Re: March 14 article, "Local voters discuss Proposition 15":

Kudos to Stephanie Hoops for balanced reporting of the Yes on 15 campaign kickoff, where three County Supervisors and Assemblywoman Julia Brownley spoke to support fair elections.

In citing the objection of Tom Hiltachk, attorney for the opposition, Hoops wrote "...what the proponents call a fee would actually be a tax on businesses, charities and lobbyist employers..." On the contrary, Prop. 15 is not a tax. It raises a lobbyist's annual registration fee from $12.50 to $350.

Starting with the Secretary of State, who regulates lobbyists and implements their financial disclosure, Prop. 15 can cultivate a climate where elected officials are not influenced by the campaign dollars they receive. Rather than heap corporate and special interest money on elections, those dollars should be sewn into our schools, roads and workforce opportunities.

With all we read about Meg Whitman's campaign coffers, California voters are ready for publicly funded elections that work in seven other states. Let our candidates concentrate on better platforms, not on courting the cash.

~ Saria Kraft
Westlake Village

Re: March 26 article, "Camarillo OKs new ban on pot facilites":

Camarillo's ban on medical marijuana facilities is without logic. The Camarillo City Council and City Attorney, Brian Pierik, argue that medical marijuana facilities will bring drug activity, robbery, traffic and noise. Using this standard, the city of Camarillo should outlaw the Camarillo Premium Outlet Mall, liquor stores, Post Offices, check-cashing outlets, fast food restaurants and high schools. All of these locations have the same chance of increased crime, noise and traffic, too. Showing their illogical bias, the city of Camarillo also objects to medical marijuana being delivered to individual clients. This service would overcome their above objections.

What people want to do or smoke in their own homes is nobody's business. Unless a person drives under the influence of marijuana, there is no reason to demonize a plant that grows naturally out of the earth. If you don't want to smoke marijuana, don't. You never want the government telling its adult citizens what they should and should not put in their body. I don't pour alcohol into my body, but I don't object if you do, provided that you don't drive after doing so. It's not about marijuana, it's about freedom.

~Robert Lawrence,
Ventura

Re: March 31 Your News online article, "2010 Ventura County Knowledge Bowl":

I see in the March 31, 2020, electronic edition of the paper that the Ventura High school knowledge Bowl team won 2010 Ventura County Knowledge Bowl. This has not been in the regular print edition. These students have worked hard for this accomplishment and they should be commended as Thousand Oaks was the past three years. Many congratulations go out to Ms. Linda Brug and the Knowledge Bowl team, which consists of: Drake Lasley, Doug Petree, Garrett Baker, Matt Roberts, Noelle Mann, Libby Jones, Lucas Souza and Elias Adorno.

There is a nice picture in "Your news" section. It is too bad that the "regular Star" could not find the place to honor these students.

~ Karleigh Slater,
Ventura

Because we have not had a contest for the position of Sheriff in Ventura County in over 30 years, I have paid close attention to this local race. I have listened to both candidates and reviewed their campaign materials. Both are fine young men. but based upon their experience, integrity and vision, I have decided to vote Cmdr. Geoff Dean as our next Sheriff.

With that being said, I have noticed recently that the race is starting to take an ugly direction into negative campaigning. Having been on this planet for well over 80 years, I have witnessed this before when a candidate feels desperate or behind their opponent. Regrettably, in the last period before the election, they feel justified to deploy inflammatory accusations about their opponent that can't be proved but often have a telling impact on voters.

It is my hope that both candidates in the sheriff's race or any of their supporters don't give in to these negative campaign efforts. Should either candidate's campaign decide to do so, the voters should punish that candidate at the ballot box.

~ Jim Ball,
Ventura

For years, the city of Ventura has been accused of not being business friendly. Well, I'm happy to say that the city took a big step Tuesday afternoon to change that perception.

Mayor Bill Fulton, Deputy Mayor Mike Tracy, City Manager Rick Cole, Community Development Director Jeff Lambert and Economic Development Manager Sid White pulled together a meeting with most of the dealers in the Ventura auto center. We spent over two hours discussing the issues and challenges that face the city's single largest sales tax generator.

Our challenges are great. The auto industry is having a difficult time as the country continues to climb out of the recession. As an auto dealer myself, I am encouraged by the action of the city team who came together to show its support and suggest creative ideas for the Ventura Auto Center.

It is my hope that our recent meeting will be the first of several meetings that the auto dealers and city officials will have. These meetings will go a long way in strengthening the partnership between the city and auto center.

I want to again thank the city team that initiated and participated in the meeting. We are all in this together, and I believe that if we continue to work together, we will get through this very difficult economic time.

~ Jeff Sukay,
Vice President Jaguar LandRover Ventura,
Kirby Auto Group, Ventura Auto Center

Wayne Saddler's March 18 letter to the editor, "Edison's expenses":

Watch out! The city of Ventura is on the rampage, aided by Southern California Edison. To save money these reprobates are cutting down many trees all over the city.

To cut down 50-year-old trees because of sidewalk problems, or because Edison feels like it, infringes on our city's heritage of beauty. Loma Vista Road, previously beautiful, is now a shadow of its former self. A large beautiful tree was cut down on North Wake Forest. More are to come down.

I have no confidence in this City Council in preserving our city. Also, by law a notice must be posted 48 hours in advance by the city. This rule is frequently ignored.

If you do not want your sidewalk tree cut down, contact an Environmental Attorney (there are two in Ventura County), and protest to the City Manager and the Arborist at City Hall.

~ Godfrey Smythe
Ventura

RE: March 26 editorial, "Before threats become deeds":

First and foremost, no one ever should condone violence, no matter which side you stand on an issue. But it is interesting, while reading this editorial, how powerful words and actions can be used to incite violence. For example, in this piece, words such as "enraged" and "overreaction" are used when the word frustrated would have been less abrasive, and in my mind more, descriptive of the people opposed to a bill passed through backroom deals and arm twisting. If this was such a wonderful bill why wouldn't they have been eager to vote for it without being prodded like cattle?

Actions, however, speak louder than words. After passing a bill that the majority of the people of this country did not support, the "spectacle" (your description) was when the Speaker and some of the Representatives paraded (my description) through the crowd with a large gavel to our Capital. When was the last time there was such a display of arrogance?

It is our right as citizens to assemble. It is our right as citizens to free speech. This is our country and we have the responsibility to make known to our representatives how we want them to govern. It is the responsibility of our representatives, from the White House to Congress to treat us with respect, listen to our opinions and not shove our face into the dirt as if to say: Shut up, we know best.

We all need to make sure that civility is used and violence condemned when expressing our opinions, whether as an Editorial writer or an ordinary citizen.

~Karen Malch
Newbury Park

As President Abraham Lincoln correctly observed, "You can fool ... some of the people all of the time." I believe this is the case with the current opposition to the new healthcare law. I spent a career in the private, for-profit manufacturing sector. There is no way I can be convinced that a for-profit health insurance company has as a top priority the well being of its insured (nor that quality and occupant safety are a car manufacturer's top priorities). Priority one is profit. And the profit is huge.

The CEOs of the insurance companies are doing quite well financially, thank you. They have been freely spending tons of cash on advertising and "helping out" certain lawmakers to try to convince people that the healthcare system is just fine the way it is. They have succeeded to a large degree. Well, the system isn't, and probably never has been, fine. Often it has been grossly unjust.

The misinformation and outright lies spread about the contents of the law have been incredible, but, as David Hannum said, "There's a sucker born every minute." A lot of the people opposing the renovation of the healthcare system obviously have not read a single word of the law (or previously, bill). Instead, they have allowed themselves to be duped by the insurance companies and the politically motivated, mostly Republican naysayers.

This whole situation has made my future political decision-making much less complicated; though I voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the probability of my casting another vote in a Republican's direction has become exponentially regressively slim.

~ George Welle,
Ventura

I've read with sadness stories about the operations of military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan killing innocent civilians. Their actions are done in our name, and many times, they're wrong. We need to stop these military contractors.

The Stop Outsourcing Security Act, introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, would ban private security contractors from performing military, security, law enforcement, intelligence and armed rescue functions. The bill also imposes better transparency requirements on existing contracts, so firms that still have contracts would be forced to report their activities more frequently and would be under better Congressional oversight.

Such oversight is desperately needed. I hope to see support for this bill from our elected officials.

~ Elaine Herzog,
Thousand Oaks

Now that Congress has passed the healthcare bill and the president has signed it into law, I'm left wondering why they felt such a desperation to pass it. All polls show the public was against it, and the president postponed two trips abroad to lobby for it with legislators who resorted to arcane parliamentary manuevering to pass it with thin margins against a backdrop of public outcry. The only explanation is this: They think they know better than we do.

The reasons we are against it are too numerous to list, but here are a few: The bill is in excess of 2,000 pages, and the final version was available less than a week before the vote. We do not believe they read it. We do not believe more people can have better coverage for less money (in fact, even proponents of the bill admit insurance premiums will rise for most people). We have seen polls showing up to a third of primary care physicians would retire if the bill were passed. The legislation will require 12,000 additional IRS agents to administer it. The bill includes a new tax on medical devices, everything from stents to insulin pumps, meaning either the cost of these devices will rise, or the manufacturers will lay people off and/or cut back on research and development.

Especially in California, we have seen fiscal mismanagement and incompetent governance leave our state on the brink of insolvency. With federal deficits already out of control, we fear this bill is the point of no return. So who's right? The people, or the president and Congress? My money's on the people. I desperately hope I'm wrong.

~ Gary Carlson,
Simi Valley

Picture this in your mind: A young mother of twin 6-year-old girls, living in another state. Mom has a professional degree, but, due to economics, has been laid off from three jobs in the past year. Mom also suffers with Multiple Sclerosis. Mom was paying $100.00 per month for her medications, but without a job, no medical coverage and no longer able to afford the high COBRA payments has medications for her illness.

Mom is currently working a part-time job at just over minimum wage, and has been lucky enough to secure a temporary job in mid-April. Mom wants to teach her daughters that you work, if able, rather than sit with your hand out. Mom has not worked enough to qualify for unemployment insurance. Mom was able to "barter" with her daughters' pediatrician for their 6-year physical, and now has applied for Medicaid for the girls' health protection.

Enter: Dead-beat Dad (lives somewhere in Ventura County). He was assessed by courts to pay child support. Dead-beat Dad got the amount reduced to $101.00 per month, and he still has not paid any child support.

Medicaid notified Mom that since Dead-beat Dad has not been paying, they (Medicaid) have to try to find him (by letter?) to establish his ability to pay.

So, here we have three people in need of a national healthcare system (possibly four, if you include Dead-beat Dad).

Of course these people will receive care at a local hospital emergency department, if needed. That is required by Emergency Departments. Emergency rooms are already overloaded with uninsured people requiring care, and the infrastructure is crumbling.

Please, tell me again why so many people are denying the need for basic healthcare for all.

~ Jan Harcus,
Ventura

One of the best parts of living in coastal Ventura County at this time of year is the delight of taking friends and family out into the Santa Barbara Channel on wonderful whale-watching trips. What a unique experience. Right now the gray whales are returning from their winter calving waters in Baja headed to summer feeding grounds in Alaska.

In our coastal waters, they are a sight to see. - awe-inspiring, beautiful and breathtaking are some of the comments made. A rare treat indeed. It really makes for a great day out in the channel.

But enjoy it while we can, for dark clouds are looming in the future for the gray whales. The June 2010 meeting of the International Whaling Commission (of which the U.S. is a member) in Morocco has an item on the agenda, which if endorsed by the member nations will allow for the harvesting (killing) of up to 140 gray whales in the next whaling season.

Please contact President Obama at 202-456-1111 or email president@whitehouse.gov and urge him to instruct the American delegation to the IWC to not support any efforts of harvesting of gray whales and to increase their protection under the U.S. endangered species act.

If we don't act now, the next whale-watching season may be a bleak one.

~ Jim Hines,
Ventura

With great fanfare the faith-based healthcare plan has just been announced by the Republican leadership. It is limited to 16 words:" Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil."


~ Ira Cohen
Thousand Oaks

Re: March 26 editorial, "Say no to hateful acts" and the March 22 article, "Free Gaza event set for Ventura":

Specifically, the March 22 announcement of the "Free Gaza" event amounted to free publicity for an organization supporting anti-semitism. One of the featured speakers, Richard Falk, was deported from Israel because he has depicted Israel's self-defense against Hamas as a "Holocast in the making." He also he used his position as the UN's special rappoteur to white-wash Palestinian abuses of Israeli human rights in his one-sided list of Israel's alleged abuses of Palestinian human rights when it defended itself against Hamas in December 2008.

Similarly, the article about Suleiman Baraka depicts the Gazan astronomer and his family as helpless victims of Jewish aggression. A critical analysis would ask if he opposes Hamas' murders and its rocket attacks against Israel civilians. The article doesn't answer this question, but it does state that he continues to worship Islam which calls for the murder of every Jew that doesn't willingly or coercively convert to Islam.

Finally, remember that Hamas, which effectively rules Palestine, has as one of its stated goals the outright murder of every Jew in Israel.

Instead of receiving free publicity, Venturans for a Free Palestine and the Ventura Unitarian Universalist Church should be condemned for supporting anti-semitic speakers and events.

~ Rodney Sinclair,
Thousand Oaks

April is the time of year when hope springs eternal.

April is also Parkinson's Awareness Month. On March 26, the U.S. Senate designated April as Parkinson's Awareness Month, marking this occasion nationally for the first time. It is vital that the 1 million-plus Americans living with this disease (myself included for nearly 30 years) and their families, caregivers, friends and other members of our community educate others about this disease. Without them, research would grind to a halt. Without them, no one would know our stories. Without them, we would lose hope. Our communities need be aware of April's outreach efforts that are springing up in local seminars, Parkinson's information fairs and free screenings. There is life with Parkinson's.

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive neurological disease that affects movement, speaking and cognitive function. It is the second most common neurological disease, behind only Alzheimer's disease. For these reasons, it is important to increases awareness in our country about this disease. I want to thank Sens. Feinstein and Boxer for supporting the resolution, declaring April Parkinson's Awareness Month. Their leadership is important to me and the entire Parkinson's community.

With Parkinson's Awareness Month upon us, let us continue taking strides in educating the public and advocating for a cure. For those of us with Parkinson's disease, a better understanding of the dynamics of this condition could make this challenging journey less difficult. We could use kinder, less judgmental eyes upon us when our movements are too slow or too erratic. It is a movement disorder after all.

As we join together, with one voice, we look forward with hope to the day when Parkinson's disease will be no more.

~ Rod Preston,
Camarillo

Re: Maya Teague's March 28 article, Bless our fathers, for they have sinned":

Perhaps, some church leaders unknowingly accepted into the seminary men with a homosexual inclination. Once these church leaders publicly learned about these men, they should have expelled them from the seminary.

If these men became clerics and committed serious offenses, which are prohibited by the church's laws, then church leaders should have followed the church's legal process and suspended and deposed them instead of sending them for treatment from so-called mental health experts. Maybe another fault of some church leaders was to believe so-called mental health experts who told them that these men were "cured.

In regard to the so-called culture of concealment, one should not ordinarily reveal the serious offense of another in order to prevent scandal or leading another into sin. Let us pray for our church leaders, the perpetrators and the victims.

~ M. Steven Vorac, M.A.,
Thousand Oaks

Re: Betsy Connolly's March 29 letter to the editor, "Panec has what it takes":

I'm heartened by the fact that we have more than one talented, intelligent candidate running for Congress in the 24th district. It's been a long time. The problem is, despite the number of talented, intelligent candidates running for the 24th district, we still have Elton Gallegly as our representative. That, too, has been a long time, and it's time to retire him.

We have a talented, intelligent candidate running for the Democratic nomination. The name, however, is Tim Allison, and he's got an edge because of one important, additional factor; he has a proven track record in a diversified political arena. To say we and Washington have a lot of problems is a laughable understatement. We need someone who has shown he or she can handle a lot of different issues effectively in a highly charged atmosphere - health care, the economy, jobs and the environment. While there's a lot to admire in the other candidates, past and present, Tim Allison is probably the only one who can win. Check him out at http://www.timallison.com.

~Andrew Porterfield
Camarillo

Re: Dr. Irving Loh's March 28 column, "Seminal bill for America":

In respectful disagreement with Dr. Loh's assessment, the healthcare bill is an albatross for America not a seminal bill. The Social Security Act established a system of benefits for old-age workers, victims of industrial accidents, unemployment insurance, aid for dependent mothers and children, the blind and the physically handicapped. It was amended to establish Medicare, a health insurance program for the elderly, and Medicaid, a health insurance program for the poor. But wait, do I have a choice?

The good doctor suggests if I disagree I should decline Medicare when I become eligible. I would love to decline both Medicare and Social Security! All the government needs to do is reimburse me for the money that was taken (not by choice) out of my income over the past 31 years, which I estimate with interest right in the area of $500,000. The SSA started with a tax rate of 2 percent, 1 percent from you and 1 percent from your employer. It was argued as reasonable, the right thing to do, it was only 2 percent. The government was to help where all else failed. But now that rate is over 15 percent. I ask you, where will it end?

Now toss in the Health Care program. This is progressive forced redistribution of resources and monies from those who do have to those who don't. We are mutating from citizen to slave. Individual liberty is being pushed aside with the demand from the government to give more in order that they divide up the results as they deem fit. That is not the America I want nor is it the future I want for my children and their children's children. There are other solutions, there are better solutions to the "ethical and moral" thing than becoming a slave to an albatross.

~ Jim McCollum,
Newbury

Re: Dr. Irving Loh's March 28 column, "Seminal bill for America":

The article written by Irving Loh, M.D., should be required reading for all confused Americans who fail to understand what healthcare reform, flawed as it is, will do for the country. Dr. Loh's essay is right on all the issues. It is written in a way that even right-wing fringers, haters and looneys could understand it, but I'm not holding my breath. I will save this article for future reference. Thank you so much, Dr. Loh!

As to two letters published under 'Healthcare Letters' on the same page, I can only wonder what 'First Shot' writer Diana Thorn and 'Call for Nullification' writer Avery Willis were smoking at the time they concocted their diatribes?

The cartoon adjacent to Dr. Loh's article showing Uncle Sam getting a huge pill rammed down his throat by a Democratic doctor (Obama, no doubt), is disgusting; we don't need this type of inflaming cartoon. Perhaps we should have delayed reform again and given the Republicans their chance, now that is a joke!

~ Lotti Lopez,
Santa Paula

Re: March 28 advertisement, "Honoring 580 St. John's Doctors on National Doctors' Day":

In regards to Page A20 in Sunday's paper, it seems that there is really 581 doctors. One doctor who is highly respected by her peers, the nurses, the ancillary staff and her patients was left out.This does not appear to be a mistake, but a well thought out preconceived idea from someone in the hospital administration.

Dr. Adrienne Lara is a gifted physician who consistently provides excellent care to her patients. Dr. Lara is a tremendous asset to our Labor and Delivery Department, and we are honored to work with her. Dr. Lara's commitment to her patients reflect the St. John's mission greater than most physicians we work with.

It is a shame and disgrace that the administration of St. John's would blatantly leave out her name thanking her for her excellence and dedication. Therefore the RN's in Labor and Delivery at St.John's would like to thank Dr. Adrienne Lara for her dedication and her commitment to excellence.

~ Harla Yaeger
Camarillo

Now is a good time to offer a different, less biased view of the Ventura County Sheriff's race.

Geoff Dean has been with the Sheriff's Department a long time, and, as far as I know, has been "campaigning" for the sheriff's position for at least four to five years. He was one of Sheriff Bob Brooks' most trusted team members. So, what went wrong? Well, Brooks and virtually all of our exceptional law enforcement professionals consider trust a major quality in a law enforcement leader. Now while Dean and Brooks have a disagreement as to the severity of the consequences when trust is violated, they have no disagreement that Dean did, in fact, violate the trust of Brooks.

Now how about Chief Deputy Dennis Carpenter? He has no history of campaigning for sheriff; he has no political history whatsoever. Carpenter's background is pristine, an absolutely exceptional asset to our citizens, our Sheriff's Department and our county. Carpenter has extraordinary leadership experience, most recently as chief of the Thousand Oaks Police. No issues of trust, no issues of dishonesty, no terminations or demotions due to "lapses in judgment."

If we give Dean the benefit of the doubt, he is still only 98 percent of what would make a good sheriff. Carpenter is 100 percent of what we should require from our next sheriff. Let's set the right example for our kids. Don't settle for less than the best, please join me in voting for Dennis Carpenter for our next Ventura County Sheriff.


~ Rick Lemmo,
Newbury Park

Re: Maya Teague's March 28 article, Bless our fathers, for they have sinned":

The Vatican still refuses to confront the clerical sexual abuse of children in any meaningful way. While there have been some apologies and new programs, no bishops have been fired in Ireland or North America, and the Vatican remains quiet about the allegations of sexual crimes in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Germany. In this country, after Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law was finally forced out by pressure from the media, the laity and 50 courageous priests, the Vatican awarded Law a prestigious position in Rome.

