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February 28, 2007
Open schoolyards
While driving past Camarillo Heights Elementary School earlier this month, I had to make a sudden stop to avoid a young boy who was chasing a loose basketball. I leaned out the window and asked him why he and his friends didn't play in the adjacent schoolyard, where it would be safe, rather than in the street. “The schoolyard is locked up, mister,” was his reply.
Schoolyard locked! When did the convenience of the Pleasant Valley School District custodial staff become more important than the safety and well-being of children? It seems to me that schoolyards are community assets, paid for by citizens' tax dollars, and should be available for general recreational use outside normal school hours when not being used for scheduled school functions.
For generations, kids have grown up playing pick-up baseball, basketball and other games on the local schoolyard after school and on weekends, staying safely off the streets and out of trouble. Youth sports teams practice there. Families gather to use the swings, fly kites, shoot baskets, chip golf balls - generally enjoy outdoor activities together with little or no negative impact on the school facilities. An accessible schoolyard is particularly beneficial in a neighborhood such as that surrounding Camarillo Heights School, where no nearby public park exists.
I don't doubt that schoolyards left open after-hours are misused occasionally; this is, unfortunately, true of most public facilities these days. But a chained, padlocked, empty neighborhood schoolyard is a sad waste of a valuable piece of community property.
- Dale Osborn, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:36 PM
Cuts unfair to seniors
I wrote to the Port Hueneme City Council to protest the slashing of senior citizen exercise classes by 50 percent, from four classes a week to just two. I wrote personal letters to each of the five council members, but not one had the courtesy to respond.
The director of the department that provides the classes did write to tell me that financial shortages required an 8 percent reduction in the city budget. When I wrote back to her — sending copies to all five City Council members — asking why an 8 percent reduction overall required a 50 percent reduction in senior exercise classes, I received no explanation. This time, no response was received from either the department director or any of the council members.
Every health report today declares how significant exercise can be for everyone, but especially for senior citizens. As one who has spent some 30 years managing healthcare delivery, I speak with some authority in this area.
It is unbelievable to me that something as important as the health of our senior citizens can be treated in such a cavalier manner by the governing body of the city of Port Hueneme. Surely, there are other less essential activities the city engages in that could have shared in the reduced budget in order that this program would not be reduced so drastically.
— William Merit True II, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:33 PM
State of the union
Surprises never cease with our great President Bush. In his State of the Union address, he stated the same mistakes we have heard over and over, especially the Iraq war. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats, as well as Republicans, don’t agree with sending more troops to Iraq.
I saw on CNN News that some of our soldiers coming home from the war are totally disabled, are homeless, can’t work due to severe permanent injuries and are tired of fighting Veterans Affairs for compensation.
Seventy-six percent of Americans are angry about the economy, immigration reform and the Iraq war.
The Iraq Study Group says U.S. Iraq war policy failed. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said prison abuse scandals in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, plus other mistakes, have damaged America’s reputation. It will take work, he said, to prove the United States still is a force for good in the world.
This country needs unity. Thousands cross into the United States, establish themselves as friendly working people and then blow up a business, a school or a plane. Security doesn’t seem to be our No. 1 priority! Where were the guards recently when a stowaway was found in the wheel well of a British jet?
— Amelia Hadfield, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:32 PM
Doing wrong by our vets
Reporter Bob Woodruff, who suffered traumatic brain injury in an explosion in Iraq, had a TV special on his remarkable recovery and on returning injured vets. He also made an astounding revelation: Casualty figures in Iraq are said to be 3,200 dead and 21,000 wounded, with Afghanistan’s far lower.
Woodruff obtained a confidential Defense Department report showing Veterans Affairs has actually treated 205,097 since fiscal year 2002, 976 percent higher than the official figure.
Officially, the report says 1,835 servicemen have TBI. Dr. Steven Scott, a founder of VA polytrauma centers, believes 10 percent of the 631,174 veterans from both wars have some brain injury. So the real number is actually 63,000-plus veterans returning brain injured. Other numbers:
— Post-traumatic stress syndrome, 33,754.
— Nondependent abuse of drugs, 28,732.
— Depressive disorders, 23,462.
— Neurotic disorders, 18,294.
— Affective psychoses, 12,386.
— Alcohol dependence, 5,413.
— Sexual deviations/disorders, 3,239.
— Special symptoms, not elsewhere classified, 3,178.
— Drug dependence, 2,387.
— Acute reaction to stress, 2,273.
Even more disgraceful is ABC parading Woodruff all over television, yet ignoring the distorted figures on its later Nightline broadcast. Woodruff’s interview with the VA secretary was truncated, and the most important parts were omitted from the Web site.
This is an outrage. We have a right to know the real cost to the servicemen who fight in our name. I challenge the media to report these figures aggressively and ask questions. I challenge any conservative to defend either the numbers or this lying administration. And I challenge Rep. Elton Gallegly to call for immediate congressional hearings on the real casualty figures. Either that, or he should never parrot the hollow, meaningless words “I support the troops” again. It’s time for him to stand up or step down.
— Bruce C. Marshall, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:20 PM
Don't copy Canada
Re: your Feb. 28 article, “Universal health measure revived”:
Sen. Sheila Kuehl's “healthcare” plan is wrong for California.
Before you support her plan to provide care like Canada's or Great Britain's, here are some things to consider:
In Canada, you will wait 40.3 weeks for orthopedic surgery, 4.9 weeks for cancer surgery, 31.7 weeks for neurosurgery, 3 to 8 weeks for an ultrasound, 10-plus weeks for an MRI and so on. In Great Britain, you may wait eight months for treatment of your cancer - so long that it becomes untreatable. This happens to one in five with colon cancer. If you are a little past middle age, you will not be eligible for dialysis.
This is a piece of what it means to get healthcare in those countries.
Our system may be broken, but inviting the California legislators to be judge and jury between you and your healthcare choices is not the way to fix it.
- Martha Highfield, RN, Ph.D., Agoura Hills
(The writer is a professor of nursing at CSU Northridge.)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:55 AM
Toronto can teach Simi
The Simi Valley City Council should take a look at Toronto, Canada.
I was at a convention several years ago and found street vendors parked on many streets. Each is assigned a specific place in which they can work. Trash containers are in place. I saw no litter. They are regulated by the city, and at lunch, many people come out of the offices to purchase hot dogs or sausages. There are no traffic problems. If the system works in Canada, it could certainly work here.
— Jack Brewer, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:53 AM
Good luck with homeless
A few weeks ago, I saw a man sitting in the median of the Wal-Mart driveway in Simi Valley holding up a sign asking for help.
I just happened to stop right next to him. I was about to get out my wallet and give him a few dollars, but then I noticed he had something in his shirt pocket and had earphones in his ears. He was listening to an iPod. At one time, at least, the beggars in the streets looked like beggars.
I don’t know this man, but if he has an iPod and buys music to download to his iPod, he must have access to a computer. I kept my money. What if he were to use it to download a song I don’t like?
I had a cousin who chose to be homeless in Santa Monica. He would show up at his mother’s house every two weeks to wash his clothes and take a shower, but the next day, he’d be gone again. This was his choice and his lifestyle. And we’ve heard all too many stories about the money going for drugs, booze or cigarettes.
I endorse the city of Simi Valley in getting rid of these people from our streets. But they need to go somewhere— and I don’t mean Oxnard.
There are several organizations in Simi Valley that help homeless and destitute people. These people would be better served visiting the Good Samaritan center than begging on the streets. We have a free clinic, as well as a county mental health clinic, to help these people get their lives in order.
What if other homeless people hear we actually are helping those people? Will we become a haven for the homeless of Southern California? The city is tackling a difficult problem. I wish it well.
— John Agasse, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:45 AM
February 27, 2007
Victoria isn't pretty
How surprising that the Ventura Chamber of Commerce thinks that Victoria Avenue needs more, not less. Has the Ventura chamber ever sought anything other than immediate profit?
I have a suggestion for Victoria. Sell it to Oxnard or Camarillo - the highest bidder, of course - since it most resembles these two cities. You could also throw in the Ventura Auto Mall, with its gaudy towering balloons, pennants and inflatable Godzillas.
My family moved to Ventura in 1956. The city of Ventura sold its soul once it started commercial development beyond Five Points. The most derelict building on Meta Street is more aesthetic than anything on Victoria or East Main Street.
As for traffic on Victoria, a new Trader Joe's in West Ventura will relieve the stress, since TJ's is the only good reason to shop there. Most people I know rate traveling on Victoria as a second behind root canals.
A final question: Have the tax dollars generated by developments such as Victoria ever created a surplus for true city improvements, or are they used to service the upkeep of the infrastructure needed to sustain the said developments?
- Larry Yuva, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:16 AM
Global warming? Hogwash!
Re: Terry Paulson's Feb. 26 essay, “One-sided scientific truths”:
Thanks be to all gods who may be listening that, according to Terry Paulson, eminent climatologist, 90 percent of scientists worldwide are probably wrong. Global warming will be good for us! His reasoning: The plants will enjoy more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, people who live in cold climates won't be as cold, and we humans are so smart that we'll figure out a way to grow more food with less water anyway.
Of course, we could take a prudent conservative stance by cutting down our emissions and developing clean energy alternatives - just in case. But that would hurt the developing Third World countries that want to be just like us. We're responsible for 25 percent of these emissions worldwide, and let's get everyone else on the bandwagon! And let's not criticize President Bush for “trying to minimize the severity of the threat” of global warming. He's been so right on everything else.
