construction permit fees."
Now whose fault is it that there are again "steep declines" in "building and construction permit fees?" It's not the fault of the employees of Ventura or the citizens of Ventura. I do believe we would be looking at our city leadership.
Our city has had many projects on its doorstep, including the harbor project and the resort hotel across from the Ventura County Fairgrounds, and 10 years later these projects stand still as empty land. Projects on Thompson Boulevard, in downtown and in Midtown are still empty land, with "for sale" signs posted.
I ask: "Is it right to lay off innocent employees or tax the citizens of Ventura because of ineptness of the leadership of our city?" However, we the citizens of Ventura are responsible because we re-elected the same people over the last 10 years who do the same thing, business as usual. That is why we must support a little sales tax and then remember at election time to bring some fresh air to City Hall.
-- Irene V. Henry, Ventura

Instead of sitting around wringing our hands and bemoaning our fate over the water situation, we should be asking hard questions of those people who are supposed to be in charge of getting the water a 21st century society needs: the Metropolitan Water District and Calleguas Municipal Water District.
I was elected to the board of directors of Camrosa Water District during the last "drought," and we found a culture of negative dependency on the policies of MWD and Calleguas even then. We fired the general manager, bought in competent staff and put Camrosa on a path towards independence.
Today, Camrosa has the lowest sewer and water rates in the county and is using less imported water than ever due to investments made that improved efficiency and used our local resources more effectively. The "support" we received from MWD and Calleguas was miserly, at best. Instead, we had to overcome small-minded policies and a mentality that talked about less rather than how to discover and use more.
Today we sit, 20 years after the last "drought," and I have questions.
Whatever happened to MWD's pledge then of making Southern California "drought proof?"
Why has the Calleguas brine line construction been postponed? It is our best hope for using marginal groundwater supplies to replace imported water that is being withdrawn as we speak.
Why was MWD so incompetent in defending itself in the Delta lawsuit that ended up protecting a bait fish over the 20 million people here in Southern California?
They have managed to create a regulatory shortage that will be with us no matter what the natural shortage or surplus is. They either created it, or there is a level of incompetence that is breathtaking.
Instead of passively waiting for the water lords, we need to ask hard questions that get answers instead of waterspeak. Twenty years should have been enough to do an awful lot. Obviously, it wasn't enough.
-- Ron Vogel, Camarillo

Re: your Feb. 19 article, "Officials say S. Paula mountain lions gone; police defend shooting cub":
Doesn't Moorpark College have a wild animal program? Couldn't they have been of help with all of the recent big cat encounters, at least until the Department of Fish and Game arrived? And why can't they get there quickly?
Ever since other big cats have been shot, and I keep hearing that same excuse. If police are going to be the first-responders in this community, perhaps they should receive some training with this.
I think this is a travesty imposed on the animals. This is their habitat, and we are the ones who need to adjust to them and have a system in place. I'm no expert, but if this was a small cub, there could have been other alternatives. This sounds more like ignorance and arrogance to me.
-- Shari Faerman, Simi Valley

OK, again those in the movie industry have had their night to shine and pat each other on the back. Still, many studio people are out of work.
Isn't it time to stop all of the infighting and greed that is so Hollywood and come to an agreement about a contract? As an out-of-work, "below-the-line" worker, I can tell you that I worked only 92 days in 2008, largely due to the collective foot-dragging on the Screen Actors Guild's new contract. Studios have been reluctant to start new projects since last June, when the then-current contract expired.
Los Angeles doesn't need another billion-dollar hit against its economy. Ancillary businesses are failing. Relationships are in trouble and failing due to finances. Mortgages and rents are not being paid or are late. Workers are losing their healthcare benefits because they don't have enough hours in the bank. Some of us have not yet recovered from last year's writers strike.
With the economy in the tank, now would be a real good time to shine. Instead of just "playing" heroes onscreen, why don't the actors step up to the plate and become real heroes? A quarter million studio workers depend on them; they depend on us to make their movies and TV shows that make them rich and famous, yet many of us are on unemployment.
Instead of lip service and throwing dollars at charities and feeling all good about themselves, they should remember that charity begins at home.
All of us below-the-line workers would sure appreciate a speedy resolution before we lose more and before runaway production again becomes a reality. They need to get off their collective butts and settle this thing so I -- we -- can go back to work. It's more than about time.
-- Greg Knapp, Simi Valley
(The writer is a set medic. -- Editor)

California needs to trim its budget for the coming year, so why don't we reduce the Republican portion of the Assembly to just one member? Obviously, they are required to vote as one, so why go to the extra expense of all those Republican assemblymen? We could save on offices throughout the state, office staff in Sacramento and home offices, travel costs, electricity, retirement benefits, etc., etc.
-- Roy Kautz, Newbury Park

Due to the economic downturn, budgets for education are being cut. As usual, pink slips are being prepared for the teachers, yet the administrators, who in some schools outnumber the teachers, will retain their jobs.
These are the same administrators who decided to pay volunteer personnel. This puts these people on the school payroll. Therefore, they are no longer volunteers. Brilliant!
Why did they make this decision? It wasn't for the students, but for themselves. Holding the purse strings gives them power, and that's the name of the game.
Let's make some radical changes. Let's eliminate a large percentage of these high-paid, nonproductive positions. Not only would this move save a considerable amount of money, but it would get the focus of education back to where it belongs: on the students instead of petty politics.
-- Donald H. Frey, Thousand Oaks

Re: Bonnie Erbe's Feb. 20 commentary, "Pro-lifers are wrong on embryonic-stem-cell issue":
The decision by former President George Bush to limit federal funding for embryonic-stem-cell research was a wise one in that private funding for the past 25 years or so has resulted in absolutely nothing -- zero, zip, nada! So those wonderful scientists who chase grants for a living, whether or not they have any chance of success, went after the easiest money mark in the world, the U.S. taxpayer.
California fell for that pack of lies when it voted $6 billion for stem cell research, and now we are in serious financial trouble without anything to show for it.
Adult stem cells, collected after birth and without destruction of human life, on the other hand, have resulted in more than 40 cures and treatments of major diseases.
Erbe states, "Eggs are, after all, potential life, in much the same way as frozen embryos." That's not even close to being scientifically true! Erbe refers to embryos as potential life when, in scientific fact, they are human life.
Bush was not kowtowing to the religious right; he was exercising something called integrity.
-- Dorothy Hage, Newbury Park

Today as we see the banks, especially Bank of America, lose value to the point they may have to be nationalized, it sounds a message.
Bank of America and all of the other major banks have gone out of their way to take advantage of their patrons with their outrageous fees, the huge payouts to the managers and the bad loans they made to folks who just did not qualify. Now they want us to bail them out. Well, if you're too big to fail, I guess we must, but it is way past time for the government to impose rules on the banks in regards to their fees, late payments and, most important, the pay of the muckety-mucks.
I, for one, would have no problem seeing Bank of America fail. They do not give a hoot about their customers.
There are laws against usury, but the banks got a huge loophole from the Supreme Court that they could not charge any more than their home state allows -- hence, all of these banks are now centered in North Dakota and Delaware. Change this rule and maybe, just maybe, banks will be trusted again, but I doubt it. These crooks have too much of their outrageous paychecks involved.
-- David LaTourette, Simi Valley

Re: Chris Letizia's Feb. 20 letter, "Don't settle for hangover":
Why does Letizia write letters that are so out of touch with the facts? Letizia claims the federal tax receipts were $338 billion in fiscal year 2008. He's not even remotely close. According to the Congressional Budget Office, total federal receipts were $2.524 trillion. The total is made up of $1.146 trillion in individual income taxes, $304 billion in corporate income taxes, $900 billion in Social Security taxes and insurance, $67 billion in excise taxes, and $106 billion in other revenue.
While the stimulus package is complicated, approximately $288 billion is intended for tax relief. Another $144 billion will go to state and local governments, which will primarily be used to offset tax shortages at this level. So that is about $432 billion, which exceeds the $338 billion that Letizia is asking for.
In California, these funds are going to help offset the $40 billion-plus projected shortfall in our state budget.
Few economists think these sums will make much of a dent in the hole in our economy. So there is the remainder of the stimulus package, plus many more billions that will unfold as the weeks and months unfold.
This is not the time for simple-minded "solutions" that are not even remotely based in fact, but are merely restatements of ideological positions.
-- Bill Robinson, Westlake Village

Re: Ruben Navarrette's Feb. 20 essay, "Let feds deal with illegals":
Navarrette states that no one can tell if illegal immigration actually hurts or helps the economy.
As a former San Fernando Valley dweller, I can tell you with my own experience that the Los Angeles Unified School District is hurt by illegal immigration, both in its test scores and financially.
The San Fernando Valley is an overcrowded, unsafe and filthy place to live. And, yes, I blame that on the massive illegal immigration that has come to that once beautiful area.
The Daily News had a statistic that in one year alone in Los Angeles, welfare for illegal immigrants cost $144 million. That did not include medical costs, education, etc.
I think that illegal immigration is sinking California. I hope all of the maids and gardeners are worth it.
-- Cynthia Townsley, Oak Park

In witnessing the closure of the Circuit City stores all over, could I please say to the Thousand Oaks City Council, "I told you so."
Way back in 1988, the council decided to uproot all of the beautiful eucalyptus landscaping on that open corner of Hillcrest and Lynn roads. Our welcoming gateway to the town was taken away. No longer could we say, "Ahhh, how beautiful, I'm home now!" We had to look at an electronics building to remind us of the bigger flat screen or the GPS our neighbor had and that we wanted to have so badly.
We citizens stood up to contest this from taking place, but no, the council insisted we definitely needed the store more than the beauty of our city. It's called tax revenue greed. Finally, the community was notified with public signage of construction work around town. An ugly building and parking lot had been erected.
Now it is just another empty lot with a "for lease" sign for who knows how long.
-- Ingrid Sokolowski, Thousand Oaks

The key to convincing people to save water is an iron-clad guarantee from Calleguas Municipal Water District that future rationing will not be based on past consumption, which would penalize those who conserve -- as was the case the last time.
-- Riley Neel, Thousand Oaks

Re: Terry Paulson's Feb. 17 essay, "Wisdom from the past":
Paulson's essays are always so much fun -- you know, trying to decide what he's really attempting to contribute.
In this essay, he attacks President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, offering instead of concrete alternative proposals inane platitudes. Let me quote a few: "failure helps people start over wiser," "earn the rewards of success," "life is difficult," "Americans know how to dream" and, my all-time favorite, "hope happens."
Oh yes, in addition to platitudes, we're left with the impression that all we need to do is cut taxes, step back and watch business boom.
It seems to me we have become victims of laissez faire economic freedom. Phil Gramm, our chief deregulator, aided and abetted Wall Street greed. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan promoted the notion that markets can take care of themselves. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd allowed investment banks to run uncontrolled. President George Bush watched the meltdown and did nothing. Good Republicans all.
To a simple folk such as I, it looks like our current economic woes can be helped better by stimulating demand than by stimulating supply. Giving small and large businesses tax breaks today would do nothing to increase a consumer's ability to purchase whatever increased output tax breaks might enable a business to produce. Buyers have to have the ability to buy before it makes sense for business to produce more. If demand were high, but supply low, it might then be beneficial to boost supply through tax reductions to producers. That's not today's economic dilemma.
Ronald Reagan once said that "government must provide opportunity." He was calling, as Obama does, for better management of government, for wiser decisions, to make government work. I'm not happy with all that's in the stimulus package, but I think the overall direction is correct.
Paulson's criticisms, unsupported by credible alternatives, add nothing to the debate. Democratic governments function best with "loyal opposition." However, those in opposition help only if they offer constructive, well-thought-out alternatives. Ankle biting shows only the shallowness, the intellectual famine, existing in the biter.
-- Richard Landis, Thousand Oaks

The city of Ventura lost $10 million with investments in Lehman Brother and Washington Mutual. The question is: Why does the city have $10 million to invest? The city is not in the profit-making business. If $10 million was collected in too much taxes, why not return the money to the citizens?
The city should not be able to hoard taxpayer money and, in this case, lose it for questionable investments.
Who is taking the responsibility for this mistake in our city government? I suspect that if the investment had paid off, we would be hearing about a great achievement and bonus payment to the wise person who oversaw the department's smart move. Today, it's a mistake with no accountability. Who approved this investment and why?
-- Robert W. Coshland, Ventura

We just spent $3 trillion on an imperialist police action in Iraq and charged it to an unsecured credit card issued by the Bank of China. What moral high ground do conservatives have to talk about spending, recovery and growth?
-- Ethan Orloff, Simi Valley

I am frustrated by the recent news in my favorite newspaper, The Star, in particular by the violence south of our border. The emphasis seems to be on the rampage of gangs roaming the villages in Mexico, instead of aiming that same outrage where it belongs: How many times do you hear seemingly normal people exclaim that it is to be expected that young people try marijuana, coke or heroin, that anyone who is anybody can't be held to account when smoking, pill-popping or injecting themselves with illegal substances when young and still irresponsible.
Our elected officials are forgiven for their indiscretions of using mind-altering illegal drugs and paraphernalia at an earlier point in their lives. The mild response from the public at large seems to be blinded to the fact that these actions, and these actions alone, constitute the erosion of the character and ethical consciousness of the people. The platitudes that offer forgiveness to the hordes of those in the drug-induced stupor that grips our nation have taken hold of the "norm" of our society.
Take a good look at pictures of the anguish on the faces of the Mexican people, the families of their police force, the officials who resign because the drug traffic is so huge and so relentless and so vicious in that out-of-control society. Do we still think we can gloss over occasional or recreational illegal drug use?
Let's take a look at the heart of where all of this is manufactured throughout the world, then enjoy the next puff, powder or injection. The bulk of responsibilities for these crimes and misconduct against innocent people lies with the users.
-- Reine Wiley, Thousand Oaks

Re: Terry Paulson's Feb. 17 essay, "Wisdom from the past":
Paulson's latest display of ignorance about economics concerns the Japanese attempts to stimulate their economy in the 1990s. He says they tried Keynesian spending 10 times and their "economy refused to recover." As usual, he rehashes half-baked conservative talking points.
In his book on the Japanese recession, Richard Koo of the Nomura Research Institute noted that government action averted outright depression and eventually fixed the economy. The Japanese stimulus packages were timid, not decisive. When the Hashimoto government finally got bold enough, it got results.
Both President Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Maynard Keynes stressed the need for boldness, to counter "fear itself." One shot of money into the economy is better than the same amount dribbled out over 10 years, Japanese-style.
The Japanese banks were insolvent but politically well-connected. It took the Japanese eight years to realize that their "zombie banks" had to be merged or shut down. They now accept that their culture of saving face prevented the right medicine from being administered.
Who will save Paulson's face? He mentions five presidents but is oddly silent on FDR, clearly the most relevant. FDR's New Deal restarted the economy after the Depression. FDR would advise President Barack Obama to ignore pig-headed Republicans and to follow the advice from the majority of the economists. He's done just that.
Lighten up, everyone. The economy will be back again in 2010.
-- Ian Freeman, Thousand Oaks

At this moment my husband is in the hospital, critically ill, and all he can worry about is "money." This is not right for someone who has worked hard all of his working life. A caring and compassionate society should remove these concerns from each and every individual and allow them to concentrate on their recovery.
-- Janet Sherman, Thousand Oaks

President Barack Obama is looking for cabinet candidates who never failed to pay their taxes, bounced a check, declared bankruptcy, have been convicted of a crime, had a conflict of interest or had questions raised about their morals. Why would he look in Congress for them?
-- Bob Larkin, Westlake Village

Re: your Feb. 8 article, "Stem cell researchers anticipate a policy shift":
As a subscriber to The Star, I'd appreciate at least a fair or more complete journalistic review of the issue.
For example, the Christian and scientific defense of the sanctity of human life is not represented in this article. To say a priest is sad doesn't equate to a fair treatment of this very serious issue. I find it hard to believe that he was sad simply because of the economic consequences. Perhaps his sadness comes from the ethical or theological issues that are ignored?
This article doesn't cite the difference between embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells easily obtained from noncontroversial sources such as cord blood and other adult tissue.
Did The Star or its readers know that more than 30 diseases are currently treated from cord blood stem cells?
Did The Star or its readers know that zero treatments have come from embryonic stem cells -- in spite of the millions of dollars in our tax money and many years of effort? In fact, federal funding favors embryonic research by a 3-to-1 margin. That means our tax dollars would fund unsuccessful research -- research that many experts say won't yield results for many decades, research that many taxpayers consider highly unethical.
For those who enjoy "hope," I'd appreciate it if good journalism would back it up by providing a solid base of information for those who don't want to wait in vain for real advances. Playing the emotion card in this issue is something we all should be aware of and avoid. It is far too serious of an issue to not consider all the far-ranging implications of this research.
As a society, are we so self-involved that we can't see the long-term implications of using "human matter" for research in the name of "advancement?" I thought we put this type of "advancement" and "progress" behind us many years ago.
Let's pin our hopes on the many cures we have today that many don't know about or receive for lack of funding -- 30-plus cures!
Let's not chase false hopes that research universities put out so they can receive funding to keep their positions.
-- Thomas Rudkins, Camarillo

Ventura's artists tend not to have huge savings accounts. What do they do with the money from their art sales, restaurant gigs, teaching jobs and grants? They spend it!
Our artists don't buy mutual funds. They buy grinders and forklifts; tap shoes and tutus; costumes and microphones; canvas and computers; guitars and pianos; oil paints and antique frames.
They pay tax on the gas in their cars and the wine at their receptions, and so do the people in their audience.
The nonprofit groups, educational programs and charities they volunteer for make us a richer community, but not one of the artists I know is getting rich.
Ventura's culture is winning awards and attracting visitors. Our developers and planners are not.
Supporting cultural programs is not about pretty pictures. It's about fostering culture, history and the amenities that make Ventura better than other cities in California, and it's about selling forklifts too.
-- Stephen Schafer, Ventura

To our lawmakers in Sacramento: You're fired!
Come next election, if I am still able to afford to live here, I will not vote a single one of these legislators back in. The almost criminal mismanagement of a state that should be one of the most prosperous in our nation will not go unnoticed.
Every time I cannot fill my gas tank because of the ridiculous tax burden they've put on Californians, I'll renew my conviction that every last one of our current politicians could not care less about the citizens of California upon whose backs rest the costs of all their endless special interest programs.
-- Shelly Walters, Oxnard

With an estimated $41 billion deficit and no budget, Sacramento is preparing to lay off 10,000 state workers and halt hundreds of public works projects already under construction, which will cause nearly 92,000 construction workers to lose their jobs.
The only thing between state lawmakers and a new budget is one vote -- that of state Sen. Tony Strickland.
Cheerleader for a group of myopic legislators hell-bent on seeing not one dime of new taxes be included in the budget, Strickland says we should tackle the deficit with "spending cuts." But when pressed for specific and meaningful reductions, he usually talks around the subject, mentions a handful of commissions, and -- oh, by the way -- suggests slashing school funding when California scores an "F" by pulling a shameful ranking of 47th nationally.
The current proposed budget contains $15.1 billion in cuts, $14.4 billion in tax increases and $11.4 billion in borrowing. While we all wish economic circumstances were different, the budget reflects a balance of cuts, tax increases and borrowing.
California appears doomed to go through this increasingly arduous annual process because of the two-thirds vote required for budget approval. California is one of only three states with this antiquated rule.
It's time for Strickland to step up or shut up. He must present a workable budget with no tax increases and show us a budget that doesn't rely solely on state borrowing, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger so profoundly condemned during the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.
Strickland can't be a coward and solve his dilemma by simply cutting $10 billion from schools. He needs to give us the details of a plan his "yacht party" can live with or cast his vote in favor of the present version now.
We are waiting.
-- Bruce Little, Camarillo