The Pope still has not commented on his role in the Fr. Peter Hullermann scandal from his days in Munich when he was archbishop there. That sordid case finally ended with the conviction of Hullermann as a sex criminal.

Vatican officials are once again blaming the media for attacking the Church, but actually, as we know from established doctrine, the Vatican is not the church, but rather its administrative arm; it is the entire people of God who are the Church, with the Vatican's role and clergy's role being one of service to the laity. Given the continuing hierarchical coverups and refusals by bishops to cooperate with law enforcement where crimes are involved, e.g. our own Cardinal Roger Mahoney, the quality of their service is seriously lacking.

Maya Teague's balanced commentary was right on target. I am sorry to hear that she is no longer an active Catholic, but I do understand since it is getting harder to stay with our leadership being so insensitive and self-protective. I wonder if the Vatican can see any relevance to Matthew 18:6. "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him that a huge millstone be hung around his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea."

~ Gerald McGuire,
Ventura

Re; March 26 Time Out article, "Embracing diversity":

This article brought attention to a stage performance called "Corpus Christi." My question is why director Nic Arnzen wanted to "retell" the life of Jesus, portraying Him and the Apostles as gay? As a Christian, I'm offended at the idea of taking our most reverent and sacred Savior and turning Him into another version entirely.

The director says this perfornance was created out of love, but I'm not convinced. Jesus the Christ is the epitome of love. We don't need to change this. In referance to Him and the Apostles being gay, Nic should rethink and read the life of Jesus from the source, the Bible. Some of Christ's disciples were married and some were not.

We cannot assume that because a person has friends of the same sex that makes them gay. As a married woman of 25-plus years, I still have several good female friends, but I'm not gay; I also have unmarried female friends that are not gay either. So why are you turning Jesus into a gay man because he never married?

You have not trampled on my First Amendment rights, but you have trampled on my most precious Savior -Jesus the Christ.

Mr. Amzen, would you have insulted other religions as you have done to Christianity?

~ Elaine Hazlett-Boyd,
Oxnard

Re: Lois Capps' column, "Why I voted to reform our healthcare system":

Of the articles supporting the healthcare bill recently printed in The Star, Rep. Lois Capps' is typical: Lots of words without saying much. She discusses the problems associated with out-of-control healthcare costs and claims the bill will lower costs. As usual, not one piece of supporting evidence is provided.

That's because her peers chose not to include even one proven technique to lower costs, such as fixing tax inequities, tort reform, insurance sales across state lines, and the biggie, not correcting the fact that someone, other than the consumer, pays for 88 cents on every dollar of healthcare costs.

Every "benefit" she mentioned will only increase healthcare costs from covering the uninsured to eliminating insurance underwriting to hiring 16,000 new IRS agents to enforce mandatory policy purchases. She implies that someone else will pay for all this, so I guess the next bill will mandate that all cars sold in the U.S. will now be free to tourists, imports are banned and they must all be sold at the same price. Sounds silly, but so is this healthcare "reform."

Lois and her peers can fool the CBO with very unrealistic assumptions, so they come up with this silliness being labeled as a deficit reduction plan (brought to you by the same people who are spending $1.5 trillion annually of money they don't have!). However, most folks aren't so easily fooled!

~Arnold Hockenmaier,
Camarillo

Re: Dan K. Thomasson's March 27 commentary, "Texas outrage is one for the schoolbooks":

If the Texas Board of Education has its way, children throughout the nation will be force-fed an ignorant, biased and academically bankrupt version of history and other subjects in their latest textbook revisions. In his recent commentary, Thomasson outlines a compelling explanation and argument against this latest assault by Christian fundamentalists on education.

This is especially noteworthy here in Thousand Oaks as fringe religious zealots have attempted to load the Conejo Valley Unified School District School Board with a slate of religionists whose primary intention is to replace current textbooks with those from Texas. Fortunately, for the children's sake, their attempts have failed. Despite important legal decisions in Dover, Pa., and other areas around the country ruling against the teaching of "intelligent-design" as science, these zealots keep trying to indoctrinate our youth with their revisionist beliefs rather than with a strong academic foundation in mind.

~ Dave Dolnick,
Thousand Oaks

A new Associated Press poll suggests political gain for Democrats with their enactment of healthcare reform. The poll states only 4 percent of Americans say the existing healthcare system shouldn't have been changed at all. Although there was no clear majority opinion on the best way to reform the healthcare system, most polls had indicated that at least 40 percent favored President Obama's plan while another 13 percent favored an even more extensive overhaul.

The challenge for Democrats was that despite great support for healthcare reform there was not a particular formula that yielded the Congressional supermajority needed for earlier passage.

Imagine if the President needed to order a military action and 96 percent of the public and Congress were supportive of this action. Now suppose that there was no consensus on which strategic plan to use: land, sea or air forces. Should the President take no action at all? The trouble for the GOP is that they may now be labeled as the party against all healthcare reform, even though some form of healthcare reform was supported by almost all Americans. Even worse for the GOP is that many of the provisions of the act are expected to be very popular once implemented - especially prohibition of pre-existing conditions, students covered with parents until age 26 and small business tax breaks.

The GOP gambled that healthcare reform could be blocked. Now that they have failed, they continue to fight for repeal and block other initiatives that support working Americans, including extension of unemployment benefits.

Democrats stand to lose some Congressional seats in 2010 because President Obama will not be on the ticket. Do not be surprised if 2012 is a good year for Democrats, especially if the economy improves.

~ Jay Kapitz
Oak Park

Re: March 29 editorial, "The next battle":

The Opinion Page editorial Informed it's readers there is a movement afoot to change or modify the nation's banking rules. Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank as banking chairmen, control the conduct of the nation's banks, large or small. What changes will be made behind closed doors? I wonder what mischief this pair is up to today.

Remember the sub-prime housing loan fiasco that turned the nation's economy into mush? Blaming the banks for misconduct is appropriate. The ultimate blame lies with the U.S. House and Senate Bank oversight chairmen, Dodd and Frank. They can claim lack of knowledge, claim they did not encourage or approve the disastrous loans. They are in charge. They make the rules. They enforce the rules. They should have known. They are ultimately responsible. They are the Congressional Bank Oversight Committee.

~ Robert Charlton,
Thousand Oaks

On the afternoon of March 19, my husband and I were driving home on Ventura Road in Oxnard. While stopped at the intersection with Channel Islands Boulevard, I noticed some picketers. I asked my husband to read their signs. The sign he could read said, "Less teachers is not gooder!" I laughed out loud!

As I sat there laughing, I realized I was angry that our teachers had to take to the streets to garner support for their jobs. It seems that the Oxnard School District, in its infinite wisdom, is handing out a lot of pink slips very soon. Again? Really?

Our teachers are the backbone of our educational system, and they need to be in classrooms, not in unemployment lines. Our children can't endure even larger classrooms with even more harried teachers who will now have to deal with 40 to 50 students instead of a more reasonable 25 to 30. What will it take for upper level management to get that?

I have two solutions that should have been thought of years ago and implemented. First, the OSD could be combined with the Oxnard Union High School District. All the students would be on the same calendar with the same vacation days, etc. The teachers would not lose their jobs, but some upper level administrators would. District-level administration would be cut in half, and only one school board would be needed. Where is the OSD School Board in all of this. anyway?

Secondly, everyone could take a salary cut for a year or two. I know this isn't a popular idea, but a job is better than unemployment. Believe me, I know!

~ Debby Graham
Oxnard

While jogging March 18th, I was crossing the intersection of Hillcrest Drive and Ventu Park Road. It was approximately 5:30 p.m. when the Route 4 city of Thousand Oaks Transit Bus passed me and stopped at the next bus stop to let off a passenger. The front and back doors opened, the passenger exited through the rear door and, much to my astonishment, trash came flying toward me out of front door, compliments of the city of Thousand Oaks Route 4 bus driver. I was appalled!

To say the least, this sets an extremely poor example for our community! I took the time to call the Transit office and spoke with a supervisor. I hope the offending bus driver was spoken to and that we, as residence of this beautiful city, never again have to witness such blatant disregard of litter laws, especially by our city employees.

Anne Marie Wyckoff,
Newbury Park

Marie Panec is my choice for Congress in the 24th District. In June, she faces fellow Democrats in the primary and then, in November, will run in the general election.

I am amazed that honest, thoughtful, qualified people like Marie ever agree to run for public office. Candidates risk their personal savings, the goodwill of friends and associates, and subject themselves to harsh criticism. In my role, as member of the CVUSD Board of Education, I've learned something even scarier; successful campaigning and successful governance aren't actually related. We need to start sending the right kind of people to Washington or nothing is ever going to change.

Marie is that right kind of person. Her experience, as an elected school board member, college science professor, Peace Corps volunteer and wife and mother says it all. She has been giving her time and talent to our communities for more than 20 years. She sees our issues, cares about our problems and knows how to craft legislation that will help, not hurt, here at home in her district. Marie is honest, tough, smart and well informed. That's what we need in Washington!

The U.S. Congress is often referred to as the "broken branch" of government. Approval ratings are in the low teens and incumbent, Elton Gallegly, is a poster child for what's wrong. So what's a voter to do? Go to http://www.panec4congress.com/ to find out how you can help to send a qualified representative to Congress!

~ Betsy Connolly
Thousand Oaks

Re: Maya Teague's March 28 article, Bless our fathers, for they have sinned":

Maya Teague makes a most interesting case for an overhaul of practices in the Catholic church.

I enjoyed reading the article. I wish to add the following:

A felony is a criminal act perpetrated against the public interest. It is wholly inexcusable and carries severe fines and punishments. It doesn't matter who commits the crime or where the crime is committed, be it in a bank, a schoolyard, or a private home, because certain felonious acts are committed in or through a religious context, does not mitigate the felony nor excuse the perpetrator.

It is way past time for society to keep turning deaf ears and blind eyes to the heinous criminal act of pedophilia, practiced so wantonly and globally by members of the Catholic clergy. Furthermore, all those who participated in covering up the crimes or the perpetrators by failing to notify proper police authorities and reassigning criminal priests are equally guilty of aiding, harboring and abetting criminals in the act of escaping prosecution.

It is time to arrest these perpetrators and co-conspirators and formally charge them with the crimes they have committed in courts of law. If found guilty, they all should be fined and sentenced to prison terms. Settling pedophilia cases by paying out huge sums of money to victims without prosecuting the priests involved and their supervisors who hid them by reassigning to other sectors, is an affront to public decency. As to the question of celibacy as a requirement for the Catholic priesthood, perhaps this practice should be identified as the unnecessary evil it is and abandoned.

~ Charles Williams,
Oxnard

The 200 Catholic bishops that argued against passage [of helathcare] might be right, but, as anyone who went through parochial grammar school will tell you, 70,000 nuns who argued for passage, can't be wrong!

~ Patrick S. O'Malley
Oxnard

Re: March 27 article, "Tea party organizer is new at activism":

I found the article on Tea Party Activist Carla Bonney laughable. Like many tea party activists, her comments reveal another Republican who is upset that the majority of the population in a fair and democratic election threw their party out of office. Ms. Bonney's burgeoning activism has nothing to do with healthcare, as she admits when she says she was "opposed to Obama from the beginning." Where was her anger when Mitt Romney mandated healthcare insurance in Massachusetts, which the current healthcare bill is largely modeled after?

The article also states the majority of tea partiers oppose higher taxes, gun control, etc. I challenge any of them to show me any current legislation that curbs gun owners of their rights. And unless they are part of the 5 percent making over $250,000 a year, they would realize they're part of the 95 percent who saw their taxes go down in 2009.

Bonney blames the party's image problem on the media's focus on kooks and cranks, yet she continues to support the kooky belief that President Obama isn't a natural born citizen. Would this issue have been raised if John McCain, who was born in Panama to American parents, had won the election? Ms. Bonny represents a party that wants to delegitimize Barack Obama's presidency and legitimize an increasingly violent party being fed bogus facts and fears by the likes of Dick Army and Tom Tencrado.

I suggest Ms. Bonney and her tea party activists read the history of how real fascist regimes came to power in other countries. They may be surprised to learn groups similar to theirs were puppets used to overthrow democratically elected leaders through violent uprisings and ushered in totalitarian regimes by previously ousted parties who would make sure they did not lose power again.

~Maureen DeCoste,
Somis

Re: Rep. Lois Capps' March 27 column,"Why I voted to reform our healthcare system":

Capps' column was a litany of liberal rubbish. I have a few questions;

- If this so called "reform" is so good, why do you chose not to participate?
- Why don't you and your colleagues tackle the real problems, Socialty Security, Medicare, Medicaid? All of these programs are rife with waste, fraud and abuse. All are broke. There are countless others.
- How can you claim that this program is deficit-reducing when you are adding 32 million new people who are getting "free" government health insurance?

Remember "The Great Society" of Lyndon Johnson? Trillions of dollars wasted. History will show in a few years the collosal folly of the socialist left, again.

~ Ken Davis,
Moorpark

I would like to commend Congresswoman Lois Capps for her courageous, history-making vote for healthcare reform. Thanks to Congresswoman Capps, President Obama and other compassionate Democrats, 32 million more Americans will be covered by health care.

When President Obama signed the healthcare bill into law, a young boy named Marcelas was at his side. Marcelas' mother had died after losing her job, medical insurance and health care.

Congresswoman Capps, a former nurse, represents each of us with wisdom and compassion, fighting to ensure that health care is a right ... not a priviledge only for the wealthy.

It is difficult for me to imagine why some people are so grumpy about the fact that millions of people are now going to be able to visit a doctor, people like the little boy Marcelas.

Joy Hamlat,
Oxnard

Re: Dan K. Thomasson's March 27 column, "Texas outrage is one for the schoolbooks":

I have never been a big fan of Dan Thomasson. In fact, I don't believe I have ever agreed with anything he has written. But today I was in almost total support of his viewpoint. Well, except for his negative opinion of Thomas Jefferson.

The recent, outrageous decision by the Texas Board of Education to literally rewrite history is stunning. Mr. Thomasson covered many of the specifics of this case, so I won't rehash them, but if you are anything like me, you fear the increasing intrusion of evangelical-Christian values into virtually all aspects of our society. Please, feel free to believe and worship as you choose as long as you don't harm anyone, but these attempts to dumb-down and distort our children's textbooks and education are woefully misguided and dangerous.

As I recall, the major example of altering history to suit an ideology was in the old Soviet Union. The ultra-conservatives and evangelicals continually depict President Obama as a communist, socialist and facist at political rallies. Ironic isn't it?


~ Joy Putinta,
Camarillo

The Ventura City Council is faced with a budget shortfall in the range of $6 million to $7 million next year on an $85 million budget. The council is looking at various options from "muddle through" to continued reductions in employee compensation. With all due respect, the cCouncil (excepting Councilman Andrews) is ignoring the elephant in the room - police and firefighters' unsustainable pension obligations.

The city of Ventura should look to the experience of Vallejo, which two years ago declared bankruptcy. At the time, 74 percent of the city's general budget was consumed by police and firefighter salaries, overtime and pension obligations.

Leading up the the bankruptcy the Vallejo City Council attempted the same budgetary cuts that are currently being discussed in Ventura: low priority services, personnel (including police) reductions, senior centers and art organizations funding - but not pensions.

When Vallejo finally declared bankruptcy in 2008, the city had the authority to void existing union contracts in its effort to achieve stable financial footing. Instead, as part of its workout plan approved in December 2009, the city simply cut staff and retiree health benefits but did not touch public employee pensions. The city blinked.

Rather than worry about the next election cycle, the Ventura City Council needs to worry about the struggling taxpayers, forced to foot the bill for gold-plated pension benefits that have been lavished upon public servants. Who among us receives 90 percent of our final salary in pension benefits for life?

Either stand up to the powerful unions (Ventura police union spent $56,000 in a failed attempt to defeat Councilman Andrews) now, or prepare city taxpayers for increased fees and taxes, which will undermine the local economy and drive business away.

~ David P. Grau,
Ventura

Re: Marvin Petal's March 24 column, "Trying to explain the Pledge":

When I read this article in the paper, I was not only shocked, but I was incredibly offended. How could someone take one's belief and reverence for God and just completely throw it aside into the gutter?

If Petal's condesending tone towards our country wasn't enough, he decides that he is powerful enough not only to speak directly to God but to respond as God himself! His perceptions on "God's" answers are completely demoralizing; he makes God sound like just another person and like a smart-aleck! It is disgrading and insulting. Oh, and to answer your question Marvin, we don't pledge allegiance to a flag, we pledge to what the flag stands for: truth, hope and liberty.

~ Eric Langlois,
Thousand Oaks

The current administration, including the President as Moe, Biden as Shemp, (Senate Majority Leader Harry) Reid as Larry and (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi as Curly are taken right out of "The Three Stooges" comedies with one exception. Moe represents the parent in charge and Shemp, Larry and Curly are his children. Moe always punished Shemp, Larry and Curley when they did something stupid. This time around, Moe, Shemp, Larry and Curly all identify the American people as stupid (the opposition), and therefore, the stupid are to be punished. Moe (the professor) is also stupid, yet since he is stronger and has the power, he is the administrator of the punishment. This time around, Shemp, Larry and Curly (the vice president and Democratic Congress) also have the power to administrate the punishment by silencing and mocking the opposition. This administration is "The Three Stooges" with a twist.

This original comedy is now a horrible nightmare, yet this is not a bad dream; its reality.

~Barry Gabrielson,
Newbury Park

California politicians close libraries and open pot shops. What a great state for rearing children! What's next on the agenda from our elected representatives?

~Tesi Wong,
Ventura

Re: March 27 article, "Rove criticizes healthcare plan":

At the Regan library Friday, March 26, Karl Rove is quoted as saying: "We lost the battle, but we haven't lost the war..." In this era of the least amount of respect ever for rules, regulations, laws and common decency, the last thing we need are Republicans inciting their followers with battle cries, as we have witnessed in the past week and the lack of cooperation shown since they lost the Presidential election.

I hope that all politicians, and especially Republicans, can now present quality information to the electorate so each person can make an informed decision about all of the critical issues facing us today at the federal, state and local levels. In essence, do their job and represent their electorate; not spend the next 2 1/2 years trying to get the Democrats out of the White House with so many important decisions that need to be made. Stop the myths, lies, mistruths and over-exaggerations that have marked the Republican modus operandi since they lost the White House.

I hope that Mr. Rove's incitement of his followers, along with former Vice President Dick Cheney and other representatives, does not predate some form of horrible situation in the U.S. Let history show that this type of rhetoric many years ago set a foundation that ultimately led to Timothy McVee blowing up the Federal building in Oklahoma City.

~ Warren J. Potash,
Moorpark

Re: March 27 article, "Dog sentenced for mauling car":

This is a total mockery of the judicial system. A dog is property. Nothing more, nothing less. Could your car be sentenced for mauling a dog? I think not. Same thing. The owner of the dog should have been sentenced to classes in responsibility. I'm sure Winston is a wonderful pet. I'm not sure about his owner. The judge should not have wasted time (and money) hearing this case. Was the dog present at the sentencing? Did they take him away in chains? What happens if he fails the class? Will his bail be revoked? What if he skips bail? Will "Dog" the bounty hunter go after him? Enough said.

~ David Smith,
Camarillo

Re: Dan K. Thomasson's March 27 column, "Texas outrage is one for the schoolbooks":

While I agreed with much of what Mr. Thomasson said about changing the history books, one extremely irritating thing caused me to doubt his contemporary mindset. In paragraph four, he referred to the sponsor of Jefferson's banishment by saying she is a "woman lawyer," as if her genitals had some part to play and she should be judged negatively because of it.

I myself have often been referred to as "woman pastor," and nurses who are men are called "male nurses." I don't get it. Is this a comment on a person's brain power? Are we so behind the times we can't just say lawyer, pastor, or "nurse? Many other professions have the same problem, as if the person's gender has a direct bearing on his or her competency.

Let's catch up with the times and judge people on the quality of their work, not on their sex, color, religion, or their physical attributes.

~Leslie Soyster,
Camarillo

President Obama, I will thank you for the rest of my life for this great medical protection.

~ Francisco Ornelas,
Oxnard

A little-discussed executive order from President Obama giving foreign cops new police powers in the United States by exempting them from such drudgery as compliance with the Freedom of Information Act is raising alarm among commentators who say INTERPOL already had most of the same privileges as diplomats. At David Horowitz's Newsreal, Michael van der Galien said the issue is Obama's expansion of President Ronald Reagan's order from 1983 that originally granted those diplomatic privileges.

Reagan's order carried certain exemptions requiring that INTERPOL operations be subject to several U.S. laws such as the Freedom of Information Act. Obama, however, removed those restrictions in his Dec. 16 amendment to Executive Order 12425.