So thank you again, Mr. Paulson. I won't worry anymore. You know what? I'll be dead before any significant climate changes affect me anyway. I just hope my kids and their kids don't curse my memory for not taking that prudent step and cutting emissions now “just in case.” Of course, they may not be visiting my grave often anyway when Ventura County feels like Death Valley. Come to think of it, I want to be buried east of Highway 101 or on the Oxnard Plain. I don't want to take a chance that my grave will be covered with sea water.
Global warming? Hogwash! (I hope.)
- Steve Stewart, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:11 AM
Mormon records incomplete
Re: your Feb. 26 article, “Polygamy prominent in Romney’s family tree”:
I found the article interesting, though not quite factual. The Mormon Church issued "The Manifesto" in 1890 that discouraged plural marriages. However, it did not outlaw them. The whole objective of was to gain statehood for Utah.
My great-great-grandfather was one of the original apostles of the Mormon Church. The 1848 migration to Utah could not accommodate all members. Groups were formed to migrate over a period of several years.
My great-great-grandfather either elected and/or was selected to remain with his cousins in Navoo, Ill., to help run the colony. In 1851, a bad outbreak of flu claimed a vast majority of the Navoo colony, my great-great-grandfather’s cousin being one of the victims. He was survived by his wife and 6-month-old son.
In 1851, my great-great-grandfather took his cousin’s widow as his fifth wife and headed west to Utah. He homesteaded a few miles north of Salt Lake City, founding the town of Farmington. He took his last wife in 1906 when he was 85 and she was 25.
My great-grandfather married and settled in the Farmington area. He took five wives. All the wives are buried in the Farmington cemetery with the first wife next to her husband and the others behind or to the side of the main wife.
The interesting part of all the documentation I have is that the wives of both my ancestors are listed by name as "other marriages,” yet, none of the children born to the other marriages are listed in any of the documents. It's as if to say they were not legitimate.
It is very possible that the documentation relating to Mitt Romney's ancestors’ plural marriages is hard to prove because they may not have been recorded, as in the case with my ancestors.
— William Steed, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:02 AM
No morals in Hollywood
The Oscar spectacle was a sorry sight morally.
In the 1939 “Gone With The Wind” movie, Rhett Butler made the famous statement, “Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.” This particular statement caused an uproar, especially in the Catholic Church, which listed “Gone With The Wind” as a prohibited movie.
Now, “The Departed” receives the Oscar for the best motion picture.
“The Departed” is a violent movie. Everyone gets killed in a bloody manner. The language used in this movie is filthy. Every other word is the F-word or a variety of it.
I cannot imagine the individuals who voted to make this movie the best picture of the land having any morality whatsoever!
- Armando Cardenas, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:54 AM
Victoria plan is nonsense
Re: Bill Fulton's Feb. 25 Pulse page commentary, “City ahead of curve on Victoria Avenue”:
Although Fulton's story of the poor "timid and scared" lawyers he saw crossing Victoria Avenue brought tears to my eyes, I cannot support his other arguments. I would have shouted to the lawyers, "Cross at the crosswalk, fools."
I live just east of the Ventura County Government Center. I frequently walk down Telephone Road to the Vons shopping center. Many times, I walk down Victoria to the 99 Cent Store, Harbor Freight, Kmart, Trader Joe's, Washington Mutual and Jack in the Box. I walk there for the retail stores. Do you think I would go there for office buildings?
I doubt anyone is any more afraid of Victoria than any other street. I have no problem walking there. Most of the signals are the new kind showing how much time is left to cross. Why don't more people walk? Probably because it takes more time to walk.
Fulton says, "We can't make it wider than it already is." Then, he wants to separate one lane by "trees and parked cars." Huh?
Fulton says people use the right lane for turning, so do away with it and create a separate lane. Now, the "next to the right lane" will become the "new right lane" for turning into the added separate lane. What?
Fulton describes the businesses there as: "All these necessities of daily life are within walking distance for thousands of people." He wants to replace them with "Class A office tenants." Where does he want us to go for all the necessities of life?
We have been told we can't afford large enough Police and Fire departments. How can we afford this boondoggle?
One valuable thing I learned from Fulton - not to vote for him again.
- Leo Bowman, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:47 AM
Where’s the Andy Fox story?
Published reports have stated that Thousand Oaks Mayor Andy Fox, who is in charge of discipline within the Los Angeles Fire Department, has come under scrutiny for not formally investigating a firehouse prank that escalated into a discrimination case, which contributed to the resignation of Fire Chief William Bamattre. Since The Star endorsed Fox for re-election to the City Council, does it not have an obligation to further investigate these claims and report the facts to the citizens of Thousand Oaks?
— Carole Macdonald, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:32 AM
'Grace' overlooked
Re: your Feb. 23 Arts & Living section:
I was surprised to look at the movie reviews in Friday's paper and see no review of the film "Amazing Grace" that had opened on Friday. I was even more surprised that the paper didn't include it in the list of films not reviewed, nor did the paper even list it among films opening on Friday. This isn't exactly a big weekend for film openings, so I don't think the paper couldn't spare the space. I couldn't find any review on the Web site either.
I'd been waiting for the film and was looking forward to The Star's take on it. Instead, The Star devoted the majority of its review space to a truly pointless film, "23." Wouldn't a review of a film about a truly great man and his fight to abolish slavery have been a better choice? How disappointing!
- Pamela Forbat, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:16 AM
February 26, 2007
Victoria plan a waste of time
Re: your Feb. 25 Pulse page, “Victoria's Ventura Avenue Corridor Plan”:
I've just read the Pulse page regarding the City Council's proposal to destroy Victoria Avenue. I'd heard, here and there, about this “plan,” but I have to admit I didn't think it was something that was actually being considered.
That this so-called “plan” is even being considered blows my mind. How anyone who has driven on Victoria Avenue can even think that eliminating a lane or two is somehow a good idea is beyond me. The incompetence and irresponsibility of government never ceases to amaze me.
Are the real people of Ventura clamoring for Victoria to be turned into a traffic nightmare? What is the agenda here? To force people to stop driving their cars? This whole proposal - like most so-called “smart-growth” schemes - reeks of environmental elitism. When did driving a car become a politically incorrect crime?
The ironic thing is that the government itself - Ventura College and the Ventura County Government Center - is a major reason for the heavy traffic on Victoria.
Our elected public servants need to find better things to spend our tax dollars on. Better yet, I hope they don't find things to waste our hard-earned money on.
- Sean Sotelo, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 02:03 PM
Schools need police officers
I am appealing to anyone in our community who cares about children. When budget cuts took away our school resource officers, our children were left to fend for themselves, parents were left in the dark, and school administrators and teachers have been trying to pick up the slack ever since.
According to an interview with Buena High School students that was on a cable channel, about 80 percent of the student body does drugs. Some show up to class impaired, and teachers do not know what to do with them. Teachers are trying desperately to get through the rigorous curriculum our legislators have mapped out for them for fear of losing what little funding they already have. They are not drug counselors. They are not gang mediators, but resource officers are!
Listening to a special presentation given by the Ventura Police Department, I learned there are more than 11 gangs in Ventura. These gangs have members who attend our schools. They are in classes with our children. All races of students are being recruited. Our kids are under constant pressure to belong or suffer the consequences.
My quiet little neighborhood on the east end has been increasingly covered in graffiti. This graffiti indicates increased gang activity. There have been stabbings and shootings. Since 2002, suspensions have increased by 54 percent. A resource officer can offer information and tools to help recognize a problem with our kids before it becomes a problem for the law.
Our schools need the presence of the Ventura Police Department on their campuses. The officers can provide consequences or protection when needed. They can counsel both students and parents.
Please bring back the safety initiative to restore our school resource officers on our campuses.
- Lisa Kuklenski, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:50 PM
OK, so he's a Mormon
What's with this slicing and dicing of Mitt Romney? I have seen him on Sunday morning news shows and read about him in the newspaper, and all I hear is the Mormon issue. One news show host spent 45 minutes one morning asking him the same question in various forms about his religion.
Now it comes out that somewhere in the annals of his family, there were polygamists.
The man has been married to the same woman for 37 years. I don't remember anything being asked of Orrin Hatch, Harry Reid or others who are of the Mormon faith. We got over the fact that John Kennedy was a Catholic. We also lived and enjoyed all the stories that came out about Bill Clinton's affairs and unethical behavior. We've elected divorced candidates, candidates with known shady backgrounds, and, let's face it, candidates with a lot of baggage.
So, why are so many people concerned about Romney's faith? I'm sure there are a lot more intelligent questions to ask candidates than what religion they are.
- Carol Lindsey, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:45 PM
Evil can't be condoned
Not too long ago, the sign “God loves Osama” gained a spot on the TV screen and caught some people's attention, including mine. Knowing the kind of person Osama is, I thought it was absurd and a blasphemy. All I could think about is “God is good, and God is love.” On the other hand, Osama is nothing but evil and hate. I wondered: How is it possible for God to love an evil man?
But then again, I realized that my hatred for Osama made me fail to consider that God's love is for everyone, even for Osama, although he does not deserve it.
Whether we believe it or not, God's love is always there for all of us, but only those who want it get it.
Obviously, Osama did not get it, for not even an ounce of goodness or love is manifested in his body and soul. He probably would not even recognize these acts if they were showered on him.