It seems to be an old story, and I hope it is not true: If the pilot lives through a plane crash, blame the equipment. If the pilot dies, blame the pilot.
Why do we allow this kind of idiocy?
Why do the media focus so sharply on possible outcomes before any thorough investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board or the airline company is completed?
It is truly a tragedy for the families of the passengers of Continental Express Flight 3407, which crashed six miles from the Buffalo, N.Y., airport runway on Feb. 12. These families are mourning the loss of their loved ones. So, too, are the families of the crew.
To add to their tragedy, the media are reporting that the pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, might have overreacted in the seconds before disaster. This is reprehensible. The pilot died. Blame the pilot?
What if pilot Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger, the hero of U.S. Airways Flight 1549, could have avoided striking that flock of birds that hit his plane? The fortunate outcome was that whatever happened in flight, all the passengers and crew were saved in the dive into the frigid waters of the Hudson River. The pilot lived. Blame the equipment?
-- Charles Williams, Oxnard

I'm sick and tired of not having a state budget in place. I propose a constitutional amendment that anytime a budget is not in place by Oct. 1, all elected state officials' salaries be dropped to minimum wage until a budget is passed, without any late payments to recoup lost salary.
Also, maybe all elected state officials should take a 20 percent pay cut.
In the early 1990s, Reader's Digest ran an article about the pay of governors. California was paying its governor $175,000 per year; Arkansas paid less than $40,000 per year.
Another thing from Reader's Digest at about the same time: A family of four in California received more than $30,000 per year in benefits; Mississippi residents received less than $10,000 per year. Ever wonder why we have so many people coming into California to get on welfare?
I hate to say it, but the voters of California are partially to blame for the current money problems. Last November, more than $16 billion worth of bond issues were on the ballot. Thankfully, not all passed! I voted no on all the bond issues! I didn't want my grandson, who isn't even a year old, to have to be paying for debts incurred by me.
I probably won't live long enough to see the debts incurred in this last election paid off. When you raise money via bonds, those bonds must be paid off over the next 30 years plus interest! How much money out of the annual budget is used to pay off the principle and interest on bonds? I don't know, but I would guess it's into the millions upon millions of dollars.
-- Larry Flickinger, Oxnard

Re: your Feb. 13 article, "Vaccines don't cause autism in children, special court says":
The recent case decision against mercury-containing vaccines, thimerosal, causing autism is not the last case to be heard about it. Although the case was lost due to lack of coherent and scientific data, I believe the truth has yet to be revealed.
As a parent and a witness to a child's acute change of behavior after a series of vaccines that contained mercury, I suspect a relationship exists between the two. In my research of mercury, it is an extremely toxic element that affects the neurological system. And when a single dose of mercury is injected into a small body, the body receives a shock of mercury that would exceed Food and Drug Administration warning levels if the same mercury levels were to be eaten in fish.
I no longer believe health professionals or government spokespeople who claim that "there is no proof" of a relationship.
What the court needed to see was sound scientific and statistical data that would have supported a clear disparity between two population groups such as one group of children who received thimerosal vaccines and showed a higher incidence of neurological disorders versus another group that did not receive thimerosal vaccines. But who has this data? Is it the FDA or the pharmaceutical manufacturers?
Thimerosal was introduced into vaccines in the early 1990s and gradually began to be removed in the late 1990s. If any scientific group studies exists for the before, during, and after periods of this thimerosal nightmare, the truth would reveal itself.
-- Jess Villagomez, Oxnard

The stimulus plan does not create jobs.
The plan is hoping that banks will start lending so people can borrow for spending on consumer goods like cars, housing, retail sundries, entertainment, etc. When consumers spend, manufacturing, shipping and retail jobs are created.
The banks are looking for borrowers who have the ability to pay back the debt. It's about time!
The plan does not recognize the reality of so many Americans being unable or unwilling to borrow due to the lack of employment security, massive losses in investments, unemployment or underemployment. Most Americans have tightened their budget and are not spending except for essentials.
Without spending, manufacturing slows, shipping slows, retail slows and companies cut overhead and lay off employees.
The stimulus plan includes a tax credit of $400 for individuals. That is $7.70 per week, $33.34 per month. Spending all $33.34 every month from everyone would not create jobs or increase bank loans.
Americans are overwhelmed with debt, home mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. Any plan that creates jobs will provide substantial capital to help overcome the debt-to-income ratio of all Americans.
Unemployment, underemployment and debt should be the primary focus of any stimulus plan.
-- Kevin Rice, Oxnard

I was very sorry to hear that a young mountain lion cub was shot and killed in my hillside neighborhood.
It seems to me that with so many of our neighborhoods bordering on wildlife corridors, it would be prudent to have a wildlife specialist on call and also to have Santa Paula police officers fully trained by the Department of Fish and Game to handle these type of situations in a nonlethal way.
I was pleased to hear that the other mountain lions were unharmed, but I am also wondering: Can't we do more to protect both public safety and wildlife?
-- Karen Donato, Santa Paula

Re: your Feb. 17 article, "Kids offer wish lists for Obama":
Reading the article, I was truly impressed by some of the intelligent comments from our young students. Obviously there were some "pie in the sky" comments, the same that I would have made as a child.
My immediate family is grown, with grown children of their own. My great-grandchildren are coming along now, and they, along with my grandchildren, will be the future voters of our country.
I hope and pray that they will have the same desire that is evident in these letters, and that they will vote, maybe not for President Barack Obama, for he will have served his term(s) in office, but for whomever will provide the answers to their prayers.
-- Frank Cavola, Ventura

Tony Strickland and fellow Republicans in the state Senate are blackmailing us! Even though the compromise budget before the Senate contains significant concessions, the minority Republicans -- they're only a third of the Senate -- want more, including items that don't relate to state finances. In pursuit of their ideology, they're dictating layoffs, shutting down needed Ventura County construction projects, torpedoing our credit rating and forcing IOUs on small businesses.
On Jan. 7, Strickland wrote a commentary for The Star, "Out-of-touch legislators need an attitude change," calling for a "new attitude" in Sacramento -- one of greater cooperation. He should follow his own advice and join the majority in passing the budget.
-- Riley Neel, Thousand Oaks

Re: your Feb. 17 online article, "State still 1 vote shy of budget fix":
For Assembly Speaker Karen Bass to say, "One more Republican senator needs to do the right thing" is like a teenager taking the keys to his father's car, getting drunk, driving right into the nearest tree, then telling his father to do the "right thing" and pay for it all.
The Republicans in the Legislature didn't max out the budget. They didn't hire an army of state workers. They didn't punish businesses and citizens with high taxes, forcing them to move out of state. The rest of the Legislature did. And now they want a Republican to bail them out.
I might be sympathetic to Bass if I thought the proposed budget deal would help, but it won't. It will cause more economic damage as we run more taxpayers out of the state.
And so I appreciate those who haven't caved in and voted for this bad budget, like Sen. Tony Strickland. He and others are standing by the no-tax pledge they made to us.
-- Eric Ingemunson, Simi Valley

Re: your Feb. 17 article, "Budget still needs vote to pass":
After reading Timm Herdt's front-page article on the California budget and visiting Tony Strickland's Thousand Oaks office, I am asking everyone to contact Strickland and ask him to sign this budget.
It appears that Strickland is more faithful to his pledge of no new taxes than he is to the reality of the budget crisis in California. I saw the published list of increases -- it is not pretty. It appears that there is no way out of this mess that doesn't involve increasing revenues along with deep cuts in state programs. It is reality-check time, Tony. Getting rid of a few state boards will not provide $41 billion to balance the budget.
I'm sad to see that 10,000 state employees will receive layoff notices due to no fault of their own, and the lack of public works funds will halt construction on 300 projects. How about starting instead with cutting the salaries of our legislators and their staffs until the budget is signed? Why not give them IOU vouchers?
After tolerating years of Tom "Mr. No" McClintock, it appears we have his clone. It is time for the people of the 19th Senate District to contact their senator and ask him to do the right thing. The budget is not pretty, but it must be passed to avoid a pending financial disaster.
Strickland's refusal to sign the budget is sort of like someone refusing to save a drowning person because he doesn't want to get his hands wet.
I suggest we call his offices every single day until this budget is passed. He needs to hear from his constituents loud and clear. His phone numbers are 805-494-8808 in Thousand Oaks and 916-651-4019 in Sacramento.
-- Sandy Emberland, Thousand Oaks

Re: Bill Gourlay's Feb. 17 letter, "Why lift photo ban?":
Gourlay wondered if The Star's motive in wanting access to photographing the arrival of our fallen vets in their flag-draped coffins was motivated by anti-war politics, and whether the author of The Star's editorial was a vet.
Well, I am an 80 percent disabled, combat-wounded Vietnam vet, and I'll tell you "clearly why" I demand camera access to their arrival. After suffering through all of the Bush policies disrespecting our hard-earned constitutional rights that he was so willing to abandon out of convenience, I was infuriated when he then topped it all off by shutting down those cameras.
There is only one thing that got me off my easy chair when I was watching TV, and that was when cameras were focused on those flag-draped coffins being lovingly rolled off the transport planes at Andrews Air Force Base. I stood and saluted as best I could with my mangled right arm.
Gourlay might want to forget them, just as we were forgotten as returning Vietnam vets, but I won't do that. I don't care what Gourlay's politics are, nor do I care what The Star's politics are. I would appreciate The Star editorial more if the author is not a vet.
Our fallen have paid the ultimate price at the request of a functioning democracy. It really hurt us Vietnam vets when we returned home to spit and harassment and, worse, silence. I have to believe that it really hurts our fallen when they anonymously touch U.S. soil for the first time in their coffins.
There is no rationale that supports Bush's policy, pure and simple.
Welcome home to these Americans.
-- Louis "Chuck" Samonsky, Ventura

Re: your Feb. 13 article, "Mentality of animals surprises scientists":
I read this article with amusement. Scientists are just now discovering something I have known my whole life.
I am an animal lover, and I seem to have a rapport with a great many of them, so it was pretty clear to me from the time I was a child that animals most definitely have a mentality and a reasoning ability. The said scientists could have come to this conclusion much sooner without years of research and the money it took for said research. All they had to do was listen with their hearts and observe with their eyes.
Most of the animals I know are smarter than most of the people I know. I can relate from personal experience many instances where animals reasoned out things. For example, I had a dog that taught himself to use the litter box. Being gone longer than I meant to one day, I feared my dog hadn't been able to "hold it" until I got home. Well, I was surprised and delighted when I came in to find he had actually used the cat's litter box, and he continued that practice whenever we were gone and he couldn't go out.
Dumb animals? I think not! It is amazing to me that it took them so long to figure that out and why it required so much research to do so.
-- Jeanne Walker, Oxnard

Re: your Feb. 12 article, "Fate of school-shooting suspect splits community":
I am unable to "take a side." A 14-year-old bringing a gun to school and shooting a fellow student for reasons that still remain unclear is beyond my realm of thinking, and I can't even attempt to wrap my head around the issue to determine if a 15-year-old should be tried as an adult. Horrific, tragic and unbelievably complex is all I can come up with.
I won't even pretend to understand what Brandon McInerney's and Larry King's families are going through.
As far as "taking sides," after a lot of contemplation and as the mother of a 14-year-old, the most honest "side" I can take is this: If Brandon McInerney were my son, I would want him tried as a juvenile. If Larry King had been my son, I would want McInerney tried as an adult.
My heart goes out to every single person on both "sides" forever affected by this tragedy.
-- Shelly Hart, Ventura

Re: your Feb. 8 article, "Rehab center has its own challenges":
Teen Challenge is in 83 countries. We have 630 centers in the United States helping men and women. We offer our yearlong program for free to anyone 18 or older.
When Teen Challenge bought the property off Highway 33 in 1999 for $500,000, we had only one month to raise $200,000 for a down payment. Then we had six months to raise the remaining $300,000.
We house up to 46 women at a time, providing a safe atmosphere for them to get clean and sober and restored to society.
In 2005, during the February floods, we had major water and mud damage requiring expensive repairs. Then we needed to bring the sewer and water lines across Highway 33 and then up the mountain. This cost in excess of $300,000.
All of these expenses were in addition to providing for all the needs of our 46 women.
We want to be in compliance with the county and have been working hard to correct all violations. We hope the county and the public understand we have been taking care of major problems as best we can while still running a great program on a shoestring.
If you'd like to know more about our program, come to our graduation banquet at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on Saturday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. You get a great barbecue dinner for only $7.
Remember, if you or a loved one is fighting life-challenging problems, we are here for you.
-- Sharon Markley, Ojai
(The writer is with the Teen Challenge Women's Guild. -- Editor)

I want to say thank you to all the riders and contributors who gave their time, energy and caring to help fight cancer with the recent Amgen Breakaway from Cancer charity ride. I also appreciate The Star running upbeat stories like this during such difficult times.
I'm currently going through cancer treatment, and the story really inspired me and made me appreciate how many wonderful people are in our corner!
-- Kriss Kissell, Westlake Village

Re: Stan Helfand's Feb. 4 letter, "Blob of cells not a baby":
It always amazes me when I read such blather.
Helfand's assertion about a human person being referred to as "a blob of cells" is one of those inane statements that resonates so loudly in this frightening era, where human life has become a matter of opinion.
Helfand's flippant attitude is a tragic consequence of the times in which we live. It's always a blob of cells -- unless the baby is wanted, of course, and then it's a precious baby. This amounts to nothing but hypocrisy.
Speaking of hypocrisy, I have heard -- ad nauseam -- about how immoral the mother of the recent octuplets, Nadya Suleman, was for seeking in vitro fertilization, especially in her situation. In a television interview, she stated unashamedly that she made a choice to keep all of the babies and not to abort any of them. The so-called "pro-choice" contingent has been clamoring she made the wrong choice because of her questionable motives. Their "choice" usually involves death.
Whereas a case could be made that her actions were ill-conceived, I have heard dozens of radio hosts and callers decry her actions as evil, immoral and just plain wrong, yet these same people admittedly support the killing of innocent unborn children! Do they hear themselves?
The World Health Organization estimates the number of abortions worldwide are anywhere from 42 million to 60 million annually. This is akin to Mao Zedong's legacy of murderous butchery occurring every year.
Regardless of the idiotic relativist notion that the unborn are simply "blobs of cells," this truly is an unprecedented holocaust, the likes of which the world has never known.
-- Tony Lemos, Simi Valley

Re: John Ellington's Feb. 11 letter, "Enough socialism":
I know this is a free country and we all have the right to speak our minds, but is it too much to ask to get the facts straight?
In his recent letter, Ellington asserts that John Maynard Keynes was a socialist. Check it out -- it's not true. In fact, Keynes considered Karl Marx's Das Kapital the absolute rival of his opus, General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, which outlined macroeconomics, now standard curriculum for any business or finance major in the United States.
Ellington also claims that Keynesianism "kept us in the Great Depression for 10 years." While defense and related expenditures after 1941 truly reignited the economy in full and propelled it through the next 40 years, an increase in employment, consumer spending and gross national product between 1933 and 1941 debunks the idea that it actually prolonged the Depression.
Instead, Ellington would like us to adhere to the many-times discredited, 300-year-old laissez-faire philosophies of Adam Smith. The fact is that after every period of deregulation and market-driven economy has failed in this country, it was Keynesian-type interventionism that has gotten us out. In fact, this kind of economic intervention is what has preserved capitalism in its darkest days and precluded more radical solutions around the world, from Germany's Bismarck to our own Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and, yes, perhaps Barack Obama. How long do you think unemployed Americans will tolerate failed CEOs receiving multimillion-dollar bonuses of our tax money without a fight?
So, if Mr. Ellington is so worried about socialism, he ought to applaud "revolution from above" in order to avoid it from below.
-- Gary E. Murphy, Simi Valley

I consider it an outrage that the residents of the Santa Susana Knolls were not notified of a meeting that was held on Feb. 11 at the Government Center in Ventura in regards to the horse ranch property and other properties that have not yet been developed in the Santa Susana Knolls.
Ventura County is well aware that the Santa Susana Knolls is a fire area, as the past few years of close calls with fires that threatened this area have proved.
Any more development of the area would be creating a vast risk to the residents of the Santa Susana Knolls, as there really is only one way in and out of the area. Evacuation in case of fire would be a virtual fire trap.
I think our representatives should reconsider their positions in encouraging the development of this area. It would be very irresponsible on the part of those representing this area to encourage more development and create a situation of overcrowding in an already concentrated neighborhood. I wonder if the county representatives of this area could live with the consequences of people being injured or dying in a fire if they could not escape because the one road in could not handle the traffic or people trying to get out.
-- Jamie Tyler, Santa Susana Knolls

With this new administration and the passage of the stimulus bill, I feel like Alice in Wonderland, where things become opposite of what they're supposed to be.
People criticized the Bush administration for its outlandish overspending, but at first chance, the Democrats outdo the Republicans by a landslide, the opposite of what the people wanted.
President Barack Obama promised no earmarks in his administration and, just the opposite, the stimulus package tucks them away. He campaigned on transparency, not secrecy, and oppositely initiated closed-door meetings. He promised a clean slate. Instead, he did the opposite and appointed a tax cheat to his cabinet.
Talk of fairness and bipartisanship didn't last long either. Obama lost no time bumping three conservative media people off Air Force One.
Add to this Obama's emphasis on more efficiency. Yet he's signing a bill that will put our grandkids in crippling debt, delivered to Congress at the eleventh hour when no one has time to digest it, few know what's in it, and it's doubtful anyone understands it. We are really down the rabbit hole now!
-- Miriam Jaffe, Thousand Oaks

Re: your Feb. 14 article, "Westoaks Chrysler Dodge in Thousand Oaks shuts":
In regard to the sudden closing of the Westoaks Chrysler Dodge dealership in Thousand Oaks, I can certainly sympathize with the 50-plus employees who are left without jobs. This story did not begin here however, but back in October.
My husband worked as a loyal employee for the Rusnak organization for almost 10 years. As a manager who helped to build a successful dealership, he took great pride in his job, department and employees. As required, he clocked his hours and registered 1,000 hours overtime in a period of a year and a half -- I might mention that these hours were not compensated financially, but were necessary to complete the task set before him. This seemed to matter little to the new family member who was appointed as chief executive officer.
In October, without prior warning, my husband was "laid off," along with the majority of every other manager at the Westlake facility, which includes BMW, Audi and Porsche. With no regard to the dedication, hard work and loyalty of these employees, they were discarded. They were all told by the CEO, "It is not personal, just financial."
The employees who were laid off were not given the option of salary reduction, which might have helped them to retain their positions as well as continue to help this company operate efficiently. Given that option, I am confident, because of the present financial climate, these employees would have rallied to the occasion and continued to work hard to preserve their jobs and help the company to survive.
Ask all of these loyal but unemployed people if they feel as if this is not personal. When the owner and CEO, who are all family, continue to maintain their lifestyle and salaries while dismissing those who helped them to build this business, I have to wonder how soon it will become personal to them.
-- Roseanne Webber, Newbury Park