That means, van der Galien wrote today, "this foreign law enforcement organization can operate free of an important safeguard against government and abuse." "'Property and assets,' including the organization's records, cannot be searched or seized. Their physical locations are now immune from U.S. legal or investigative authorities," he wrote.

Obama's order said he was removing the Reagan limitations on INTERPOL "by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including Section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288), and in order to extend the appropriate privileges, exemptions and immunities to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).

Den Set,
Port Hueneme

Re: March 25 editorial, "Before threats become deeds":

Your position is in line with your normal liberal stance.

Over 70 percent of the American people made clear through protests, polls, town hall meetings, etc., that they objected to the Obamacare bill. Congress ridiculed them, ignored them and said that it was their way or the highway. They proceeded to pass this bill with bribes, trickery, parliamentary devices, etc. All of this with taxpayer's money.

You can only push people so far, before they fight. As Gandhi said: "30,000 British soldiers cannot control 300 million Indian citizens."

The American people are good, bad and in-between, but, we do not accept being pushed around. You stir us up: look out. Germany has tried it: Japan has tried it.

Government afraid of the people means freedom. People afraid of the government means tyranny.

Mr. Ventura Star, I would suggest you get out of our way. We are going to clean house of these elitist bums, who have no idea how to create jobs or wealth. We are going to replace them with those dirty American patriots who believe in limited government and the American Constitution.

I feel sorry for you. You are not going to participate in the success of the American program. You are going to stay married to more government control and the reduction of liberties.

Our leaders should remember. You sow the wind; you reap the whirlwind.

~ Robert Purbeck,
Thousand Oaks

Re: March 25 editorial, "Before Threats Become Deeds":

There is no more obvious indication of left-wing ideology than your linking the current Tea Party protests to Timothy McVeigh's Oklahoma bombing. You have little to fear of violence from this sector, its discontent will be expressed at the polls.

~ Fred Ziegler,
Ventura

Re: Geoff Dean's March 26 commentary, "Keep politics out of county sheriff's office":

The issue is about character and integrity, not politics.

~ Nils Rueckert,
Camarillo

As a 25-year resident of the Conejo Valley, I am excited that Audra Strickland is running for the 2nd District seat on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. While the Supervisors are elected on a district basis, their service is to the county as a whole. I am confident that Audra's experience and public policy views will be a benefit for both residents and businesses across the Ventura County.

As she has done in her role as our state assemblywoman for the past six years, Audra will continue to champion the causes of greater efficiency in government, lower taxes for all, and honoring the private property rights of American citizens. It will be a privilege to vote for Audra Strickland for County Supervisor in this June's election.

~John Andersen,
Newbury Park,

I have observed recently the many advertisements on the streets promoting a mixed martial arts, MMA, event at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. My limited knowledge of mixed martial arts sees this sport as a form of boxing that allows its opponents to use a lighter glove, or no glove, and kick/wrestle each other. While this form of entertainment is not for me, the sport has a following that equals numbers at a prize fight.

I am not promoting the MMA, nor do I completely understand all its makeup, what I could not stop considering is the fact that we can/will promote/stage a fight between human beings, yet we will incarcerate if one promotes/stages a fight between a dog or a rooster. Is this because one should know better, the animal does not have a say, or is it because a human can sign a waiver that states their admission that fighting can cause death?

~Mike Whitcomb,
Oak View

When I heard that "healthcare reform" had passed, I thought of Mel Gibson in that movie where he looks out over the crowd strapped to a table while a government official cut his guts out. He shouts out in vane one word "Freedom" and then slowly dies.

The U.S. Government now looks more like the vision of Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels than that vision of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. When I grew up in the '60's, '70's and early '80's, "we the people" had much more freedom than the young people do today. To the younger people on behalf of my generation I'd like to say I'm sorry. Its apparent that the U.S. Government does not believe you are responsible enough or capable of handling that much freedom ... that's alright, I believe in you, after all you are your only hope.

~Craig Toth,
Simi Valley

President Obama's healthcare speech to the Democratic Caucus, before the Sunday vote on the healthcare bill, was made up of statements about the bill that really amounted to a set of motherhood and apple pie assertions:

• Everyone would be covered by health insurance;


• Pre-existing conditions would be covered;


• No lifetime cap on medical care;


• Small businesses would be given a tax incentive to provide health insurance;


• Special exchanges set up to allow people and small businesses to purchase health insurance at a lower cost;


• $1 trillion in deficit savings over 20 years;


• Everyone with health insurance would keep it at no increased cost.

Re: Marvin Petal's March 24 column, "Trying to explain the Pledge":

A student of history uses his subtlety with words to erode the granite foundation of our republic.

So, the author of the "Pledge" is a Baptist minister and a socialist. In my own simple view, I doubt that he wanted government to be the giver of charity and doubt that Rev. Bellamy's view of socialism was the present-day interpretation; think "tithing" instead. Mr. Petal, then, has his sophomoric dialog with his imaginary god. He then takes an underhanded jab at the Knights of Columbus. Maybe he should research the labors of members in this worldwide organization founded in 1882 in New Haven, Conn.

Trying to twist the "one nation under God" into an expression of elitism is an insult to every person that has given his life for this country on our soil and in other lands, the founding fathers and their amazing foresight for this country, and all the Americans that have worked in the fields the factories and in common-man everyday jobs to make this country great. Americans still contribute more than any other nation out of their pockets and then through their taxes to help the less fortunate in the world.

I welcome everyone who comes to this country to become an American along with their rich heritage, as was my good fortune when my father and grandfather migrated here in 1904. These were the people that sent their sons and, yes, daughters to war, who would later become doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, etc., if they survived to becoming the "greatest generation."

I think we need to focus on today's issues not a clever way of using words, and understanding the words that are used by our elected representatives and require them to speak factually not in "pep rally" slogans. I, for one, do not want to become another individual waiting for government to feed, clothe and shelter me or tell me when to board the bus to a better life.

~Norman A. Zecca
Simi Valley

I have read the letter of Diane White, and I made several calls to different public agencies in the county. Everyone has said that their computer at work is not to be used for personal business, is subject to be monitored, and if found to be used for personal business, they would be in violation of a county regulation. Now, if the sheriff had personal information on a county computer, maintained by county personal, to me that means it is public information as we the tax-payer paid for said computer and someone to maintain it.

I have talked with both Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Dean and have not donated any money to either. Whoever wins the elections in June will, as in the past, have my full support. I did find out that other chief deputies did have access to this file, but not Mr. Dean. What I did find out by reading what was in the paper is that Diane White has changed her story a few times. I also remember that Sheriff Brooks came out in The Star and said he was not going to support either candidate. May the best man win in June.

~ Mike Lambert,
Santa Paula

Republicans plan to make a repeal of healthcare reform the key issue in November elections. Good luck with that.

I can see their bumper strips now: Restore pre-existing conditions - Vote GOP ... And for seniors: Democrats stole my Rx doughnut hole!

~ Rick Scott,
Ventura

Re: March 25 article "Sojka joins mayor's race in Simi Valley":

My wife and I were guests at Councilman Steve Sojka's announcement gathering on Wednesday, March 24. It was held at Lost Canyons golf club just outside the clubhouse. Great canapes, mini burgers, fruits and cheeses, soda, celebratory cocktails and beer were served. The crowd was at about 200 when the Mayor, Paul Miller, took the dais and explained why he supported Mr. Sojka.

He wasn't the only one to support him, though. Glen Becerra, Michelle Foster and Barbra Williamson spoke. Even Cameron Smythe took time from his busy schedule to praise his leadership and vision for our city. All had glowing recommendations for Mr. Sojka. Barbra got more than one chuckle when she implied that current knowledge of our city far outweighs the memories of 30 years ago (Bob Huber?).

Those of us gathered at our table were in agreement that Mr. Sojka has done so much for the community in the 12 years he has served, that we want his leadership as our mayor, rather that an ex-councilman who served only one term, 30-plus years ago. To try and become mayor without paying your dues and keeping current on everyday issues just will not work, but some, apparently, believe the position can be purchased with big dollars and large ads. I don't recall ever seeing Mr. Huber at a council meeting, writing letters to the editor, expressing his views on a current issue or debating the outcome of a decision our council makes.

My wife and I were glad we attended. It was a cold evening standing outside listening to all the accolades from the dignitaries, but it made us secure that we, as a great city, were moving forward with the right kind of conservative, well thought out leadership we all deserve.

We will support Mr. Sojka and wish all our friends to do the same in the upcoming election.

~Wayne Evans,
Simi Valley

Re: March 24 column "Ex-secretary faults sheriff candidate":

This article and Diane White's letter to the editor seem to put into question the character of Sheriff Brooks more than that of Geoff Dean.

I would like to know what authority Brooks had to "forbid his top commanders" from running for his office, preventing voters from having excellent choices?

Secondly, why did Brooks have a "confidential" file, a database, of contributors or donors on an official computer, that White says "belongs to the office of the sheriff"? Such a file would be useful while Brooks was a candidate running for office, but what use would it be in his official capacity?

It appears Dean was improperly fired for "insubordination" for running against Brooks' wishes, as evidenced by his interest in a file that was not supposed to be there in the first place.

So, voters, consider the evidence.

Bruce K. Bell,
Moorpark

I drove the Help of Ojai bus yesterday. A warm day filled with the sight of blazing blossoms, green hills and the sound of birds. The morning after the passage of healthcare reform. A day to be thankful for.

And then I bumped into Ralph. Sitting in the Little House lobby in his usual personality-plus mode, I stopped for some banter. The subject quickly turned to the healthcare reform bill. "What did you think of what went on yesterday?"

With a touch of pique "Awful. It's going to cost a fortune. And for what?"

Cloaking myself in my social justice mode, "Well, 32 million more people will have some insurance, and folks won't be cast into the void when they lose their jobs and can't get coverage because they have cancer." Not good enough for Ralph.

Mike, another regular, was sitting close by and joined in. "Wait 'til the tax man comes and takes whatever you have left to pay for this thing. You'll be singing a different tune. This thing is a disaster."

Knowing full well they do, I asked "You guys have Medicare?"

Ralph jumped, "Of course, but I pay for it."

I asked, "And just how do you do that?" A period of silence.

"Tell you what," I said. "You give up your Medicare benefits, take the money you save, and use it to buy Blue Cross coverage." Another period of silence.

"And, if you do that, I'll march in the next Tea Party parade ... with a big poster telling folks to dump healthcare reform." Permanent silence.

"Let's have lunch."

~ Fred Rothenberg,
Ojai

Re: Dick Burrer's March 25 letter, "Making concessions":

Regarding Mr. Burrer's letter on undocumented workers getting drivers' licenses, if he really believes one has to be a U.S. citizen to obtain a license in California, he needs to check his facts or somebody should tell the DMV they've been breaking the law all this time.

~Judith Linton,
Thousand Oaks

Despite the party of "no," we have won the fight. As a disabled senior it is important to me to have good medical care at an affordable price. I find myself in the "doughtnut" hole every year. I am happy to see that it will end even though I won't be alive to see it. I am sure it will be of help to many others who have to pay high prices for prescriptions that are required by their illnesses. Keep up the good fight Democrats and all undecideds.

~Jean Bunch,
Agoura Hills

Regarding "County ahead in census response," the government isn't trying very hard to get an accurate count of residents. I've lived in the county for five years and I didn't receive a census form. Why not? I haven't moved in two years. I'm an American citizen. The DMV, the IRS and the voters registration board all have my current address on file.

I went to the U.S. Census Web site and found no information on where I can pick up a census form. I sent an e-mail and didn't receive an answer. I guess the government is only interested in counting wealthy homeowners.

I doubt that a census counter will come to my house as it's out of the way, hard to find and has no number. Instead of wasting millions of dollars on posters and water bottles, why doesn't the government actually try to get forms into the hands of the people?

~Sally Carpenter,
Moorpark

Well, the news media and the Ventura County Star got it wrong again in the first sentence of today's front page headline article "Lawmakers complete overhaul of healthcare" by saying "congressional Democrats put the final touches Thursday on historic legislation enshrining healthcare as the right of every citizen."

The only rights citizens have are those enumerated in the Constitution, and healthcare is not therein. Congress does not grant rights, it enacts law, so therefore citizens are entitled to healthcare by law; an enormous difference.

~ Paul Derby,
Camarillo

Re: March 14 article, "Simi Valley focuses on graffiti vandals":

We learned in this story that at the behest of the Simi Valley City Council a special five-man unit was charged with "cracking down" on graffiti, a problem that "skyrocketed in the city last year."

At the time the Simi Valley Police Department was so charged, earlier in the week, the same newspaper informed us that seven Simi Valley High School students were arrested as part of a circle that may include up to 20 to 50 more students implicated in the use and trafficking of a controlled-substance narcotic going by the street name ecstasy.

This campus drug activity is going on, apparently, in the graffiti skyrocket's red glare, somehow, and somewhat "under the city's radar."

While the city, it's police department and its board of education may have thought they were doing a good job of patrolling/controlling drug use on local campuses, as recently as last week, it appears that effort is falling short of being a qualified success.

As a place to start putting as much emphasis on the problem of drug use in schools as on graffiti in the city, I suggest the Simi Valley Police Department resume it D.A.R.E. program that it shelved last year.

Whether it was because of legitimate budget concerns, or your pique with the city, and its City Council, over salary issues, you need to take that cute little D.A.R.E. vehicle you have "out of mothballs," and put it back on campuses informing students of all ages of the risks and ravages of drug abuse.

That's because a very stark bottom line, here, is that the ugly scars inflicted by graffiti on the facade of Simi Valley walls absolutely pales in comparison to the horrendous scars inflicted by controlled-substance drugs on the fragile psyches and bodies of the city's truly most valuable assets, its vulnerable young.

Police Sgt. Darin Muehler couldn't have "nailed" the essence of the problem more accurately when quoted, by The Star, as saying about taggers, "What causes them to do it (tagging)? I don't know. They just love it."

Could the same not be said about the possibly growing number of young ecstasy addicts?

~ Bob Jackson,
Simi Valley

It's hard to believe that it has been seven months. Not a day goes by that we don't think of Brian and remember the outpouring of support and kindness we received from family, friends and the community alike. Every gesture, every visit, phone calls, hugs or letters are tremendous sources of comfort to us all. We are moved by the love and support shown by all, and it is greatly appreciated.

We thank those who brought enough food to feed us for weeks during the darkest hours of our lives. Thank you to all our neighbors and friends for organizing the tremendous amount of food for the gathering after the interment. Thank you all for a great turnout in attending the funeral in the midday sun. Thank you for a beautiful ceremony and many kind words spoken by the coaches. Thank you for the flowers, gifts, prayers and beautiful letters from the countless condolence cards and telephone calls. Thank you to those who took precious time to walk with us and check in with us from time to time. I apologize for not including any names as they would make this message too long.

We cherish the many stories you wrote about Brian most of which were new to us. We encourage you to continue telling us more stories. We value and read these tales with smiles and tears on our faces. These personal tales are a great source of comfort as we come to terms with our loss. Brian would have been very humbled and proud of the nice things you wrote about him.

Thank you to Oak Park and Oaks Christian High School, Ventura County Board of Supervisor and Agoura Pony Baseball League for their remembrance of Brian. Much thanks to Oak Park High School and Moorpark College for setting up and naming scholarships in Brian's name.

Last but not least, thank you to everyone who contributed to the Wounded Warrior Project in Brian's memory. As of the end of 2009, you have contributed approximately $3,500 to this organization. Thank you again and again for all your support and the tributes.

~ Miriam and Chris Wolverton,
Oak Park

Re. Richard Landis' March 19, letter, "Going to far":

It's amazing and somewhat mystifying how two individuals can read the same column and have such opposite reactions. Richard Landis read Dr. Paulson's March 15 column "8 Surefire Ways to Fail as a Democrat" and really got turned off. I read the column and really got turned on !

It reminds me of what someone (I have no idea who) wrote many years ago that has stuck with me: "Two men looked out from prison bars; one saw mud and the other saw stars."
Richard Landis saw "mud" and I saw "stars."

I thought Dr. Paulson's satire was hilarious in some ways and so very prophetic in other ways. Time will tell, of course, whether Dr. Paulson is on target, but my advice would be not to bet against him.

~ Richard Ewing Brown, Jr.,
Ojai

A subject that I thought would have been made a key element in the work up to the healthcare bill seems to have remained below the media radar: namely pension healthcare promises that burden states, counties, cities, myriad governmental agencies, unions both governmental types as well as private industry (not an issue for federal obligations since the feds will simply print more money to resolve the problem, which of course will devalue the dollars in our pockets).

It would appear that many of the budgetary problems of these governments will just vanish when Obamacare takes hold and the always amiable taxpayer will take on the load. The generosity of unions to the Obama campaign appears to have been a good investment.

~ Michael Lawrence,
Ventura

I can hardly believe the vicious racial slurs and threats people have made regarding the president and Congresspeople who voted in favor of the health bill! You'd think we were back in the '60's before there was any social consciousness whatsoever.

I'm so ashamed of these people and hope that their anger and vindictiveness backfires on them! I know it's not the best bill we could have had - the insurance companies have a stranglehold on medical care in this country and paid everyone off so we wouldn't get a public option. If the Republicans truly held the healthcare of our nation as a priority, why didn't they take care of it while they were in the majority?

Carol Adams-Ramos,
Ventura

I am pleased and proud to add my name to those that support Geoff Dean for Ventura County Sheriff.

I have known Geoff for 10-plus years and have seen him actively involved with the Camarillo Noontime Rotary, leading many of the club's charitable projects.

I am aware of his hard work on behalf of the County Sheriffs' many charitable projects, raising funds to support at-risk kids and other needy groups.

I have seen him operate as a fine officer of the law, a leader by example, who is devoted to upholding the law, but not without compassion and being available to fellow deputies and citizens alike.

I have been friends with Sheriffs Jalaty, Gillespe, Carpenter and Brooks during the 27 years we lived in Camarillo. All these men are superior leaders of the Sheriff's Department. I see Geoff Dean continuing this legacy.

I am a proud 20-year member of the California State Sheriff's Association as and associated member (not sworn). I know the dedication of this group to good law enforcement. Geoff Dean has those qualifications

Jim Jevens,
CSSA member No. 71366
Surprise, Ariz.

I implore all those in favor of arguing against the legalization of marijuana to verify these statements with true and honest fact finding. Cannabis hemp has been grown for it's multitude of sustainable byproducts throughout history, until the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, when big business, their lobbyists and media control demonized it. Thank you Hearst, Annslinger (Director of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, now the DEA), DuPont, Mellon, and others for keeping with American capitalism at all costs. Remember GM, Standard Oil, Firestone Tire Company and others putting the Red Car out of business; sound familiar?

This plant, which holds significant properties should be what we are discussing, so let's identify some of its uses:

• 90 percent of all ships' sails, rope, nets, flags, sailors clothing. lubricating oil and as a watertight sealant


• Textiles and fabrics - tents, bed sheets, rugs, diapers, Levis and even "Old Glory"


• Fiber and pulp paper - money, maps, books, Bibles, etc


• Rope, twine, cordage art canvas


• Paints and varnishes - lost to DuPont petro-chemicals


• Lighting oil - the most consumed lighting oil and was the brightest lamp oil


• Biomass energy - more sustainable than corn, sugarcane and trees. Henry Ford recognized biomass as necessary replacement to oil, coal and natural gas


• Medicine - used to treat fatigue, arthritis, migraine headaches, cramps, depression, glaucoma, nausea, etc


• Food oils and protein - the hemp seed contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids (protein) in the plant kingdom


• Building materials and housing - inexpensive, fire resistant, thermal and sound-insulating, particle board, paneling, etc


• Economic stability, profit and free trade - currently illegal to grow in the U.S., so it is imported from China, Poland, Russia, etc.

If we are to demonize the hemp plant and it' byproduct of THC as the "gateway drug," let's consider the high percentage of violent crime, murder, rape and vehicular accidents that fall to the influence of Alcohol. Perhaps a repeal back to prohibition is in order? Interviews with Ozzy Osbourne relating to his consumption of licit and illicit drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, guess which he stated was the hard habit to quit? Cigarettes for those wondering, and how easy are these to purchase. They also bring heart risks for both consumer and second-hand bystanders? I digress!

It's hard to detail a complete list of the hemp plant's diversity and potential for global economic stability, a clean renewable fuel source, and a green economy.

~ Kevin Marble,
Ventura

James Thurber said,"You can fool too many of the people too much of the time," and now this has come to pass.

The do-nothing Republicans do nothing but bullying these days, and isn't it a truism that a bully, when tested, shuts up and backs off? I am waitiing for this to happen. Has this political party lost all common sense? The country is being whipped into a frenzy from the same source that mismanaged our country from 2000 to 2008.

The Republicans have to answer for the racial outbursts and out-an-out lawless incidents after the passage of the healthcare bill.