It is ironic that there are some people who try to obliterate the word God or even mention his name in places that give meaning to His existence, and now we have someone who relates God with an evil that has nothing in common with Him. This is probably why our country is in a big controversy in its war against evil. Some think that our action against them makes us just as evil. Well, evils do not fight evils. It is to condone their evil act that will make us evil.
Either way, it is our decision that matters. It's something to think about.
- Socorro G. Mercado, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:38 PM
Idea isn’t walker-friendly
So, the city’s plan for making Victoria Avenue more ”walkable” is putting sidewalks between the street’s two outer lanes? The city planners must not be walkers themselves or they would realize that the result would be an opportunity for cars to attack pedestrians from both sides. Bad idea!
— Sandra Sanders, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:30 PM
For Cheney, it's the money
Re: your Feb. 25 article, “Feisty Cheney fires long-distance shots from other side of world”:
Vice President Dick Cheney attacks the majority of Americans and the idea of peace. If it were up to the vice president, we would attack North Korea and Iran next, and soon.
This man is a violent neo-con with no conscience and no concern for anyone but Halliburton. He has made millions off the Iraq fiasco, and I guess that's not enough for him. Not caring if our young men are killed in a foreign country doesn't seem to matter to this guy. It's all about the money, and the more war, the more money he makes.
I hope the American public realizes that he was as instrumental in getting us caught up in Iraq as President Bush was, and maybe even more so. What a blessing it will be when his term of office is over.
- Terry D. Gibson, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:25 PM
Alternative fuel will cost more
I'll bet that all the Americans who are thinking “alternative fuels” are thinking “cheaper.” Guess what? Think “more expensive.”
Alternative fuels will be more expensive because they have to be manufactured. Plus, we will have to pay for the infrastructure to set this system up. Land devoted to biodiesel or ethanol production means that food costs are also going to increase. Don't be surprised if 90 percent of America's land use is converted to fuel production. The result will be lettuce selling for $7 a head, tomatoes selling for $10 a pound, and potatoes going for $12 a pound. Get the picture?
Hydrogen is even more expensive to manufacture.
I'm not defending oil, but it's the cheapest thing going. Plus, all our plastics are derived from oil.
- William Wolny, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:19 PM
Parents need choices
As someone who has had children in this district and who has followed the district since they graduated, I am writing to urge Pleasant Valley School District to keep the alternative schools intact as they move to consolidate schools. Alternative schools offer choice, and that makes PVSD stand out. With choice, you have satisfied parents, and this can lead to better student achievement.
I feel alternatives at the middle school level are especially important. Much of the new research has shown that K-8 schools are more effective than large middle schools. Neither Los Senderos nor Santa Rosa Technology Magnet have had sufficient time to completely develop their middle school curriculum, and they need this opportunity. The present plans are to have middle schools that are approximately the same size as considerable current research has shown is the most effective size for a high school. It seems to me that many sixth, seventh and eighth graders are not ready for this. There are going to be many parents who are going to want alternatives. Having three K-8 alternatives with different philosophies would give a good opportunity to test whether the research about K-8 being effective applies to our community.
While some changes are needed, as small schools cost more to operate than larger ones, it is time for the district to look not only at numbers but also at programs and work for a balance. With K-8 alternative schools, there should be an opportunity to increase total enrollment without having huge numbers in any age group.
In conclusion, I would like to say that I have never had children in an alternative school, although I did consider them, and therefore have no allegiance or connection to any school.
— Kathy Van Slyke, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:14 PM
Veterans deserve thanks
As a veteran of the Vietnam War, coming back to turmoil and protests left me with a bitter feeling toward my fellow Americans of the era. We were called “baby killers,” “murderers” and quite a few other terms I would not like to mention. I was 19 and had served my country as I thought I should.
Let us not do the same thing to our troops in Iraq. They are serving their country, as I and many other Americans did in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. At 60 years old, I am still haunted by names I was called and the rocks and bottles that struck me.
Don’t slander our heroic troops who are just serving the wishes of the politicians of today. These soldiers, sailors, reservists or whatever you want to call them are all heroes. My fellow brothers of Vietnam are heroes as well. Any veteran who has served this great country honorably during wartime or peacetime is my hero, too.
Join me and applaud our veterans, past and future. Fly our flag proudly!
— Patrick A. Patelzick, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:07 PM
Breaking down political thought
When I was growing up in the late 1930s and early '40s, there was a broad political spectrum. At the far left were Communists and Socialists. In the mainstream were the liberals, Democrats and eastern Republicans. To the right of center were the benign Libertarians, the reactionary Republicans and segregationist Dixiecrats. The extreme right wing included the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazi Party and other fascist organizations.
The Communist Party has disbanded. I think its newspaper, the Daily Worker, is no longer published. The Socialist Workers Party membership is now less than 1,000. Its paper, The Militant, is now a weekly found only in New York City. Fiery labor leaders like Walter Reuther and "Red Mike" Quill are gone. It seems the social militants have softened and moved to the right to join the liberal movement.
All but a very few of the old guard eastern Republicans are gone. There are no more Rockefellers. We have a few, like Olympia Snow and Joe Leiberman, but that branch of Republicanism was pretty much weeded out as the neoconservatives took control of the party, moving it further and further to the right. The Dixiecrats left the Democratic Party and, along with other right-wing extremists, took their rightful place within the new, ultraconservative Republican Party.
So now we have no more "far left," as people like Bill O'Reilly refer to the mainstream liberal-Democratic Party coalition. Although the Republican Party has shifted further to the right, we no longer have much of a separate ultraright, David Duke and the remnants of the KKK and notwithstanding.
So the spectrum has narrowed to the point of polarization. We have the liberal-Democratic coalition, independents and the few remaining centrist Republicans. On the far, far right, we have the extremist neoconservative Republican Party. And it's a shame.
- Patrick S. O'Malley, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:01 PM
'Feisty' or 'deluded?'
Re: your Feb. 25 article, “Feisty Cheney fires long-distance shots from other side of world”:
In a recent speech to the Australian Parliament, Vice President Dick Cheney thanked the Australians for their support in Iraq, while outside the chamber, hundreds of demonstrators shouted "Chain up Cheney" and similar sentiments. Polls indicate 70 percent of Australians oppose the war, and Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch supporter of it, was absent from the chamber for the speech. So, to whom was Cheney speaking?
Cheney also said that the American people would not tolerate retreat from the fight, but polls in the United States show the majority of Americans oppose continuing it. About whom was he speaking?
Our vice president's reality testing seems askew. The Associated Press reporter called him "feisty." "Deluded" seems a closer fit.
A final question: How is it that in two nominal democracies, the people have so little control over their nation's policies and direction? How does that happen?
- Margaret Morris, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:53 PM
Not seeing the big picture
Two elementary schools and one middle school are slated to be shut down. All exist in the central part of Camarillo between Las Posas and Lewis roads. Our Pleasant Valley School District board is mostly responsible for a lot of this happening.
When Superintendent Kenneth Moffett stated, “Well, nobody could turn down a brand new school,” he was making reference to the outcry about Rancho Rosal being built and offered to a new community while our established neighborhood schools are being shut down. Also, Rancho Rosal has the lowest enrollment in the entire district — only 365 students. Despite the fact the school was built by a developer for the school district, it still cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in infrastructure and staff to open a school and to operate it, so there is no “for free.”
University Prep was supposed to be a temporary situation for CSU Channel Islands. Moffett stated that some of our closed-down campuses can generate money by being leased out. UPS is leasing the old El Rancho site for $1 a year. It is not part of our school district, yet it has more than 300 students from surrounding neighborhoods in Camarillo attending. Moffett stated that each student is worth more than $5,000 to the district per year, and yet the district is not realizing any of that money, approximately $1.5 million. That figure alone is equal to the estimated cost savings of shutting down all the schools per year.
With a school board that has just spent $400,000 over the last eight years on a unification program that is no closer today than it was eight years ago, I fear our school district will be the one to lose out because of a single-sighted school board.
— Michelle Carvalho, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:47 PM
Don’t blame corn syrup
Re: your Feb. 25 article, “Standing up to the car culture”:
We agree that regular physical exercise, combined with a balanced diet guided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines, is important for children and adults. Unfortunately, targeting high fructose corn syrup as a unique contributor to obesity is misleading.
No single food or ingredient is the sole cause of obesity, but rather too many calories and too little exercise is a primary cause. HFCS is not higher in calories than any other nutritive sweetener. Both sugar and HFCS contain 4 calories per gram.
Dr. Walter Willett, Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Department chairman, told The New York Times, "There's no substantial evidence to support the idea that high fructose corn syrup is somehow responsible for obesity."
HFCS provides consumers with many benefits. It enhances fruit and spice flavors in yogurts and marinades, prolongs product freshness in breads, provides product stability in condiments, promotes cooked flavors in sauces and retains moisture in products like bran cereals.
As a natural, nutritive sweetener, HFCS can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet. In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration listed HFCS as “generally recognized as safe” — known as GRAS status — for use in food, and it reaffirmed that ruling in 1996.
According to the American Dietetic Association, “Consumers can safely enjoy a range of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners when consumed in a diet that is guided by current federal nutrition recommendations ... as well as individual health goals.”
— Audrae Erickson, President, Corn Refiners Association, Washington, D.C.