We, the resident taxpayers of California, have seriously adjusted to reduced income in our families for the purposes of basic financial survival in day-to-day California life. We have given up all of our life's little pleasures -- for example, Starbucks, eating out at area restaurants, movie tickets, etc. Have you noticed that these businesses are currently failing?
Financially, we are all in the same boat and barely surviving. We were expecting a tax decrease and a decrease in fees to help with our survival. Instead, the state Legislature decided not to adjust to reduced income and squeeze anything that might be left out of the resident California taxpayer.
This is the first time that we have responded to any tax or fee increase. Basically, this is unconscionable with the business-as-usual of our state Legislature. The state Legislature must adjust to their present income and balance the budget without increasing taxes and fees. Our financial survival depends on it.
-- James & Cheryl Noll, Simi Valley

Re: Ruth Deel's Feb. 11 letter, "A breath of fresh air":
I hope Deel has purchased a four-year supply of Lysol and Glade products to make sure the air remains fresh.
What I have heard so far in the past three weeks is change, transparency and the failed policies of the past eight years.
What I have seen so far is a failed vetting process by the new administration that made it transparent that a number of cabinet appointees were tax cheats, among other things. The new attorney general, Eric Holder, was instrumental in the controversial pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, plus other unsavory characters. The soon-to-be second-in-command in that office, David Ogden, is pro-porn and pro-abortion.
Now, lets discuss a few "changes." President Barack Obama is on record that the tax cuts instituted by President George Bush will not be extended. He also said that there would only be tax increases for the top 5 percent -- who pay the majority of the taxes anyway. Does someone out there get the message? We all will have our taxes increased.
What about closing Guantanamo? Maybe we can move some of these soulless terrorists to Deel's neighborhood, and she can use some of her Glade to keep the air fresh.
Cindy Sheehan certainly did not protest outside a luxury condo in Dallas. Why would anyone build a 4,000-square-foot home in 1999 at a cost of about $1.3 million to retire to a condo? The family retired to their Crawford estate on 1,550 acres. It is a beautiful single-story, four-bedroom home, passive solar in design with a number of energy savings features.
Deel's blind hatred has warped her sense of judgment. She should worry more about this 143-day Senate wonder. Things could get worse, and there will be no excuse since liberals are running everything.
-- John Krumm, Newbury Park

Re: your Feb. 14 article, "Westoaks Chrysler Dodge in Thousand Oaks shuts":
I was sad to see that another auto dealer on Thousand Oaks Boulevard is going away. Having recently experienced some ups and downs myself due to the economy, I immediate felt for those who would be affected.
But then I couldn't believe what I was reading. The Rusnak Auto Group invited the employees to a rah-rah party three days before this took place? Are you kidding me? This made my stomach turn. And to top it off, rather than being a professional and expressing a heartfelt thought or two for the dedicated employees being let go, the BMW general manager embarrasses himself by bullying a reporter off the lot without having the guts to answer any questions? Sad.
I can only hope that most of those affected knew it was coming. If you look at Rusnak's portfolio of high-end dealers, it wouldn't make any sense that they would purchase a Chrysler dealership to begin with, unless they simply had other plans for the location all along.
To all business owners out there: If things aren't going well, or you're changing business strategies, etc., and employees are going to be affected, please have the dignity to shoot straight with them. Just tell them in a professional manner the way things are, period. That's life. These things happen. You'll gain a lot more respect that way. Don't throw them a party and then ambush them three days later. That's heartless.
When it comes time for me to get my new 335i, hello Steve Thomas!
-- Mike Gretchokoff, Thousand Oaks

Re: your Jan. 30 article, "L.A. cardinal 'puzzled' by federal investigation":
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony is "mystified and puzzled" by the pending federal grand jury investigation into the Los Angeles Archdiocese coverup of alleged child molestation by its priests.
It seems that we should all be mystified and puzzled as to why the church spent years reassigning priests alleged to be molesting children in what appears to be an attempt to protect the church from scandal. Why were they not protecting the present and future alleged victims -- the children? It was not until this scandal broke wide open that the church took any action at all, and then they took their time about it.
It is, after all, a criminal violation to aid and abet the commission of a crime, so why is Mahony so surprised? Instead of being mystified and puzzled by the grand jury action, I believe it's about time and long overdue.
-- Marvin Mackey, Newbury Park

Republicans opposed the economic stimulus package, saying that borrowing is harmful and that the New Deal made the Great Depression worse. Really?
In 1933, the official unemployment rate was 24.9 percent. The official numbers show unemployment decreasing to 14.3 percent by 1937 and reaching 9.9% percent in December 1941. A graph of gross domestic product shows it declining sharply from 1929 to 1933. It then rises sharply under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal from 1933 to 1941, far surpassing the pre-Depression level.
Clearly, that's a huge success. Overall, the Keynesian concept of increased government spending to restore aggregate demand was vindicated. Projects such as rural electrification got the economy going again.
Tax cuts cannot give businesses more money if they have no income in the first place because their order books are empty, because nobody is spending. In any event, they are only half as effective as government spending in terms of stimulating the economy.
The debt run up by the New Deal and World War II together totaled around 125 percent of GDP. But by 1980, this had been reduced to around 33 percent, as prosperity generated incomes -- and taxes -- to pay down the debt.
Republican criticism over the borrowing in the stimulus package is spurious. President Bush increased the national debt from $5.7 trillion to $10.7 trillion, or to around 75 percent of GDP. Why the crocodile tears now?
Lest it be forgotten, the last president to pay down the national debt, from increased confidence and prosperity, was Bill Clinton. President Barack Obama will do the same once the economy recovers.
The revisionists' claim that the New Deal was a failure willfully ignores the big picture. Why? The best verdict on the New Deal is Roosevelt's overwhelming re-election in 1936. This is what terrifies Republicans today; they are politically bankrupt and driven to shameless distortion. Don't swallow it.
-- Raymond Freeman, Thousand Oaks

Did you know it is Girl Scout Cookie season? Well, if you see a Girl Scout selling at your local grocery store, make sure you stop by to check out the varieties. If you wish not to buy cookies for yourself, you can donate some for the troops overseas. They are a small amount of $4 a box!
Everyone could use cookies once in a while, even you dieters out there! All our cookies have 0 trans fat, plus the Lemon Crème and Chocolate Chip cookies have no sugar! Our cookies are multicultural as well! Our Dulce de Leche cookies are Latin inspired!
Your purchase enables us to go on fun and educational trips such as camping! It also supports the community and the Girl Scout Association. Thank you, and see you at a booth sale around the neighborhood.
-- Anna Lindberg, Newbury Park
(This letter was also signed by Ashley Reddy, Julia Clemen, Anjali Paramanandam and Cassidy Anderson of Newbury Park. All are members of Girl Scout Troop 61057. -- Editor)
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Reverse mortgages for seniors have a very dangerous aspect. If the homeowner becomes disabled and has to move out of the house, they may not have enough money to afford an assisted living facility. What do they do then?
Everyone today wants to sell reverse mortgages to seniors. In the usual scenario for a reverse mortgage, the senior lives comfortably in their home until they die peacefully there. The house is sold by the heirs, who pay off the reverse mortgage and take what's left for themselves. If there's not much left, it's not the homeowner's problem. The homeowners have been allowed to finish their lives in the places they love.
In a regular mortgage, the loan principal starts out at the original amount, payments are made and the principal decreases over the life of the loan. On the other hand, in a reverse mortgage, the loan principal starts out at the original amount and grows continuously, since no payments are being made. The loan principal never gets smaller. If the value of the house increases slowly over time, the loan principal can compound faster, becoming a larger and larger fraction of the home's worth. At the same time, inflation is increasing the cost of an assisted living facility. Over the years, these effects can cause the amount recovered by selling the mortgaged home to be too small to be of use in relocating.
Most seniors are not at their best physically or mentally, and thus form a susceptible group. They may not be informed about all the possibilities. They need to think about the possibility of failing health when taking out a reverse mortgage.
In my opinion, they should at least consider selling their house instead, banking the proceeds, moving into a small apartment and saving for the retirement facility.
This is more than a potential problem for seniors. If seniors ignore reality and end up broke and disabled, then here comes the next financial crisis -- a big one, for all of us.
-- Nelson Wallace, Ventura

Re: your Feb. 14 article, "King family files wide-ranging lawsuit":
I wasn't surprised that a filing has been set in motion.
This recent development will indeed help the defense of Brandon McInerney, albeit not without the sad reality of the loss of one young man and the personal torment in the life of another young man.
All of the key wordings of the suit -- "sexually assertive," "threatening" behavior, "cross-dressing clothes and makeup and women's boots" -- lead me to some questions: Where were Larry King's parents in this dysfunctional equation? Where were his fellow classmates leading up this classroom showdown? Where was anyone with an ounce of common sense and guts to say enough is enough?
It will be difficult to suppress now all of the reports, documents or other evidence in this civil case. It will be equally as difficult for a jury to come to a unanimous decision to find McInerney guilty as an adult in his criminal case.
This case represents par excellence of how our legal and judicial system will set out to destroy yet another life of a youth with an "eye for an eye" mentality.
-- Verne Arnold, Ventura

It looks as though Congress is on the verge of passing the largest expansion of the wilderness system in 15 years. It passed the Senate with a large majority and goes to the House for a vote soon.
The omnibus bill will protect millions of acres of wilderness in nine states, including California, in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. Other key provisions would add permanence to the 26 million-acre National Landscape Conservation System.
These wilderness areas and other protected lands provide great benefits to rural economies by increasing property values, providing economic opportunities in recreation and tourism and creating desirable places for people to live, exercise and work.
I urge the public to come out in support of this bill and to urge the House of Representatives to vote yes on S22.
-- Carol Lynn Healy, Ojai

I work at a local hospital as a pharmacist, and I was recently made aware of a patient who is in the hospital because of an all-too common problem. This patient is in the hospital because he had a mild stroke awhile back so his doctor put him on Plavix, which helps prevent blood clotting. Well, apparently his insurance -- probably a Medicare D plan, since he is over 65 years old -- won't pay for most of the cost of brand-name drugs, even if there is no other similar drug. The cost for Plavix is well over $100 a month, so the man didn't get the prescription filled and, as a result, had a second stroke.
Now the taxpayers are paying more per day while he is the hospital than several months' worth of medicine would have cost them.
I am asking everyone to write their congressman and demand that they change the Medicare D law.
Most people are not aware of all the things Medicare D doesn't pay for -- vitamins, most tranquilizers and many other common medications. In the meantime, our congressman has a pension and a great medical plan for life, even if they were only in for one term!
It is time for people to demand that the people who write the rules must live with them.
-- Dan Kaufman, Ventura

Re: Ann Hoagland's Feb. 13 letter, "Insurance system flawed":
It is hard to understand the incredible difference between the alarmingly high hospital charges for Hoagland's hospital stay compared to her insurance company's final payments. She should be thankful she has insurance -- sure, the premium cost is a burden, but just look at that hospital bill!
The truth is the insurance companies and the hospitals negotiate a contract for how much each procedure will be reimbursed by an insurance policy. Hospitals are forced to negotiate overinflated charges in order to secure better reimbursements from the insurance companies -- reimbursements more in line with their actual costs and a profit. Because of stipulations in the contract, the hospital is obligated to bill patients the inflated charges used during negotiations. Insurance companies benefit from these inflated hospital bills because they generate enough fear in the consumer that we are willing to pay the high cost of insurance premiums.
For example, in Ventura County, the average Medicare 2006 hospital payment for "open heart surgery with complication" was between $32,673 and $34,931. This is less than the hospital would have liked from Medicare, but it is a reasonable example of how much this procedure costs. The hospital's bill to the consumer for this same procedure would be closer to $250,000, or a quarter of a million dollars. In turn, under the contract with the hospital, the consumer's insurance with co-pay would end up paying something closer to $36,000. The hospital is happy and remains in business. The insurance company receives heartfelt thanks and continued premiums from the patent.
Pity the poor person who doesn't have insurance. He's obligated to pay the full amount.
Yes, the system is broken. Most Americans can tell you the average cost for a new car, but they have no idea how much healthcare really costs. We are kept in the dark by the healthcare industry.
It's a system that generates fear of being sick -- not necessarily fear of the illness, but of the bill. It is an industry that believes an informed public is not good for business. Our ignorance means higher profits.
-- Tom Blanford, Ventura

Re: Ruben Navarrette's Feb. 16 article, "A hot piece of legislation":
Navarrette made an important point that is too often overlooked in the heated debate over the Employee Free Choice Act: Workers have been, and continue to be, victims of intimidation and coercion by union organizers as well as employers. The secret ballot protects workers from retaliation from either side, leaving them free to vote their conscience.
Navarette did let one claim go unexamined, however: Labor lawyer Beth Shulman says that under EFCA, workers could still choose to have an election, but a closer reading of the law shows this to be untrue. In Section 2(a), the law says that if a union collects authorization cards from a majority of employees, "the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify [the union]." This is not a complicated point: Once the union gathers cards from 50 percent of employees plus one, there is no election. Workers have to publicly sign, or refuse to sign, those cards, without ever seeing the inside of a voting booth.
-- Rick Berman, Washington, D.C.
(The writer is executive director of the Center for Union Facts. -- Editor)

So, we're about to pass a massive spending program to save the world. We are told by "The One," President Barack Obama, that we're in this mess because of reckless spending by the Bush administration, which doubled the national debt. I don't doubt that. But if spending money we don't have is the problem, why are we doing more of it? When does it end?
President Obama has said this bill isn't perfect. I agree. It stinks! So why not take all the imperfect things out instead of rushing to pass this stinker of a bill? I'll tell you why: Because it's not about stimulus, it's about growing the size of government.
I'll bet $787 billion that not one congressman read the massive bill they voted on. I'll bet also that the president hasn't read it either!
This is change? This is hope? This is the same old, same old times 787 billion!
I have a better idea, and it will work for California as well and provide immediate stimulus. Suspend the income tax and payroll tax on every taxpayer for one year. It would cost about $1 trillion, coincidentally the same amount as the bogus stimulus bill, if you include interest.
How do we pay for it? Adopt the last federal budget that was $1 trillion less than the $3 trillion budget of last year. Of course, we'll be told we can't afford it, but can we afford this?
The real reason they won't do it, though, is because average taxpayers will see just how much the government takes from us every year.
While they're at it, they should also abolish the Federal Reserve, because if their job is to stabilize the economy, they stink at it.
That would be change that would give me hope! Yes we can!
-- Brian D. Schwan, Ventura

In recent months, the Democratic-controlled Congress has spent billions to bail out Wall Street, the banks, the auto companies and their unions. Now they want to spend almost a trillion dollars more in what was supposed to be an economic stimulus bill. Instead, the Democrats in Congress loaded it up with pork barrel projects, money to pay back the special interest groups who supported them and new "big" government programs, all of which will do little to stimulate the economy, but will leave a huge bill for our children and grandchildren to pay.
When will the American people realize that they are now witnessing the largest growth of government in our lifetime?
I want to publicly thank our congressman, Elton Gallegly, who consistently voted against this ill-conceived and wasteful legislation, and instead supported a program that would have helped create needed jobs that put people back to work.
-- William Little, Camarillo

Since our congressional Democrats have never been know for compunction, the fact that U.S. Rep. Lois Capps and most of her Washington colleagues are admitting that the stimulus bill is not "perfect" and that Sen. Chuck Schumer is asserting that people really don't care about the pork in the bill, is proof enough that the stimulus bill just passed by Congress stinks and is bad in every respect.
Instead of putting all the wood behind one arrow and aiming it at one of the causes of the recession to provide a large, immediate, positive jolt to the economy, the bill is full of little darts shooting out aimlessly in every direction with the hope that one or two hit the target.
It's no wonder that a great American once said, "Government isn't the solution; it's the problem."
-- George Niznik, Oxnard

When House Minority Leader John Boehner told Elton Gallegly and other Republicans of his persuasion to vote against the stimulus bill -- before they'd even read it -- Republicans lost all credibility.
Republicans were in control of the White House and Congress for eight years. It is their policies that have come close to destroying this nation. Yet they have nothing to offer except the same old policies that didn't work in the past -- plus obstruction to anything and everything the Democrats propose.
If President Barack Obama's stimulus package succeeds without their help, then Republicans are unnecessary. If it fails, it will be due to their intransigence.
It is clear Republicans don't care about our country and our people, but only their obsolete Republican agenda. If this is the way Republicans intend to spend the next four to eight years, their party is dead.
Republicans must stop playing political games. We need the energy and creativity of both conservatives and liberals to help this nation survive.
-- Virginia Palmer, Ojai

So the "porkulus bill" was so essential that it had to be passed Friday night without being read or fully explained to the American public. And the president flies off for three days without signing it.
I wonder how many baby boomers who voted for Barack Obama realize that buried in the 1,073 pages is establishment of the Office of National Coordinator of Health Care Services. Its purpose? To reduce healthcare costs and monitor your doctor's decisions. Who is impacted? Primarily the elderly and most certainly the boomers who voted for Obama.
Former Sen. Tom Daschle has written that Americans expect too much from their healthcare system and that reform "will not be pain free." That means you seniors and soon-to-be seniors will soon have Washington bureaucrats second-guessing your doctor and rationing your healthcare. Think Department of Motor Vehicles.
I thank U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly for voting against the bill. And I thank my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who will be paying for it if they still have a country.
-- Dick Schneider, Oak View

Re: Lois Capps' Feb. 15 Pulse page commentary, "Now is time for swift action from Congress on stimulus":
After reading Capps' article, I was wondering just how one could vote aye or nay on a bill that spends $787 billion. I believe it was more than 1,000 pages with less than 11 hours before the vote.
-- Richard Price, Camarillo

I read recently that the many charities that depend on donations are having problems meeting their goals because of the economy. I, for one, have stopped sending any donations to my favorites. Last year alone, I received more than 800 address labels, some from organizations I had never heard of or contribute to. One day last week, there were 210 address labels of various designs in my mailbox. They are all very nice, and my name was spelled correctly. However, if I used each one on an envelope with a stamp, it would cost a small fortune. I am sure the postal service would love it, but my budget would not.
Can't they just send a nice thank-you note if they feel they need to acknowledge my contribution?
-- Joyce Dickson, Ventura

Re: your Feb. 15 article, "Many students try drugs, survey says":
In other breaking news, the sky is blue, water runs downhill and -- just in! -- the pope is Catholic.
-- Jay Windsor, Ojai