I'm 85 years old and never remember virtually all members of a political party opt out of responsibity to govern. All Congressmen took government offices and pledged, to the best of their ability, to uphold the Constitution of the United States. This fearmongering, name-calling and instigating violence is not upholding this pledge to constituents.

Agree to disagree is how we settle contention in America.

~ Marjorie E. Grate,
Camarillo

Re: Sheriff Bob Brooks's March 14 column, "Marijuana Legalization" and March 21 article, "No license leads to no car":

Two articles in the paper this week have struck me as borderline unbelievable. One was the article about how we should all be concerned about people driving illegally and how they are unfairly targeted. The other article was about people in Humboldt county who are going to be out of work (their job is illegally growing pot) if we legalize pot in California.

Am I missing something here? These people are blatantly breaking the laws and then we are supposed to feel compassion towards them? What would happen if I were to drive without a license? Or how about I grow some weed for profit in my backyard? Say I get caught and put in jail. Do any of you feel sorry for me? I think not. "He got what he deserved" is what you would hear.

The law is clear. It has to be absolute for everyone or it is no good to anyone. Laws are in place to control society for the good of all it's citizens. Compassion for someone is good. If you are breaking the law, you get what you deserve.

The solution: Fine the lawbreakers, revise immigration laws and legalize pot.

David Eckerson,
Ventura

Re March 11 article, "Moorpark Road repair project to move forward":

On March 24, 1981, the County Board of Supervisors approved a "Norwegian Grade Area Of Benefit" to collect fees in the Santa Rosa Valley. Funds collected were to defray costs to the city of Thousand Oaks for Norwegian Grade improvements. However, on April 11, 1995, the Supervisors voted an "unfair ... diversion" (Mayor Zukowski's words in a March 22, 1995, official letter to the board).

The Supervisors, undaunted, decided that the fees earmarked only for Norwegian Grade improvements, were to be "diverted" by the county for a different county project. Over the years, it is believed that over a $1 million were collected by the "area of benefit." Unless stopped, the citizens of Thousand Oaks will be taxed for something the county already collected sufficient funds. Not to be lost in all these manipulations, is that the residents of the Santa Rosa Valley received no direct "benefit" from the fees they paid into the county's coffers. None of this iis acceptable; none of this is fair; and none of this is probably legal.

~Victor A. Penun,
Santa Rosa Valley

This healthcare bill is nothing more than the foundation for Socialism. This bill creates over 100 agencies, committees and task forces. It mandates every American to purchase health insurance. They are putting the IRS in charge of enforcing this law. You will be fined or jailed if you do not comply. This president needs to come up with 1.5 trillion dollars to cover this government takeover of healthcare so your taxes will be increased.

If this bill is so great, why did the Democrats exempt the congress, president and vice president. Obama was telling horror stories about the health insurance companies. Stating we need reform now. He lied. Benefits will begin in 2014, but taxes start immediately. There will be no deficit reduction. We will be taxed for four years before any health insurance benefits kick in.

The Democrats are feeling so confident since they passed the healthcare bill that they are revealing themselves:

Rep Dingell, D-Mich, said "it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people."

Rep Hastings, D-Fla., said "Rules. What rules. We make them up as we go along".

We can correct these colossal blunders. First, vote out every progressive Democrat, Independent and Republican. Second, we need to get the unions out of schools, local, county and state governments. Third, we need to take back our schools from the progressive superintendents and teachers. We need to make sure our children are mastering math, English, science and their constitutional rights. Fourth, make sure elected officials at all levels are committed to reducing government. Fifth, we need to teach our children to be self-reliant.

This great country was built on freedom, faith, charity and self-reliance. This president and congress picked the wrong people to fight.

Richard Pinedo,
Santa Paula

The Republicans and the Tea Party folks have made a big mistake with their incessant negative approach to dealing with our nation's problems. The hateful images they have created over the last weekend will come back to haunt them. Paul Krugman put their failure in plain sight with the following contrast between President Obama's comments and those of Newt Gingrich:

Obama: "Every once in a while a moment comes where you have the chance to vindicate all those best hopes that you had about yourself, about this country, where you have a chance to make good on those promises you made... and this is the time to make true on that promise. We are not bound to win, but we are bound to be true. We are not bound to succeed, but we are bound to let whatever light we have shine."

Gingrich: If the Democrats pass health reform, "They will have destroyed their party much as Lyndon Johnson shattered the Democratic Party for 40 years" by passing the Great Society and Civil Rights legislation.

Which set of values rings true with you? Have you had enough hateful venom and fear-mongering yet?

~ Bill Robinson,
Westlake Village

I'm sitting here watching C-SPAN 2 and Sen. Tom Coburn is making a huge issue about sex offenders and child molesters in prison getting viagra and other recreational drugs.
He's been talking about it for 10 minutes now.

I am on Medicare and Medicade.

I used to get six pills a month when I first found out that viagra was available.

In 2003, the amount of pills allowed per month was cut to four.

In 2005, the amount of pills was cut to zero.

Coburn was, of course, citing a 2005 study.

I don't understand. Shouldn't Mr. Coburn know that these drugs became unavailabe as have so many others. How can he go on for 15 minutes telling us how much money this is costing us.

He's either uninformed or a damned liar.

~ Bob Conti,
Thousand Oaks

Re: March 23 article, "Cows trigger ugly homeowners association fight in Simi"

Your article regarding the Bridle Path neighborhood has some very interesting data. You reported the results of the election that gave the three candidates (Bill Apodaca, Linda Pierce and David Miller) control over the board. The data reflects that they received 48 percent of the vote. If you subtract the proxies, the three above received only 17.7 percent of the ballot vote. The eventual winner had about 4 percent of the ballot votes (not including proxies) and ranked ninth. Daran Paone with 18.8 percent of the (nonproxy) ballot vote ranked third and all she received was an anonymous hate letter.

The fact that at least 75 ballots (375 votes) are missing, and assuming that they are in the same proportion as the counted ballots, 308 more votes would have been logged for other than the three candidates

Some of those that gave away their votes via proxies had some very interesting stories. Per Barry Ross a specialist in HOA's, ". . . if residents were given false information, the election could be invalidated." The proxy holders voted all for themselves, thus the election was basically decided by three homeowners. Rumors suggest that there were several questionable and/or invalid proxies.

Based on The Star's data, without the proxies, these three homeowners would have finished seventh, eighth and ninth.

All of this hate over volunteer positions is curious. Whatever happened to love, friendship, honesty and integrity? No wonder that there are wars all over the world when even a small, close-knit neighborhood acts like this.

I agree with Mayor Paul Miller, this election needs to be redone.

Dr. Richard L. Strayer,
Simi Valley

Re: your March 22 article, "Congress OKs historic health bill":

March 21, 2010, a day that will live in infamy. On this day, the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked and fundamentally transformed by the president and his cohorts. The light that shone so bright on this country has dimmed. This expansion of government, wrapped in a bill, has violated the will of the people. This was a victory, a victory for Obama that defeated the citizens of America. We have witnessed a thugocracy style of politics never seen before. Ram it down, intimitadate, bribery and smear those that hold different views, and most of all lie, lie, lie. The citizens will absolutely pay for this sordid style of politics. In the darkest hour of defeat, Winston Churchill said "In victory magnanimity, in defeat defiance." Defiance at the ballot box in November. See you there.

Kenneth Manzer,
Camarillo

What a wonderful kingdom I live in. Or, maybe kingdom is the wrong word. Republic, democracy, a nation ruled by the people, would these words describe where I live today? I rather doubt it.

The kings and queens that rule my land have made it clear they are in charge. Yesterday the kings and queens decided they knew better than the people of the land. And, they were right. The celebration of national health care has begun all over the land. Bells are ringing, people are singing, and the sound of praise for the kings and the queens is in the air.

I honestly do not know how this has happened. I thought I had an opportunity to vote? If I vote for a candidate, doesn't that mean I am represented? My representative has never talked with me, and my senators, well let's just say, I can dial, write a letter or email, but they have no interest in what I think.

Yesterday, one of our queens said that national health care was a "landmark decision." The same as when Social Security and Medicare were passed. That's great! My pocket is robbed every two weeks by something called FICA and FICO. Do the kings and queens put some of their wages into FICA and FICO? My guess is no. Do you think they will use this national health care system? Oh well, at least we can pay taxes to kill more babies.That's a good thing, right?

When I was in school, I learned that one of our former presidents, considered by many to be our greatest, used the words, "government of the people, by the people and for the people." I am waiting to see this "government of the people, by the people and for the people."

I wonder what the next landmark decision or statement may be from the castle of my land. I suspect when the people need bread, the kings and queens will reply, "Let them eat cake."

~ James Walter Reid,
Ventura

Re: March 23 article, "Sheriff's ex-employee describes incident involving candidate":

I want to thank The Star for bringing to light Diane White's point of view so that I could make 'an informed decision.'

Accusatory in that her recollection of facts laid out in prior and extensive Civil Service testimony (while under oath), Ms. White now shifts her comments to suit a personal agenda and/or allegiance to her former boss.

In any case, The Star's reporting -- and in particular, this article -- rightfully influences my resolve to vote for a candidate that consciously chooses not to swim in the proverbial cesspool of political muck.

It's just one of the reasons I'll be voting Geoff Dean for sheriff this coming June.

Sincerely,

~ Rick Conrad,
Oxnard

Has any one noticed that the dotor is the one making the decision as to when and how the mothers will give birth? A good example is: "My schedule is too full right now so you'll have to have it on April 27 at 10:30 a.m. That's the only time I have open. We'll do it cesarean."

Believe me this is exactly how it was put to a dear friend of mine for the birth of her second child. More money for the doctor, less stress time in the middle of the night and less fighting with the insurance company has to make for a happier doctor, wouldn't you say? At least they get more money that way. Talk about the insurance company putting it to the doctor, what does this say about the doctor putting it to the insurance company?

Raymond Beaulieu,
Oxnard

Re: Charles Williams's March 24 letter to the editor, 'Progress' achieved":

In his celebrative exuberance, Charles Williams may have misquoted President Obama when he wrote, "This is what progress looks like." It's possible that the president actually said "This is what change looks like." And he is correct. It is change. However, for those who have the American values of liberty, self-reliance and limited government, it is not progress.

~Mike Kohl,
Simi Valley

A centerpiece of ObamaCare is its insistence that all citizens purchase health insurance. Once everyone is required by government mandate to buy insurance, the industry's survival is no longer threatened: It can just pass its skyrocketing costs along to customers. Why control costs?

Corporations will continue to enjoy tax benefits for employer provided insurance. In doing so, employees (consumers) are insulated from the true cost of their health insurance choices. I will not buy a cup of coffee without asking how much it will cost. Does anyone ask his employer how much the insurance policy costs? Or for that matter, does anyone ask the doctor about the cost of the office visit before he schedules an appointment?

Competition works in medicine just like it does with flat screen televisions. ObamaCare missed an opportunity by allowing corporations to continue (with tax breaks) shielding the patient from the true costs of medicine. Where is the incentive to control costs, if not with the consumer?

Who really believes Congress will not return to it's predictable ways? It will reverse the proposed $500 billion in Medicare cuts that created ObamaCare's illusion of a "free lunch." Seniors vote.

Finally, for the young and healthy consumers, buying insurance at the inflated prices assured under ObamaCare is an even dumber decision today than it was before. The new law allows you to wait until you get sick, and then buy it - after a small penalty, no matter your condition. That my friends, is a "free lunch."

Now, if we can only do the same with auto insurance. No need to buy a policy until after the accident.

David P. Grau,
Ventura

Funny how the Republican defeat has turned into a party of sore losers instead of all the Republican and Tea Party bravado after months and months of licking their chops, predicting that the healthcare bill would bring down the Obama administration. So far the Obama victory scorecard is right on target and making the party of no look ridiculous!

~ Steve Binder,
Oxnard

I was interested in learning that a Green Dot Charter School in South Los Angeles closed recently because of low enrollment, financial pressures and sub-par performance. On the other hand, its next-door neighbor, Jefferson High School, is improving student achievement and seems to be doing just fine. The issue is further verification that Charter Schools are not all they're cracked up to be. The research tells us that.

Interestingly, Jefferson High School is a public school. It's the one that dominated the track and field competition in Los Angeles many years ago. As the reader knows, many politicians enjoy taking pot shots at California's public schools. In fact, one candidate for governor claims she knows how to "fix" them ... whatever that might mean!

The bottom line is that the preponderance of educational research continues to show that the real variable that consistently correlates with good or bad student performance is the per-capita income levels of the parents. Simply put, that means that schools with wealthy kids out-perform schools with poor kids.

The sad thing is that politicians and the general public can't seem to figure this out. It seems that if we are to improve the low-performing schools, we need to turn around the rising number of American families in the United States who suffer from poverty. Wouldn't it be refreshing if some political candidate would use that as their rallying cry!


~ Bruce M. Mitchell,
Professor of Multicultural Education, Emeritus,
Oxnard,

Our City Council showed foresight and courage in changing Ventura city policy on retirement pay. The defined benefit system is financially unsustainable and the two-tired system, while not perfect, will benefit all. The task force pointed out that a faithfully followed defined contribution retirement system would yield more retirement pay to the individual, and the fund would belong to the retiree.

After a long discussion the vote was unanimous in favor of fiscal responsibility. My compliments to the council.

John V. Hogan,
Ventura

The way that Congress has treated Wall Street fat cats and banks versus treatment of average or poor citizens is outrageous to the Nth degree! They gave billions to the insurance giant, AIG, in one week! They gave a trillion to the big banks, to help make them bigger, and did it in two weeks! How long did it take to do something for the poor people or average citizens? Not one month, not one year, but 10 years!

Where is the fairness? I will say it again, for emphasis, this is outrageous to the Nth degree. Democrats and Republicans have both been responsible. Why in hell do people keep voting for more of the same? Why not vote all the incumbents out of office, for the foregoing and many more crimes against the people?

~John Jay,
Oxnard

The floodgates of racism and hatred have been flung open. Tea Party members and fellow protesters spewed racial and anti-gay epithets at Reps. John Lewis. D-Ga.; Andre Carson,D-Ind.; and Barney Frank, D-Mass. on the Capitol steps last Saturday. If that weren't horrific enough, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., a minister, was spat upon. Over the weekend, bricks were thrown through Rep. Louise Slaughter's New York office windows and doors; The office of Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., received racist faxes and the image of a noose; the doors at the office of Rep. Gabrielle Gifford, D-Ariz., were smashed.

The supposed Republican-patriots are ignorant, bigoted thugs plain and simple. Even worse, many Republican leaders, including John Boehner, Michelle Bachmann and Steve King, joined the provocative rhetoric and despicable behavior on the Congressional balcony and the floor of the House. Not only do these actions violate Congressional rules of decorum, they incite violence and escalate the vitriol. The ramifications of the blatant hatred expressed by all these people could be disastrous.

Unfortunately, I have come to believe this is intentional. The healthcare debate has been and is being used for very different reasons. It's easy to whip up the simmering rage in people on the fringes of society, many of whom have never accepted that all the people of this country have civil rights. It sickens me that much of the invective directed at President Obama, the majority leadership and Democrats in general is more than likely rooted in this aberrant social view. They hide behind their false interpretations of the Constitution and references to socialism, facism and communism.

For 3 years or so, I've tried to quell these nagging feelings and hoped I was reading too much into the furor on the right. These past few months, and especially the last few days, have served to confirm my worst fears. These people want us right back on the streets of Selma, Birmingham and Little Rock with dogs and billy clubs. What has become of basic respect and humanity for all our citizens?


~Joy Putinta,
Camarillo

To those in support of the health care reform bill: Now that it's been passed, there will be a tidal wave of Republican anger. The letters column will be full of rants using words like treason, unconstitutional and socialist.

Please don't respond to those letters. It won't do any good. Those who wrote them won't listen. They listen to Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. hat's all they know and all they want to know.

Instead, here are three ways to use your time more wisely, all of which will benefit our country:

- Pay down your credit cards and, insofar as possible, stop using them. Republicans hate taxes that redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Credit card debt redistributes wealth from you to wealthy finance companies. Spend your own money and live within your means.

- Support alternative energy. This is about money, not global warming. Oil prices will not come down. As oil becomes more scarce and more expensive to retrieve, prices will rise. China and India will start to compete seriously for the remaining supplies. This will cause prices to skyrocket -- and shooting wars over oil are possible. The best way you can support alternative energy is buying a hybrid car, and all else being equal, buy American. Toyota knows that hybrids are profitable, but it's taken Detroit 10 years to figure it out. So let them know that they can make a profit while making sense. If you buy their hybrid cars, they'll build more and get better at it.

- Get out the vote in 2012. Republicans will be carting voters to the polls in big trucks. Volunteer for phone banks or walking precincts. Donate to the Democratic Party when they call.

I'm sure many Republicans will revile this letter; let them. We can keep the country going into the future with good ideas, wise use of our money and Democrats in office.

Michael Walker,
Ventura

Did you pass the corner of Ventura Road and Channel Islands Boulevard last Friday afternoon? Did you see 200-plus Hueneme Elementary School District teachers, administrators, principals, board members, parents and students at all four corners with signs, whistles and bull horns. They deserved your attention. Six police came, but no press.

Our district is losing $4.2 million in state support. But 75 percent of our budget pays teachers' salaries. We must lay off 37 of the 375 teachers currently in HESD, although we have more students this year than last. This is a crisis!

We have standing-room only at our School Board meetings at the Civic Center Council Chamber each month, with parents pleading not to cut their child's teacher who will be laid off. Their kindergartners will enter a classroom packed with 30 kids, not 20, and they may have five days cut from their school year, too. In the paper all we hear about is raising test scores. There is a big disconnect.

Ten parents spoke at last night. They want the cuts "away from the classroom." As a board member, I agree with them, but if we cut all the administrators and principals, we would still have to cut teachers to balance the budget!

350 parents from Haycox School signed a petition to Save our Schools. They marched it to the district office to present it to the superintendent. He'd love nothing better than to say we found a way to keep classes low and save teachers' jobs, but his hands are tied. Our funding comes from the state, and instead of relief after years of cuts, we've been told that the latest $191 per-student cut was not one time, but will recur. That means we're looking at laying off another batch of teachers next year. When the parents march to Sacramento, will The Star send a reporter?

~ Donna Branstrom,
HESD Board member,
Oxnard

Healthcare reform passes, and the bickering of the Republicans increases. Lawsuits are pending, future campaigns are focused on a single issue, and howls of execration reverberate throughout Congress and the opinion page. Just what did the Republicans do during their control in the eight-year Bush era to enact healthcare reform, see to the care of un- and under-insured, or to stop the unabashed greed of financial institutions and investment firms? Nothing. How many Republicans voted in favor of the current healthcare legislation? None. Isn't it amazing that not a single Republican could accept that a beginning of healthcare reform was necessary! Not one. And yet we are going to keep hearing from them, aren't we! Change always begins with that first step.

Jim Baird
Thousand Oaks

Money in politics has become so pervasive that lawmakers have to spend most of their time raising it, selling their souls to those who have it or defending themselves from the smallest interest groups with deep pockets that can trump the national interest. U.S. business communities have become so globalized that they only come to Washington to lobby for their own narrow interests. The real answer is that we need better concerned citizens who want to get involved and Ttake back our country and re-establish: Of the people, for the people, and by the people.

In order to accomplish this, many changes must be considered, and below are listed only a few:

- Have the U.S. Government provide all the money needed for all U.S. Government elections. No private funding, no public funding and no lobbyists or corporate funding permitted. Failure to comply, subject to jail sentence!

- Set maximum fixed term limits for all members of the House, Senate and Supreme Court justices just like the maximum fixed term for the president

- Eliminate the current no-cost pension plans given to members of the House, Senate and Supreme Court and have them pay into Social Security just like us common folks

- Eliminate the current no-cost golden health plan given to members of the House, Senate and Supreme Court and have them pay for their own healthcare plans.

~ Jack D. Prosen,
Camarillo

My 8 year old daughter was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in April 2007. She underwent chemotherapy, took various medications and has since been declared in remission. Leukemia and her nonexistent immune system caused my daughter to be homeschooled for the last two months of kindergarten and the first five months of first grade. She returned to school 40 pounds heavier and with no hair.

When she returned, I realized that academically she wasnt where she should be, due to having missed school for nearly an entire school year and her treatments and medication. During a conference with the first-grade teacher, I asked what could be done to help her catch up with the rest of her classmates. I was told to continue to work with her, one-on-one. Two years later, my daughter is still struggling to catch up academically. After two and a half years of pleas with the school district in Riverside County, an IEP (individualized education plan) was in the works to get my daughter the help she needed. However, during the process, my mother was dying of cancer, and we had to move back to my hometown in Ventura County.

Since being back in Ventura County, my daughter has continued to fall further and further behind academically. The school she currently attends has since decided that they won't implement the IEP that was started, and during a meeting with the school's psychologist, I was told that only when my daughter starts to show signs of "failing" would any help be implemented. That meeting was in January 2010. My daughter just started reading classes the beginning of March. Her report card was the deciding factor on her finally getting the help I kept asking for.