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:38 PM
Unborn should have rights
It is time for a new civil rights movement that recognizes the unborn as persons and protects their right to life. As any ultrasound of a pregnant woman will reveal, the unborn are unique, living human beings. Should they not, like the rest of us Americans, be afforded the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Can we as a nation, truly say we support justice, equality, and civil rights for all if we ignore or fail to protect the unborn?
- Noel D'Angelo, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:52 AM
Outcome absurd
Re: your Feb. 18 Associated Press article, “Details shed a harsh light on convicted agents”:
This article was the first piece of news I have seen that attempts to justify this miscarriage of justice. If, as the article concludes, “the system worked,” then our country is in a sorry state.
The drug dealer in this case was rewarded with immunity for his crime and a pot of gold in the form of a $5 million lawsuit against the U.S. taxpayers. The liability was already established at taxpayer’s expense by the U.S Attorney’s Office in the criminal case. The convicted Border Patrol agents were trying to protect us, were unfairly convicted and got irrationally lengthy prison sentences.
As to the trial, how could anyone believe the drug runner’s testimony that he had no weapon? He was carrying 743 pounds of marijuana worth well over $1 million in a very dangerous area.
It is sad The Star picked this one-sided, illogical article for publication.
No one needs to go beyond common sense to see that the prosecutor pulled the wool over the eyes of the jury. At least two jurors were intelligent and honest enough to see this once they had a chance to reflect on what was done.
Sadly, the role of our own government in catering to the demands of Mexican officials should be examined. Could pressure from Mexico for prosecution have at its heart drug dealers seeking to keep a valuable supply route open? Our public safety officers deserve our support, and The Star should start by digging into the true facts of this case.
— Kenneth Dzien, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:48 AM
Global warming a hoax
Every week The Star receives a multitude of letters staunchly maintaining that no reputable scientist would question the theory of man-made global warming. Where have these people been?
The top climatologists of the United States, Canada and Great Britain have all stated it’s a hoax. Of course, these gentlemen are now in professional exile due to their political incorrectness. India's top climatologist may soon join them. He recently stated that the glaciers in the Himalayas are not diminishing at all, which is contrary to Al Gore's blubbering.
Want further proof? The Oregon petition denouncing the theory of man-made global warming was signed by nearly 18,000 scientists. It’s on the Internet for all to review.
The proof offered for global warming is generally a computer model that doesn't hold up — not even to common sense. Many of the glaciers, which are supposed to be melting, are actually increasing in size, particularly in Norway. Land-based ice melting might cause the oceans to rise, but sea-based ice will not, as it is already in the water. Polar bears won't drown because they can swim nearly 60 miles. Contrary to popular belief, Antarctica has not diminished in size at all.
The only planet in our solar system that has died from greenhouse gases is our neighbor, Venus, with a surface temperature of more than 1,000 degrees. I wonder who was driving the Hummers on Venus to cause it.
If you ignore people with an agenda, you will realize that the earth goes through heating and cooling trends about every 150 years. We can't cause it, and we can't cure it.
— Ronald E. Kelly, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:42 AM
Identify gangs
When I was young, we had our gangs - Masons, Elks, Optimists, Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus - and many other “gangs,” “crews” or whatever some of the groups call themselves now. None of these organizations, to my knowledge, ever shot, stabbed or beat anyone belonging to another group because they existed or dared to come onto “their turf.” They all try to improve the communities where they have their organizations. Those who do not do so through purchase, grant, rent or any other legally recognized means still claim sovereignty over an area, and then they enforce this claim through physical force or use of weapons. These people are terrorists, not “gang” members.
Those who choose to act as terrorists should be arrested, tried and sentenced not as felons, but as what they are - terrorists. They should not be placed in regular prison populations and receive the same rights as felons. Rather, they should be placed in separate facilities. There are military bases that no longer are used or have available space.
Their numbers are large and growing, and these people are getting bolder. They do not respect anyone or anything and seem to place little value on life. Separate arrangements should be made for them.
The public has the right to know who is a threat to them and their “tranquility.” I have asked, but received no answer, as to why, when an arrest of a “gang” (terrorist) member is made, their affiliation and any tattoos, clothing or any other visible means to aid residents in recognizing them as a potential threat is not printed in the newspapers or shown on TV. Even if the person is a juvenile and his or her name cannot be revealed, the gang affiliation can be. Identify those who shoot innocent people and try to control what everyone does and where they go. Either we control them, or they will control us. This is a decision that is ours to make, not theirs.
We need to make every effort to persuade young people to not join a “gang.” The frequent reason given for joining is, “If you don't join, the other 'gangs' will beat you up and rob you.” This is a stupid statement. If the “gangs” weren't formed with violence as their foundations, there would be no violence.
- Carl S. Walker, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:33 AM
Is there a ‘non-issue?’
Re: Richard Larsen’s Feb. 20 essay, “Give meaning to elections”:
It is interesting to me that Mr. Larsen states that abortion and defense of marriage are political “non-issues” and then goes on to spend the entire essay on why they are non-issues. It would seem that if these topics were as he explains — not relevant to the political process — it would be self-evident.
Mr. Larsen rightly points out that supporters for both sides of these issues are very passionate, and because our elected leaders — and I use the term “leaders” very loosely — enact laws that affect us, the voting populace has every right to know how politicians stand on these topics. That makes these two issues very much relevant to political debate, no matter how one feels about marriage and abortion.
I would want to know if a political candidate held the view that not all people are created equal, or if a candidate felt that the taxes currently being paid were much too low. They are among many issues and topics that are open to debate and opinion in the political arena, and that is what the election process is all about. How does any candidate stand on a myriad of issues?
Just because Mr. Larsen feels that abortion and marriage are “non-issues” does not make it so. Just ask the millions of Americans who have very strong opinions one way or the other.
— Al Ross, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:23 AM
Inspections out of whack
Let me get this straight. You don't need any insurance to open an eldercare facility, and nothing happens until someone dies. The Newbury Park home that was finally shut down is a prime example. Yet some overzealous inspector shuts Ventura’s Caffrodite down for outgrowing her permit that wasn't enforced for more than five years. The coffee shop never killed anyone, yet it will suffer more than the owners of the ill-fated eldercare home. Talk about priorities being out of whack.
— Dave McDonald, Oak Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:15 AM
Quake insurance inequitable
My husband and I downsized to a townhouse about seven years ago. We did this because we no longer needed the big house. The state of California rewards senior citizens who do this by allowing us to take our Proposition 13 tax rate with us.
We have been getting special-assessed by our development in order to pay for the constantly rising cost of earthquake insurance. This is not for our personal earthquake insurance, but for our association’s policy.
The insurance companies have been lowering earthquake insurance for people who own single-family homes. But those of us who live in townhouse and condominium complexes are paying more every year. The insurance companies say this is because they had to pay for natural disasters — some of which occurred last year in the Southeastern states, more than 2,000 miles from California.
The insurance companies are classifying us in the same category as businesses such as Wal-Mart or Home Depot. We are not a business. We are mostly senior citizens who have downsized and own our homes, which happen to be in townhouse developments.
If any of you are in our situation, please write to Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, California Department of Insurance, 300 South Spring Street, South Tower, Los Angeles, CA 90013 or call (213) 897-8921. Ask him to look into this deplorable situation.
— Sharon and Herb Cohen, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:50 AM
February 23, 2007
Adams Canyon issues
At the last City Council meeting for Santa Paula, Bob Borrego and Mike Miller both addressed the council members and soundly protested the proposed special election to bring Adams Canyon into Santa Paula's curbline, where it used to be several years ago. They both suggested that the $60,000 for a special election could better be spent in many other areas. They also suggested that the matter should be addressed in the November general election.
Firstly, a special election must be called by law when the proper number of signatures has been certified for a ballot measure.
Secondly, the proponents of the ballot measure couldn't wait for a general election because the property would have been too far along to become a county development, thereby denying the city of Santa Paula any of the forthcoming tax monies.
It is particularly interesting that both Borrego and Miller were concerned about the $60,000 the special election would cost the city, when they had no qualms about requiring the city to spend a quarter of a million dollars to defend a lawsuit initiated by the Latino Town Hall and Laura Espinosa trying to force the city to have district elections. This was to allow more Latinos on the City Council. After a sound defeat, and all that money, isn't it ironic that the City Council makeup is one Caucasian and four Latinos? Maybe it has something to do with qualifications.
One has to wonder why Miller and Borrego continually come out against a development like Adams Canyon. It is for wealthy folks who will use their property as a second or third home, for the most part, and therefore require few city services. Add the hotel and the golf course, and you see a lot of tax money for the coffers of the city. Also add the 100 acres of sports facilities, the hiking trails for all residents, and the dedicated roadway from Fagan Canyon through Adams Canyon and out Foothill Road to Briggs Road to alleviate the traffic snarl Fagan would have created for our city. This lack of an exit road to Foothill is one of the major reasons Fagan Canyon failed.
Lastly, we have two county supervisors who can't keep their noses out of the city of Santa Paula's business, Linda Parks and Steve Bennett. Always major supporters of Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources, they were against Adams Canyon, even though the per-acre housing development was more than 12 acres higher than SOAR requires for eliminating urban sprawl. Miller and Borrego even argued at the council meeting that it was a wasteful use of land for only 495 homes to be built on more than 6,000 acres. Unbelievable!
It's truly amazing what these folks do to promote their own agenda.