Re: your recent series on the California budget problems:
There doesn't seem to be any discussion of the "800-pound gorilla" in the state Legislature, namely, the two-thirds majority needed to pass the budget.
California is one of only three states in the entire union that requires this number.
The minority party in the Legislature has taken a "hope to die" solemn oath to not vote any tax raises no matter what -- thereby keeping the state a virtual hostage for months each year. But borrowing is OK. This action has caused a $40 billion-plus deficit over the past few years. The extremism of these people has made our state a Third World economy.
What has happened to "pay as you go?" What happened to fiscal responsibility that is so often trumpeted by these conservative Republicans?
It is time for a drastic change in California to allow a simple majority to pass the state budget.
-- Sol Grossman, Ventura

Re: Tim Schiffer and Esther Wachtell's Feb. 15 Pulse page commentary, "Museums important part of country's fabric":
Schiffer and Wachtell display an amazingly inflated view of the importance of The Museum of Ventura County and all other local museums to the nation as a whole, as well as an equally amazing lack of understanding of what the economic stimulus bill is supposed to accomplish.
They claim that Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn's amendment to the bill indicates an assumption on his part that "museums -- and other cultural and recreational organizations -- are not a vital or legitimate part of the fabric of our country." The amendment indicates no such assumption. It correctly assumes, or, more appropriately, makes the "judgment" that giving federal taxpayer money to county museums and the like is not consistent with a national economic stimulus package.
The authors' inflated view of the importance of their museum to the nation as a whole is best summed up in their own words. They believe they are part of an "important economic engine," and they further liken the importance of their museum to the Smithsonian, a national museum, with an insultingly juvenile and arrogant remark aimed at Coburn. Neither The Museum of Ventura County, nor the Smithsonian for that matter, is an "important economic engine" for the United States even in the best of times, and we are not experiencing the best of times.
That is not to say they are not valuable. They are indeed valuable. In the case of the museum in question, that value is to this county. What Schiffer and Wachtell suggest is that the taxpayers in the other 3,142 counties in the United States should help fund it. The taxpayers in all those other counties have their own issues and, for that matter, their own museums and other "cultural and recreational organizations." Are we to trade taxpayer dollars -- we fund their museums and they fund ours?
My suggestions to Schiffer and Wachtell are these: Get over yourselves, pull your hands back in and read about what a national economic stimulus plan is supposed to accomplish. In your words, "You might learn something."
-- David Tunno, Ventura

Re: Ruben Navarrette's Feb. 16 article, "A hot piece of legislation":
Navarrette hits the nail on the head.
In question is new pro-organized labor legislation called the "Employee Free Choice Act." Instead of the normal secret ballot and managed by the National Labor Relations Board, the unions want to control an open "card check" managed by the union.
A normal citizen would ask, "Why would you want to take away the secret ballot?" Navarrette interviews Beth Shulman, a labor lawyer who is pro-organized labor, about this "card check" system. She argues that presently, employers, through intimidation, effectively have "veto power" over their employees.
I have to ask, if it is a secret ballot, how can the employer know how each employee votes? The answer is the employer doesn't know how the employee votes, and therefore has no control over the employee.
Under present law, employers retain the right to stand up for their independent employees against union-boss intimidation tactics. But under this new legislation, the bill would empower union officials to impose forced unionism through card check automatically, with no recourse for any pro-Right to Work employee or employer.
Shulman brought up an example of an employer in North Carolina who called in the immigration service to harass the employees. However, when Navarrette pointed out that it was Cesar Chavez and his union that initiated this tactic first, Shulman "seemed a bit taken back."
Navarrette prevailed over Shulman and her pro-organized labor position.
-- Dennis Gaiser, Camarillo

Here we go with another bailout that will do nothing but enrich the bankers and Wall Street at the expense of us and the economy. Wall Street had the party, and we got the hangover.
Here is something that definitely would work. The government took in $388 billion in taxes last year. If they refunded all taxes collected last year and canceled the income tax for this year, you couldn't stop the activity that would be generated in the economy. This would only cost two-thirds of what they are currently proposing and would be guaranteed to work.
If done, it would prove that President Barack Obama and the rest of the elected officials really cared. If not, it shows again that they either don't have a clue or truly don't care. The only other possibility is that they are very smart and purposely creating this disaster. That, however, would be another letter.
Call your congressman and hold their feet to the fire.
-- Chris Letizia, Newbury Park

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said this week on the Senate floor that Americans really didn't care about the "porky" programs he and his colleagues stuck in to the trillion-dollar, so-called "stimulus" bill. Well, I want Schumer to know that he doesn't speak for me or my family.
I am outraged by the billions of waste in this bill, and I am glad that U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly voted against it and is for a bill that would really stimulate the economy as well as help create jobs. Our country faces an economic crisis. Rather than focusing on special interest, pork and loading tons of debt onto our kids and grandkids, let's create a program that will really help the economy. Stop all these pork programs!
-- Joyce Altaffer, Simi Valley

As a reader of The Star for 30 years now, I think I have the Quote of the Day record. The quote is: "Would you like to have an out-of-body experience, then look into a mirror?"
-- David Crow Cope, Newbury Park

Re: your Feb. 15 editorial, "No honor in hiding fallen":
The Star wants the presidential ban lifted on photographing flag-draped coffins of our fallen war heroes, but does not clearly state why. I have to suspect that the reason is to have graphics to bolster anti-war politics. I would like to know if the author of the editorial is a veteran or is related to one of our fallen heroes.
-- Bill Gourlay, Westlake Village

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly was recently quoted saying he voted against the stimulus bill because it would force our grandchildren to pay for it. Does he think we're stupid? Our grandchildren, perhaps even our great-grandchildren, are already obligated to pay our country's war debts. Just because President George Bush kept the billions we're spending in Iraq "off the books," it doesn't erase the debt. I wonder if Gallegly will own up to the facts and acknowledge them.
-- Anthony R. Miller, Thousand Oaks

So the "Republicans" have once again shown their true colors, and they aren't red, white and blue.
By walking in lockstep with their newly anointed leader, Rush Limbaugh, and doing their level best to obstruct the process and kill the stimulus package, Republicans have once again put party before country and proven unequivocally where their loyalties lie.
Was the fact that Republican and Democratic governors across the country were begging for assistance to keep basic services such as schools, fire and police departments running not enough to convince them that something needed to be done? Where was the fiscal responsibility when they were committing us to an endless war in Iraq?
We have a systemic problem in this country -- one that allows our sports stars to take performance-enhancing drugs to cash in, one that allows our politicians to leave office and cash in on a big corporate paycheck, one that engenders a feeling of entitlement to corporate executives so they can cash in with multimillion-dollar bonuses, even though they were the ones who brought us to this point.
We don't have a money problem in this country today. We have a basic trust and human decency problem. They call it "consumer confidence" for a reason. Imagine what the market would have done this week if the Republicans had made a true bipartisan effort help our country instead of hedging their bets in a last-ditch effort to obstruct desperately needed assistance only to bring about the failure of President Barack Obama.
There is no safe haven for investment these days because there is no one to trust. We need both parties to once again put America and its people first.
So the Republicans have bet it all on the failure of this stimulus package and our president. What if it works?
-- John Loprieno, Westlake Village

How ironic and frustrating it is to see our freeways being watered during the winter downpours we get each year.
Who is responsible for this? Why is nothing being done about a flagrant waste of our most precious resource? Why do we need green freeways and road dividers to begin with? You would think in times of drought we could stop this from happening, as these roadways should be the first in line for water cutbacks.
In Simi Valley, right across the street from the old Kmart site, a new senior housing project is almost complete. Recently, crews started to excavate and install sprinklers in the road divider, and this is not a small or short divider. Is this smart planning?
I read recently that the farmers up north are not planting hundreds of acres because of water shortages. Where are our priorities?
-- Ron Michalik, Moorpark

Re: your Feb. 12 edition:
Given the three choices below of where I would donate what little extra money I might have in this tough economy, can you guess which one it would be?
-- Young Schae Jacoby, a vibrant, determined 16-year-old high school softball pitcher who, after eight surgeries to try and save her right hand and part of her arm injured in an off-road accident, had to have it amputated. The family would appreciate donations to help with medical expenses.
-- The family of Vilai Her and his infant son, Isaac, who were killed by a wrong-way drunk driver. They are in need of donations to help with funeral expenses.
-- Nadya Suleman, a selfish, self-centered woman who has absolutely no regard for anyone but herself and is now and will continue to be an extreme burden on taxpayers and her parents and the many others who will have to assist in caring for these 14 innocent children for at least the next 18 years. She has the gall to set up a Web site to attempt to bilk the already overtaxed public out of more money.
Well, let me see. I am having a hard time deciding between two, and one absolutely nauseates me. What do you think?
-- Janet Walker, Simi Valley

Re: Armando Cardenas' Feb. 13 letter, "No money for octuplets":
I agree with Cardenas.
The mother of the octuplets is collecting $2,379 from Social Security Disability for the three children who are brain-damaged, and we have heard that two of the octuplets are also brain-damaged. We are worried about Kaiser dropping these charges -- $2.4 million -- on the members. She gets $490 in food stamps, and she stated that the in-vitro fertilization from a Beverly Hills doctor cost her $100,000, which she stated that she had saved. Yet she was still on welfare. How does one save so much money on welfare?
Kaiser stated that she was asked if she would like to abort a couple of the fetuses as it would give the other babies a better chance. She refused this suggestion. She was also awarded a $165,000 for a back injury.
A premature baby's stay in a hospital is $165,273. For eight babies, that would be $2.4 million for birthing them and $1.3 million for being premature. And, of course, the taxpayer has to take care of the mother.
This is only the beginning, and the mother just does not care. Someone is taking care of them, and it's not costing her a cent.
She also has a Web site and is begging for money. She does not want to work, though.
-- Elizabeth Uttley, Simi Valley

Re: your Feb. 9 article, "CSUCI hopes to get 370 acres of open space":
Whilst I have no real opinion on whether the university will be a good steward of the land they would like to own, I will comment on any proposal to terminate the use of the lake and model airplane airstrip.
The nature walkers and birders have enjoyed this area largely unhindered for many years, and the wildlife has certainly not suffered as a result of the modelers' activities. If the university is sincere in its wish to broaden the education spectrum of its students, what better recreational activity could there be that will bring so much of their classroom learning into practical application? Even without the benefit of physics, electronics, aviation and mechanical studies, a child who assembles, tests and flies a radio-control plane or boat has taken a "mini masters" course in those fields.
One of this country's greatest aviation pioneers, Burt Rutan, was and still is active in the design and construction of radio-control planes, along with many others. Classroom education is fine, but it needs to be combined with practical application to realize the full potential. Keep the RC field open.
-- Les Mason, Santa Ynez
(The writer adds that he is an RC flyer who visits the airstrip regularly, as there is no such facility in Santa Barbara County. -- Editor)

Republicans must not be allowed to slip their dirty hands into taxpayer dollars and spend it on nuclear and coal technologies. Americans are smarter than that. We want wind and solar to be the priority. Respectfully remove the provisions inserted by U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett from Utah and save Americans from the madness of the last eight years. We deserve better, and we deserve it now.
-- Joyce Rego, Ventura

It was recently announced that the California state legislators and their staff will take a 10 percent pay cut, effective immediately, and that the cut will be in effect until June 2010. There will be no retroactive pay given either.
The legislators responded to thousands of requests from citizens of the state of California for them to set the standard. The pay cut affects all employees of the legislators as well. Many people do not realize legislative staff is exempt staff and feel they do not have to follow the rules as set for other state employees.
The majority of citizens of the state of California feel that the legislators are not doing their jobs, so their salaries should be cut. They also feel that an initiative should be put on the next ballot to the effect that if the state legislators do not have a signed budget each year by June 30, 11:59 p.m., effective July 1, all governor and legislative staff and the legislators will not receive any pay and no breaks will be allowed.
It was further announced that trips up and down the state will cease and more video conferencing will be done if necessary.
The primary job of legislators is to pass a budget. Citizens want other issues set aside for right now and have asked legislators to face up to the fact they are not fulfilling their primary responsibility.
All this sounds great doesn't it? Only one legislator has even mentioned something like this.
Please support pay cuts for state legislators and their staff. They should be the first ones who feel the sting of cuts. Call, write, e-mail or fax your local senator and Assembly member and tell them what the citizens of California want right now!
-- Sara A. Carver, Oxnard

I implore Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to settle the state budget debacle.
After a long, hard road, my daughter recently began practicing speech therapy with young children, a lifelong dream. She works long hours without complaint, carrying a heavy caseload, as federally funded therapists remain understaffed.
If by some small miracle, Schwarzenegger is able to save her position with the local school district, she pledges to assist him in pronouncing our state's name correctly. It will no longer sound like a garden variety "cauliflower!"
-- David Tulk, Ventura

Re: Godfrey Smythe's Feb. 11 letter, "CSUCI land grab":
It's funny how two people can read the same article and have completely opposite reactions.
When I read that CSUCI was trying to purchase Camarillo Regional Park, I thought it sounded like a win-win situation. My husband and I and our friends use the park for hiking and bike riding. The article stated that the California Coastal Conservancy was going to help restore habitat and add access to the surrounding trails. To my mind, that's a good thing. The regional park is a lovely spot and deserves to be used more than it is.
-- Nancy Lindsay, Camarillo

Some people still don't get it. Climate change -- i.e., global warming, coupled with ice ages have been going on for hundreds of thousands of years -- occurs in cycles.
An ice age occurs. Glaciers cover the earth. Warming then melts the glaciers. The last glacier covered the upper half of North America, including New York City and Chicago. It melted. Prior to that, a glacier went almost down to the Gulf of Mexico. It melted. Mankind has nothing to do with these naturally occurring cycles of ice ages followed by global warming.
Rather than being concerned about current global warming, future mankind should be concerned about the advance of the next glacier, which will most likely cover New York and Chicago (again) in about 10,000 years.
-- William Wolny, Oxnard

The Conejo Valley Unified School District is planning to hand out large numbers of pink slips next month. Moorpark school employees were asked to work a day a month without pay. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that 10,000 state employees will be laid off at the end of the week if we still have no state budget.
Yet, California state senators and assemblymen sit comfortably in their jobs, having larger salaries than any other state lawmakers in the United States. Rank-and-file lawmakers in this state have salaries of $116,000, plus benefits for housing, food and cars. In spite of their best-in-the-nation salaries, they are failing to do their job. What private-sector employee can get away with 0 percent productivity for so long and still expect to get paid?
The first round of layoffs of state employees ought to include the current 39 senators and 80 assemblymen. Every taxpaying Californian should be outraged that we have a complete lack of representation, and the only service these people provide is the misappropriation of funds into their own pockets, drowning us with their ideological incompetence.
Forget recalling governors. Recall all California lawmakers!
-- David McNamara, Moorpark

I am outraged, distressed and deeply terrified at the news that the state of California wants to rezone our rural Santa Susana Knolls Horse Ranch to accommodate 471 housing units!
This is simply wrong, misguided and deadly.
First of all, we are in a high-fire zone, with a dangerous railroad track at our doorstep and no infrastructure to take care of a high-density development.
Second of all, we don't have enough water for the current residents, let alone 1,000-plus more!
And, why wasn't anyone in the Knolls notified of this before Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting? What happened to notification protocol?
The threat of Colton Lee Communities' current proposal for 100-plusmanufactured home units on the site of the Knolls Horse Ranch was scary enough: basically a fancy trailer park complete with a pool, clubhouse and only one road in and out. Potential residents would purchase a manufactured home, choose a site in the park, and then pay rent to Colton Lee Development, oblivious to the fact that they are living on borrowed time in a high fire zone. Couple that with developer Colton Lee Communities' proposal for an ill-conceived and destructive road-widening project and soil that is within the contamination zone of Rocketdyne! Why is this project even in any sort of consideration?
It doesn't take much imagination to extrapolate how much more devastating and dangerous 471 units and the resulting traffic would have on this rural neighborhood. As many as 1,200 more cars could be coming and going into the Knolls, across a very busy railroad track -- a very dangerous railroad track, complete with Metrolink trains and very long and noisy freight trains, day and night, seven days a week.
Now, add a catastrophic fire in the hills like the one we survived in 2005. A very long train was stopped on the tracks because fire was surrounding the track to the east, blocking escape on Katherine Road. Susana Pass Road was shut down because of the fire blazing on the pass. In essence, Katherine Road was completely shut down on the north and the south.
Can you picture the panic? Can you picture the bottleneck of 1,200 cars trying to exit onto Katherine Road from a 471-unit development? Can you picture the casualties? The body bags?
Please stop this madness!
-- Susan L. Wells, Susana Knolls

We received zero notification from our Ventura County supervisor, Peter Foy, that a proposal to rezone the horse ranch property and three additional properties on Santa Susana Pass Road was an agenda item for Feb. 10. Since we were not invited and were not there, we don't know what decisions, if any, were made, but had we been notified, we would certainly have had people from Santa Susana Knolls there to speak on the issue.
How and why did this happen?
An additional 555 homes? Up here? Another 1,500 cars? This is an outrageous proposal and will have devastating consequences to our lovely rural neighborhood and safety of us all.
This is a brush zone. It is a very high-danger fire area with no infrastructure to support massive building. There's limited water while we wait for our new million-gallon tank. There are access problems during fires and other emergencies due to the railroad crossing. We are saying farewell to our Firehouse 43, which county supervisors voted a few years ago to move onto Los Angeles Avenue near Yosemite Street. And let's not forget Rocketdyne.
We believe and will now insist, whatever it takes, that the county should have in place some system so that those communities that will be impacted by decisions of this magnitude are notified in advance of all and any discussions on these important issues.
-- Kathy LaForce, The Knolls
(The writer is on the board of the Susana Knolls Homeowners Association. -- Editor)

Re: John Ellington's Feb. 11 letter, "Enough socialism":
Ellington suggests this all started with the government-sponsored program that makes mortgage loans available to low-income people. I have heard this from the beginning of the crisis and decided to do a little research.
The program that Ellington refers to requires the recipient to not only qualify, but they pay an extra percentage point. To suggest this program is the start or cause of our situation is nothing more than ignorance or right-wing propaganda.
The specific cause is directly related to an overheated housing market fostered primarily by initial low interest rates. This allowed people to speculate, much like the cause of the Depression -- rampant speculation with borrowed funds. These buyers either thought they could flip the house or feared that if they did not buy now under any circumstance, they would never be able to afford a home.
The mortgage providers then bundled these bad loans into derivatives to make them appear less risky. Then the ratings agencies, in order to get a piece of the pie, gave these derivatives a good quality rating, and these packaged loans were sold around the world.
I am sure these facts are irrelevant to most right-wingers, as are facts irrelevant to left-wingers, but these are the facts. Ellington's dismissal of Keynesian economics, which were only fully implemented by World War II's massive deficit spending, are not in serious dispute by many rational people, only idealogues.
-- Tom Ion, Moorpark

A couple of weeks ago, I left my purse in a restaurant, and by the time I missed it, it had disappeared. Two weeks later, someone called and told me they had found it. The only things missing were the cash and a couple of small items of no particular value.
Thank you to the anonymous person who returned the purse to me. You never told me your name, but I really appreciate your courtesy. There were things in that purse that I was very sad about losing.
Also, thank you to the person who took the purse for not using the credit card or the ATM card. I hope you needed the money and other items more than I did.
-- Joy Gaylord, Simi Valley