Why is it that our kids have to fail before the schools intervine and help? Are the school budget cuts so bad that their lack of concern for their students is near non-existent? I am now facing the fact that I may have to retain my daughter. Something that could have been prevented if the schools acted before it got too late to help. It isn't fair to the student! My daughter has been through enough with her illness. What is wrong with our schools!?

~ Jennifer Robinson-Barrows,
Oak View

Re: March 19 article, "Oxnard man gets year in jail for cutting pup's ears"

When I read the header on this story, it sickened me to no end. Jesus Sanchez deserves at least three years of jail and being banned from owning any animal for life and maybe five years of felony probation.

I don't know how anyone can even consider themselves a human being and be able to do something like that. That poor little puppy, having his ears clipped off with a pair of scissors while he was awake. Did Sanchez think the vicodin and ice would stop the pain? Obviously he didn't care! His only thought was to try and make a profit instead of enjoying this puppy for the great and loving pet it would have made.

I don't condone animals' ears or tail being docked even by a vet, for some person's idea of what the animal should look like. Leave them the way God made them! How someone could mistreat any living creature for the sake of a few dollars, I will never understand. And using electric shock treatments on the puppies, my God what kind of degenerate is Sanchez? Personally I think he could probably use a few shock treatments himself. It might shock some sense into him as well as make him defecate. Perhaps he should have a few things docked on him using some vicodin, ice and a sharp pair of scissors! I hope this sends a message to anyone else who considers doing this.

~ Jeanne Walker,
Oxnard

Re: March 21 articles, "No license leads to no car" and ""Car seizures benefit cities but trigger legal questions":

The recent article relative to sobriety checkpoints provides information relative to hazardous drivers on our roadways. Laws are created to enable our communities to come together and co-exist and interact more safely, and as time passes and populations change and grow, new rules and regulations become necessary to facilitate a safe environment.

The checkpoints touch but a fraction of the road users at the time, therefore those found in violation of our laws are but a slight percentage of the problem. There has to be meaningful consequences for those who choose to ignore the laws that govern our conduct. Drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol are potentially deadly drivers on our roadways. The problem is not just local, it is worldwide and growing.

California has recently passed legislation that the application for those applying for or renewing there driver's license contains an agreement that should you the driver be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and someone is killed, you could be charged with murder.

Those driving without a license have not had the training necessary to safely navigate present-day traffic conditions, therefore they are a potentially deadly participant. The law says: no license; you cannot drive. In these cases, the vehicle is taken into custody until a driver's licenses is obtained. Some of those involved are not in our country legally. That also is a violation, and the drivers are fully aware that he/she is in violation, and without meaningful consequences, the problem will continue to escalate and the dangers on our roadways will continue to rise, contributing to the hazards of everyday travel to work, schools and in our communities.

The cost of enforcement is pittance when related to the cost of a life.

~ Richard Green,
Thousand Oaks

(The writer retired as a captain in the Los Angeles Police Department and was chief of the Los Angeles Unified School District Police Department. -- Editor)

Re: March 22 article, "Congress OKs historic health bill":

So after Sunday's healthcare vote, Obama proclaimed that "We proved that this government - a government of the people and by the people - still works for the people ..." Well Mr. President as of Friday your healthcare bill only had support from 38 percent of the people, your bill had zero Republican support, and had millions of Americans that actually pay the taxes in this country screaming for you to redo the bill. I hardly find this "a government of the people and by the people."

~Brian Haueter
Ventura

Re: March 21 articles, "No license leads to no car" and ""Car seizures benefit cities but trigger legal questions":

You think taxes are bad? Wait until you see how you like law enforcement as a way to pay for government. Politicians and police both love to scare you to justify more power. One such successful ploy was the DUI checkpoint. A checkpoint is obviously, and on the face of it, an example of a Constitutionally illegal search. But be afraid, be very afraid - and give up your rights. Those nice policemen just want to protect you. And it turns out while they're protecting you, just by coincidence, they also want to impound a lot of cars and collect a lot of fines, which are used to pay them a lot of overtime while they are imitating fascists in a B-movie: "Papers, please." It's a win-win-win. More power, more pay and more revenue - and they can say they're not raising taxes, they're just squeezing the money out of the poorest of the working class.

Are they impounding the cars of those dangerous drunks? No, they are not. Drunks get their car back the next day. They are impounding the cars of unlicensed drivers, who are, of course, mostly illegal immigrants who are working here and need a car to get to work, but can't get a license. Since they can't get a license, they can't get liability insurance, either. Gosh they really sound dangerous don't they. We're told they are involved in (not necessarily responsible for) 25 percent of the fatal crashes in Ventura County, but the percentage of drivers who are unlicensed in California is 21 percent. I think we can safely assume that the fraction in Ventura County is somewhat higher than the state average. So being involved in 25 percnet of the fatal crashes indicates that unlicensed drivers are just as dangerous, and just as safe, as the average driver. If we gave them licenses the problem would vanish.

Do we need these draconian crackdowns to save us from the holocaust of traffic deaths? The fact is that traffic deaths per passenger mile have been going down for a long time.(Every year since 2005 has set a new record low. Last year it was 1.12 deaths per million miles. For comparison the highest year on record was 1969 with 5.18 fatalities per million miles.) The gains are due to seat belts, car design and roadway design - not licensing. But politicians want to spend more money without voting for taxes. Red-light cameras and parking tickets bring in the dough, but they catch a lot of people who vote. For politicians it's a lot safer to impound the cars of some people who don't count.

~ Brent Meeker,
Camarillo

Re: March 21 articles, "No license leads to no car" and ""Car seizures benefit cities but trigger legal questions":

Someone please explain why race was even mentioned in your DUI checkpoint article. It was stated that these checkpoints are located in predominately Hispanic areas. The majority race in Oxnard is Hispanic, does that mean they should not conduct these checkpoints? For Arserio Lopez to say it's not fair, to see a farmworker loose his car because he doesn't have a license, you might as well have said, the laws should not apply to them because they are farmworkers. To say, they have to get to work, but they can't get a license, only raises the question of why they can't they get a license. Is it because the are here illegally? What Lopez really meant is because they are here illegally, the laws should not apply to them.

You had a picture of Mrs. Alvarez with her child. Her husband was driving on a suspended license. She admits it was wrong and that they knowingly break the law on a daily basis by driving to work, school and stores. Again, the mentality of the law does not apply to me. Why was his license suspended? Tickets, DUI. Regardless, a judge made a decision, and he decided that it didn't apply to him.

It's unfortunate, that we must treat adults like children. When you punish children, you do it in stages, just think of the impound for not having a valid driver's license as Stage 2. Attorney Carmen Ramirez cited that the reality is that there are a lot of undocumented workers in our county and that we should change the laws to accommodate them. Change the laws to accommodate someone who has already broke the law once? No wonder attorneys have the reputation they do.

~ Larry Gonzales,
Oxnard

Considering the numerous scandals rocking religious communities of late, shouldn't the Boy Scouts organization, reconsider their ban on accepting youngsters from atheist families? What evidence or study indicates atheists are less moral than the very religious? Knowing the religious scandals reported in the media, atheists may be just as moral or more moral than those who profess to be very religious.

The Boy Scouts of America discriminate openly against gays. They do now allow them to be Boy Scouts. However, presently, the Armed Forces, who mostly agree with the overturning of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy will allow gays to serve openly to give, if necessary, their lives for their country. The Boy Scouts on the other hand, won't allow gays to serve and earn merit badges to rise to a higher level of scouting. There is a substantial disconnect between the Boy Scouts and the armed forces that should be corrected. A merit badge does not rise to the level of giving ones life for your country.

~Donald J. Katz,
Newbury Park

Now you know what a Progessive (Marxist) looks like. Now that the Democrats past this unconstitutional healthcare bill, they will pass amnesty for illegals, cap and tax, union take over of small business and net neutrality (control of internet content). Obama lied and continues to lie about his agenda. His and Democrats' agenda is for a government takeover of all aspects of our lives.

Progressives used to call themselves Marxists. They changed it in the 1930s because of the genocide by Stalin. Obama is a Marxist by his own admission. Obama said if you want to know what his views and philosophy are, just see who he surrounds himself with. Lets look at the people he has around him: Van Jones - admitted communist; Ron Bloom - Maoist supporter; Cuss Sustein - admitted Marxist; Anita Dunn - Maoist supporter; Valerie Jerrett - Maoist supporter; Bill Ayers - Weather Underground founder; Mark Lloyd - admitted Marxist, just to name a few.

This healthcare bill will create over 150 agencies, committees and task forces. The IRS now has the power to make sure you have the required health insurance and if you do not comply, a monetary fine will be assessed or you could be jailed. Just hope you have the right insurance, or you will get a visit from the IRS or maybe one those committee or task force members. Wow that sounds like Marxism. Also, in the healthcare bill, the Democrats included the government takeover of student loans. You cannot get any student loans from a commercial bank.

What we are looking at from this Democrat dictorship is higher taxes, bigger government and no freedom. How to correct this is by voting every Democrat out of office at the local, county, state and federal level. I, for one, will never vote for a Democrat.

~ Richard Pinedo,
Santa Paula

Re: March 22 article, "Congress OKs historic health bill":

The passage of the health bill has been declared a "victory for America's soul," and "a triumph by the party of light over the party of fear."

For many of us, America sold its soul to greed and special interests long ago. And, it is not easy to discern which is the, "party of light," and which is the "party of fear."

Half the electorate believes light and truth triumphed over darkness on Sunday. The other half believes a vicious, unprincipled fear offensive on Capitol Hill, brokered by Pelosi and Reid, forced the passage of an expensive reform bill, the content of which has yet to be revealed to the people who have to pay for it.

Both parties want a health bill. It looks like we now have one. Once this health bill is passed, Pelosi will let us read it, and we can begin to comprehend the cost of ratification. Let us hope that it is brimming with, as Obama said "a chance to vindicate all those best hopes that you had about yourself, (and) about this country."

My fear is that it will stink like everything else brokered, bartered and bought in Washington.

At the end of the day, when you divide the country into two angry camps, there are no winners.

~ Charles Harley
Westlake Village

Re: March 22 article, "Congress OKs historic health bill"

All I see is new taxes, taxes, taxes.

Once again it seems whenever we have "Historic legislation" all we do is tax one group of individuals to give to another.

With this healthcare bill we are now increasing taxes on the engine of our economy, investment income. Where does one think capital comes from to create jobs With this bill we have increased taxes on capital gains, dividend and interest income. How does hurting capital investment help the economy?

True healthcare reform would not be in creating new bureaucracies but in investing in preventive care so society would be healthier overall .

If one stays fit and works hard, we penalize that person by raising their taxes. How does that increase ones incentive to do more? If we continually throw money at one to do less. Guess what we will get more of?.

This is not healthcare reform this is spreading the wealth.


~ William F. Klepper,
Simi Valley

Re: March 22 article, "Congress OKs historic health bill"

President Obama made good on his promise to pass a healthcare reform bill, and soon, he will sign it into law. This fell short of his promise to insure all 30 to 47 million Americans who don't have health insurance. Depending on which side of the isle you are on, this is a victory or a travesty.

People are always debating if healthcare is a right or a privilege? I would say it is a privilege that is intimately coupled with being in America. I have been in healthcare since I started as an ambulance driver in 1984, and to this day, I have never seen anyone denied medical care. Not just a bandaid. I mean complete medical care. The professionals in healthcare, including doctors, nurses, dentists and the like, take an oath. They make a promise to do their best for their fellow man or woman so that they can live a long life. The issue of people being turned away is political rhetoric (aka horse manure). Life-saving care is never denied to patients in America. They may get denied breast enlargements or some other type of experimental treatment for some nasty disease, but basic medical care is always given in a charitable fashion.

The politicians pulled some parlimentarian trickery to get this passed and make good on a campaign promise. If Americans in general supported the bill, the vote would have never been this close. The backroom deals and palm-greasing has the potential to damage just one of America's greatest accomplishments, the world's best medical care. You can argue that point, but there are many Saudis, Chinese, Canadian, Indian and other nationalities that make their way to America not only to receive care but to be trained in healthcare as well. As prices of health insurance go up, the quality of care may deteriorate. My burning question remains: If everybody has to buy it, why will it cost so much? Time alone will tell what we have gotten ourselves into.

The price tag for this master plan is still unknown. Whatever the advertised price, you can bet it is an underestimation based on a wild guess. Our kids will look at us once the price tag is real and wonder what we all were thinking when we did't revolt. I do hope the bill is amended to require the executive branch of our government take part in the new deal. It was curious that that little item was omitted. Will Mr. Obama stand in the colonoscopy line with the rest of us?

~ Dr. Greg Albaugh,
Ventura

Re: March 22 article, "Congress OKs historic health bill"

March 21st was an historic day. The Democrats in Congress and the President fired the first shot into the heart of our Democratic Republic, as they passed Obamacare (HR3590) It was the first step in transforming America into a socialist nation. It is all about power, money and control. Washington is now in charge of your healthcare.

The march to pass Obamacare had taken over a year to accomplish and was done against the wishes of the majority of Americans. The Obama administration, the most corrupt in American history, used bribes, threats, legislative trickery and a heavy handed president to force the passage of this bill.

In an 11th-hour maneuver, Obama issued an executive order to seduce the pro-life Democrats to vote for the bill. I have never seen such an abuse of power, arrogance and utter disregard for the Constitution and the rights of average Americans.

There are very troubling aspects of this bill. HR3590 imposes $500 billion of new taxes, cuts Medicare by $500 billion and expands Medicaid by 33 percent, which defers the costs onto the states. Also, a mandate, which is unconstitutional, demands that everyone have healthcare, including illegals. Most frightening, all our health decisions will be made by bureaucrats, and the IRS will act as the enforcer.

America, this take-over of a sixth of our economy is unacceptable. We may have lost the first battle, but war is not over. Fight hard to reclaim our country.

~ Diana Thorn,
Carpinteria

Re: March 22 article, "Congress OKs historic health bill"

I am both overjoyed and greatly relieved that the House of Representatives has at long last passed a healthcare reform bill that will become the law of the land. It is not for myself that I am so glad, but rather for all those who will now benefit. My husband and I are fortunate enough to already have outstanding health insurance, but we're just lucky: his school district provided ongoing healthcare for retirees under Medicare age (most do not; mine did not), and California law now requires that I be covered under it.

It is appalling and unbelievable that the unconscionable Republicans are far more concerned about their own political expediency as they see it than with providing healthcare for 32,000,000 heretofore uncovered fellow Americans; ending the insurance companies' shenanigans with pre-existing conditions, annual and lifetime limits and abrupt ending of coverage; and extending family coverage to age 26.

I am now holding my breath with greatest hopes that the Senate will quickly pass the necessary reconciliation bill to complete this process for the time being, and I look forward to what I hope will eventually develop into single-payer universal health coverage for all Americans.

~ Robb Quint,
Thousand Oaks

Progress despite opposition

Hooray!

We are finally on the road to reform of healthcare in the U.S.

Despite the obstructionism of the Republicans, this Democratic bill expands the coverage of healthcare for over 30 million Americans who, for lack of funds, having being laid off, having arrived at senior citizen status,or having a precondition of being female, will be able to obtain both preventative and/or continual coverage healthcare for themselves and their children up to the age of 26.

It is a new concept in that we will be required to have insurance, just like we are required to have auto insurance.

The opposition, attempting to hide behind the First Amendment, obviously have another intent. They are like lemmings marching in lock step without benefit of foresight, common decency, or any sense of progress or reason. They'd rather throw stones, hang images of the president in effigy, hurl racial and gender preference insults to congressional representatives, and carry despicable signage in public displays of bigotry urged by idiotic radio and television antagonists, whose only motivation is to line their pockets by spewing outrageousness by redefining "liberal" as some sort of insouciant heresy.

We now see congressional representatives spewing hate speech right on the floor of congress!

It is the outrage of the Republican minority which will encourage the left in this endeavor.

Now 11 states' attorneys general will attempt to challenge the constitionality of the healthcare bill.

Does this ploy sound familiar? Republicans challenged Social Security reforms in the 1930's, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and Medicare/Medicaid on constitutional grounds.

Guess what! Dissenting hyperbole has never held any sway in the advancement of human progress. Would that we could have a discourse with Abraham Lincoln regarding his views on slavery and the Civil War that followed.

Congress says it seeks to achieve common ground, but progress has no ground common to achievement.

As the president has said, "This is what progress looks like."

Giving the American people quality and affordable healthcare, is and will be, the goal of progress.

~ Charles Williams,
Oxnard,

Re: Bill O'Reilly's March 20 column, "Paging all available physicians":

So Bill O'Reilly thinks 30 percent of America's physicians will want to leave their profession because of the passage of Obamacare?

He says doctors don't want "federal pinheads" telling them how to treat their patients, but dictating to doctors is exactly what the insurance companies are doing already.
C'mon, O'Reilly. What exactly are these doctors going to do once they leave their beloved profession? Get better paying jobs elsewhere?

Doctors decry the high cost of doing business. Yes, but their compensation - thanks to the outrageously high health insurance premiums that we pay - is more than adequate.

To cap it off, O'Reilly says Americans "are sick of the whole healthcare thing."

We're sick, all right. Sick of the high cost of doing nothing. And doing nothing is exactly what O'Reilly's do-nothing right-wingers want.

God bless Obama for doing what 12 miserable years of Bush and Bush Jr. failed to do: reform healthcare.

~ John Edwards,
Newbury Park

Re: March 19 article, "City may charge borrowers from unincorporated areas"

I just don't get it!

There is apparently an imaginary line between my property and my neighbor's. One side of this line is the city of Thousand Oaks. On the other side, is the unincorporated area.

My neighbor pays the same property taxes that I pay and receives the same services that I receive, except for, if the city has its way, use of the Thousand Oaks Library. Somehow, if you are on one side of the line you can use the library for free, but if you are on the other side, it will cost you an additional $70 a year.

I sure hope the fire department and sheriffs department don't suddenly decide to stop at the line because they don't receive enough funding from those of us on the wrong side.

Hmmm ... I wonder if I can apply for a refund of the $70 I might have to pay to use the Thousand Oaks Library out of the property taxes I pay.

~ Jim Allyn,
Thousand Oaks

It's going to be very interesting to watch the gathering storm of the awakening general public when they begin to understand the ramifications of the process currently taking place in the healthcare reform arena.

This process, simply stated: Suppose a new law said that everyone owning a vehicle must now, starting tomorrow, purchase an extra tank of gasoline but not receive any actual gas every week for the next, oh say four years. Then, and only then, will they be required to continue to buy an extra tank, every week, whether needing, or using it, or not. Does anyone think this would be tolerated?

Bottom line: If the U.S. Supreme Court does not overturn this law, thus making the point moot, it will surely be negated in November when the voters of this great nation will throw the rascals out. God Bless America!


~ Burt Smith,
Camarillo

Wounded. Angry. But this longtime couch potato is writing her first e-mail opinion and resentfully leaving her comfort zone to become politically active.

I will go to Republican party meetings in an effort to bring them back to true conservative policies, struggling along with other Republicans to define what that is and what I expect from them.

I will remember every Democrats name who voted for that traitorous bill and expose them in blog and conversation for simply that. I will never forget who they are. I start with the California Democrats who all voted yes: Baca, Becerra, Berman, Capps, Chu, Harmen, Richardson, Roybal-Allard, Linda Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Water, Watson and Waxman.

My dream for always will be to remove every trace of liberal progressivism from American culture and politics. I will find out what new names or political organizations they hide behind when their disastrous, willful and unbelievably lacking in common sense policies brings the public scrutiny that makes them unable to keep political power (as has already happen in American history).

My eyes are open and I see both progressive Republicans and progressive Democrats, and I wish them ill. And maybe I am not the only one.

Kathlene Pendergraft,
Ventura

March 21, 2010, is a day that will live in infamy just as Dec. 7 1941. With the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor the Japanese tried to force us to bend to their will, and with their totally partisan vote the Democrats are trying to force a free people to use socialized healthcare.

As we watch TV, we see Democrats celebrating as we saw the Japanese celebrating after their victory at Pearl Harbor. For the Japanese, the celebrating ended at the battle of Midway when four of their aircraft carriers were wiped out. Nov. 2, through our vote, will be the day the Democratic Congress is wiped out. These arrogant political hacks have completely ignored the will of the people and will pay the ultimate price. We are a free people and will not tolerate the bondage of socialism. In World War II the battle of Midway was a major victory leading to our ultimate goal, unconditional surrender of Japan. Nov. 2, 2010, will also be a major victory leading to our ultimate goal of taking back our country and the White House.

We don't have to wait until November to start the battle. Our founders recognized that tyrants from time to time would try to grab power, and they gave us the tools to stop them. We don't have a national government, we have a federal government that is held in check by the sovereign states that gave limited power to the federal government. All powers not specifically given to the federal government is retained by the states and the people. Forcing you to buy healthcare is not a federal power.