- Phil Rice, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:16 AM
Disorganization abounds
Re: Janet Abernathy’s Feb. 19 letter, “Fiscal responsibility”:
In the midst of numerous impassioned letters supporting individual schools threatened with closure, Ms. Abernathy rightfully addresses the important issue of fiscal responsibility in the upcoming decisions about school closures.
Our community should be concerned that this district is in such financial disrepair and apparent disorganization that we are closing schools during a year when a new school was opened that is nowhere near its capacity. This is also the year that the school board proposed a $150 million bond, with funds allocated for improvements to all district schools — including those now slated for potential closure, construction of another K-5 school on the west end of town and a new high school.
Ms. Abernathy also correctly alludes to the costs brought upon our district by a school board that has been relentlessly pursuing the issue of unification and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars — money that potentially could have been used to address our current K-8 district’s financial woes and children’s educational needs — for a fight with no closure in sight.
I must, however, respectfully but strongly disagree with Ms. Abernathy’s statement, “This is not about education.” This is all about education, and that is why parents are writing letters of support for the educational programs and systems that are working for their children. Most of the voices in the paper have been those who support alternative schools and K-8 education — the very programs that appear most vulnerable at this time, despite their demonstrated cost-effectiveness in educational research.
The school board must hear these strong voices in our community. It is the board’s responsibility to determine how to manage the district’s financial constraints while providing the best education for Camarillo’s children.
— Dave Epelone, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:03 AM
Charter school supportive
I would like to offer some positive support to the parents of Los Senderos students. I am a parent of a student at a Ventura charter school that serves K-8 students and is open to all children in Ventura County on a lottery basis. The majority of the families in this school were formerly in a Ventura Unified School District open/alternative program subject to the policies and needs of the school district. We decided to apply and compete for startup grants to establish a charter school subject to state and federal law.
We examined other open/alternative programs in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties to determine what made them successful, consulted with experts who have successfully applied for grants and are currently administering excellent sustained programs. We also looked at failedprograms to avoid the pitfalls that led to their closures.
It was a complicated and involved process that could only have been achieved by our entire community of dedicated teachers and parents.
My point is that if you want to determine your own destiny, you have to focus on a collective goal and go for it. We did it by doing what we felt was right for our children and putting in the time to get the job done. Our children are happy, we have control of how our children receive their education without outside interference, and we comply with all state and federal requirements.
Establishing our charter school was definitely worth the effort.
— Robert Cirricione, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:58 AM
Plan for the unexpected
Re: Tyson Heinrich’s Feb. 22 letter, “Insurance is a choice”:
Mr. Heinrich's inane idea that because people are healthy now, they need no insurance, could lead to catastrophic consequences. Insurance makes sure you are covered for those things we can not possibly foresee — the car accident in which we break a leg, or worse, a communicable disease that was passed on through public contact and the cancer that came out of nowhere with no family history.
At age 21, my grandmother made the comment to an insurance agent that she had never been sick a day in her life and did not need insurance. Six months later she was struck with polio, which at the time was called Virus X.
No one plans on getting sick or hurt. Not having health insurance is not only irresponsible, but it could be financially devastating should a major incident occur.
The health system is broken and needs to be fixed quickly, not just for those who do not have health insurance, but for those of us who do pay those outrageous premiums every month to make sure we can get the care we need when we need it. I, for one, am tired of having to pay for uninsured individuals through my health insurance premiums.
— Jennifer Herrera, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:42 AM
February 22, 2007
Why can’t prisoners smoke?
Are we crazy? We house thousands of criminals in one place, requiring guards and prison employees to watch over them to prevent more violence, and then we remove their cigarettes? This is one of the most arbitrary, mean-spirited things I have ever heard of!
For one thing, we want those prisoners as calm as possible — not happy, but calm. And it has been demonstrated time and time again, especially among drug addicts, that smoking assists in calming and helping them to control their behavior. So we remove their cigarettes, creating more tension, making it more difficult for the guards to control them, creating a much more dangerous environment and creating a black market for more criminal activity — anyone remember Prohibition, or at least what happened?
There has to be a better solution — such as restricted smoking areas outside or in special rooms where guards who smoke watch them, with only specified times for smoking. To create such a program — someone must have enough intelligence to do this — would be far less expensive and dangerous than what is going on now. And I suspect the prisoners would be much more compliant if their smoking privileges are at risk for bad behavior.
I have no sympathy for hardened criminals, especially those responsible for taking innocent lives. However, it is beyond my comprehension that anyone thinks banning all smoking in California prisons is going to have a positive impact. Can't our legislators, or whoever came up with this rule, come up with something that works?
— Jan Schulman, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:41 PM
What are police doing?
Could it be that Ventura voters rejected the quarter percent sales tax to increase law enforcement because they realize, and the rising crime rate shows, that some of our law enforcement officers are too busy helping each other harass their neighbors to effectively utilize the resources they already have?
— Diane Powell, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:37 PM
Resolution is unrealistic
Re: Vladimir Toumanoff's Feb. 18 commentary, “Ojai society passes its own Iraq resolution”:
While no doubt well-intentioned, the proposals in the Foreign Affairs Society of Ojai's resolution are entirely unworkable and border on fantasy.
First and foremost, there is no means of negotiating a cease-fire with such a disparate group of enemies. We are not facing a monolith that could or would sit at the table to discuss a cease-fire. Nor do the Shiites, the Sunni, al-Qaida and their various internal factions have any motivation to agree to a cease-fire. If it served their interest, they'd have already made an agreement with each other, and we obviously would not oppose their cease-fire.
As for introducing a United Nations peacekeeping force, one can only imagine the months, or years, the U.N. would debate that before tabling the idea. Why would Iran, Iraq, al-Qaida and so on accept a U.N. force on the ground?
Suggesting such a U.N. force be composed of a majority of Muslims is equally unrealistic.
Does the Ojai Society imagine, say, that Indonesian, Egyptian and Algerian blue helmets would be welcome in Baghdad simply because they are Muslim? And why would these or other nations be willing to send their people into the Middle East anyway? And since when has the United States shown any inclination to delegate protection of its vital interests to the United Nations?
While I respect the effort they put into their resolution, I am afraid it is as unrealistic as the original neo-con notion of a bright, shining democracy in Iraq.
- Frank Ward, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:31 PM
Parents close-minded
I am surprised at the closed-mindedness of the parents at Los Senderos Open School. I am offended.
I am very happy with the education my children have received from our "neighborhood" school. Three of my children have been in the Gifted and Talented Education program, and two have been in the honors program at the junior high level and now at the high school level. Their math scores have been top-notch.
Our school also has great programs, a high level of parent volunteers and a strong community feeling. I could list the many assets of our school and why I want it to remain open. School closure will mean my fourth grader will have to change schools twice in two years. My preschooler will be affected.
The feelings of insecurity and loyalty are the same for all of us, at all schools. My husband, myself, our children, my childhood friends who are my current friends and their children have attended Camarillo Heights Elementary School. We have a very long history and a history of success. It will be a sad day if it closes, but it won’t be the end of the world.
Have faith in all of our schools to educate our children to best of their abilities. We are fortunate to live in a nice community surrounded by wonderful families who care about their kids and their schools.
I told my daughter to look on the bright side. She will have twice as many friends when she gets to junior high. Our children will mirror what we show them.
I am, however, more concerned with small children crossing Las Posas Road to get to school. I know of four children hit by cars on Las Posas Road in recent years. Three of them were on their way to or from Monte Vista Middle High.
— Janet Kent, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:18 PM
Traffic bad enough now
I wish the city would stop issuing building permits for these high population-density projects and spend more time and money solving the existing traffic problems. A fender-bender on Victoria Avenue one recent morning put this city into gridlock. It took nearly 40 minutes to travel from Fifth Street and Harbor Boulevard to Highway 101 — a trip that takes less than eight minutes even if all signals are missed. The recent building of housing and condo projects has far outdistanced the city's ability to cope with the added traffic. If there is a master plan, I hope to see some improvement in the near feature.
— Sharyn Robinette, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:03 PM
Don't count Gallegly out
Re: Craig Christensen's Feb. 20 letter, “Gallegly embarrasses county”:
Mr. Christensen is the latest to admit to prematurely counting the days until Elton Gallegly retires from Congress. He and the others seem to have missed the story, which I'm sure was carried in The Star, saying Elton is keeping his options open. A quick check with the Federal Election Commission confirms that he remains a registered candidate.
I'm among the 62 percent majority who voted for him last November who hopes to vote for him again in June and November 2008. He has served our county and country well. I look forward to having him in office for a long, long time so the vocal minority continues to have something to complain about.
- Jackie Pruner, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:55 AM
Outsource prison guard jobs
Re: your Feb. 21 article, “Prisoners to stay put”:
I read about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to alleviate overcrowding in state prisons by moving some prisoners out of state being ruled unconstitutional. As a taxpayer, I strongly support the governor's measure to postpone the decision to build costly prisons by transferring those prisoners now. I understand the judge's decision, given the provision in the state constitution that prohibits using private companies for jobs usually performed by state workers. And I also understand the position of Correctional Peace Officers Association position that they want to protect their jobs.
At a time when many people in the private sector, in manufacturing and services, have to compete on an international level to prove the value of their work, why are state employees exempt from competition for their jobs? Can someone explain to me how it is fair that I am not safe from my job being outsourced, but state employees are?
How much more do we have to pay for such unfairness? Why are private-sector employees responsible for their own retirement while government employees are not? Why are private-sector employees losing medical insurance benefits while government employees are not?