If memory serves me right, there are seven low-ranking military enlisted persons serving time for abusing and performing torture against prisoners in Abu Ghraib. Yet it is common knowledge that the guilty ones, those who gave the orders to perform these inhumane acts, are those at the top of the chain of command.
Former President George Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of State Condi Rice, former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and high-ranking military and intelligence officers gave those orders. Yet they are walking around free and unpunished.
So, since we all now know the truth about this entire spin, why haven't the enlisted men been set free and compensated for the time they've spent in prison for crimes their superiors are responsible for? And why haven't the guilty ones been tried and punished -- not only for the responsibility of the crimes performed, but for lying and covering up the lies from the American public and the entire world?
It is the media's responsibility to investigate and report the truth on all important issues to the public. Yet it was a young military enlisted man who first exposed these evil acts to the public. And, so I've been told, it is the justice system's responsibility to prosecute criminals, like those mentioned above, to show the world that justice is served fairly to all.
The courts know full well that enlisted men are now rotting in jail for crimes their superiors are responsible for, yet, to my knowledge, they haven't made a move to hold the guilty ones accountable in this case. So where does their sense of duty and integrity lie?
The whole world is watching to see if true justice is to be served in this country. And if it isn't, a crime worse than those performed at Abu Ghraib will have been committed.
-- Patrick Reel, Camarillo

Re: your Feb. 4 editorial, "Let's not become a nation of quitters":
I greatly enjoyed the recent editorial on the dangers of quitting. It seems America has considered its freefall merely to the point of (prematurely) concluding that the trouble is "the economy, stupid."
This conclusion is not only wrong, but agreeing with that assessment reveals a body politic that is into "quitting" its self-examination -- since every person is to blame for our plight, not merely "the Wall Street fat cats" -- just when we are about to make some progress in determining what should be done.
The real problem is that the American culture has been operating in the emotional/moral red zone for a number of years. I would venture that every person reading these words knows what I mean: a patent disregard for his fellow man in pursuing his own interests.
In our culture, there exists a term called "doing it." If you're doing something without meeting the rather exacting standard of "doing it," i.e., tearing bystanders' emotional flesh clean off their bodies, you are not making it in the eyes of America. Man, in his flight of fear from the appearance of God in his life, turned to emotional death as the preferable results, and he is reaping the consequences of not only embracing that death, but also of forcing others to die, also.
Solution: Learn about God, realize that his world is better than the one we've got now, and learn to confess our sins regularly. Then the whole negative situation will turn around.
-- John Hartnett, Ventura

Despite opting out of Ventura's illegal 911 fee prior to its implementation, I was still billed $1.50 for each of my two cellular phone lines, despite the fact that I don't live in the city of Ventura but have my phone bills sent to a post office box in Ventura.
When I called the city of Ventura to request that my money be returned, I was directed to a recorded voice message that said refunds were forthcoming. That was nearly six months ago.
The city of Ventura has since repealed the illegal 911 fee, but I still have not received my refund of more than $20.
Given the deceptive nature of the Ventura City Council, I am sure they are counting on people forgetting that they are owed money because the city collected 911 fees whether residents opted out of the program or not. How shameful! Sign me up for the class-action lawsuit.
-- Capt. Robert Strom, Ventura
(The writer lives in the unincorporated area of the county, outside city of Ventura limits. -- Editor)

I am appalled at the lack of resolve to solve the state budget impasse. Beyond that pressing issue, I am even more embarrassed to see the state Capitol pass the buck and related consequences onto innocent state employees and fund recipients.
It is not just the job but the legislated and elected duty of the governor's office, and the full state Legislature, to make sure there is a workable budget in place each year. The voters have spoken in saying it should be passed by a two-thirds majority -- that is not an improbable hurdle, but rather it is the law that has to be accommodated.
I am sure I do not know all the ramifications or the issues involved. However, I do know that when I have a job to do and a deadline that affects others, it becomes my priority to see that the deadline is met despite my desire to provide a better effort for my stakeholders. The deadline is their highest concern. If I fail to meet the deadline, I can be either fined or fired.
It is not acceptable to pass this impasse onto the stakeholders. It is not acceptable to withhold promised funds to entitled dependents, and it is not acceptable to force state employees -- and peripheral entities -- to lose part of their family's needed income just because the state Capitol cannot agree on final budget terms. If anyone should be taking an income furlough, it is those who have not met the imposed deadline and legal mandate. I would support a class action lawsuit (not my proposal, but I suspect it may arise) against the state Capitol as a result of its breach of fiduciary authority and legal mandate.
Lawmakers must find a way to pass the budget no later than Friday, Feb. 27.
-- Mitch & Josette Kreeger, Camarillo

It appears our state legislators can't pass a budget. Maybe we've given it to the wrong people.
It's my understanding that cities, school districts and other local municipalities submit their yearly budgets to the county controller for approval. It's the county controller who doles out the money based upon what comes from the state.
So here's my idea:
Each county controller or someone appointed by that office becomes a state senator. That person would work on and vote on only the budget. We would still have the senators whom we vote on directly, and they would work on raising revenue, laws about cell phone usage, even the budget. But we'd have an equal number of appointed senators, one per county, and an equal number of direct senators apportioned by population. And the latter could gerrymander their districts however they want. I don't care.
Now every municipality that submits a budget to the county controller would have an appointed Assembly person working on and voting on only the budget. And there would be an equal number of direct Assembly persons apportioned by population with the same provisos as their counterparts in the Senate. It might get very crowded in Sacramento, but let's face it: The budget is too big for the small group we have now.
Oh, one more thing. The appointed legislators can't have a party affiliation, and they can't have contact with lobbyists. The beauty here is that we separate the people who know how to tax from the people who know how to spend. Then we force them to square off with each other on our behalf.
-- Keith Salvas, Camarillo

Re: your Feb. 8 editorial, "Foiled by tax code":
The Star's editorial about the confusing tax code attributes an excessive amount of integrity to former Sen. Thomas Daschle. While referring to the degree of confusion about how one would accurately report the use of a car and driver to the Internal Revenue Service, the editorial fails to address a far greater transgression -- Daschle's failing to report $88,000 of taxable income.
While the tax code is complex, Daschle has exhibited not only confusion, but also deception. The Star has been entirely too kind. Anyone who earns $1 million a year should know that he should be making timely quarterly payments on that income, and not on $88,000 less. If Daschle sought inept financial counsel, then his wisdom in all other areas should logically come into question.
-- Patricia Melcher, Ventura

An extraordinary event took place on Jan. 31. Eight million Iraqis voted in nationwide elections without a single incidence of violence. What most had deemed impossible happened. The first functioning Arab democracy in the Middle East gave millions of men and women a real choice of political leadership for the first time in their lives.
America did that -- not the United Nations, or the European Union, or NATO, or Russia or China. None of them would even attempt to bring democracy to Iraq; in fact, most of the world vigorously opposed it. Where there had been 30 years of state terror and torture inflicted by Saddam Hussein on a helpless population, there are now peaceful elections.
As many have done during the past eight years, we can point to the one responsible: President George Bush.
Bush believed that freedom and democracy would be embraced by any people given the opportunity, even Arab people. The left laughed at him as naive and dim-witted. But like President Abraham Lincoln, he believed that emancipation was worth fighting for on the battlefield. When the war looked lost, he did not give up, as lesser leaders had done in Vietnam. In spite of obscene abuse by the American left for the mistakes he made, Bush persevered, finding the military leadership he needed in Gen. David Petraeus.
The rest, as they say, is history. American soldiers fought on and finally won the war. As a result, Iraqis selected their political leaders again at the ballot box last month. They now lead the Arab nations in the exercise of those two basic human rights: freedom and democracy.
The American left worked hard for our defeat in Iraq, and they have now lost. In Bush, they met a man of faith and principle, who could not be defeated by personal attacks, poll numbers and liberal libel. This is exceedingly rare today.
The halls of greatness are walked by a few who have stood for freedom in face of overwhelming opposition. President Bush has joined their ranks.
-- Mike Nelson, Santa Paula

I recently broke my leg and was taken to the emergency room. I had surgery that evening and was released two days later.
I am insured by Anthem Blue Cross.
My hospital bill was large, and I just got the insurance company's explanation of benefits. For my three-day stay, the insurance company paid 9.5 percent of the amount charged. With my annual deductible plus my co-pay, the amount paid increased to 11 percent.
How can businesses survive on that level of reimbursement? Exxon-Mobil certainly wouldn't accept that.
Sad as it is, Medi-Cal's 50 percent reimbursement looks good compared to what Blue Cross pays. In my experience, Blue Cross usually pays 30 percent to 32 percent of amounts billed.
The system is broken.
-- Ann Hoagland, Ventura

Re: U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly's Feb. 5 commentary, "Alternative bill better for U.S.":
In his commentary, Gallegly picked apart the details of the economic stimulus plan and highlighted projects he would cut from the bill.
If Gallegly were truly concerned about unneeded government projects and expenditures, he would stop the $3.1 million Department of Health and Human Services grant to Pacific Camps of Camarillo for abstinence education. If not, then Gallegly should inform the taxpayers of Ventura County about the detailed plans for and oversight of this sectarian sex-education program.
There are better ways to help Americans than this wasteful spending in Camarillo for abstinence education.
I believe that Ventura County voters would like to see these millions support our local public school programs.
-- Kate McDermott, Camarillo

Looking at the list of what will be closed every other Friday and what will remain open just boggled my mind, but two examples stood out: the governor's office will remain open, but the Department of Emergency Services will be closed. Well, I guess if there is an earthquake in the governor's office, he'll have to wait until Monday morning to get help. Maybe there is justice, after all.
-- Karen Murphy, Oxnard

Re: your Feb. 10 article, "Violent crime, homicide rates creeping up":
The Star is charged as an accomplice in the assault on, and robbery of, funds needed for education, healthcare and infrastructure. Crime statistics promote undue community fear and irrational distribution of public funds.
Crime statistics are often not presented in an objective, impartial fashion. Homicides doubled, but in an area that has the least homicides?
How are these crimes defined? Do rapes include statutory rape? Do robberies include Estes robberies, a shoplift with a touching in trying to escape? Does a battery include a juvenile squirting a de minimus amount of water on another juvenile? (Perhaps that is only in Camarillo.)
To make sense of statistics, we need more intelligence on significant changes in crime rates.
We deserve to know the rates of crime per population. Just how likely are we to be a victim of life-altering crime next year?
Who do the victims tend to be in each category: strangers, family members or acquaintances?
In which other historical periods did we have similar crime rates?
Finally, please balance the perspective with side-by-side statistics related to education (number of dropouts, number of schools without counselors, the number of job training spots available for youth not college-bound, personal money spent by teachers on classroom needs) and to healthcare (patients released from our psychiatric hospital to the street for lack of other available beds, people unable to find available residential substance abuse treatment).
Perhaps the fault lies not with the media, but with education, healthcare and infrastructure for failing to employ similarly powerful marketing techniques.
-- Elizabeth Rice, Camarillo

Re: your Feb. 11 article, "Next releaguing far from solved":
This four-team, football-only league makes absolutely no sense to any outside objective observer, unless, of course, you have an axe to grind. This is blatant politics over the interests of student-athletes and the spirit of competition.
"Ludicrous" doesn't even begin to describe the absurdity of pitting Santa Clara and Grace Brethren against two of California's premier football programs -- Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure.
As a longtime Ventura County football fan, I'm extremely disappointed in the selfish and weak reasoning supporting this "quarantined" league proposal. It is a "prima facie" anti-competition and anti-private school mentality. It's pure jealousy. So, like a bunch of kids, these officials decide to kick them out of the lifeboat because they don't fit in.
Ventura High School Athletic Director Dave Hess said it best: "It's the one the majority could get together on." It also reveals how weak the majority truly is.
This is not a viable solution by any stretch of the imagination among reasonable, rational, mature adults. It's ridiculous. What an amazing exhibition of poor judgment.
-- Sean Ragan, Camarillo

It is insane for the State of California to pay for the expenses related to taking care of the eight babies and, for that matter, any of the other six children of that woman. She is getting in the neighborhood of $1,900 a month in federal aid because a couple of those kids are disabled, plus $490 in food stamps.
The manner in which the woman got impregnated is illegal. A woman of her age cannot be implanted with more than two embryos. The implantation of eight embryos is criminal. That woman, as well as the doctor who did the implants, belongs in jail.
All of the babies should be taken away and given for adoption all around the United States. This should be done in a manner so that nobody knows where the babies came from. The reason for that is to avoid the popularity of cases like the Dionne quintuplets. The quintuplets were born naturally -- in those days, there were no implants. We do not want to make these eight babies famous.
I urge anyone reading this to spread the word so that we, the taxpayers, do not have to pay for any of the expenses associated with these children.
-- Armando Cardenas, Camarillo

Re: your Feb. 8 article, "Rehab center has its own challenges":
This article seemed to deliberately overlook the benefit Teen Challenge has provided to Ventura County for the past 35 years.
Not only has Teen Challenge helped rescue and rehabilitate hundreds of women who were involved in drug addiction or abusive situations, but we are making progress on rehabilitating a property that we bought with numerous pre-existing code violations.
The article did not mention the major improvements we have recently made to the property, such as a half-mile-long, $1 million sewer hookup, the addition of a 230,000-gallon water tank supporting seven new fire hydrants and the extensive cleanup and repair after the La Conchita flood of 2005.
The article also mischaracterized our relationship with the county, portraying conflict where there is none.
The Star may choose to see the story of Teen Challenge through the work left to be done on our hillside property, but we think the story is best told through the lives of the many women who have gone through our program and are now productive, healthy members of the community.
-- Dennis Griffith, Riverside
(The writer is executive director of Teen Challenge of Southern California. -- Editor)

Re: your Feb. 9 article, "Drugs pushed for illness draw fire; Fibromyalgia as real disease questioned":
This article is a disservice to the millions of Americans suffering needlessly with pain from fibromyalgia and reinforces the skepticism shown by a minority portion of the medical community.
Instead of focusing on the pharmaceutical companies' sales figures, the writer should interview patients who are leading productive, quality lives because of effective treatment options approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for managing fibromyalgia.
While fibromyalgia continues to be misunderstood, it is real and is recognized as a legitimate medical condition by reputable professional groups, including the National Institutes of Health, the American Medical Association and the American College of Rheumatology.
The notion that fibromyalgia is a psychological condition -- and instead of medication, patients should receive therapy to "unlearn their predicament" -- is absurd and, frankly, a dangerous statement. Fibromyalgia is not caused by depression, but the symptoms of fibromyalgia can affect all aspects of one's life, leading to symptoms of depression. Untreated chronic pain can exasperate symptoms and other health conditions, making a diagnosis and effective treatment plan more difficult.
Although there are no current cures for diseases such as asthma and Alzheimer's, patients are prescribed medications to control symptoms and signs of progression. People living with fibromyalgia deserve the same level of care and legitimacy. Let's stop arguing about the name and if it is a disorder or disease and educate people with fibromyalgia symptoms and members of the medical community on available treatment options.
-- Will Rowe, Baltimore, Md.
(The writer is chief executive officer of the American Pain Foundation. -- Editor)

Alkaline batteries, which are sold in enormous numbers, contain a strong and cumulative poison: mercury. Mercury is the type of poison that is not eliminated from the body and keeps accumulating as you absorb it into your body, destroying your mind and body until it finally kills you.
Alkaline batteries have to be disposed of in a proper manner to prevent the mercury from contaminating our soil, ocean animals and groundwater.
In the Thousand Oaks area, there are two methods to dispose of batteries. One is at the Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park libraries or at the hazardous-waste disposals held infrequently in the city of Thousand Oaks.
Another place is at the west end of the county at the waste and recycling center in the city of Ventura.
A much simpler and effective way of disposal would be to have any store that sells batteries set up a battery recycling box in front of the store. Individuals who have physical disabilities or age-related problems have to dispose of the batteries in the normal trash unless a convenient and easy accessible disposal place is available. The big-box stores, large hardware stores and the discount department stores also sell batteries in very large numbers.
We should do everything we can to make it very easy to dispose of these used batteries in a manner that won't harm the environment. The result of not doing this will cause harm to our children, future generations and to ourselves.
Mercury is a very virulent poison and must be disposed of so it does not harm those who are forced to ingest it unknowingly.
-- Donald J. Katz, Newbury Park

Re: Ray Zhang's Feb. 8 guest Business column, "A tax rebate debit card may work":
The tax rebate debit card suggested in the guest column reminds me of the Townsend Plan conceived by Dr. Francis Townsend during the Great Depression of the 1930s. He proposed a $200-a-month payment to citizens 60 and older to be spent within 30 days as a stimulus to the national economy.
It's interesting that Townsend launched his concept in a letter to the editor of a Long Beach newspaper. Though the Townsend Plan didn't come about, it did influence the establishment of the Social Security program.
Maybe Zhang's debit card plan could stimulate similar action now.
-- Richard Londgren, Thousand Oaks

There is a contagious epidemic that is preventable that our governor is ignoring with his proposed budget cuts. Our governor may be able to act, add and subtract, but he clearly has forgotten the human factor! Consider the following:
-- Oral health is critical to overall health. Poor oral health can lead to death.
-- Half of denti-cal funding comes from federal funds through matching dollars. This stimulates the economy, increases jobs and increases state income. So, in effect, cutting Adult Denti-Cal could result in the loss of $ 377 million and 3,403 jobs in California's economy, causing widespread suffering, and it won't save money. It is hard to get a job if you have no teeth.
-- Clinics and dentists throughout the state will be forced to close their doors, forcing people to go to overcrowded hospital emergency rooms and free clinics for dental care. Medicaid proved that inpatient emergency treatment costs 10 times as much as dental office treatment. This system is neither humane nor cost-effective. All this does is remove the cost from the state budget and place it on the counties, the emergency room and free clinics that are already overburdened.
-- Simi Valley Free Clinic has a 500-person waiting list for dental treatment. They are struggling to meet the needs of the community.
If you would like to help someone receive dental treatment, please send your donations to the Simi Valley Free Clinic, 2060 Tapo St., Simi Valley, CA 93063. A small donation can make a big difference. Donations go directly to patient care.
While I appreciate the gravity of the budget crisis, making a public health epidemic even worse is short-sighted and will cost California more in the long run. Please call your representative today. They are responsible for keeping the citizens of California safe and healthy.
-- Noel Kelsch, Moorpark
(The writer is president of the California Dental Hygienists Association and is a board member of the Simi Valley Free Clinic. -- Editor)

Re: your Feb. 9 article, "Drugs pushed for illness draw fire; Fibromyalgia as real disease questioned":
The article states that most people with fibromyalgia are overweight, have a history of mental illness and are economically disadvantaged. I have fibromyalgia, as do my sister and cousins, and none of us fits this category.
Actually, some of these symptoms could be a result of fibromyalgia. No one I know is economically disadvantaged, although sometimes they are depressed and may gain weight because the pain makes it difficult to exercise.
I try to do everything to help by getting rest, exercising and pacing myself, as well as taking some meds as needed. I do not take the drugs mentioned, but I do know people who are helped by Lyrica.
Everyone has different symptoms to different degrees, which makes it difficult for some to understand. Also, symptoms can be little or severe at different times. Different drugs work for different people just like different antihistamines work for different people. Remember when everyone said that Helicobacter pylori could not be responsible for ulcers?
There are helpful books available. Most doctors, even those who recognize this as real, do not really know enough to help. This is real and is recognized by rheumatologists.
I realize drug companies are interested in profits, but that does not mean that drugs are promoted solely for that purpose, and, in this case, I think it is great that there can be more choices.
-- Judy Piche, Thousand Oaks