The power that our founders gave us to keep the federal government in check is nullification. When the federal government exceeds the powers given it by the Constitution, the states have the power to nullify the law by saying it will not be enforced in that state. California has already used nullification to make medical marijuana legal in our state. We can use the same power to block other unconstitutional laws. Writing our national representatives has proved to be a waste of time. We need to contact our state representatives as ask them to take back the powers given to them by the Constitution. e are the Republic of California, not a colony of Washington, D.C.

~ Avery Willis
Thousand Oaks

Re: March 22 article, "Congress OKs historic health bill":

Well, it finally happened. The sheep in Congress were led by a shepherd to the detriment of the American people and their health insurance. Only it wasn't a good shepherd, it was a person with an agenda so strong that he forgot the chains that will now bind every American, working or not, in the United States. It's time to change the addresses in Washington. Let's vote for people who will represent all of their constituents.

Sunday, March 21, 2010, will be remembered as a day when ideology trumped reason. There were many ways to help the uninsured - regulations for insurance companies, buying across state lines and capping the amounts that plaintiffs can be awarded in malpractice cases. Instead, our president has sold out the American people.

~ Elaine F. Navarro,
Ventura

The only way government can raise money is by taxing people. Government enterprises always lose money. The federal government should not be in the medical business -- Medicare, Medicaid, Medical, etc. -- or in the retirement business -- Social Security, a classic Ponzi scheme. If Social Security had been privatized, it would have been solvent from its inception. The federal government should not be in the welfare business -- food stamps -- or the education business -- public schools, financial aid to students, college and university endowments, etc. and hundreds of other unconstitutional activities. They all waste money in vastly overgrown bureaucracies, fraud and special interest payouts. States and private institutions and charities at the local level are far more responsive and efficient.

To paraphrase an old Chinese proverb, if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; if you teach a man to fish, you feed his family for a lifetime. Government will influence job creation far more by giving small businesses tax incentives for job training than by wasting money on shovel ready projects and other make-work boondoggles. Private enterprise provides all of the wealth-producing jobs in this country.

We should reduce the size of government by about 90 percent to accomplish only those functions stipulated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that cannot be done by the states. All other powers should be exclusively the responsibility of the several states. All cabinet offices should be eliminated or reduced to small managerial organizations that oversee self-regulating private enterprises. Constitutional Amendment 16 should be repealed, the IRS disbanded, and capital gains, estate, corporation, excise, and other taxes repealed and replaced by a national sales tax collected by the states. States would retain 85 percent of monies collected and remit 15 percent to the federal government primarily for military preparedness and for its remaining minimal responsibilities, those not handled by the states.

As long as we have conservative radio talk show hosts to educate listeners on these states rights principles, we can have hope for the survival of our magnificent country. All our states can easily carry these responsibilities locally rather than through Washington.

Lou Gates,
Westlake Village

Re: Jim Best's March 15 letter to the editor, "Alternate viewpoint" and Gary Murphy's March 18 letter to editor, " An insult to the Gipper":

Both slam Lou Gates for his comment regarding the lack of coverage by The Star of Mark Levin's appearance at the Reagan Library.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion regarding the difference between bigotry and conservatism.

By definition, bigotry is extreme intolerance of any creed, belief or opinion that differs from one's own. Mr. Best? Mr. Murphy? While conservatism is the disposition to preserve or restore what is established or traditional and to limit change. Which is pretty much what Mark Levin, Limbaugh, Beck, Ingraham and the others are trying to do.

There are many of us who hate to see America going down the road to radicalism, and these commentators are the only ones speaking for us. We like our country
the way it was founded and the way it was meant to be. Do you really think Ronald Reagan would come down on the side of Pelosi-Reid-Obama? I think not.

Stop listening if you don't like what you hear. Or are you just looking for some excuse to go into a verbal tirade? Talk about narrow-minded.

~ Marjorie Olson,
Ventura

Re: Bill O'Reilly's March 20 column, "Paging all available physicians":

In his opinion piece, Bill O'Reilly claims that results of a physician survey conducted by the Medicus Firm, a physician recruitment company, was published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. This is a lie! The survey results were actually published as a promotional piece in Recruiting Physicians Today. The NEJM has publically distanced itself from this survey, and it recently published another survey that produced results conflicting with the Medicus Firm survey.

The methodology used by the Medicus Firm was scientifically unsound. It was based on voluntary responses to an email. Those who take the time to respond to such emails are generally disgruntled, producing a selection bias tainting the results.

The survey actually published by the NEJM indicated that 72.5 percent of physicians support a public option. Even the flawed Medicus Firm survey suggested that only 3.6 percent of physicians perfered the status quo to health care reform.

Bill, perhaps Fox's budget could afford to hire a fact-checker for you.

Nick Fotheringham,
Thousand Oaks

If this healthcare bill is so monumental, then why is it the members of Congress are still exempt from it? And if this bill is so critical to the future of America, as Obama has told us, why is it that most of the provisions of the healthcare bill don't kick in until 2014? Can anyone explain these simple questions to me? Have we all been taken to the cleaners?

~ Brian Haueter,
Ventura

What is wrong with enforcing the laws of our state? Having driven a car in many countries throughout Europe, driving a car in Oxnard is worse than any third world country in which I have ever driven. People have total ignorance to our traffic laws.

For example, are the solid double yellow lines on Wooley Avenue at Five Points. To many people, this is their private traffic lane to pass drivers that are waiting for the traffic signal to change.

Now that the liberal health agenda is close to being passed, amnesty for undocumented people living in our country is next. The first paragraph in the "Oath of citizenship" states, "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America. Is having a drivers license and insurance the law?

~ Ted Maloney,
Oxnard,

Re: March 21 articles, "No license leads to no car" and ""Car seizures benefit cities but trigger legal questions":

After reading Sunday's article, I felt compelled to respond to a never-ending diatribe about our treatment of illegal's. It was with anger and disbelief on how we are unfairly treating illegal immigrants when they are "randomly" stopped at DUI checkpoints along with others and are discovered to not have a driver's license.

They are proposing exceptions to the law for the illegal's because it creates a financial hardship. Well, it does for everyone who breaks any law, including legal citizens. Why is it they feel we should make exceptions for them I'll never understand. They are here illegally! Case Closed.

How about the majority of law-abiding citizens that have insurance and a valid driver's license? Are we to have a two-tiered law that exempts illegal's but not the licensed drivers? They are the ones that warrant a concession if anyone. Revamping our laws to accommodate them is tantamount to reducing us to third world status, where laws are few and not evenly enforced.

Ms. Carmen Ramirez, Esq. states "we have to change the law so that 'undocumented workers' can get driver's licenses." Currently one must be a citizen and a California resident to get a driver's license. That sure seems reasonable to me. What other laws would Ms. Ramirez like to change in order to accommodate illegal immigrants?

Ventura County is a very safe place to live, thanks to the professionalism of our police agencies. We owe them a lot of gratitude. As the president of Australia made clear a few years ago with this statement: "If you do not want to obey Australia's laws, you are welcome to return to the country from which you came." That also applies here in Ventura County!

Also, I am tired of the description "undocumented immigrants." Is there something wrong with the descriptive and accurate wording of "illegal immigrants?" The more they press for concessions the more resolve the average American citizen has to strengthening the laws and deporting the illegal's.

~ Dick Burrer
Camarillo

Re: March 21 articles, "No license leads to no car" and ""Car seizures benefit cities but trigger legal questions":

I was shocked, shocked to learn that Oxnard police are temporarily impounding the vehicles of people whose only oversight is that they're driving around without a driver's license. And insurance. And vehicle registration. If I were caught doing the same thing, I would expect to be jailed, but these people are special - they're illegal aliens, mostly, and therefore need to be allowed to break all laws, not just immigration laws. Drivers who are stopped and have no licenses should be immediately released if they can prove they're in this country illegally. What this state needs is more law-flouting immigrants who make no effort to assimilate or even to learn our language (which, by the way, is English).

~ Tim Imhoff,
Fillmore

So the health bill passed.

Bad news first: Don't plan to grow old.

Now good news: Since you won't be needing it, you can save some serious money by canceling that expensive long-term care insurance.

Dick Schneider,
Oak View

So the health bill passed.

Bad news first: Don't plan to grow old.

Now good news: Since you won't be needing it, you can save some serious money by canceling that expensive long-term care insurance.

Dick Schneider,
Oak View

Everyone agrees healthcare costs are out of control, and the Obama administration has cleverly framed the insurance companies as public enemy No. 1.

Alright, for the sake of argument lets do a little math. Suppose your health insurance premium is costing you and/or your employer $1,500 per month. Experts agree that at least $150 per month of that premium is paying for the uninsured. Next, Medicare costs represent half of total annual healthcare dollars spent, and this program under-reimburses doctors and hospitals on average by 35 percent. That cost is shifted by the medical industry to you and/or your insurance carrier, equating to another $262 per month of your premium.(1,500x50x35=262)

Now, defensive medicine practiced by both your doctor and hospital account for 25 percent of all annual healthcare costs do to out of control litigation and is not being addressed in this Health Care bill so that adds another $375/month to the premium. Now subtract these costs from the original $1,500 premium and you can see that the government, not the insurance companies, caused the spike in your premiums. Now, they are going to solve the problem. Really? I guess some would say the government is to blame.

The Obama administration tells us its new bill is going to add and subsidize 30 million uninsured, including pre-existing conditions. and this is going to cost only 942 billion dollars, will reduce the deficit, and our premiums are not going up because they say so. Isn't this the same administration that is giving us a 1.4 trillion deficit this year?.

The Democrats say this healthcare bill is a victory for the American people, while concurrently taking away our freedom to make our own our healthcare decisions and giving it to the arsonists that started the fire in the first place.

Unfortunately, everything you and I consume, from food to gasoline, is fraught with these same type of imbedded costs from the government. and as it gets bigger, we get smaller not only in the loss of our liberties because they now make the rules but, as the example above illustrates, also in our pocketbooks.

There is no free lunch!

~ John R. Hanson,
Oak View,

Re: Colleen Cason's March 21 column, "Hits Keep Coming to Rio School District"

With regard to Cason Point's article, she comments: "a person is innocent until proven guilty." True enough. However, our children (the children of our world, our country, our state, our county, our cities) have been subjected to so much abuse and molestation by teachers, priests, step-fathers, etc., that we must be much more vigilant and aggressive in protecting them.

If someone has been charged with child abuse, then by all means, they must be removed from the school district's premises. Maybe, in order to preserve justice, you might want to advocate keeping them on salary until proven guilty. But, rather than risk having another child abused or molested, the suspected pedophile must be removed from such access to children.

We have all seen the damage done by the churches who have refused to confront and dismiss priests (instead, they are relocated to other areas to abuse and molest again). If the schools were to adhere to this policy, we would have so many more children subjected to abuse. It is too horrible and unconscionable to consider.

Let us stop worrying so much about the predators and worry more about their victims.

~ Jan Schulman,
Oxnard,

Hounding of bears

The Ojai Wildlife League joins the Sierra Club, the National Humane Society and dozens of other organizations in opposing a California Department of Fish and Game proposal to expand the use of dogs by bear hunters. If approved, the DFG proposal will increase the hounding of bears by dog packs, as well as expand black bear hunting into San Luis Obispo County and other areas of the state. It will remove the current 1,700 season limit of bears "harvested," and allow an unlimited number of bears to be killed by California hunters during bear season, which usually runs concurrently with deer hunting season.

The Sierra Club has called upon the Commission to adopt regulations that require dogs be in the physical control of hunters at all times, as required by the Fish and Game Code.

We strongly oppose uncontrolled hounding of bears, a practice that results in gruesome injuries to bears and dogs. DFG regulations make it a crime to hunt cubs and mother bears. The uncontrolled packs of hounds do not read or follow those rules. When a mother bear stands and fights to protect her clubs, dogs may be seriously injured or killed.

The DFG proposal will allow the use of GPS devices and tip-switches. The tip-switches signal hunters that a bear has been treed. The hunters follow the GPS signals to the dogs and shoot the terrified bear out of the tree.

Hounding places dogs, bears and other forest animals, such as endangered species like the Pacific Fisher, at risk. The use of dogs to hunt bears is the favored method of bear poachers, legitimizing hounding will lead to more poaching.

Allowing dogs and bears to fight is illegal under the state's animal cruelty laws. Californians should not get an exemption to these laws by buying a hunting license.

Sue Williamson,
Ojai

(The author is the organizer of the Ojai Wildlife League - Editor)

Tens of thousands are converging this week on Washington, D.C., to demand immigration reform that protects immigrants' rights and provides a path towards legalization. Equally important is an immediate end to the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants. Enacting humane immigration policies taht keep families together is the best path forward.

~ Jan Paley,
Camarillo

Nursing program layoffs

I'm not sure if your readers have heard that the Ventura County Community College District is laying off an additional employees. One of those employees being laid off is the Secretary for the Associate Degree Nursing Program at Moorpark College. To give you an idea about how essential having a secretary for our Associate Degree Nursing Program is, let me share some of her duties.

She keeps the records updated for all 200 nursing students in the program. Our students must have current background checks, TB skin tests, immunizations, cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification and fire cards. In order for us to take our student nurses into hospitals, they must have current records of this. These things are not things you just do once and have lifetime certification. Iit must be done annually or every 2 years. Our secretary keeps track of all these records to make sure they are current.

In addition to that, she answers the phone, answers students' questions on varying topics, sends out our admission letters, keeps track of responses from the admission letters, and I know our students should tell you this is essential for the smooth running of Moorpark College's nursing program.

Our secretary is also responsible for maintaining records for the accrediting bodies that review these on a regular basis. She ensures that records for all faculty are current. She also assists our Health Science coordinator by typing reports to our accrediting bodies, which include the National League for Nursing and the Board of Registered Nursing.

It is also noteworthy that next year we are working on our Board of Registered Nurse Accreditation Report, and the following year, the National League for Nursing is visiting us for reaccrediation.

I have to wonder what these agencies will think when we tell them the district decided to to lay off our secretary. district wasn't thinking when it decided to lay off such a valuable position. I've been told that our secretary's title is teaching assistant, which she has never done. The district decided to line-item lay off teaching assistants and the secretary position is classified as one of them.

I have to wonder how the College District can tolerate jeopardizing the quality of a highly regarded nursing program at Moorpark College by removing the secretary position from our program.

Who do they expect to keep the student records and answers the phones?

~ Linda Loiselle RN, MSN, APRN
Camarillo

Greed has corrupted the American tradition of compassion.

Oscar night goodie bags were worth an average of $91,000 in taxable gifts for actors and their celebrity counter parts like Sarah Palin. Meanwhile, an unemployed man had his utilities turned off for nonpayment and his car was repossessed.

A lobbyist gave a politician $99,400 to vote for a Medicare reduction in benefits. Meanwhile, an 88-year-old woman buys food one week and medications the other week. She alternates because she does not have a caregiver or benefactor and can't pay for basic needs every week on limited Social Security income.

Several politicians accepted money from the insurance lobbyists to tell us the American people don't want health insurance reform. Where is the statistical proof? How many people accepted those lies that were fact-checked to verify them as lies? Meanwhile, a restaurant owner, who is a single mom with cancer, couldn't pay for her own medication or for her daughter's surgery, so the little girl died.

The rich pay for the finest healthcare available. The poor don't have available healthcare, so they suffer and many die. Those in the middle live in panic.

Corporate CEO's and their colleagues continue to receive annual pay, stocks and other rewards that far outnumbered the amount most working people receive in a lifetime. Our government gives or lends money to corporations so that high level management can maintain their greedy lifestyles. Meanwhile, our educators are regularly threatened with being held accountable when their students don't meet testing standards. Could it be due to the outmoded, underfunded teaching system from the pre-technological days of the 1900's? Instead of making teachers the scapegoats, give them effective teaching tools.

Our forefathers created guides that are obsolete today. Change them!

~MarSan Friedman
Thousand Oaks

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington

Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. - Thomas Jefferson

Ok, our federal and state governments have my attention. I blame no one but myself. Whether I was too busy, lazy or just plain stupid I have been asleep at the wheel. Letting others do the work of governing was easy. I stridently believed that The Constitution of the United States would be our stalwart protection against those who would dispossess us all and our posterity of the blessings of Liberty that these United States have enjoyed.

But as with all things, unless maintained, defended and utilized it will cease to exist. The Constitution is no different. Well shame on me for taking these blessings for granted without the necessary sacrifice and work required to maintain it.

Well, I am awake now and definitely unhappy with what has occurred in this country and this state for the past 100 years or so with but very few exceptions. So where do I start, what can I do? I am not really 100 percent sure right this minute, but what I am sure of is that enough is enough. The size, intrusion and power of our governments are way out of line and they need to be forced back to what is only necessary.

~ Jim McCollum,
Newbury Park

Re: Bill O'Reilly's March 20 column, "Paging all available physicians":

Bill O'Reilly lies. In the March 20 Star, he wrote that "a survey published by the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine" found that "if Obamacare becomes law, about 30 percent of primary care doctors would consider leaving the medical profession". This is a lie.

According to NEJM spokeswoman Jennifer Zeis, the survey "was not published by the 'New England Journal of Medicine.' " The informal email survey appeared in "Recruiting Physicians Today," a free advertiser newsletter produced by Massachusetts Medical Society, which also publishes the New England Journal of Medicine. The survey did not undergo NEJM's rigorous peer review process.

Yesterday, the American Medical Association endorsed President Obama's healthcare legislation.

You can decide who is the more credible voice for American doctors - an email survey published in a free advertiser newsletter, or the AMA.

And to The Star, you need a more rigorous process for ensuring the accuracy of your columnists.

~Deborah Millais
Ventura

Re: March 21 articles, "No license leads to no car" :

Mr. Arsenio Lopez with the "Mixteco / Indigena Community Organizing Project" makes the statement, "It's not fair," regarding "undocumented" workers having their vehicles impounded when they do not have a valid driver's license. I agree with Mr. Lopez - It's not fair! Why should I have to have a driver's license, or current vehicle registration, or insurance? This is an outrage!!

~ Phillip Thiele,
Simi Valley

Re: March 21 articles, "No license leads to no car" and ""Car seizures benefit cities but trigger legal questions":

You have got to be kidding me!

Could the "reporting" in the two articles about auto seizures at sobriety checkpoints be anymore disgustingly biased.

One article reports the complaint "that its not fair," not fair? What's not far is that I plan for and work my family budget to make sure my fees are paid. Why should I pay my fees, and these people do not? I drive on the same roads, live in the same county and live in the same state. They are stealing from me and every other person that follows the rules for legal vehicle operation in the state of California. Everyone should be paying to use the government infrastructure. Is it only unfair because they are being held accountable?

The presentation of these biased articles, down to the photo of the woman holding her infant son as her truck is being impounded while she talks on a cell phone, disguised as 'news' reporting on Page A1 of the Sunday paper is just irresponsible journalism. If the STAR wants to push a slanted political agenda it is more than welcome to use the Op-Ed pages, but not the front page.

~ David W. Moore,
Moorpark

Re: Terry Paulson's column, "8 surefire ways to fail as a Democrat":

The ninth, and most powerful reason the Democrats will continue to fail, is because like Charlie Brown and Lucy, they seem to want to continue to think that the members on the other side of the isle are going to hold the football down for them to kick until, at the last minute, it is jerked away.

It is now painfully obvious that the Democrats will not succeed on passing any legislation until they take that football back and kick it themselves.

~ Rodney K. Boswell,
Thousand Oaks

The last contested sheriff's race in Ventura County occurred in 1974. Those of us who strongly support Dennis Carpenter in the upcoming June election have an obligation to state our reasons publicly; in large part because we understand just how rare a contested sheriff's election is, and how significant the implications will be from that decision.

The most essential element to consider is quite simple: although both candidates have over 30 years of law enforcement experience and intimately understand the intricacies of the Sheriff's Department and the nuisances of local city and county government, only one has the integrity to be our next sheriff. That person is Dennis Carpenter.

The reason why the Ventura County Sheriff's Department has avoided malfeasance throughout the years is because its leaders have the integrity to hold themselves and their subordinates accountable. During very tough fiscal times, the department has worked with the Board of Supervisors and CEO's office to cut its budget. And Sheriff's Department managers have agreed to a pay cut as part of a comprehensive pension reform strategy. These things have been accomplished through the leadership of a cohesive executive team in which Dennis Carpenter is an integral part. Dennis Carpenter has filled this role and all of his varied and diverse assignments throughout his career with impeccable integrity.

Unfortunately, Dennis' opponent violated the ethical standard and trust necessary for an executive of the Sheriff's Department and definitely for one wanting to hold the position of sheriff. The sheriff alone cannot run a department. He must have competent, ethical, experienced and trustworthy people under him to carry out the mission. When Dennis' opponent was in that role and expected to meet those standards, he failed to do so.