I'd like to take the governor's proposal one step further. I'd like to outsource all long-term correctional facility jobs. Not only could other states provide these services for significantly less money, who wants a prison in their neighborhood?
Once again, people working in the private sector are being asked to subsidize those who aren't. If one textile worker's job can be done in China, why can't one peace officer's work be done in Nevada? I am more than happy to let the prisoners relocate out of state to ease overcrowding in California!
Change the state constitution.
— David McNamara, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:47 AM
Los Senderos excellent
Eight years ago, I came to Camarillo for a variety of reasons, but most important was the reputation of the Pleasant Valley School District. I believed then, as I do now, that PVSD would provide my son with the best possible education.
I enrolled my son in our neighborhood school. He did well, yet, I felt he was not reaching his full potential. After two years, the neighborhood school was closed. My son transferred to another school and did well. However, I again felt he was not achieving his level of capability.
In 2002, I heard about Los Senderos Open School. The open-school philosophy and programs intrigued me so much, I asked Los Senderos parents for their views. I heard nothing but positive and encouraging remarks. I enrolled my son.
This is my son's third year at LSOS. Currently in sixth grade, he has thrived as a part of the Los Senderos family. Although his progress was good before Los Senderos, he has since excelled at a rate far higher than I ever expected. My son is excited about school and is involved in numerous activities. I firmly believe that my son's progress and desire to learn are due to the LSOS philosophy.
Significant contributors to my son's success at LSOS include the open school philosophy, debate, junior high school program, Everyday Math, minicourse program, storyline method, Junior Great Books, field trips and outreach speakers, plus many others.
Closing LSOS would be a grave disservice to the Camarillo community. The principal, teachers, staff, parents, and students at LSOS are amazing, and I am honored to be a part of the LSOS family. The open school philosophy works. I urge PVSD not to close the door on this wonderful opportunity for the children of Camarillo. Keep Los Senderos Open School open.
- April Taylor, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:43 AM
Let military run the war
Before going to war, our government leaders have numerous debates between supporters and dissenters. Consequences are considered before a final decision is made. Once the talking is over and troops are committed, it is the duty and responsibility of every citizen to support the mission and the troops. You cannot have one without the other.
We need to praise our excellent military leaders and their troops. These outstanding people have conducted themselves in an intelligent and heroic manner. They have kept our casualties in the Middle East to a minimum. There were times in my service years when we lost more lives in one day than have been lost in this entire conflict.
History has proven that when timely action is taken, lives can be saved. Millions of lives would have been saved if military action had been taken when Adolf Hitler first started his World War II super race.
Some people think they can talk a potential enemy to death. We talked to the North Koreans while they expanded their goose-stepping army, built intercontinental missiles and developed nuclear weapons.
The failure of the Vietnam "police action" was caused by inept political meddling in military operations and tactics. This also extended the conflict. Complicating the situation was treasonous behavior by some of our civilian population and irresponsible news reporters. I see these types of actions appearing again.
Talking is over, and the battle is on. If you cannot support it, put your head back in the sand. This is the United States of America. We don't need losers here.
— Richard H. Hoffman, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:38 AM
Workers need financial stake
As an employer, I support the current campaign for universal health insurance. My company is one of the very few private security firms providing health insurance for every employee, at no cost to the employee.
However, when the state of California makes health insurance mandatory, the trend is easy to predict. Our security officers are, for the most part, older gentlemen, but I'll wager the government will make us include maternity care. Chiropractors will have their political action committees spread some money around among our politicians. The outcome? Unlimited chiropractic visits. Osteopaths will not be far behind. Psychologists will certainly want to get their share of the action and on and on. Undoubtedly, on-demand sex-change operations will soon be included. We will have replicated our dysfunctional workers' compensation system in spades.
Mandatory health insurance will break the state and ruin our competitiveness unless the insured employee has a financial stake in the outcome.
- Raymond G. Boyd, Somis
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:31 AM
Make healthcare proactive
Re: Paul Campos' Jan. 31 commentary, “Dispelling healthcare myths to help reform U.S. system”:
This is what many of us have been saying for years but have been unable to express in a commentary such as this.
Campos could also have said that we spend twice as much as any other country per capita for healthcare and rank 48th in life expectancy from birth. We probably take far more prescription drugs than any other country, but I was unable to find statistics to prove that.
I am 66 years old, in good health and do not take prescription drugs. I exercise regularly and have a healthy diet. Our "system" is intrinsically faulty. The greater the amount of chronic disease, the greater the rewards for the healthcare providers. Prevention and alternative medicines are neglected and avoided by the healthcare establishment. I don't know if the general public is motivated enough to change to the single payer healthcare system.
The healthcare providers, such as insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, spend millions to mislead the general public and to bribe our political leaders. We have dozens of successful models to consider, such as the French model. The only remaining question is whether or not people have felt enough pain and want to change.
- Paul Leveille, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:27 AM
February 21, 2007
It was more than Christianity
Re: Christina Wilson's Feb. 19 commentary, "Celebrate the nation and all its presidents”:
While I agree with Wilson that Presidents Day is a time to celebrate our great nation, her premise that our success is due to Christianity is overly simplistic. As a high school teacher, I, too, am charged with raising “civic awareness and responsibility,” but I am troubled by her narrative of our history.
By one account, only 44 of the Mayflower’s 102 passengers were religious pilgrims or “Separatists.” The rest were recruited by the London Co. and offered free passage in exchange for sending fish, fur and lumber back to England for seven years. As Wilson points out, the Mayflower Compact was an impressive document and reflected the law and order these people were accustomed to in England, a fairly democratic place compared to other nations at the time. Perhaps it was the individualism of their Protestant faith — rather than Christianity as a whole — that led to a hard-won, successful democracy.
I also agree our Founding Fathers were an impressive group, but let us not forget, they were the insurgents of their day. True, they had a clear and noble purpose and were certainly Christian, but our nation’s greatness lies not with Christianity, but in our acceptance of other faiths and our commitment to individual rights, which were carefully crafted to ensure that no single religion was either favored or discouraged by the government.
I would also remind Wilson these same Christian leaders enslaved African-Americans and forced native Americans from their land, killing tens of thousands in the process.
I certainly do not propose educators turn second-graders or seniors into cynics, but to argue that our good fortune rests solely with “Christian character and faith” is to disregard the complexity of our nation and democracy itself.
— Cherie Eulau, Ventura
(The writer is a teacher at Foothill Technology High School. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:42 AM
Loving America
I am angry, and I need a place to vent.
Recently, I got another one of those letters about supporting our troops. You know the kind I'm writing about. This letter had a picture of a flag-draped coffin, a Marine in full dress standing guard next to it and a young woman sleeping on a mattress in front of the coffin.
Perhaps you got this letter, too.
It began like this:
RED FRIDAYS
Even though this is long, please take the time to read it — for our children (men and women) who are putting their lives on the line.
And it went on and on until, finally, the usual ending: “If you love America, pass this on.”
I felt that I had to respond, and I wrote:
I have no idea why hating the war in Iraq means that I don't support our troops.
Three thousand servicemen and women have made the ultimate sacrifice in that misguided conflict. Three thousand!!!!
How many more will it take?
One might think that the greatest way to honor our fallen and support our troops would be to bring those still alive home immediately.
If there is chaos in Iraq when they leave, then I guess the Iraqis will have to deal with it. The bloodshed there will continue with or without us.
I personally prefer it happen without us.
God bless America.
God bless our soldiers.
God bless you.
If you love — really love — America, pass this one on.
— Bob Conti, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:35 AM
Remember the Sullivans
Re: your Feb. 13 editorial, “Tracking down a wanted killer”:
I have waited a week to write this letter hoping that someone at the paper was on the ball.
The editorial concerning the naming of a ship after the enlisted Navy man who was murdered by Arab terrorists stated that he was the first enlisted person to have a ship named after him.
Older ex-GIs know this is wrong.
It is a wonderful thing that the government recognized the loss of this young man who gave his life for his country. But it also is a sad fact that The Star did not do some checking before writing this editorial. I am sure the editorial caused a great deal of grief to the families of the five Sullivan brothers who were killed in action during World War II. All five were serving aboard the same ship that was sunk by the Japanese.
Let us not take anything away from this new ship's namesake, but also let us not forget to honor the memory of those who gave their lives before.
One family lost all five sons in one fell swoop, and the Navy floated a new destroyer during World War II in their memory: USS The Sullivans.
All five were serving as able seamen. None was an officer.
— Jules Rabalais, Simi Valley
(The writer served in the U.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1961. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:27 AM
School changes child’s life
I’m a teacher. I’ve been teaching for 15 years, and I’ve seen a lot of things that have gone right and many that, for whatever reason, have gone wrong.
Midway through first grade, my son wasn’t doing well. He didn’t want to go to school, not because he was lazy or didn’t like school. He’s a smart kid and a good student. He just wasn’t thriving in his school environment.
Fortunately, we got a call from Los Senderos Open School in Camarillo. The caller said there was a midyear opening. If we wanted it, it was ours. Although we didn’t know it at the time, it turned out to be one of the luckiest days for our family.
During the previous two years, my wife had researched practically every school in Ventura County. No other school compared to LSOS in terms of the energy and passion of the students, parents and teachers. So when we got the call, my wife and I didn’t think twice. We took the next day off so our son could check out LSOS for himself. Like anyone else who’s ever experienced LSOS, he loved it. He said goodbye to his classmates the next day and began attending LSOS.