The oath of political office is given as a promissory vow that is voluntary. On the surface, it appears to be perjury if dishonored. However, perjury is a willful making of a false statement. In the political arena, if it is found out that the person willfully lied under oath, there can be penalties. If it was not a willful lie, then there aren't any provisions for penalties.
That gives all politicians the power to give their apparently heartfelt agreement and promise, then ignore those responsibilities that go along with that oath. They won't be punished in any way, so if they can look in the mirror every day and love themselves, then their world is happy and fulfilled.
The American people have always bought into the notion that we are electing caring, honest, guiding, helpful people. At times we get disgusted with the performance of a politician, but we don't move to change the laws, the rules. This is a reality that shows politicians can do whatever they want under the guise of representing the American people. We can't touch them unless they do something outright illegal.
That gives our California legislators the power to leave us without a state budget. They won't compromise. They don't have any real consequences for their inactions and prefer to keep their stubbornness rather than negotiate. We have given them that control!
So what can we do, besides complain to each other? Should we write letters, e-mails and fax legislators who ignore us?
As long as we don't come up with solutions, we shouldn't complain that we elected people who aren't doing their jobs but are still getting paid a salary.
So what can we do?
-- Marcia Friedman, Thousand Oaks

Re: your Feb. 8 article, "Paring power waste":
Rick Freed, energy educator and manager for the Conejo Valley Unified School District, and Dr. Jeff Baarstad, deputy superintendent, have apparently not inculcated the district as well as they might with the idea of saving electricity via behavioral change.
The outdoor basketball court lights at Redwood Middle School are still burning during the rain, far later into the night than they should be and much more into the surrounding neighborhood than is necessary if they were focused correctly. The lack of focus on the courts also creates a dangerous traffic hazard at the intersection of Greenfield Street and Gainsborough Road that the city police should weigh in on.
Surely by now, for $288,000 a year, not counting these school officials' salaries, someone should have stopped this blatant and dangerous waste of electricity.
-- Leonard J. Loomis, Thousand Oaks

It's like we live in the nation of Alice and Wonderland. It's not a "stimulus" bill, a spending bill or a recovery bill. It's another dependency bill with a big foreclosure sign on our future hope and freedom!
There's a new power play unfolding on the Washington stage, and it's coming to our states, communities and homes soon. Let's see, who would play the part of the British? The real question is: Who are we going to find to play the parts of George Washington and John Adams?
Give me liberty -- or give me a stimulus package! I'll take the first one, the dream of opportunity, not the yoke of dependency, victimization, transferred responsibility, equal outcomes and the false prophets of our country's founding values!
We need to say with one voice: "Enough!"
-- Bob Herrin, Simi Valley

I am so disappointed in our elected officials.
In the past several months, I have watched members of the community express concerns, opinions and suggestions during meetings. I have done my own research to understand the issues better. And yet on two specific recent issues, the Thousand Oaks City Council appeared to completely ignore the overwhelming opinions and facts of its residents when they voted.
The entire debacle related to the city choosing not to renew a contract with the owner of Roots and Wings, in favor of a partnership with First Five-Neighborhoods for Learning, was embarrassing to me. Why the city would end something that was working well and choose to start from scratch with an organization that is not experienced in the intended service, not to mention being dependent on state and federal funding, is beyond belief.
The latest "discussion" related to the Home Depot on Hampshire Road revealed an overwhelming lack of support from the community, many valid concerns with regard to the surrounding streets and neighbors and news that Home Depot will be closing locations throughout the country. And the council decides: Let's approve it!
I suppose in all fairness I need to applaud the council for listening to the residents regarding the budget for the "branding" consultant.
-- Mindy Newhouse, Newbury Park

Re: your Feb. 8 Pulse page, "Trying children as adults":
Trying a 14-year-old as an adult, even for murder, is an abuse of justice that is found almost nowhere in the world. The fact that the district attorney has the discretion to do so is misleading because when people voted on Proposition 21, they did not clearly understand that this discretion would be used without consideration of all the facts.
Sending a child to prison for the rest of his life serves absolutely no purpose. The criminal justice system is designed for punishment. There is no treatment and no rehabilitation.
The opposite is true of the juvenile justice system. Who can tell us that any 14-year-old cannot be rehabilitated? That flies in the face of every psychological theory used in dealing with juveniles.
The district attorney needs to evaluate his reckless decision to try Brandon McInerney as an adult. The people understand that social justice does not require punishment for life when you are dealing with 14-year-olds -- why can't District Attorney Greg Totten and his staff?
-- Walter Zemans, Newbury Park

Re: your Feb. 9 article, "Drugs pushed for illness draw fire; Fibromyalgia as real disease questioned":
I couldn't agree more with the article on fibromyalgia. I have had it since 1960, when it was called fibrositistis. My doctor told me about Oregon Health Sciences University and the extensive research they have done. They developed an exercise routine to help alleviate the pain.
Chronic fatigue syndrome frequently goes with fybromyalgia. I have both. I learned that our muscles are covered with a sheer -- I'll call it Saran wrap -- around our muscles that allows them to move easily over each other. With fibromyalgia, that cover sticks and the muscles can't move smoothly over each other, causing the pain. There is no way a pill can alleviate that.
-- Marcia Morocco, Thousand Oaks

I find it absolutely appalling that District Attorney Greg Totten is trying Brandon McInerney an adult. I can think of no logical reason for the actions of Totten's office.
Sexual harassment takes many forms, whether one is straight, gay, male or female, and it is stressful to adults, so how can a 14-year-old handle it? There were so many adults who didn't react, or didn't react properly, to the events that led up to Larry King's death. Where are they in this picture?
Yes, the death of Larry King is a tragedy. But Totten's office is committing another tragedy. I know the District Attorney's Office sees many horrendous crimes and therefore may be numb. But they must try and stand back from the day-to-day repugnancy and view this logically.
Enough has been published regarding this case for the public to figure out that Totten is abusing his right to decide if juveniles should be tried as adults. Considering all aspects of this horrendous event, Brandon should be tried as the juvenile he is.
There have been more and more letters to the editor saying Totten's office is wrong. Does he think we are all naive and have our heads in the sand? To the contrary, those in his office may be the ones with their heads in the sand. The public voted to give Totten the authority to try juveniles, primarily due to gang violence. Now, he must listen to this same public and do the right thing: Try Brandon as a juvenile.
-- Lorraine Wilkins, Moorpark

Re: your Feb. 10 article, "Simi councilwoman fined over illegal donations":
Please, please tell me that Simi Valley City Councilwoman Barbra Williamson was seriously misquoted when she said, "Personally, I don't like campaign finance rules. I think they're too confusing."
What's even more stunning than her incredible quote is the fact that ostensibly "enlightened" Simi Valley voters have returned this woman to office -- five times -- to help "intelligently" administer the city.
Williamson has, at least, answered one question: that of whom Tina Fey will next portray on "Saturday Night Live."
I never thought I'd be made aware of someone who'd make Sarah Palin look like a Rhodes Scholar. But Williamson has done that, while throwing in a Phi Beta Kappa key in the bargain.
-- Bob Jackson, Simi Valley

Re: U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly's Feb. 5 commentary, "Alternative bill better for U.S.":
So what else besides more tax breaks is Gallegly and the uber-obstructionist GOP putting on the table? As far as I can tell, nothing but criticism!
We need help! The ship of state is sinking fast, and all Gallegly proposes is opening more portholes to let more water in. Gallegly must give us more than snide remarks about what a stimulus package might cost. A stimulus package costs money to pump into the economy because no one else has the money to pump into the economy.
Right now, all Gallegly is doing is objecting to everything because he can't stand on any policy platform besides tax breaks and he doesn't want the other party to succeed with its plan.
I'm sick of Gallegly's heartless obstruction! Gallegly must either lead, follow or get out of the way before he gets steamrolled. I honestly think it's time for him to resign because I don't think he's capable of leading in a crisis. If he doesn't resign, can we the citizens of Ventura County formally start a recall election and get someone in office who has a heart and a brain needed to fix this major economic problem?
Gallegly would rather sink this ship than save it for petty political gains. His platform is completely brainless and heartless and, I might add, rudderless.
-- Jeff Ross, Ventura

Re: Paul D. White's Feb. 6 commentary, "It's just business as usual in Oxnard's drug and gang wars":
White's commentary was right on. He really hit the nail on the head.
It's too bad we don't have councilmen like him and Tim Flynn anymore. The city has virtually ignored the gang and drug problem and has added to it by building more high-density homes to attract even more lowlifes. We already are saturated with foreclosed homes, and by building two- to three-story condos and apartments everywhere, we add more people who are just a burden to the taxpaying citizens.
RiverPark may look nice now, to some people, but wait until the residents get tired of living crowded. They will move, and the lowlifes will take their place. It will eventually turn into a ghetto. They had no foresight by building beautiful custom homes to attract higher-income people -- think tax dollars.
Do you think Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ventura and all the rest of the county is building more affordable housing? What for? Oxnard is doing it for them.
The city just recently approved the Wagon Wheel (Oxnard Village) development of ... guess what? More two- to three-story Cracker Jack boxes with two 25-foot monstrosities that will house more residents. We will be going from 3,000 vehicles a day to 15,000. That's without RiverPark being built out.
The city that cares doesn't listen to its citizens. We keep telling them, "No more!" and they just keep building. No more bowling alley, skating rink or even parks -- we can't afford that. Just more buildings for the taggers, druggies and gang members.
-- Art Padilla, Oxnard

Many years ago, I was part of a team of young computer programmers who were hired to take over from a poorly managed data processing operation. The systems and programs were indeed poor to an extreme, and we were able to make immediate improvements.
Sad to say, we were also immature and inexperienced in some of our attitudes. That is, we became tiresome in continued reference to how bad the previous processing had been. Furthermore, while our programs were a big improvement, they were not perfect.
Had we been more professional, as we later became as we matured, we would have gone about our business with less talk about the past and let the people we serviced be their own judge as to how well we improved the situation.
These thoughts occur to me as I observe the transition of our newly elected administration.
-- Ken Gates, Ventura

I have been following the recent troubles Ventura County cities are having with budgets and have a suggestion for all them.
I live in Camarillo, work in Oxnard, doctor in Ventura and shop in all the cities of Ventura County, and the one thing they all have in common is trees and shrubs planted in the median strips of their streets. If these plants were removed and replaced with traffic lanes, significant amounts of money would be saved by not having to water, trim, fertilize and otherwise take care of them. The people currently being paid to take care of the plants could be used to repair the streets by filling potholes and other types of street maintenance.
An additional improvement of this removal would be traffic congestion alleviation, not to mention vastly improved driving safety because there would no longer be the traffic viewing obstructions caused by said plant life. Some of these obstructions are bordering on safety violations.
One that I deal with every time I buy groceries is the left turn out of the Vons parking lot on Arneill Road in Camarillo. I wrote the city traffic engineer about this problem years ago and nothing was ever done. I am concerned, as I believe someday there will be a terrible accident at this traffic hazard, and I pity the poor fools in charge of city safety should this ever happen.
If this obstruction had been put there by a private citizen, you can bet the city's code enforcement would be all over the person responsible. So why should the cities be allowed to place these obstructions on our streets?
-- Gary Sparks, Camarillo

As a Camarillo Health Care District volunteer for a number of years, I would like to know why they seem to be eliminating us.
We were told we would be placed as substitutes, and new members were going to be placed as permanent volunteers. We asked why, and we were told they didn't want to lose the new members. What about us?
The volunteer who had been working with me at the Apple Café was working four days a week, then was cut to two days a week. I was working two days a week, then went to one day, by my choice. That was when we were told we would be replaced and put on the substitute list.
Another volunteer who has done volunteer work for the district for more than 20 years, working practically every day running See's Candy and the Nail Clinic, was put on February's schedule at only half a day per week. Volunteering was her life and gave her a reason to keep going.
What is going on in the Camarillo Health Care District? Fortunately, St. John's and Pleasant Valley hospitals are welcoming anyone who wants to volunteer there. A few health care district volunteers have gone over there.
-- Norma Howard, Camarillo

Re: your Feb. 2 Sports article, "Phelps apologizes for marijuana pipe photo":
Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Michael Phelps is quoted as saying, "Obviously, for a mistake you expect to get punished."
Sorry, but we don't punish people for mistakes. A mistake is where you try to spell a strange word and get it wrong. Or where you add a long column of numbers and get the wrong total. A mistake is where you have at least tried to do the right thing and got it wrong.
Puffing marijuana in front of a camera is not a mistake. However, since the term "sin" is no longer usable, we are left with no word to describe an action that is both deliberate and universally known to be condemnable if not outright wrong.
Just once I would like to hear one of our "heroes" admit that he knowingly chose to do something he knew was wrong -- and not just "stupid" -- and take responsibility for his choices instead of claiming, "Oops!"
And we need to find a word that makes such a thing clear instead of one that confuses and misleads us all.
-- Robert Farrow, Ventura

I recently visited St. Mary's Cemetery, also known as Cemetery Park, in Ventura so I could honor Medal of Honor recipient Pvt. James Sumner. I want to thank those who have helped to restore his grave.
I have now visited the gravesites of 644 Medal of Honor recipients around the world. In my travels, it is often difficult to locate the graves, which I feel are hallowed ground.
As for the current preservation of the site, I must say, being from New Jersey, I don't wish to interfere with the business of others. I would like to say that, in my opinion, the existing marked graves should be preserved. If others are located, they should also be preserved.
I also think the area should remain open to the public. I understand how descendants of those would feel about people's pets relieving themselves on their ancestors' graves, as I was ill at ease as two dogs urinated on James Sumner's grave while I was nearby.
I would think that anyone who would speak in support of this practice must also approve of it for the graves of themselves and their families; otherwise, their opinion as to the status of the cemetery must be considered to hold no value as they are, by evidence, unfair.
-- William Pagdon, Edison, N.J.

Congratulations, California! When I visited Macedonia -- also known as FYROM, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- just a few summers ago, it was striking to speak with numerous people who had been working in regular jobs for entire seasons completely free of pay, a very common occurrence there. Though European, Macedonia is very nearly a Third World country in its economy, and now California is walking down that same path. Congratulations to California's dysfunctional government!
-- Christina Wilson, Westlake Village

So the Department of Motor Vehicles, which actually does valid and useful work, was closed on Friday, but the Legislature remained open? What a perfect example of the arrogance, stupidity and greed of these legislators who got us into this mess in the first place. These people have no common sense and no grasp on reality. It's disgusting.
The legislative offices are the first state employees who should be furloughed, and it should be every Friday, not every other. And our legislators should lose every cent of their pay for as long as there is no budget.
Politicians! Bah humbug!
-- Kay Tallman, Thousand Oaks

I shall vote against anyone who votes for Barack Obama's stimulus package. This program, which follows the socialist John Maynard Keynes, kept us in the Great Depression for 10 years.
Government caused the current economic problems by forcing subprime loans. Government is breaking contracts and changing the lending structure. Private funds will not flow back into the markets until government stops trying to control the economy.
Try Adam Smith or Milton Friedman. Free enterprise without government interference is the answer.
Try freedom.
-- John Ellington, Moorpark

Re: Terry Paulson's Feb. 2 essay, "'Obamaspeak' translation":
When I read The Star, my expectation is I should learn something new and useful. For the most part, that happens. There is an exception, and that is Terry Paulson's column.
His column on Obamaspeak was not only inaccurate, but right out of the same old GOP playbook that got us into the biggest financial disaster since the Great Depression. There was nothing new, nothing to learn from, no solutions.
Why bother to have a column at all if you can't put any thought into it? Quite a few of Paulson's columns have reflected the same lack of clear thought lately.
Paulson has a perfect right to defend his party and its leaders like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Joe "the unlicensed plumber," but he should try to come up with a new argument that promotes discussion and thought.
I think Paulson is tired and needs to take some time off.
-- Francis Aliberte, Westlake Village

Re: your Jan. 28 article, "Unemployed father kills 5 children, wife, himself":
This article should not have been put in the newspaper because it serves no useful purpose except to promote copycat crimes.
Why newspapers and TV insist on publishing these kinds of heinous family crimes -- and on the front page at that -- makes no sense to me! Apparently the news media assumes the public enjoys seeing the terrible misfortunes and insanity that others experience. No survey to my knowledge affirms this misguided assumption by the media. If this helps to sell more newspapers, then this practice is a very dirty one indeed.
For the misguided free speech advocates, I say that free speech does not justify it because it only promotes copycat crimes. It is unethical, and sensationalizing it demeans the tragic loss the family suffered. At the very least, this kind of trashy journalistic reporting should be buried on the inside of the newspaper or, preferably, on an obscure Web site dedicated to such junk.
Was this reported incident a near copycat of the so-called Christmas massacre that was also widely published by the media? Perhaps we will never know, but it could have been.
-- Jack O'Neil, Thousand Oaks

Re: Michael Jamison's Feb. 5 letter, "Choosing a physician":
Dr. Jamison's response to Dr. Gary J. Proffett's Feb. 4 commentary, "Weighing in on the value of 'hospitalists' and patient care," has provoked me to comment on that subject matter because both my wife and I have been under home care, in our opinion, as the result of exposure to the bureaucratic inefficiency of those very practitioners and their band for the past four or five months.
The "bureaucratic herding" of patients is undesirable and, in our minds, is without a doubt impersonal, bordering on abusive.
That medicine is changing and struggling to balance personal healthcare and management of large groups of people is a problem, but it is their problem and should not endanger the health or the lives of their patients. It is not this writer's conviction that the "hospitalist" is the way to go. Been there, done that! Spare us that experience ever again.
-- Monroe Karl Deutsch, Thousand Oaks

I find this all to be a bit puzzling. Let me see if I have this correct.
The Wall Street CEOs ran their banks and brokerage houses into the ground, and they received multimillion-dollar bonuses paid by our tax dollars.
The state Legislature cannot put together a budget, each day driving the state further into debt, and they got a raise paid by our tax dollars.
The Conejo Valley Unified School District teachers, counselors, and support staff created an environment for their students that resulted in record-high test scores, excellent results on Advance Placement and International Baccalaureate tests, and students well prepared for college and the workplace. The folks producing and getting the job done are being asked to take a pay cut and/or lose jobs. Our class budgets are frozen, so we are paying for supplies out of our pockets. Our healthcare is in danger of being reduced.
Something is wrong with this picture.
-- Colleen Briner-Schmidt, Thousand Oaks
(The writer is president of the Unified Association of Conejo Teachers. -- Editor)