Now is definitely not the time to cast an uninformed vote.

Joe Brennan,
Simi Valley

Re: Gary E. Murphy's March 18 letter, "An Insult to the Gipper":

The letter defends the absence of coverage by The Star of the Mark Levin talk at the Reagan Library.

A judgment is expressed in Murphy's letter that raises a philosophical question relevant to most of our activities: "Is the value of information or services provided by an individual enhanced or degraded by the provider's underlying motivation?

The letter argues that the talk wasn't publicized "... because he (Levin) was only there to sell books!"

It has been stated often by some individuals, talking about their professions or jobs that they enjoy them enough that they would work at them without pay. Unfortunately they are in the minority. Probably 99 percent of us show up at our jobs every day to earn a living.

If you learned that a college professor you admire, an expert in economic theory, chose teaching as a profession only because it offered a better salary than being an accountant, would you ignore the principles he shares?

If you were about to engage a recognized heart surgeon to operate on a member of your family and learned that he had expressed in an interview that "he was really in it for the money," would you pass on him?

Murphy also states that Levin, like others, "... make millions by taking advantage of the real fears and insecurities of Americans."

Al Gore is heavily invested in companies expecting to make millions in programs, some dubious, to reduce carbon emissions. Should we discount his alarms about excessive carbon dioxide because pending "green" legislation will enrich him? Although his motives are suspect, shouldn't the arguments he puts forth be judged on their own merit?

Just maybe Levin said something of value.

~ William Vietinghoff
Thousand Oaks

Recent op-ed pIeces have exposed the consequences of the Progressive takeover of our education system. The stunning column by Kimberly Cizek reveals what happens when a Progressive agenda discourages competition and downplays individual achievement. Incentive is gone, personal responsibility disappears, and our young people learn to blame others. Why are educators not fostering values like integrity and self-reliance, and teaching critical thinking skills? Progressives destroy self-worth and the family by promoting dependence on the government. The consequences are glaringly clear in the Democrat-controlled school districts of Chicago, Detroit, Houston and Los Angeles. Billions of taxpayer dollars cannot improve these failures.

Obamacare will similarly destroy healthcare and the quality of life for all Americans. Private insurance companies will not survive the costs of further government restrictions and taxes. Individual taxes will make upward mobility pointless. The bill creates commissions of Obama appointees to determine what care will be allowed and who will be covered. Care will be rationed as billions of Medicare dollars are cut and diverted to pay for this new entitlement. Never mentioned are the millions of healthcare workers who will become unemployed as hospitals and insurers go bankrupt. It is frightening how those in government, so ignorant of medicine, disease and the business of healthcare, can be allowed to make these decisions.

A society based on entitlements will collapse. America was always the golden land of opportunity, not the gold you get when you land. As the Obama propaganda machine whines on, demonizing the healthcare industry, and doctors look up and see that the epitome of government waste, fraud, abuse and corruption is standing at the teleprompter.

~ Patti Chiarelli,
Thousand Oaks

Re: March 16 article, "Rio School District board member facing child molestation charges":

Students, parents and teachers in the Rio School District now have even more cause for concern. This week's press accounts of Rio School District Trustee Brian Martin's alleged sexual molestation with a minor under the age of 10 have brought forth new information that Martin's victim gave birth as a direct result. The criminal charges against him include allegations of great bodily harm.

There is no room for inaction by the Rio board on this issue. The other Trustees, Tim Blaylock, Ron Mosqueda, Robert Guillen and Simon Ayala need to focus on the safety and well-
being of students. The fact that Martin has not resigned is no excuse.

Trustees should call for his resignation. Given the serious nature of the charges, Trustees should instruct staff to deny him access to any school facility pending the outcome of the case. This is simply a matter of common sense and would serve to reassure parents that the board has their children's best interests in mind. Taking this action will demonstrate to the community that the Trustees are committed to addressing the other many serious issues facing the District.

The safety and education of children must continue to be the No. 1 priority. We call on Mr. Martin to do the right thing and resign from the board.

~ Ramon Tejada
Oxnard

(The writer is the chirman of the Education Committee for the League of United Latin American Citizens. -- Editor)

Re: E.D. Ellis's March 19 letter to the editor, "Bewildering education"

E.D. Ellis found it "bewildering" that some students are doing badly, while others are offered classes in Chinese. Bright, intelligent, serious students do so well they enjoy challenges such as learning Chinese. Other students, some smart, others not, are less interested in learning and do not do well. This is not bewildering. This is normal life. No matter how hard the schools work to get students to pass, some will deliberately fail, while others do very well.

~ Jeri Boeing,
Oxnard

It's hard to understand how a normal, intelligent driver cannot figure out how to stop a car that seems to be driving itself?! Did Driver's Ed forget to teach students what the ignition switch does? Sounds eerily familiar when in the 80's a driver of an Audi sedan swore that his car also had that problem. After two years of testing, and the almost complete ruin of USA Audi, no mechanical defect was ever found! Hummm?

Could it be that at least some of these normal, intelligent drivers are 1. not normal, 2. not intelligent or 3. all of the above?

Turns out, also, that the Prius recently in the news on the L.A. freeway, has been tested, and no defects have been found! Hummm?

Its been said before, (at least by me), the DMV should be giving intelligence tests instead of driving tests. A good percentage of bad drivers wouldn't be driving, and those of us left would start to enjoy driving all over again.

The only obvious case of unintended acceleration that all citizens should be mad as hell about, is the U.S. Government's fast-track desire to legislate us right out of our civil liberties!

~ Michael Thames,
Ojai

Re: RE: John M. Crisp's March 18 column, "Healthcare a basic right of American life":

As an American, I believe I should have rights to healthcare just as Mr. Crisp discussed. I also believe I should have the right and the freedom to arrange for my own insurance to finance it.

I believe I should have the right to choose the type of insurance that suits my needs, without having to pay for coverage I don't need or want.

I believe I should have the right to decide which insurance I want based on what I can afford.

I believe I should have the right to have the insurance I choose state clearly in advance what healthcare is covered and what isn't, instead of finding out something isn't covered after I need it.

I believe I should have the right to choose my own doctor and be able to follow his/her instructions for my own healthcare without interference from a third party that doesn't know me or my doctor.

I believe I should have the right to obtain the treatment my doctor says I need, without having to have it approved by an administrator after the fact.

I believe I should have the right to have the prescription drugs that my doctor prescribes to treat or cure my medical conditions, rather than only those on a "formulary" list.

I believe I should have the right to pay for my own medical care if my insurance plan doesn't cover treatment my doctor recommends.

I believe I should have the right to sue my insurance plan for bad faith if it doesn't pay for covered medical treatment and I am injured (or even die) because of it.

As Congress debates healthcare reform, it needs to provide these rights and more basic rights to Americans. Healthcare is the most personal issue we all face, and the American people should make sure their rights are not being taken away under the guise of "healthcare reform."

It's too late for me. I don't have any of the rights listed above. I am on Medicare.

~Constance N. Zarkowski,
Simi Valley

Re: March 12 article, "Holocaust survivor speaks to Thousand Oaks eighth-graders":

As a Ventura County resident and a member of the local International Services Committee of the American Red Cross, I recently had the opportunity to read the article that was posted on the 12th of March entitled Holocaust survivor speaks to Thousand Oaks eighth-graders. It was heartwarming to read of Estelle Nadel's journey from Colorado to a local Thousand Oaks middle school in order to share her experiences of surviving the Holocaust with an assembly of schoolchildren. It is imperative that those who were fortunate to have survived the unspeakable atrocities of the Second World War share their life histories so that we may not forget what happened. Having a grandmother who was one of the only members of her family to have escaped Nazi Eastern Europe, I can speak personally to the importance of remembering our dark hours so that we may create a future which is that much brighter.

Although both of Nadel's parents and two of her siblings were lost in the war, she and her two brothers were reunited after years of hiding with neighbors and friends. This aspect of Nadel's story particularly caught my attention as a member of the local International Services Committee of the American Red Cross. One of the committee's primary objectives is to reunite relatives who have been separated by war. We are able to do this in partnership with Red Cross societies across the world, so that the organization may attempt to provide some comforts to those whose lives have been so drastically altered.

Just this week, a colleague of mine and I were able to make a successful match. In search of her mother's childhood friend, an inquiry from a 70-year old woman in Germany was brought to the American Red Cross of Ventura County. After some phone calls, we were able to meet with the sought person and her daughter-in-law at her home in Leisure Village. As it turns out, this woman will be turning 90 years old in two weeks and definitely remembered the inquirer's mother from the days just before she and her family fled Nazi Germany. It was remarkable to have been involved in this tracing case, both because of the distance from which it came and because of the age of the sought person.

It is critical that community members are aware of the Family Tracing service that the American Red Cross provides, free of charge, to the community. If you or anyone you know is interested in locating a lost family member who has been separated from your family because of war or armed conflict, please contact the American Red Cross of Ventura County for more information: Web site, (http://www.arcventura.org); Phone 805-987-1514 ext. 318; email kayad@usa.redcross.org; Postal address, 836 Calle Plano, Camarillo, CA 93010.

Danit Kaya,
Newbury Park

Re: March 19 letter to the editor, "Do the math":

I did the math. The exorbitant premiums that individuals and businesses are now paying to insurance companies for high-deductible, coinsurance coverage would be replaced by lower premiums (elimination of high administrative costs and excessive executive compensation). It is estimated that the cost to the insured would be reduced by 30 percent to 40 percent, coverage would be greater (see Medicare coverage) and everyone would be covered. I hope this explains the "how" without obfuscation.

~ Sid Cohn,
Ojai

Okay, I am not a fan of the bill. Forget about all the smoke and mirrors our politicians are using to justify their votes (for and against) for a moment, and think about the economics of the issue.

In economics, most problems involve supply and demand. The current healthcare bill addresses the supply issue only. The U.S. has say 15 million uninsured, who, according to the proponents of the bill, demand (some say are entitled to) access to affordable health insurance. The bill will provide a mechanism (government subsidies, taxes and reductions in Medicare payments to seniors) to satisfy the demand of the uninsured for insurance.

What about supply?

If the bill passes, we will then have 15 million additional insured citizens (I assume illegal aliens will be excluded) that will demand health services from the existing supply of doctors. Nothing in the bill addresses the issue of additional supply of doctors to satisfy this new demand. In fact:

1. Every year in the U.S. approximately 10,000 more doctors retire (baby boomers) than graduate from medical school.

2. Millions of baby boomers are also retiring (getting older) and will be demanding more medical attention both from their employer paid retirement health insurance and Medicare.

3. The bill reduces $500 billion in Medicare payments to pay for the healthcare bill to ensure younger citizens, just when the demand for Medicare increases from baby boomers.

In economics, whenever excess demand (new citizens with insurance) encounters limited supply (doctors) an imbalance (shortage) results. This shortage will present itself in the form of longer waiting time to see doctors and reduced quality of service.

In the longer run in a free market economy, prices for doctors (wages) would increase thus causing more people to attend medical school, thus increasing supply to satisfy this demand. However in the case of the healthcare bill, this will not happen due to limits it puts on reimbursements to doctors.

Welcome to new a social economy.

Former Prime Minister of England, Margaret Thatcher, had a great quote: "Socialism works great until you run out of other peoples money".

~ David P. Grau,
Ventura

To the Members of Congress: Please vote for healthcare reform. I am convinced that my brother Bob would be alive today had our country had universal healthcare during his lifetime. As a self-employed small business owner in Kokomo, Ind., Bob provided his own healthcare insurance until the cost became prohibitive. In his early 60s, his health declined and without insurance he could not afford many tests and treatments. We, his siblings offered to each contribute monthly to help offset the cost, but he did not want to burden us with something he felt was his responsibility. I will always regret not absolutely insisting.

He chose to delay tests and treatment until eligible for medicare at age 65. Our brother Bob died Dec. 24, 2007, at age 70. Bob's surviving four siblings, myself included at age 75, all enjoy reasonably good health, due in no small measure to our having worked for large companies who could offer us affordable employer provided health insurance. I am proud to be an American, but one uninsured citizen is a national disgrace. As a retired senior, I thank God for Medicare; no American should have less. It is at long last, time to stop the partisan posturing and do what is right.

Thomas Pratt,
Ventura,

RE: March 18 editorial: "Carefully shielded return": (March 18)

I completely disagree. A true fan supports an athlete for their actions "on the court" and not behind closed doors. I would imagine that a majority of Tiger's fans would all agree that what he did in his personal life should not be condoned, but it shouldn't affect his career.

We are so automatic to think that what Tiger did was wrong, but aren't there three sides to every story: his side, her side, and the truth. In this case, maybe there are four sides - media. I'm just thankful that when I make a bad decision in my life it's not publicized.

~ Dawn Osberg,
Newbury Park

As to the projections for costs and benefits of the healthcare legislation, they appear to be rosy. Accurate? Who knows? A missing projection seems to me to be whether
the necessary doctors and other skilled medical personnel in the educational pipeline exist to service the additional millions of eager patients?

~ Ken Gates
Ventura

Simi Valley Unified Schools sent out its "Notice of Recommended Layoff" letters. This is not a surprise. However, one line item, Adult Education Instructors/Home Economics, has myself and 70 or so other quilters enrolled at the Simi Valley Adult School very puzzled.

The stated reason for canceling our class is "financial constraints." What constraint is there in collecting about $7,000 per semester to cover one part-time teacher and a room that is also used for jewelry making (which didn't get canceled)? Why cut a community service that makes money for the district? Even after the tuition on this class doubled, there were more quilters trying to enroll than there was space in the class. It is puzzling why it is recommended for layoff.

~ Chris McDonald,
Simi Valley

Re: March 16 article, "$33,000 to help pay for tree planting":

The article quotes Supervisor Linda Parks as saying "The county will supply 120 of them (trees for Santa Rosa Valley Park) and maintain them once they're planted." She later was quoted saying "This is a one-time cost,..."

At $275 per tree, what species, size and quality of tree is she talking about? What is the actual cost per tree and how long can 120 trees be maintained for that amount? I question how maintenance can be considered a "one-time cost."

Please don't misunderstand me; I'm all for creating beautiful parks and open spaces throughout our beautiful county, but I question the ultimate cost to do so in this case. Particularly with inclusion of maintenance in that small sum. Some trees can live for 100 years or more. Will this small allotment be enough to take care of them until 2110 or longer. If not, what will the ultimate cost be for the county?

~ Hank Myers
Oxnard

Re: March 16 article, "Ventura mayor tells other cities to nurture businesses":

Mayor Fulton mistakenly credits his own philosophy for the dozen or so start-ups in the incubator program, saying "the long-standing, risk averse approach to government has to be rethought." It is this philosophy of gambling with the public's money that has lost us at least $10 million from risky investments no other city in Ventura County dared to make. Further, his advice to other cities is "do as I say, not as I do."

It is true that the decision to turn over $3 million of our Job Investment Fund to a Santa Barbara investment firm (DFJ) was due largely to Mr. Fulton's influence. What was not said is that Mr. Fulton unwisely did not require DFJ to invest in companies that would locate or provide jobs in Ventura. To date, DFJ has only invested, after well over a year, $75,000. of our money. And that was in just one of the 13 companies in the incubator behind City Hall. This pass off of Ventura's public funds with no requirement to spend it on Ventura was considered such a risky gamble that it had to be listed as an expenditure as opposed to an investment.

Due to this poor decision, Ventura has almost no money of it's own left to invest in start-ups that will locate here, nor money to offset costs for companies who might locate here. It was given away. So how will we now nurture our own businesses as Mr. Fulton counsels other cities to do?

The idea for the incubator originated as part of the city's economic development strategy, and was championed by Ed Summers. Now that Ed Summers is gone and the real estate bubble has burst, the pols at City Hall are falling all over themselves to take credit for the incubator. Meanwhile, no one mentions the scandalous give-away of our Jobs Investment Fund.

~ Camille Harris,
Ventura

RE: March 17 article, "More budget cuts, layoffs expected at local colleges":

Understanding that the total cost of education consumes about 50 percent of the budget, it is still hard to embrace cuts here. But, it especially hits home when it strikes our community colleges in the form of reduction of classes, layoffs and other educational resources found within them.

Many of us out there are attending or have attended community colleges and no doubt walked away enriched in life and work, or used the education obtained there as a jump-start toward a university we wanted to attend. No matter what the individual's goal, the community colleges are a place you will find many motivated individuals being educated by gifted, hard-working professors and professionals. The outcome is all good. So, it is hard not to consider that they have been targeted as a path of least resistance when it comes time to decide where to cut dollars in the budget. Come on people; let's take a closer look at where our bucks are really being spent before we forfeit one of our best values.

~Carolyn Haueter
Ventura

I was as wondering if I was the only one getting so very tired of all those negative ads on television by Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner against each other at the cost of multimillions of dollars. Whitman has already spent over $39 million herself, at a time when California has thousands of homeless, hungry beggars on street corners everywhere many of whom are American Veterans from the Vienam War still suffering from post-traumatic stress. That [population] will only grow with the Veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan looking for some help, too.

Its almost ironic that due to over-inflated egos that Whitman, a billionaire, and Poizner, a multimillionaire several times over, be able to buy the California governor's office - very much like eight years ago when Darrell Issa spent millions of his personal fortune to recall Gov. Gray Davis and buy the governor's office himself, but alas loosing to none other then the "Terminator" Arnold. Now, lets hope history will repeat itself. No one should be able to buy the governor's office.

Another bit of history - if Jerry Brown gets elected again as California' governor he will be both the youngest and the oldest governor we have ever had. Just another reminder when Jerry left office as governor the last time, California had a giant financial surplus, so lets vote for Jerry so history has a chance of repeating itsself again.

~ John L Thawley
Santa Paula

We just received a "Jobs & Security Update" from Rep. Elton Gallegly, which states it "was prepared, published, and mailed at taxpayer expense".

It is clearly a campaign mailer which echoes almost identically two recent mailers my wife received from the Republican National Committee. The Gallegly mailer was not sent to me or to any other Democrat that I know in this District, but it was sent to other Republicans.

It is critical of President Obama on national security and terrorism, illegal immigration and the economy, where Gallegly slams the stimulus bill, which he voted against, as "unfocused" and as spending "more on social programs than job creation." He states that "3 million Americans have lost their jobs" since the bill was signed, but ignores the 5 million who lost their jobs in the last 9 months of the Bush Administration.

He states: Of the jobs that were created, more than half are government, not private sector, jobs," which "means more deficit spending or higher taxes to cover government payrolls with no goods and services created to stimulate the economy." The stimulus bill saved or created police, fire and teacher jobs, which are all government jobs, but provide fair pay to people who spend money buying good and services made in in the private sector.

Gallegly advocates subsidizing "those who are unemployed [to] have access to the education and training necessary to gain employment," which necessarily assumes that there are many jobs available in Ventura County, but not enough unemployed Venturans with college degrees and beyond to fill them.

He asserts that because of illigal immigration, there is a "glut of workers" in restaurant and construction jobs, who, he presumes, take jobs from unemployed 50-year-old Ventura County college graduates with pre-existing health conditions and no insurance.

Gallegly has misappropriated taxpayer money to send a campaign mailer to his perceived Republican base, and at least should reimburse the taxpayers for that abuse, if not be investigated for such intentional abuse.

~ Raymond A. Greenberg,
Westlake Village

I've known Robert O. "Bob" Huber for over 35 years. For most of that time he has been a member of the Rotary Club. He is the living embodiment of Rotary's credo "Service Above Self."

His list of accomplishments, involvements and community service is so long that if I listed most of them in this letter, it would be so long The Star wouldn't print it. Suffice to say, from his current position as President of the Board of the Ventura County Community College District through his term on the Simi Valley City Council and all of his many other official or volunteer works, he has given a tremendous amount of himself to our children and us.

Bob is intelligent, compassionate and fair. He takes a logical, commonsense approach to solving difficult problems. He highly respects the rule of law and strongly supports law enforcement. He's a true leader.

One of his strongest attributes is fiscal responsibility. This will be extremely important as our city enters an era of budget concerns and deficits. Simi Valley simply couldn't do better than electing Bob Huber as our next Mayor.

Douglas C. Crosse,
Simi Valley

Recently, there was a picture of the proposed new logo for the city of Thousand Oaks. This logo cost the city $25,000, which is appalling, especially for such a trite piece of work. The depicted tree does not look like and oak but rather like and ash tree.

The city could have saved a lot of money and ccould have done some good by making the design of anew logo a competition open to students in the Conejo Valley. Scholarship money of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 for first, second and third places would accomplish a lot more than fattening the wallet of some commercial enterprise. IN addition, the city would have a logo it could be proud of.

~ Sylvia B. Sullivan,
Thousand Oaks

Re: March 1 article," Train kills Ventura man":

The "$1 million in federal funding secured in 2005 and 2007" mentioned in the article was secured by Congressman Elton Gallegly, who has actively fought for safety on our rails.