The change was dramatic. He suddenly liked school again. He was motivated, positive, happy.
We don’t live in Camarillo. My wife, my son and, now, my daughter make the daily, increasingly congested and time-consuming drive out to LSOS each day, but they’d drive a lot farther if necessary.
LSOS is a special place, a true learning community, and many concerned individuals have written letters explaining why, so I won’t be redundant. I’ll just say that LSOS is getting it right. For whatever reason — financial, political, personal — don’t get it wrong. Keep LSOS open.
— Will Falconer, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:20 AM
February 20, 2007
Hall of Fame missing Naylor
I am a former member of the committee that selects the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame's inductees, and, for that reason, I know this year's class has probably been selected by now and will be announced soon.
The county Sports Hall of Fame concept is a good one. However, it is impossible to take seriously any organization with that title here in Ventura County if it does not include Ventura Raceway promoter Jim Naylor. The VCSHoF here does not include Naylor, and I know he was nominated years ago.
Ventura Raceway remains the only successful professional sports franchise in county history. That fact should be enough to get Naylor in the VCSHoF by itself, but the good ol' boy club that dominates the hall's decision makers has not seen fit to admit him.
Naylor's track has been popular with racers for decades, and Naylor himself has been named the national Promoter of the Year twice. The track has launched the careers of drivers, officials and others who have made a lasting impact on the racing industry. Races held at Ventura Raceway have been shown live on national television 18 times, and no entity has been a renter at the Ventura County Fairgrounds as long as Naylor's facility.
There are some very deserving members in the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame. But I can think of no member who has done more for their sport and the people in it than Jim Naylor has.
— Lee Elder, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:31 PM
Food donations needed
The recent cold weather and freeze have forced county farmers to lose produce, costing them millions of dollars, and have left many farmworkers hungry, desperate and broke.
The inventory at Food Share, a nonprofit pantry, is so low that volunteers from the community have been turned away, including some from our congregation, Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura. Our relatively small congregation of 250 or so members have pledged $2,500 to Food Share as well as food donations, especially canned food, rice and beans. I know there are many other caring people in our community who, like most of my friends, have so much. Let’s have more collections in all places of worship to help those in need.
— Michael Akseven, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:24 PM
Godzilla in Paris
Is it just me or are there others in our fair city who think the City Council has gone completely out of their minds? I am, of course, referring to our city fathers’ brilliant plan to remake Victoria Avenue into a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use, Parisian boulevard version of its current configuration.
I can just picture it now. Men and women, hand-in-hand, leisurely strolling up and down the picturesque strip of upscale shops and restaurants abutting the street, with its plentiful supply of parallel parking spots adorning the tree-lined street.
But, wait, what’s that I hear? A big, lumbering tractor trailer kicking dust and debris in the air as it roars by on its way to Highway 126 to head east towards Interstate 5, its billowing smoke and fumes dispersing the crowds in the street like Godzilla descending upon the city.
I think it’s time to call our leaders down from their ivory towers for a moment to explain to us all how this is actually supposed to work. Have the planning geniuses at City Hall given any thought at all to why Victoria is such major thoroughfare in the city? Might it be that the Ventura County Government Center and Highway 126, as well as a couple of major arteries by the names of Telephone and Telegraph roads, bisect this road?
Pardon the communications metaphor, but, “Hello, can anyone hear me?”
— Mike Gibson, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:19 PM
Just ask why
Why are people taking so much drugs? I wonder why because it causes many diseases, heart attacks, cancer, and it can make you very sick. If people stop taking drugs they won’t have sicknesses, they will just be smart and healthy. So I’m just asking why people are taking so much drugs.
— Diego Kress, 9 years old, Fillmore
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:14 PM
Good place to start
Re: Thomas Elias’ Feb. 16 commentary, "Judicial reform might allow juror questioning":
This commentary points out only one of the flaws of our current justice system. Too often crucial evidence is prevented from being introduced because judges overcontrol what is, and what isn’t, allowed to be heard by the jury. But there’s more going on here than just this one issue.
Elias’ statement — "As long as the rules let judges protect themselves and their flaws from public exposure, the Judicial Council will never reach its laudable goal of opening the courts to public scrutiny and understanding" — is only the tip of the iceberg.
We need reform in our courts, and allowing jurors to question evidence and witnesses is a good start. But, it is not enough.
We need term limits so that judges can’t sit on the bench for decades and mildew out of touch with society.
We need to eliminate immunity for state workers like judges and prosecutors so that those who are incompetent either leave office voluntarily or get removed and prosecuted either criminally or civilly.
We need to get rid of the bad public image our courts have because there’s little to no accountability for bad behavior or performance.
Fear not o’ ye detractors in black robes. Judicial reform will not happen soon, if ever, so your cushy existence is safe for now. We need only remember 2004 when our California Supreme Court chief justice stood up and denounced Idaho’s attempt at judicial reform. Should California attempt to reform its justice system, how can anyone believe that the attempt will prevail against the closed minds and ranks of those who currently rule from the bench? Yet this is exactly what should be done — for precisely this reason.
— Robert Peterson, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:11 PM
Is Citrus Place smart growth?
Re: your Feb. 16 editorial, “Housing vote late, but vital”:
In its coverage and support of the Citrus Place project, The Star might also have answered the following questions:
— Did this project conform with Ventura’s avowed philosophy of smart growth? One of the principles of smart growth is that residents be able to walk to whatever they need, in the interest of keeping cars off the crowded roads as much as possible. It did not appear that these residents can get so much as a quart of milk without driving for it.
— Did this project conform with the city’s avowed support for “inclusive” affordable housing? Lumping underprivileged children together into projects can have a stigmatizing and marginalizing effect, and it prevents their being included in activities seemingly reserved for the economically advantaged. Could Ventura’s inclusive affordable housing requirement be stronger?
— Did the $3 million subsidy the city awarded to the developer on the very next agenda item practically empty the affordable housing moneypot and hand it over to just one developer for one project? Could this possibly be characterized as cronyism?
We understand the need for more housing. We just believe that the city needs to be more resolute in upholding the smart growth and inclusive affordable housing principles by which it claims to abide. By waiving these principles for some and not for others, the city could be giving mixed messages to developers and opening itself up to appearances of cronyism.
— Camille Harris, Ventura
(The writer is a member of the advisory board of Ventura Citizens Organization for Responsible Development. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:06 PM
‘None so blind’
Re: Brian D. Schwan’s Feb 7 letter, “Warnings to the gullible” and Gary Bunch’s Feb 7 letter, “It’s just junk science”:
Was it chance or clever placement that put in Reflections Mathew Henry’s quote, “None so blind as those that will not see,” on the same page as the rants denying global warming of flat-earthers Schwan and Bunch?
— Jan Moore, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:58 AM
Distorted view of history
Re: Christina Wilson's Feb. 19 commentary, "Celebrate the nation and all its presidents”:
What a gross distortion of American history and a sad, sad state of affairs when it comes from someone who is apparently "teaching" impressionable 7-year-olds who don't yet have the critical faculties to question Wilson's evidence or conclusions.
Saying the Puritans and the Mayflower Compact had much of anything to do with the founding of the United States is like saying Leif Erickson helped found Canada. History shows the Puritans to have been considerably less noble and loving of “submission to governmental authority” than Wilson would have one believe — as her own words betray when she points out that they really weren't interested in being under British rule. They created a government and society more akin to the Taliban than anything of democratic rule and rights.
Why does Wilson feel such a need to distort history and make it seem like the United States was intended to be some predestined Christian utopia? What a sad and shameful mark on the celebration of Presidents Day.
— Stuart Bechman, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:55 AM
Salad days
Re: your Feb. 20 Business article, “Health and well-being: Institute aims to help people live better, longer lives”:
I don't know about health, but the people who can afford to pay almost $1,200 a day to learn how to make a salad are certainly well-being. I can only think about how many people in Darfur could be fed with that money. I understand that we may not have an obligation to feed them, but one would think that the Christian ethic would enable people to know which choice to make between feeding the 10,000 versus pampering themselves with a $1,000 salad.
— Philip Yows, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:49 AM
No cure for Kaiser
Re: David Nankivell’s Feb. 19 Senior Speaks column, “Maybe it’s time for Kaiser to fix some problems with healthcare”:
Mr. Nankivell normally has some interesting and informative things to say about senior matters. However, this column is a joke.
After seven paragraphs of unimportant and irrelevant drivel, he finally mentions Kaiser Permanente. He mentions briefly the challenges it has faced and is working its way out of. He finishes up by briefly talking about overcrowded conditions — and that's about it. He does mention that Kaiser Permanente could use a hospital in eastern Ventura County. But there are no ideas, plans, thoughts or suggestions on how this can be accomplished or by whom.
Overall, it was a very trivial column — two-thirds filled with drivel and not enough substance.
— James A. Tierney, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:39 AM
Buying in to global warming
Re: Fred Romero’s Feb 19 letter, “So why’s it so cold?”:
Several years ago, Romero wrote a rambling diatribe criticizing liberals and dismissing global warming as “junk science.” I suggested then he enroll in an environmental science class. I can tell by his recent effort he decided against that.
Instead, he continues to demonstrate high-stress, dualistic, either/or, black or white thinking. Romero suggests the “liberal media” are wailing about “the threat of a superheated earth,” as if only liberals believe human activities have exacerbated climate change.