Re: U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly's Feb. 5 commentary, "Alternative bill better for U.S."
Gallegly should do his own analysis, if he is capable of doing so, instead of mindlessly regurgitating Republican talking points.
Almost 3.5 million people have become unemployed in the last 13 months, 600,000 in January alone, and millions more have become underemployed. A tax cut does them no good. A family of four must earn more than $26,000 before any federal income taxes are owed, although, at $26,000, payroll "taxes" -- Social Security and Medicare -- of $1,989 must be paid.
Two-thirds of all corporations pay no federal income taxes. Thus, a tax cut does them no good.
For a family filing a joint return, the tax on a maximum "taxable" income of $16,700 is $1,670. Cutting the 10 percent rate to 5 percent would lower the tax to $835, or $16 per week. A family of four filing jointly with a $60,000 annual "taxable" income would save, under the Gallegly plan, $1,700, or, at most, $32 per week. This is based upon the 2009 rates.
A tax cut has not paid for even one police officer or firefighter or air traffic controller or fixed a pothole or built a bridge. President George Bush's tax cuts and regulatory incompetence and indifference have caused our present crisis, and further tax cuts will do no good, even in the short term, because we will have to pay interest on the national debt created under Bush and the Republicans.
I remember when Democrats were idealistic dreamers and Republicans were pragmatic and competent managers. We then became "blessed" with Bush, Mitch McConnell and Gallegly.
-- Raymond A. Greenberg, Thousand Oaks

Re: Paul D. White's Feb. 6 commentary, "It's just business as usual in Oxnard's drug and gang wars":
Bravo to White for telling it like it really is regarding the drug and gang wars. The namby-pamby approach to solving these problems through myriad political correctness just doesn't work. There are too many wimps at the helm, from the Police Department to the politicians to the school administrators -- and that is why the problem keeps getting worse.
It is way past time to get tough with gangs through border enforcement and deporting illegal immigrants responsible for breeding and nourishing these gang members. We can no longer afford the care, feeding and birthing of these people.
-- John Milliken, Westlake Village

I recently received perhaps the third mailer from a particular health plan. This one invited me to a gathering to hear "straightforward answers" to my questions about healthcare at the Pierpont Inn, refreshments included. Fourteen other location were offered for folks in different parts of Southern California.
Well, I have a few questions.
-- How can they afford multiple mailers like this one to seniors throughout the area without bleeding funds out of the Medicare system?
-- How much money do their CEO and top executives take home? According to the Wall Street Journal, the head of the largest had a "compensation package" of over $6 billion. What does that take away from this taxpayer-financed system?
Administrative costs for straight Medicare are less than 3 percent, with as much as 10 times that -- depending on whose figures one uses -- for private insurance's administrative costs. Their lobby's publication massages the figures a bit with Medicare's "hidden costs" -- among which they include the salaries of legislators -- and whittles their own cost down with logic along the same vein. Still, it's significantly more. But, they assure us, real values are added to the package by this additional cost.
Right. We get copious advertisements in our mailboxes and free refreshments at Pierpont Inn. And this is only one of the businesses feeding at the trough, sending out slick mailers.
Medicare is financed by funds paid by those who expect to benefit from the system now or in the future. It is not a "handout." Costs not covered are appropriated by Congress from general funds. There is no way the inclusion of these vampires in the system is not draining it.
We could have an inclusive single payor system at the same cost. And when one adds in the savings from bargaining as one entity with pharmaceutical companies, we could have medicine as cheaply as Canadians or Mexicans.
Powerful lobbies with funds to dangle in front of office holders and opinion makers work to preserve our inefficient, costly and complicated healthcare system. It is up to us voters to pressure our representatives and make it safe for them to change it.
-- Margaret Morris, Ventura

Re: Deroy Murdock's Feb. 3 commentary, "Even left-wingers now laughing at global-warming talk":
While Murdock's label of "collective hallucination of warmism" may join the pantheon of bad political quotes -- along with "nattering nabobs of negativism" -- his implication that nobody takes global warming seriously is what's truly laughable.
First, science cares about facts. When it comes to scientific inquiry, nobody cares what a columnist, former education minister or U.S. senator thinks. Nobody cares what one scientist thinks. But data -- that's something to care about.
And the data on global warming is no laughing matter. While a scientist or politician may believe that "all the science isn't in," our very own National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows dramatic increases in average global temperatures over the last few decades. The NOAA studies also show, by using data going back 2,000 years, that our current average temperatures were never reached before.
Are these studies reliable? They're as good as they get: published in peer-reviewed journals, tested for statistical significance, based on the hardest temperature readings available. Are they enough to convince everyone? Am I ready to plunk down my stimulus check on a 12-cylinder SUV?
The challenge of public policy is to act based on what's available. This administration has decided to discontinue the practice of making science -- including global climate science -- a faith-based initiative. And they're acting: One of its goals is to make the United States a leader in addressing global climate change.
And that's no joke.
-- Andrew M. Porterfield, Camarillo

The stimulus package is another Democrat waste bill.
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt got his government growth bill passed, it did not help us out of the Depression. World War II did that. The subprime mortgage bubble that has burst is the result of big government interference in the free market.
In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, and Congress removed the federal guarantees for subprime mortgages. Fannie Mae became a stock company, yet kept the 501(c)3 status, a new version of "you can have your cake and eat it too." Now it is a new no-taxed, for-profit corporation. Investments from around the world poured in.
Democrat policies told banks they had to lend to buyers who would not normally be qualified. Greedy mortgage brokers lied on loan documents. Loan applicants failed to read the fine print in their loan papers.
In 2002, the Freddie Mac report stated that the worst critics were Republicans.
The presidents responsible for interfering in prudent banking decisions are Democrats: Roosevelt, Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
So when a campaigning Barack Obama shouts and points his finger at John McCain and says, "You are responsible with George Bush for this economic mess," Obama is not being truthful.
Make no mistake, government is the problem. Democrat big spending in this bill will harm our nation greatly. Thank the Republicans for standing firm against this bill.
Let your voice be heard. It is our duty as citizens to counsel our elected and appointed officials.
-- Lois Shefflette, Oxnard

Shortly after the elections, I sent a letter to Assembly member Audra Strickland regarding an issue with the current workers' compensation laws. Within a week of sending that letter, I received a personal call from Strickland, asking for some details on my issue. She said that she would look into the matter and get back with me.
She recently again called me personally and had an answer to my problem.
I was impressed that she would take the time to assist me, being that I am just a "Joe Citizen." This type of personal response shows the character of the person, and I only wish more politicians in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., were of the same mold.
-- Gary Marshall, Santa Paula

We are having a bird problem in our neighborhood.
Bird droppings are causing damage to rooftops and cars. A neighbor feels it's her duty to feed the birds either bread crumbs or bird seeds. It is attracting flocks of crows, pigeons and seagulls that wait on neighbors' rooftops for feeding time and deposit their waste on cars.
Numerous complains to her have fallen on deaf ears.
We would like to know if there is a city ordinance in effect to curtail this type of nuisance to our homes and cars.
-- Carol Garcia, Oxnard

Re: John K. Carter's Feb. 2 letter, "American holocaust":
I agree with Carter: Abortion is tragic. And through Planned Parenthood and counseling on contraception or abstinence, the community as a whole is making its effort to reduce it.
But what about the effort to stop the war in Iraq that has moved to Afghanistan? This, too, is abortion and a holocaust. Literally millions of lives have been cut short or aborted by this war. If one looks at a body after a bombing, there is little difference between the war victim and a bloody fetus.
Pro-life activists like Carter come out in full force against abortion, but where are their cries and objections to "warabortion?" Many tell me that we have no choice, but to fight our enemies. However, this is not what the Bible says. It tells us to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
As abortion cuts short a potential life, warabortion cuts short actual lives, those innocent men, women and children who have nothing to do with war.
Now our president has decided to commit more warabortion in Afghanistan, another occupied land that no longer wants American presence.
Warabortion has also cut short the lives of more than 4,000 of our children-soldiers. It has also affected hundreds of thousands of more soldiers, who are permanently disabled and cut short from leading quality lives.
It clearly tells us in the Bible that killing is wrong and that it is a sin, though it says nothing specifically about "abortion." It does say, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they are the children of God." And we know there can be no peace through war.
War kills, and it takes the lives of our children, who often go to war, not knowing what they are doing.
Abortion ends the lives of fetuses; warabortion kills living human beings.
-- Grant Marcus, Ventura

Re: Robert Crawford Jr.'s Feb. 4 letter, "Late learners":
I could not agree more with Crawford. Can the standards for personal accountability get any lower in Oxnard? The comments made by Barbara Macri-Ortiz emphasize further the fact that there are zero expectations for correct behavior.
We need to continue to lean on the parents with any means necessary. If a financial hit doesn't hurt enough, then perhaps these families would like to spend a few weekends cleaning up graffiti. Adopting the thought process and mentality of people like Macri-Ortiz will not uplift those she is attempting to support. It will do exactly the opposite.
I thank The Star for printing Crawford's inspiring letter.
-- Kim Bell, Oxnard

The Oxnard City Council approved building 2,000 homes in the old Wagon Wheel area. Will the bowling alley and the two skating rinks be demolished? If so, where will our teenagers and families go for family-style entertainment?
Other than the theater in downtown, there is no other family-style entertainment available in Oxnard.
Oxnard should consider building something similar to Golf-n-Stuff in our city and include skating rinks, video game establishments, etc. There are a lot of blighted areas in the city that could be used for that purpose -- for example, the burned-down swap meet location on Saviers Road. We wouldn't have to go out of town, and it would leave our spending money in the city.
The city of Oxnard should prove that it is "the city that cares" -- for the youth in our city.
Is the Planning Commission wasting its time making decisions that the City Council will overrule?
-- Alice Madrid, Oxnard

Every time I read the paper or watch the news, I have to shake my head in disbelief.
Voters were warned that Barack Obama's relationships with certain individuals showed poor judgment -- Bill Ayers, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, etc. Now that his nominees have started running into trouble -- Tom Daschle, for example -- one has to wonder.
But have you heard about the nominee for the No. 2 position at the Attorney General's Office, David Ogden? Here's a guy who has represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court on issues of child pornography so radical that the U.S. Senate voted 100 to 0 to denounce it. If Ogden's position had won, it would have meant that child porn and other hard-core material would be available through our public libraries! Yet here he is, in front of the Senate as the appointee for deputy attorney general. I'll venture a guess that they'll confirm him.
Why would Obama nominate such a guy? I guess it should come as no surprise based upon his relationships with those harboring more radical agendas. Yet those daring to question such relationships have been chastised for doing so.
What concerns me even more is that I have heard zero in the media about this guy -- a big, fat zero. Why is the media not covering this? No media bias, eh?
-- David McDuffie, Oxnard

Re: Stan Helfand's Feb. 4 letter, "Blob of cells not a baby":
I am incensed over Helfand's assertion that the "vast majority" believes that a "blob of cells" is not a baby. No, the majority is not that ignorant of clear medical evidence of human development -- ever hear of ultrasounds? Rather, our nation is divided over something called "choice," of which the pre-born human has none. This is why millions of us refuse to "get over it."
-- Francesca Canzano, Thousand Oaks

Re: your Feb. 6 article, "Wright fans get more time to save library":
Pretty clever of the Ventura County Library Services Commission. They get the public to agree to a tax increase by threatening to close the most used, most popular, most convenient library facility. "If you want it, raise the money to keep it open."
According to Webster, one definition of tax is a fee levied upon members to support the organization.
Of course, the library board could also get around the tax increase problem by instituting a user's fee -- which is, in essence, what they have done. That really sort of negates the concept of "free library" though, doesn't it?
I wonder what Andrew Carnegie would think.
-- Charles E. Voigtsberger, Ventura

It has come to our attention that there is soon to be a petition circulated that will affect hundreds of thousands of retired citizens. The author of the petition is Paul McCauley. It is an initiative petition that seeks to enable state and local government to reduce vested pension benefits for existing and prospective public-sector retirees.
We worked long and hard to be able to survive in this dangerous financial climate. Please do not let one man who really has no valid argument for doing this lessen our retirement pay.
McCauley states that this petition will result in a savings to the government, and this is not true. We retirees feel also that this petition violates the Constitution of the United States.
The petition has two names. One name is Renegotiation of Public Employee Pension Contracts Act. It is also known as the McCauley Public-Employee Pension Reform Act. Circulation will be until June 22.
Please pay attention as you go about your shopping and you are asked to sign such a petition. Think about our plea. If you are not a retiree yet, it may affect your future. But think about it: If you sign it, you may be harming a friend, a neighbor or relative right now.
Thank you in advance for allowing us to keep our retirement so we are able to buy the groceries and medicines we need.
-- Marjorie Cook, Ventura

Re: Christopher J. Grant's Feb. 4 letter, "Gallegly fails Americans":
It seems Grant has issues with our representative, Elton Gallegly.
On one hand, he chides Gallegly for not caring about the American citizen, and on the other hand, he wants Gallegly to vote for a stimulus package that leaves the American citizen out of the perks.
You can't have it both ways.
By now, we all know the "stimulus" joke: Senators get to repay their special interest groups for their personal support during past campaigns. It sounds like business as usual on Capitol Hill. Unlike Grant, I see Gallegly as a voice of the American citizen. It also seems to me he is doing his job and is hopefully a part of a growing trend of accountability.
Grant throws around a lot of negatives about Gallegly. What he may not know is that Gallegly is very accessible to his constituents. He responds to problems or concerns. He keeps abreast of local problems, and he fights for programs that affect his district.
If Grant feels strongly about something, he should be contacting Gallegly to get the reasons behind his actions before he throws a lot of accusations around in a newspaper.
-- Anita Colello, Simi Valley

Raising taxes is a terrible remedy for California's budget problem, but a worse remedy is to put people out of work -- and that's what GOP legislators are doing.
Not satisfied with the $18 billion in spending cuts already offered by Democratic leaders, Republicans want to borrow more money to cover more tax cuts. Led by a few far-right leaders who are raking in millions from out-of-state donors and special interest contributors, Republicans would rather watch scores of thousands of California's working families go hungry and homeless than to see those political supporters lose their tax breaks.
Because these few, spiteful leaders are blocking the budget, the state has been forced to furlough 240,000 public workers for 24 days each year. That's 8 percent of those workers' incomes. That's one month's income that won't be spent at local stores, restaurants or even to cover Little League registration fees. That's fewer groceries put on the kitchen table each week and less money in the pockets of small businesses around the state. It's like laying off 20,000 full-time employees and removing their spending power from the economy.
Add the lost spending power of tens of thousands of private workers, engineers, consultants and suppliers of all the state's projects that have been placed on hold.
Add the tens of thousands of subcontractors and vendors and indirect suppliers that are forced to cut back due to the state slowdown.
Then add in the countless retail workers, real estate agents, waitresses, dry cleaners, coffee servers, auto mechanics and others whose hours are cut back or whose jobs are lost due to the missing spending power caused by the blocked budget.
The state's budget blockers say that if we pass even the most necessary tax hikes, hundreds of small businesses around the state will be forced to lay off employees. This is their justification for laying off scores of thousands of California workers. Does it make sense?
Of course it doesn't, and we should all call or e-mail our local Assembly and Senate representatives to tell them, loud and clear, that laying off scores of thousands of California's workers is no solution to the mess they've caused by blocking the budget.
-- Gary Selvaggio, Simi Valley

Re: U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly's Feb. 5 commentary, "Alternative bill better for U.S.":
We've already seen the Republican version of a "stimulus package:" Give a trillion dollars to all the fat-cat moneybags who financed our eight-year bender, with no restrictions on how big their personal bonuses and other "take" from the money would be.
Now, we have the Democratic version of a "stimulus package:" Give a trillion dollars to fund every pie-in-the-sky liberal program that's been suggested for the last 30 years and pay off all the people who got the Democrats elected in the last election.
Instead, why not try something original and effective?
Replace the outdated, obsolete and virtually useless pile of rotting compost that is our current tax code, and replace it with a simple, reasonable flat tax, with no loopholes that allow Washington, D.C., fat-cats to get out of paying their taxes.
Cut back on federal funding that covers any item that does not include more than one state, such as special museums in high-powered congressional districts, etc.
Putting away the standard political rah-rah and doing a little thinking can go a long way, even in Washington.
-- Stephen J. Schrader, Thousand Oaks

Re: Terry Paulson's Feb. 2 essay, "'Obamaspeak' translation":
By offering only selective facts, hyperbole, unsubstantiated "data" and disguised opinion, Paulson and like-minded polemicists, such as certain radio talk-show performers, marginalize themselves and contribute little to any constructive dialogue. Extremists, both left and right, like Paulson, are destroyers, not builders.
Gratefully, moderates seem to be succeeding in forcing needed bailout-plan improvements by pushing for the removal of narrowly parochial (Democrat) spending and the addition of tax incentives for homebuyers. Thanks are due to moderate Republicans and Democrats for all that.
These moderates are holding President Barack Obama to his rhetoric, stopping the momentum for just a few important moments, and improving the Troubled Assets Relief Program measurably. These Republican and Democratic moderates -- including, so far, Obama -- are clearly emerging as the builders.
-- Frank Millar, Thousand Oaks

Re: Terry Paulson's Feb. 2 essay, "Obamaspeak translation":
By offering only selective facts, hyperbole, unsubstantiated "data" and disguised opinion, Paulson and like-minded polemicists, such as certain radio talk-show performers, marginalize themselves and contribute little to any constructive dialogue. Extremists, both left and right, like Paulson, are destroyers, not builders.
Gratefully, moderates seem to be succeeding in forcing needed bailout-plan improvements by pushing for the removal of narrowly parochial (Democrat) spending and the addition of tax incentives for homebuyers. Thanks are due to moderate Republicans and Democrats for all that.
These moderates are holding President Barack Obama to his rhetoric, stopping the momentum for just a few important moments, and improving the Troubled Assets Relief Program measurably. These Republican and Democratic moderates -- including, so far, Obama -- are clearly emerging as the builders.
-- Frank Millar, Thousand Oaks

Re: Steve Morsa's Feb. 4 letter, "Oops, sorry, Gray":
Morsa is wrong about former Gov. Gray Davis: He was no good. You only have to look as far as our inept Democratic Legislature to see what is wrong! They have run California into the ground and will keep doing so until we make some changes.
We had Fabian Nunez, the old speaker of the Assembly, who made sure all of his friends were taken care of financially before he left office. Now we have another tax-and-spender, Karen Bass, who took his place. She speaks for herself.
State Controller John Chiang ordered $924,500 worth of new office furniture this fiscal year and then talked about cutting services and issuing IOUs.
If you want to know more, just go to www.HJTA.org and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association will keep you informed of what politicians are doing all over our state. It is shameful.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa keeps his city a sanctuary city. Our jails are full of illegals that taxpayers are supporting. Then some San Francisco judge wants us to build more facilities to provide them with healthcare and all sorts of fun things to do while they are incarcerated!
Then there are the anchor babies that our politicians believe we should pay for. Just cross the border, have your kid here and they are automatically citizens of the United States and paid for in full.
The public employee unions and teachers union are also breaking the backs of Californians.
There is a lot wrong with California, but it isn't the Terminator! He just can't get anything done with Sacramento fighting him on every turn!
I hope Morsa just got a little better informed and will help us vote a bunch of those leeches out of office! I pray that San Francisco will come to its senses and vote House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out, too!
-- Judith Patton, Moorpark