You may remember the congressman also joined with Congressmen Adam Schiff and Henry A. Waxman and Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer on legislation immediately after the Chatsworth Metrolink crash to require all railroads to install automated systems that stop trains if they break the speed limit or run a red light.

Give some credit where credit is due

~Ralph Hagle
Somis

Re: Feb. 24 article "County pulls plug on free coffee, doughnuts at Camarillo store"

As I read The Star, I'm always aware of the financial problems of all government, federal and local.

A possible way to cut costs for Ventura County would be to eliminate some funding for the Ventura County Environmental Health Department if they have nothing better to do than interfere with local tax-producing businesses giving away free coffee and doughnuts.

~ Larry Reid,
Ventura

Today's headlines announce that Israel continues to hold us in contempt, as they have for so many years now. As our second-ranking national official, Vice President Joe Biden arrives top try to help in the Mideast peace process, they announce 1,600 more settlements on Palestinian land.

For how long has Israel ignored out requests to desist in the settlement expansions? For how long will the United States of America allow the utter disregard for our viewpoints on the Israeli-Palestinian issue to be thrown in our face?

It is long past time to dispense with talking about it, and to up and do something about it!

We should immediately stop all aid of any kind to Israel. Let them deal with the billion or so Arabs in the world on their own, and see what their reaction is. If their obstinacy continues, we could even give the billions we've taken from them to the Palestinians.

William Merit True, II,
Port Hueneme

Representation is at an all time low. A few weeks back the Strickland vs. Parks contest hit the news. Audra has to move to make it happen. Parks has done a decent job of representation, but she is apparently holding a position needed by a Strickland. The next family target is John Chiang.

The Strickland's are not for big government, yet they are big government. They want permanent paychecks paid by the taxpayer. They run on the corporate dollar and they represent them well. Add any of the other "representatives" that switch districts to remain on our public payroll (in the name of government service). How can they ever say anything about government reform?

Meg Whitman gives us a message of hope, but falls into habit of the trashing the opponent. She has become one of "them," yet has not served us a day in public office.

Government is broken. Liberal is a dirty word, as was right wing a few years back. We are in an age of labels, and one bad label is apparently fatal?

The role of an elected representative is to negotiate key positions for the benefit of those they represent. I'm not sure I agree with our president but he seems to voice those who elected him, yet his office is but a third of the process. And we (independent of our political leaning) have much to be disappointed with the other two thirds.

~Richard Menken,
Oxnard

Re: March 9 article, "Port Hueneme police chief to retire":

The sudden announcement of Port Hueneme police chief Fernando Estrella's retirement came as a shock. Fernie is a career police officer. In addition to practical experience, he prepared himself with the advanced education necessary to qualify for administrative positions and ultimately rise to the leadership position as chief of police.

I know Fernie as a conscientious, considerate person who takes his responsibilities very seriously. He holds our police department to a very high standard and expects no less of himself. He is not one to rush to judgment. He would not leave his life's work and the police department he has nurtured for so many years without careful thought and preparation.

The abrupt manner of the announcement of his retirement reflects a contemptuous disregard for him. It indicates a repudiation of his 40 years of dedicated service to our community. If Port Hueneme city leaders allow this treatment of an employee of such high caliber, it is not only a disappointment, but an especially outrageous travesty of justice.

~ Mary Elaine San Jose,
Port Hueneme

For the first time in nearly 40 years Ventura County voters will have a real and difficult choice for the office of sheriff. During my 28 years with the Ventura Police Department I had the opportunity and pleasure to work with both of the candidates on the upcoming ballot. I know them both to be dedicated law enforcement professionals and men of integrity.

I endorse Geoff Dean for this position because I believe he has the leadership skills, vision and passion for community service necessary for this crucial position. I know he has the ability to lead the Sheriff's Department through these difficult financial and political times, because he cares deeply not only about the men and women on the department but the residents of Ventura County as well. I believe he has the political acumen to work well with the Board of Supervisors and Department heads. I trust his judgment and feel that in times of disaster he would capably manage his role as the county's public safety leader.

I consider the position of sheriff to be one with a direct impact on nearly every citizen in the county. To me, the person wearing this badge needs a wealth of law enforcement experience as well as the ability to successfully interact at a high political level. I'm confident Geoff Dean has these important traits and will continue the proud tradition of outstanding leadership in the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. Please vote for Geoff in June.

~ Steve Bowman,
Ventura

As an Oak Park resident and a previous Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council Council member for eight years, I only have the highest respect for Supervisor Linda Parks. In five years of working with her, she always gave every issue her undivided attention, her best efforts in research, decision-making and execution of what needed to be accomplished.

She is involved with every aspect of our community going from A to Z, whether it means helping the elderly or helping our children! Her accomplishments for our community are many and to long to list here. Her fiscal responsibility in assuring the health, safety and happiness of her district residents in good and bad economic times are always at the core of everything she has worked for.

This is an important election coming up for our County Supervisor and I urge all District 2 residents to visit www.voteforparks.com to review Linda Parks's biography and accomplishments. With all of the discussion, concern and need for honest politics and governmental action these days, we need the continued knowledge, capabilities and work-hard attitude that she has and will continue to provide us all with!

~ Deena Parry,
Oak Park

As an Oak Park resident and a previous Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council Council member for eight years, I only have the highest respect for Supervisor Linda Parks. In five years of working with her, she always gave every issue her undivided attention, her best efforts in research, decision-making and execution of what needed to be accomplished.

She is involved with every aspect of our community going from A to Z, whether it means helping the elderly or helping our children! Her accomplishments for our community are many and to long to list here. Her fiscal responsibility in assuring the health, safety and happiness of her district residents in good and bad economic times are always at the core of everything she has worked for.

This is an important election coming up for our County Supervisor and I urge all District 2 residents to visit www.voteforparks.com to review Linda Parks's biography and accomplishments. With all of the discussion, concern and need for honest politics and governmental action these days, we need the continued knowledge, capabilities and work-hard attitude that she has and will continue to provide us all with!

~ Deena Parry,
Oak Park

I find the current election for County Sheriff fascinating. Why is it that all the top managers at the sheriff's office are supporting Dennis Carpenter and not a single one supports Geoff Dean? If he is so great, where is his support within the department? Could it be that issues from the past have arisen that would affect their decision?

In any case, I know Dennis Carpenter to be an honest person who we can trust to be our next sheriff and that's who I'll vote for! Please help and also vote for Carpenter.

~ H. R Formanek
Camarillo

I see where Tiger Woods said "The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect." Would that be the same respect that he holds for his wife and the institution of marriage?

Additionally, controversy continues to swirl around Tiger with rumors of HGH and steroid use being the difference that sets him apart from his peers. It's my opinion that Tiger has joined the ranks of Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds, among others. Any records he has attained or may yet achieve are tainted.

I, for one, am rooting for him to fail in his quest to surpass Jack Nicklaus. I'll use Jack as an example of a great golfer for my son, and Tiger as one of the evils of excess and a lack of self control.

~ Michael Kaufman,
Moorpark

Re: your March 4 article, "Free clinics need help as patients surge amid crisis":

According to the article, there is a shortage of volunteer dentists at the local clinics. It's sad that many families and single parents can no longer afford medical-dental insurance or basic dental care for their children. But one can't blame local dentists for not wanting to work for free.

Forbes magazine (1) reported the 2009 average dental salaries in the USA. Incomes were for orthodontists ($194,930), oral & maxillofacial surgeons ($190,420), prosthodontists ($169,810) and ordinary dentists ($154,270) along with other professional salaries. In comparison, the salaries for family physicians ($165,000), psychiatrists ($154,050), pediatricians ($153,370), podiatrists ($94,500) and optometrists ($88,100) were a bit lower.

California probably couldn't recruit from Britain, since United Kingdom salary surveys reported (2) that some British dentists earn as much as 260,000 pounds per year (roughly $397,480).

Perhaps a modified use of the H-1B visa (3) program would alleviate the problems. The visas would allow hospitals, clinics and busy private practices to recruit lower paid skilled foreign dentists as "temporary guest workers." Clinics wouldn't have to recruit overseas. Some students at U.S. dental schools are foreign nationals now awaiting U.S. citizenship. Some foreign nationals have graduated and passed the California dental license exams.

Some naturalized Americans have expedited their citizenship by serving in our military (4). Maybe the federal government will one day ask for a related sacrifice for foreign nationals in healthcare seeking U.S. citizenship. California could even make this a requirement for obtaining state licenses in the healthcare fields.

~Tom Novinson,
Ventura

I received my census form yesterday and the first thing I noticed was while they had my street address and zip code right, the city was wrong. These are the people who are going to count the U.S. population? Oak Park has had the zip code 91377-1223 for years. Who is getting my tax money and what county am I thought to be in according to the Commerce Department.?

~ Dave McDonald,
Oak Park

Re: Michael Lawrence's March 16 letter to the editor "Education budgets":

I would like to suggest that Michael Lawrence might want to review his facts about California's per-pupil spending. We are far from the No. 2 ranking that Mr. Lawrence suggested. The Web sites that I visited in order to provide more accurate information on this subject listed California at No. 29 in per-pupil spending (www.ed-data.k12.ca.us) or No. 47, when adjusted for regional cost differences (National Center for Educational Statistics). Both sets of numbers were based on 2005-06 spending amounts. Somehow I imagine it has gotten worse in the last three years but that would be pure conjecture on my part.

When you couple that with the headline on page A8 of the same issue, "21,905 pink slips sent to teachers" you see the consequences of years of under-funding for our educational system. I believe the quote that Mr. Lawrence was attempting to reference was Einstein's definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I would agree, California has not adequately funded its schools in years while the demands for accountability and improvement have steadily increased. If we are to provide our children with an education that will serve them in the 21st century it will take a lot more than rhetoric and political posturing.

Pam Cwiklo,
Camarillo

I completed several finance and accounting courses in order to earn my business degrees about 50 years ago. Although I try to stay reasonably current in these disciplines, I have apparently missed a few important changes in finance theory.

Will someone kindly explain, with a minimum of obfuscation, how more people (everyone in the U.S.) can receive expanded (no exclusions) health services, and everyone saves money.

Perhaps we should also implement these new theories in other "businesses" such as the Post Office, Amtrak and school districts.

~ Harvey Paskowitz,
Oxnard

We have endorsed and encourage others to support Supervisor Linda Parks in her bid for another term in office. She has demonstrated that she cares for our community as well as shown concern and commitment to the needs of senior citizens. She is no wheeler-dealer, she is smart and has done well for us considering the state of the economy in our county.

~Hank Lacayo,
Newbury Park

(Editor's note: Lacayo is the state president of the Congress of California Citizens)

As someone who is opposed to abortion, and concerned with human life both born and unborn, I have examined the healthcare bills currently in Congress and am convinced that they are abortion-neutral. Like many compassionate persons, I have always been concerned with the numbers of uninsured people, with little or no access to healthcare, in a country as wealthy as the U.S. I find that the healthcare plan(s) under consideration will not affect people that are currently insured in any appreciable way - except that they will soon be able to sleep at night knowing that the rest of their fellow citizens now will have a means to similar healthcare!

Unfortunately, I overhear many people who seem to have bought into many vicious untruths being spoken about the legislation such as death squads, government takeover and socialism being among the most dishonest terms being thrown about. I have experienced the healthcare systems in other countries and find it shocking that Americans are so reluctant to simply look for inspiration among other countries with superior healthcare. While our care for the insured is excellent in many ways, if expensive overall, these countries cover more of their citizens at a far less cost per capita than we do.

I am urging our congressmen to vote yes on this legislation, which will make us a little more like Canada and the Europeans in one way - having affordable healthcare available to all citizens without negatively affecting the majority who already have and will keep their insurance.

~ Chad Kominek,
Camarillo

Millions of Americans lack health insurance. It's not because we enjoy foregoing necessary care, both preventive and reactive. It's because we can't afford it. We're not spending our hard-earned money at nightclubs, eating out, taking vacations or going to the movies, I can promise you. And it's not as if our employers, if we're lucky enough to be employed, are chiseling us out of benefits we're entitled to; they can't afford it either.

My family's healthcare plan, just like countless others, is simple: don't get sick, but if you do, you had still better find a way to make it in to work, or you won't get paid - that's the hard reality of life. The fact is that Congress, after 15 months of the most undignified political spectacle imaginable, has clearly shown itself to be incompetent to reform an admittedly warped healthcare delivery system, and there is but one certain outcome to the grotesque Capitol Hill debate on the subject: health insurance and healthcare costs will not fall, even a little bit. Should some sort of healthcare legislation actually emerge from this fetid mess, the millions of families who have already made the agonizing decision to forego healthcare and health insurance will then be legally mandated to purchase the very product they had, after due consideration, decided to reject. Unaffordable premiums, unreachable deductibles ... we'll still have no healthcare; we'll just have to pay for the privilege.

~ Gregg Luchs,
Thousand Oaks

I'm like most people, and probably like most of our Washington elected officials. Most of us have not read the Healthcare Reform Bill. But I do smell a rat. Is anyone else bothered by the fact only one party is pushing this legislation? Does anyone else sense foul play when we read or hear that several representatives who previously voted no, are now voting yes, because they are not seeking re-election and they now have no fear of repercussions? Is anyone bothered by the notion that in some way President Obama "politically" cannot afford to wait, or start over, or do this reform incrementally?

My gut tells me this all about the money, taxes and fees. I just got my statement from the Office of Social Security regarding my retirement. It gives me a date, and an amount I can expect. Then it states, however, based on our current calculations, they will only be able to pay out 76 cents on the dollar. I know where this going. Next year's letter will read 72 cents and so on. Our Federal Government can no longer borrow from Social Security surplus. Social Security will now run its own deficit going forward.

We read that we will pay into this reform for three years before anyone sees benefits. Does anyone trust our government to set aside this money for this stated purpose? I think this is a money grab. Incremental reform measures would probably solve our healthcare issues, and no doubt why the federal government would prefer sweeping comprehensive reform. There's more money in it for them.

~ Matt Skora,
Ventura

As I drive down Main Street in Ventura to the junction of Main and Telephone, I glance to my left at something that catches my eye; a plastic bag caught on a branch. The median has been planted in the last few years with colorful trees and flowers, but now those trees are dying and the flowers, once so beautiful, are overrun with weeds and litter.

I see more of the same as I progress down Main toward the freeway. Entering the freeway I approach the large blue California welcome sign with a bear cleverly carved out of the state, it too is adorned with trash. When did this happen, and when did we stop caring about this beautiful place we call home? How do we fix it, and when do we reach the tipping point where the people who care leave and things slide into systemic decay?

~Lynne Brady,
Camarillo

Congress needs to say "NO" to H.R. 3590, the Senate-drafted healthcare bill that the House is voting on this week. It is a terrible bill for Americans. We want to see real healthcare reform, but this must come from a new discussion that involves legislators and constituents interested in fiscally responsible solutions, that respect the rights of individuals and families to choose whether to buy insurance, what type is right for them, and where they wish to purchase it.

Enough with the federal government crafting deals with insurance companies while speaking of them as the "enemy," tacking unrelated spending provisions onto the bill and, at the same time, making unrealistic promises about cost savings, all in an attempt to force another expensive, eternal, bureaucratic program down the public's throats.

We don't need a national takeover of healthcare. H.R. 3590 cannot be fixed--not now, and not with phony assurances of reconciliation after it becomes law! I'm urging our representatives to vote NO, and to start over. Reasonable people know there's a better way, and we deserve it!

Diane Hawkins,
Newbury Park

Re: March 15 article, "Kids protest chopping of trees on Loma Vista":

"Under its franchise agreement with the city, Edison can request to remove -- at its expense -- any tree citywide interfering with overhead lines ... All 10 trees will be replaced with more appropriate trees, at city expense." Why doesn't Edison cover the expense to replace them?

~ Wayne Saddler,
Ventura

Re: Sheriff Bob Brooks's March 14 column, "Marijuana Legalization":

Sheriff Brooks paints a picture of how harmful marijuana is to your health. Well, I won't argue with some of that, but compared to other drugs, marijuana is a far safer drug. I have never heard of anyone overdosing on pot, yet with all other drugs it is possible to do so with deadly results. I had a great uncle, an uncle and a cousin by marriage all three commited suicide because they couldn't stop drinking. I have never heard of anyone kill themselves because they couldn't stop smoking pot.

Millions and millions of people all over the world enjoy smoking pot and you are not going to stop that, ever. Keeping pot illegal in order to keep people from smoking it is a joke. Brooks and other people that think marijuana should be kept outlawed simply can't see the light. Keeping it illegal keeps the price of the weed sky high, which is exactly what the drug lords and drug dealers want. Legalize it, and the price will drop drastically, and crime rates connected to the drug trade will also drop.

There is a tremendous amount of crime including murders commited in this country because of the laws regarding marijuana. It is well known that there definitely is medical benefits from pot for some people who are dying from cancer and other diseases. Brooks says that legalizing pot will encourage much greater use of the drug. I don't buy that argument. That didn't happen in Holland when they legalized it.

~ Roger Edgerton,
Ventura

Re: Sheriff Bob Brooks's March 14 column, "Marijuana Legalization":

Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks assembles a litany of fictions opposing re-legalizing marijuana. Sheriff Brooks questions the effect that legalizing marijuana will have on California's budget, but the state will save more than 500 million right off by eliminating enforcement, court and incarceration costs. Added to the $1.4 billion in tax money, California will gain more than $2 billion.

Sheriff Brooks tries to mislead with renewed claims that smoking marijuana causes cancer in spite of the fact that the Centers For Disease Control have yet to discover the first "marijuana only cancer." Research actually shows that heavy, long-term marijuana smokers have a lower cancer rate than teetotalers. Professor Donald Tashkin's extensive research came to the surprising conclusion that heavy life-long marijuana smokers have a lower cancer rate than teetotalers. Professor Tashkin suggests that "something in the marijuana prevents cancer cells from growing." (see: Study: Smoking Pot Doesn't Cause Cancer - It May Prevent It! http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n456/a10.html?277545)

In 1974, Louis S. Harris of the Medical College of Virginia, released a study funded by the National Institutes of Health showing that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice - lung and breast cancer, and a virus-induced leukemia. Harris found that delta-9 THC increased cancer survival time by 36 percent without the weight loss caused by most standard anti-tumor agents. Delta-8 THC and cannabinol were also found to be quite active in tumor suppression. No other chemotherapy agent differentiates between tumor and normal cells the way cannabis compounds do. Like all other studies showing medical potential for marijuana, Harris's funding was immediately discontinued.

I took Sheriff Brooks' advice and asked some cops about marijuana. They told me that they had never had a case of domestic abuse related to marijuana. Highway Patrol officers said that their concern on the highway was drunks, not pot smokers who rarely are involved in accidents.

~ Ralph Givens,
Daly City

Re: Sheriff Bob Brooks's March 14 column, "Marijuana Legalization":

Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks assembles a litany of fictions opposing re-legalizing marijuana. Sheriff Brooks questions the effect that legalizing marijuana will have on California's budget, but the state will save more than 500 million right off by eliminating enforcement, court and incarceration costs. Added to the $1.4 billion in tax money, California will gain more than $2 billion.

Sheriff Brooks tries to mislead with renewed claims that smoking marijuana causes cancer in spite of the fact that the Centers For Disease Control have yet to discover the first "marijuana only cancer." Research actually shows that heavy, long-term marijuana smokers have a lower cancer rate than teetotalers. Professor Donald Tashkin's extensive research came to the surprising conclusion that heavy life-long marijuana smokers have a lower cancer rate than teetotalers. Professor Tashkin suggests that "something in the marijuana prevents cancer cells from growing." (see: Study: Smoking Pot Doesn't Cause Cancer - It May Prevent It! http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n456/a10.html?277545)

In 1974, Louis S. Harris of the Medical College of Virginia, released a study funded by the National Institutes of Health showing that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice - lung and breast cancer, and a virus-induced leukemia. Harris found that delta-9 THC increased cancer survival time by 36 percent without the weight loss caused by most standard anti-tumor agents. Delta-8 THC and cannabinol were also found to be quite active in tumor suppression. No other chemotherapy agent differentiates between tumor and normal cells the way cannabis compounds do. Like all other studies showing medical potential for marijuana, Harris's funding was immediately discontinued.

I took Sheriff Brooks' advice and asked some cops about marijuana. They told me that they had never had a case of domestic abuse related to marijuana. Highway Patrol officers said that their concern on the highway was drunks, not pot smokers who rarely are involved in accidents.

~ Ralph Givens,
Daly City

Re: Sheriff Bob Brooks's March 14 column, "Marijuana Legalization":

Regarding Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks' March 14 op-ed, if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.

The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda.

Marijuana prohibition has failed miserably as a deterrent. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults over 18. The only clear winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a relatively harmless plant.

Robert Sharpe,
Policy Analyst,
Common Sense for Drug Policy
Washington, D.C.