Re: your Feb. 6 article, "Courtesy Chevrolet to close doors":
It has been a pleasure to live in the beautiful Conejo Valley area for more than 40 years, in Oak Park.
During all of those years, I have been a loyal customer of Courtesy Chevrolet. Its closure is like a death in the family.
From the management to the sales staff, service writers, mechanics and parts department, Courtesy was like a home away from home. They have been extraordinary neighbors. I was privileged to be the personal voice of their radio commercials in the 1980s.
Farewell, good friends. Thank you for being a vital part of our community for all these years. We mourn your "passing" and wish you all well.
-- Harvey Kern, Oak Park

Re: Tom Joyce's Feb. 4 letter, "Police chief cares":
Joyce states that he is "deeply grateful that the 'city that cares' has a chief that, well, cares," and mocks the importance attributed to the 6-year-old's words to the police officer.
I believe that Joyce's commentary is, well, somewhat mean-spirited.
I think it is very important for us to be aware of what is on the minds of our children so that we can grasp the nature of the problem and thereby proceed to seek a solution. We can't bring solutions to the table if we don't even know where the problem lies.
It all starts in the mind, age notwithstanding.
-- David Magallanes, Port Hueneme

Re: your Feb. 4 article, "Wells Fargo defends but then cancels Vegas party":
The only word that describes Wells Fargo & Co. reactions to the criticism about its Las Vegas junket is arrogance.
Wells Fargo has $25 billion in taxpayers' bailout money, and it had to cancel its big blowout party in Vegas for its top people after a rash of criticism from lawmakers. They said they were not going to use any of the bailout money for the trip. Who believes that?
Spokeswoman Melissa Murray said, "Recognition events are still part of our culture. It's really important that our team members are still valued and recognized."
Excuse me, but when you take taxpayer money, the corporate culture is no longer valid. All bets are off, and you cannot operate like before.
When Wells Fargo pays back the money it took from us taxpayers, then it can go back to the big-spending ways of the past, if it wants. But if we are paying the bank's way and helping it survive, its duty is to the people who bailed it out.
Forget corporate culture. It's dead.
-- Robert W. Coshland, Ventura

The equation doesn't equate. Millions of Americans are unemployed or in danger of losing their jobs. They line up in the hundreds for only a few jobs at minimum pay. Yet businesses are going bankrupt by the thousands because they can't afford to stay operating at a profit, primarily because of the cost of labor.
In a genuine free market economy, the law of supply and demand would quickly come into play and the equation would balance. Businesses could stay in America, reducing unemployment. American products and services could be available at market prices and easily match foreign competition. Tax income would balance the budget.
The culprit is the ill-conceived minimum wage law that came about to protect the working man from "evil" management. That is and was a fallacy.
Management must keep its labor force content to operate efficiently. In fact, the law is an oppressive restraint on our freedom to work where and when we choose and at whatever compensation we deserve.
Of course, the original labor laws concerning health and safety must remain in place. But the minimum wage law must be abolished. It hurts the very people that it was intended to protect. Students, part-time workers, trainees, retirees, the disabled and entry-level workers are all closed out of the labor market even when they want to work.
These are treacherous times for our country. We need "out-of-the-box" thinking by our leaders. If they take this bold approach, they will no doubt bring on a full frontal attack by the labor unions who view this problem through a very narrow prism in that they are eager to maintain their power and influence.
-- Bernard Lehrer,
Ventura

Re: your Feb. 4 article, "Shoes back in sunshine":
I read with delight how Jess Victoria stood up to the tyrants from Santa Paula code enforcement regarding putting his small shoe display outside the entrance to his store.
The comment in The Star article that Mr. Victoria was asked for his identification, after having a business on Main Street for 43 years, was typical of the type of intimidation practiced by the Building and Safety Department, as well as the Police Department having been called in to "deal" with Mr. Victoria.
Having been treated poorly and disrespectfully by these people for a number of years, I say kudos to Mr. Victoria for standing up to them and demanding his rights as a law-abiding citizen of Santa Paula.
-- Nancy Mitchell, Santa Paula

Re: Richard D. Erlich's Jan. 30 letter, "Leave God out of it":
Erlich is correct in assuming the sincerity in my Jan. 26 letter titled, "Giving proper credit." My point was, and still is, that the news media should report news, and that news is best represented by the facts.
The facts are that it was reported that the crew members and many of the passengers aboard the U.S. Airways plane testified that when Capt. Chesley Sullenberger warned over the intercom that a crash landing was imminent, many prayers were offered, invoking divine intervention.
However, I did not read of a single acknowledgement that these prayers were answered in the affirmative. I find it incredible that the survivors, especially those who prayed, would not publicly acknowledge divine intervention. Therefore, I am assuming the acknowledgements were made to reporters, who in turn chose not to report the acknowledgements for the reasons, or excuses, stated by Erlich.
For the record, I am in basic agreement with Erlich, especially his observations in the following paragraph: "The news media should not bring God into such discussions because these discussions would then require theological nuance, and U.S. news media aren't good at theology or nuance."
Reporting the facts might encourage and stimulate discussion but should not be considered as discussion, per se.
-- Richard E. Brown, Jr., Ojai

Re: your Jan. 25 article, "Big plans for Ventura beachfront":
The plans are to build an 11-acre development called Edgewater. No kidding! Has City Manager Rick Cole or Community Development Director Nelson Hernandez been reading about the effects global warming will have on the City of San Buenaventura in the coming years if this problem is not addressed and addressed very soon? Why aren't any new investments going into reducing carbon dioxide emissions? Why isn't the city joining with other beachfront towns and cities to tackle this problem? The sea rise will encroach on the Ventura River bottom and then move east toward downtown Ventura, according to aerial maps accessible on the Internet.
Let's take taxpayer dollars to deal with real problems in Ventura.
-- Kale Starbird, Ojai

Gay marriage is now legal in California due to a decision made by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Star has reported on several subsequent gay marriages that were performed as a result of this ruling. Many Star readers have expressed their opinions, both pro and con, in letters to the editor.
In evaluating this development, some readers might find it useful to read the following Bible passages pertaining to this topic:
-- Leviticus 18:22 "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."
-- Leviticus 20:13 "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable."
-- Romans 1:26-1:27 "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."
-- William Bays, Ventura

The state of California and our budget are in crisis. Nearly $4 billion in public works projects, including our own bridge replacement project on the east side of Ojai, have already been suspended. One wonders how many layoffs stemmed from this alone.
Next, checks to the disabled for everything from assistance with rent to basic foodstuffs are simply going to stop. The poorest and least able are about to be cut off.
Why is this happening?
Recently elected State Sen. Tony Strickland and his Republican cohorts in the state Legislature are blocking the budget process. In this failing economy, which has been created because of the strict adherence to the supply-side or trickle-down theories of the right, the minority Republican caucus in the state Legislature has seen fit to pledge "no tax increases."
This pledge was taken, one imagines, while kneeling before the great and powerful Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. Can someone explain to me why state legislators are beholden to out-of-state ideologues touting failed economic theories?
Strickland and his fellow obstructionists in the Republican caucus seem to think that further spending cuts for our already woefully underfunded public schools is preferable to tax increases of any kind. This kind of ideological thinking is not helpful. Strickland behaves as if he has won a mandate when, in fact, he won by just four-tenths of a percent.
It is time for Strickland and his cohorts in the Republican caucus to either renounce their failed ideology and do the people's business or get out of the way. The citizens of California will not look kindly on them if they continue their obstructionism.
-- Sean P. Keenan, Ojai
(The writer is president of the Ojai Valley Democrats. -- Editor)

Re: Deroy Murdock's Feb. 3 commentary, "Even left-wingers now laughing at global-warming talk":
So Murdock, the conservative columnist who calls waterboarding "something of which every American should be proud," now suggests that "so-called 'global-warming' has sunk from problem to punch line."
Perhaps. But there may be those who truly comprehend global climate change and beg to differ.
In 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established as a scientific body set up by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme. The U.N.'s "Kyoto Protocol" was based on the IPCC's 1988 Assessment Report.
An updated 2007 report states that greenhouse gas emissions have grown since pre-industrial times, with an increase of 70 percent between 1970 and 2004 due to human activities, and emissions of carbon dioxide have grown by 80 percent.
This data was recently dwarfed by a more severe forecast from our very own National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which, on Jan. 26, came out with the headline, "New study shows climate change largely irreversible." The conclusions of scientists from the U.S., Switzerland and France suggest increasing surface temperatures, rainfall and sea levels are largely irreversible for more than 1,000 years, even after carbon dioxide emissions are completely stopped.
Given the international scientific sway, it's likely Murdock has again simply not done his homework. As is his tendency, he takes an incredulous point of view and sweats blood from a few, obscure believers in his attempt to validate newly hatched theories as plausible screed. It has no place with readers -- and paying subscribers -- who are more inclined to read about science from a paper that endeavors to inform, not irritate.
Murdock blithely concludes, "So-called 'global-warming' has accomplished the impossible: It has united liberals and conservatives in laughter."
No, it has not. With a sense of journalistic responsibility, Murdock should step forthright into the real world and take heed of the overwhelming scientific consensus that controverts his glee.
-- Rick Conrad, Oxnard

Re: Robert Crawford Jr.'s Feb. 4 letter, "Late learners":
I agree with everything Crawford wrote. We are subjected to the whining of people who say they can't afford to pay Oxnard's graffiti fines. Even attorney Barbara Macri-Ortiz says the fine is too much. Well, I say if you can't pay the fine, don't do the crime!
Crawford is correct when he says too many parents don't take notice until it hits them in the pocketbook. I see it every day -- in stores, at the malls, on the street. As long as the kids aren't bugging them, the parents don't care what their child does.
They say the fines are too high. Well, how much do they think it costs those of us hit by taggers to repair the damage their little "artists" have caused? We all pay for the graffiti prevention truck and crew to go around trying to cover up the defacement of property.
These parents need to make their children accountable for their wrongdoing. Instead, too many times, they deny their child did anything wrong and protect them at all costs against any consequences for their actions. They are teaching their children that they can get away with anything, then down the line, they wonder why their son or daughter winds up in jail or worse.
I had heard of a plan to make those caught tagging clean up the graffiti. I was happy to hear that the plan might be implemented. It was something I had said for years would work on a good many of the offenders. If, when they were caught tagging, they were made to scrub down the defaced fences and walls and then made to paint them, with the penalty increasing each time they were caught, I would wager all but the hardest-core taggers would decide it wasn't worth it. Unfortunately, some will never learn their lesson, no matter what the punishment.
-- Jeanne Walker, Oxnard

Re: Stan Helfand's Feb. 4 letter, "Blob of cells not a baby":
Helfand calls a baby a "blob of cells." Really? Well then when does a baby cease being a "blob of cells" and become a life? And who gets to decide this? Helfand?
Let me remind him that every single one of us, including him, started out as a single cell that has divided and multiplied. This blob of cells continues to grow into a larger and larger blob of cells. As we age, new cells are continually produced to replace old ones. Helfand is, in fact, at this very moment a blob of cells. This process starts at conception and ends when you die. This is called "life."
Every one of us goes through this, every one of us started somewhere. A baby does not just appear at 7 pounds 6 ounces. It has grown from something in the past and will continue to grow and age into the future. Who is anyone to decide at what point you can stop that life?
-- Dalius Stropus, Simi Valley

Re: your daily "No Budget" series:
It continually amazes me that the people The Star interviews almost all refuse to call or otherwise contact their state senator or Assembly person. What do they think, that they'll get their hand slapped? If they are that reticent to contact the politicians they elect, it's no wonder this state is so screwed.
California was once the eighth biggest economy in the world! Now we can't even educate our children. I left Kentucky to come back to this?
I am ashamed of my fellow Californians and our elected officials. I've contacted my elected folks; I would ask for the courage for others to do the same!
-- Jim Shahan, Oak Park

I am unemployed. I am appalled that U.S. Rep. Lois Capps and other members of Congress recently worked out a raise to their salaries. Shame on all of them! If they do not like the salary, then they should resign and find another job. What hubris and disrespect they show their constituents! To raise their salary in these times is a slap in the face of every single American. How do they justify this? How dare they! Capps must refuse this raise and return it to the U.S. Treasury, where it belongs.
In addition, I am upset at the wasteful spending within the stimulus bill. For example, $350 million for child care on military bases and $335 million to prevent sexually transmitted diseases is politically motivated and absolutely beyond our country's means in these horrible economic times. There are billions of dollars of wasteful spending in this bill -- $50 million to support the arts, $70 million to help people stop smoking.
Now is not the time to spend one extra penny on non-economic stimulus items. Our country is on the brink of financial collapse, and the 23rd District deserves Capps' commitment to curb excessive spending. She must take the fresh, competent actions necessary to give us jobs and restore our dysfunctional economy.
Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures. Capps must start measuring up.
-- Donald Roy, Ventura

I am a resident and homeowner in Piru. While we are not currently affected by the housing crisis, I am writing to implore the Ventura County Sheriff's Department to consider taking action similar to that of Sheriff Warren Evans in Wayne County, Mich. He has halted foreclosure sales in his county based on a federal law. Below is his statement:
"Today I will be stopping all mortgage foreclosure sales in Wayne County. ... I am doing so because it's my opinion that recently enacted federal laws provide protections for homeowners facing foreclosure.
To proceed with sales without assuring that homeowners have been able to avail themselves of those protections would put me in a position of violating federal law.
The Troubled Asset Relief Program, known as TARP, that was approved by Congress last fall requires the secretary of the treasury to implement a plan to mitigate foreclosures. That includes encouraging servicers of mortgages to modify loans to enable homeowners to stay in their homes.
Federal law preempts state law, which means the TARP provision preempts Michigan's foreclosure law.
That, in turn, means foreclosures cannot move forward until efforts to modify the mortgages of homes covered by TARP have been exhausted.
As a result, I have determined there are sufficient legal grounds for me and for other sheriffs in Michigan to halt mortgage foreclosure sales."
For more information, see: http://www.waynecounty.com/sheriff/newsroom/2009/stop-foreclosure.htm.
Again, I stress that families in Ventura County are hurting and need due process on their loan contracts. I urge the Sheriff's Department to stop facilitating foreclosures. It is unjust and unfair for people to be unable to negotiate their mortgage with the banks, be foreclosed and evicted, only to have the banks turn around and sell their homes to people and, worse yet, investors, who are taking advantage of the low pricing.
Homeowners deserve to have their loans and options examined through TARP provisions first. Someone needs to force the banks on the side of homeowners, and only the law can do that. As an extension of the law, I hope the Ventura County Sheriff's Department will work on the side of justice, fairness and the people.
-- Kimberly Rivers, Piru

I have reached out to every public representative in Ventura County, including each senator and congressman and woman representing our state, and I am disappointed, if not disturbed, to report not a single letter was returned, not a single e-mail answered.
So, I turn to you and ask that the people of Ventura help me make a difference in helping our injured veterans. Sponsor me as I participate in the Road 2 Recovery California Challenge from San Francisco to Los Angeles from Oct. 4 to 10.
The money raised for the Road 2 Recovery ride will support Spinning® and outdoor cycling programs at military and Veterans Affairs locations around the United States. Cycling is an important part of the recovery and rehabilitation program for two reasons:
-- Cycling is an activity in which almost all patients with mental and physical disabilities can participate.
-- Participation in the Road 2 Recovery Program helps speed up the recovery and rehabilitation process.
Visit the Web site http://www.road2recovery.us.com and learn more about this important event and organization. Every penny of your donation will go directly to these valuable programs, and your donation is completely tax-deductible. If you would like to donate online, just follow the link and add my name, Hugh McLarnon, as the rider you would like to sponsor.
You can also mail a check payable to Fitness Challenge Foundation to:
Fitness Challenge Foundation
23679 Calabasas Rd #420
Calabasas, CA 91302
Please indicate my name in the "comments" area of your check.
-- Hugh McLarnon, Ventura

Those who write letters to The Star denouncing President Barack Obama's efforts to revive the economy as "socialism" have conveniently forgotten that it was decades of Republican dishonesty and incompetence that got us into this mess. The only appropriate response is, "Welcome to the collective farm, comrades. The manure clearing operation is just starting, so grab a shovel and get busy."
-- Bruce Will, Ventura

Wow! Just when I thought it was impossible, I grossly underestimate the gall of the Ventura City Council. They are now considering asking city residents to approve a half-cent sales tax measure in the next election.
This is the same City Council that brought us the enormously popular 911 fee. The same group that recently sank $5 million in taxpayer dollars in bad investments. The same "gang of seven" that recently foisted numerous utility user fee increases on us, on top of the 911 fee. The same brilliant bunch that has done everything in its power to discourage a Wal-Mart from coming to town, which could have yielded more than $1 million a year in new sales tax revenue to the city.
Am I the only one who is a little leery of handing over another $7 million to $8 million in additional tax revenue each year for these guys to squander? Tell me I'm not, please.
-- Roger C. Clarke, Ventura

Re: Deroy Murdock's Feb. 3 commentary, "Even left-wingers now laughing at global-warming talk":
The only thing Al Gore got wrong about global warming is that he called it global warming instead of climate change. The examples that Murdock points out -- extreme weather around the world, extremes never seen before -- are signs of climate change.
I ask Murdock this: What would be the motivation for scientists to lie about climate change? One only has to look at the tobacco companies' denial of science in the 1960s through the 1980s to understand why so much has been invested in attempting to disprove climate change.
-- Tom Magdaleno, Camarillo

Re: Deroy Murdock's Feb. 3 commentary, "Even left-wingers now laughing at global-warming talk":
The Star does readers a disservice in publishing anti-scientific propaganda like Murdock's obfuscation of global warming.
Murdock obviously cares nothing for the truth and is only interested in cherry-picking quotes and events that appear to discredit the threat of global warming. He picks out a few unusually cold-weather events, but none of the unseasonably hot ones. He picks some quotes from "commentators" and a "physical chemist" and a "retired meteorologist," but he doesn't quote a single climatologist -- probably because a recent survey of U.S. climatologists found that 97 percent of them agreed that human activity is causing global warming.
Remember when the tobacco companies quoted "New York doctors" to the effect that there was no evidence that smoking caused lung cancer. The same public relations firms that worked for the tobacco companies have been hired to cast doubt and ridicule on global warming.
Serious people consider the evidence and appreciate the expertise it takes to gather it. We need to carefully evaluate the potential problems that global warming will bring and our response to them. Certainly it's possible for cures to be worse than the disease, but it's simply irresponsible to try to confuse the public about the basic facts that fossil fuel consumption is drastically increasing carbon dioxide levels and that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.
If you put more blankets on your bed, you're going to be warmer. If you put more carbon dioxide in your atmosphere, your climate is going to be warmer.
As Martin Rees, head of the Royal Society, put it, "Those who promote fringe scientific views but ignore the weight of evidence are playing a dangerous game. They run the risk of diverting attention from what we can do to ensure the world's population has the best possible future."
-- Brent Meeker, Camarillo

President Barack Obama just gave me a great idea on how to reduce the national budget deficit. Appoint Democrats to as many federal positions as possible and then collect their unpaid back taxes, with penalties and interest.
-- Gerald L. Gooss, Ventura