He also suggests global warming doesn’t exist because of the recent cold snap here, as well as the cold weather in the East and Midwest. Perhaps Romero forgot it is winter.
Romero stated, “The questionable theory of global warming is in dire need of empirical evidence.” I suggest Romero read the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf). It states: “Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values determined from ice cores spanning many thousands of years.”
Also: “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.”
This report was not done by the “liberal media” or those “not already a slave to the left-leaning green is everything ideology.” It was an international effort sponsored by the United Nations involving more than 2,500 scientists from 130 countries.
I heard former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch on CNBC recently. He suggested it behooves companies like GE to become innovators in new technologies that address global climate change. Even corporate America has recognized this as an issue that should be addressed.
— Dave Dolnick, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:31 AM
Land use laws out of whack
Re: your Feb. 17 article, “County’s growth pace is key issue”:
The UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast points out the dismal outlook for housing and the social implications of no growth in the county. When will the Board of Supervisors begin to react to this economic reality?
The board controls the largest area of undeveloped land and listens more to the landed gentry in the cities and outside special interests than to the young families who want to own a home in the area where they grew up. Cities are nearly built out. Where are people going to live? The county has the obligation to all of us to steer a course between no growth and subdivision development.
The housing crisis reduces the incentive of companies to locate here. Farm, retail and service and farm cannot even afford to live in a new mobile home. Two-income families are the norm, which creates more latchkey children and the social problems that creates.
The Board of Supervisors’ approach to land designated open space needs to be re-examined. It is considering a 20-acre minimum lot size. This is going in the wrong direction. We need more low-density development but in affordable lot sizes. This can help maintain our semi-rural atmosphere in the unincorporated areas.
Special interests want no development at all in the open space. This will only make matters worse. The Board of Supervisors needs to develop a win-win concept for development.
For the companies that would like to relocate here, the businesses that hire unskilled workers and the families that would like to have their children and grandchildren living here, the county must begin planning for orderly growth before Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources measures expire, and the pressure from big developers and pent-up demand steamroller over us.
— Michael Naumes, Piru
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:24 AM
Affordable — for now
Affordable and entry-level housing in Ventura sounds altruistic, and I’m sure that the members of the City Council consider themselves charitable and liberal in approving of it. But, in fact, they all simply caved in to the developers who were just looking to make a profit.
The people of this city have made it clear time and again that they want to maintain the small-town atmosphere here and they are concerned with traffic and overcrowding.
OK, they did it to maintain affordable housing for farmworkers. How long will these people remain farmworkers? Will their children, after being given an education, elect to work on the farms?
How long will this housing remain “affordable?” You know they will get around the provisions and manage to sell at a profit at the earliest opportunity.
Sitting in snarled traffic on Victory Boulevard, I sadly remember how comfortable this town used to be. I’m disappointed.
— Bernard Lehrer, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:14 AM
Eroding freedoms
The Constitution of the United States, along with the Bill of Rights, is still one of the most revered set of national documents in the world. Specifically, the "freedoms" of religion, press and speech were the bedrocks of this exciting experiment. Unfortunately, they have all but met their demise.
Political correctness has sufficiently eroded so much of these freedoms that most newspapers now have policies that sanitize so much of the truth and traditional wisdom of public discourse. It staggers the mind. Segments of the population aligned with leftist and nontraditional relationships have vociferously attempted to silence all but their own selfish concepts to the point of denying "freedom of speech" to anyone else, calling it "hate speech."
Our Founding Fathers would, no doubt, find this utterly offensive. Whether we lose this freedom, along with all the others, will depend on whether the left-leaning and loudest-yelling opponents of traditional relationships are able to persuade Congress and the court system to abolish "free speech" and freedom of the press. A vast number of college campuses already have effectively silenced conservative, traditional thought. Their idea of tolerance, of course, betrays them. The Soviets had their own definition of democracy, which didn't square with Webster's, but that was OK with them. The "hate-speech" squads are in the same boat.
A City Council member in British Columbia was recently fined $1,000 for merely saying that homosexuality was "not normal and not natural" — http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/02/canadian_official_fined_for_st.php and http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770641/posts.
The same elements are actively striving for the same censorship in this country, and it appears only a matter of time before every mouth but theirs is taped shut. It behooves us all, then, to protect these precious freedoms from being bludgeoned to death by any group, however sincere or misguided.
— Franklin D. Leupp, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:06 AM
Imagine
Do you recall what the world looks like when you are standing at the top of a mountain? Do you remember the smell of the pine and oak you passed on your way up? What about the blue sky that seems more vast than you could imagine? Everything seems to be so free and alive. It’s another world. For a moment, you are one of the many different creatures that make up the universe. The Earth, as you know it, has stood still for a moment. Then, the sun begins to set. “Until another day,” you whisper and descend from that world into the brightness of city streets.
The noise brings you back. You remember the bills you haven’t paid, the phone calls you didn’t make and the appointment that you have to plan. As you drive home, you see your neighbor hasn’t mowed his lawn in a century and your dog left you a present just inside your doorway. Then you ask when life is going to be as certain as it was up on that hill. Then you forget.
I am an environmental science major at California State University, Channel Islands. I am concerned that the materialistic world has taken over our lives. We become wrapped up in our daily tasks. It’s a selfish thought, but now it is impossible to avoid. Things become life. Can you imagine the reaction of the world today if suddenly they were gone? Could we sit around all day and either read a book or talk to one another? A world without a computer or television seems unfathomable to most of us. Our day-to-day activities should include a small journey to another world that is nature. Imagine life without the natural world that we escape to. It’s closer than we think.
— Kristen Cover, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:02 AM
Situation is worsening
On March 12, 2006, American troops broke into a home in Iraq and shot dead a father, mother and two small daughters; the 14-year old daughter was raped and set on fire. One of the American soldiers has admitted to the killings.
Our troops have committed other equally nauseating acts in Iraq during the past four years.
Our military invaded Iraq to fight the war on terrorism. They have been reduced to committing their own terrorist acts on Iraqi civilians. Instead of preventing terrorism, we are promoting it — and in a country in which it was proven that we have no justification to have invaded.
A normal reaction to such stories would be to turn away and not think about them. They must rather be contemplated, daily, because the rest of the world contemplates them. President Bush will soon be adding more than 20,000 troops to the thousands of stressed-out troops already in Iraq — troops who were told when the invasion first occurred they would be going home in a couple of months, but have been sent back over and over for four years.
Is our world safer? No. I used to love to travel to foreign countries; I now am fearful for what someone might do to me or my family because of what we have done in Iraq. I am embarrassed for what we have done in Iraq. I once was proud to be an American. Mr. Bush has made me ashamed to be an American.
— Martin Potter, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:56 AM
Let’s allow everyone in
Amnesty for our 11 million illegal aliens is a great idea; it just falls short of a better one. During the 20 years since we last exercised this brilliant solution, we’ve had a steady stream of hopefuls jumping the border to wait their turn for the next one. Such inconsideration is unnecessary. If unlawful status can be corrected by declaring it legal, then why not declare all entry into the United States legal? Let’s not timidly send out invitations by fits and starts. Let’s just do it in one fell swoop.
We should stop this expensive and unfriendly sham of controlling immigration. Our American sense of fair play dictates an open-borders policy global in scope. We should welcome all our fellow humans, with the possible exception of evildoers and those who do not love freedom. We have been shortsighted in favoring Mexico as the source of our peon labor. There are far more destitute prospects in other countries of the world eager to be exploited. Let us lift our lamp to all and let the competition begin.
Consider the advantages of open borders. Incessant bickering over immigration would cease. Immigrant activists could take a break to groom their ruffled feathers. We could disband the surly border guards. Guest peasant programs would no longer be needed. Employers would have more cut-rate labor than they ever dreamed of. Costs of everything would plummet. Serenity would settle over our land. Amnesty plus open borders: What a splendid concept!
— Bill Glenn, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:38 AM
Rethink fireworks sponsor
Re: your Feb. 17 article, “Camarillo fireworks fight is over”:
At the Feb. 14 Camarillo City Council meeting, the council wisely voted to discontinue the use of Freedom Park for the Fourth of July fireworks display. The close proximity of the Ventura County Animal Shelter had resulted in the animals’ suffering from severe distress due to the explosions of aerial bombs.
According to The Star article, the council allocated the Lions Club $31,000 for the next fireworks display, with the proviso that they find a suitable location. The council recommended Adolfo Camarillo High School, which was used in years prior to 1990. Last year, the school remodeled its stadium with new benches and can now provide seating for 6,000. An official from the high school said they had not been contacted about the use of their facilities but would be open to cooperating. The California Department of Transportation acknowledged that the city didn't need a permit but indicated the show might distract passing motorists.
With the onus falling on the Lions Club to find a new location, the coordinator of the fireworks committee indicated there wasn't enough time to work out the details. According to my calendar, July 4 is nearly five months away. That should be more than enough time to find an acceptable location.
Perhaps if the Lions Club isn't up to the task, then I suggest the City Council open up the bidding to other nonprofit organizations that might welcome the opportunity to step into the breach to produce a Fourth of July extravaganza for 2007. Frankly, I hope the Lions Club gets its act together, finds a location and works out the logistics so they can keep their commitment for July 2007. I don't relish the idea of driving to Ventura to watch fireworks. Yes, I would miss the Lionburgers!
— Jack Carlson, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:26 AM
Pick alternative fuel wisely
In his State of the Union address, President Bush expressed a desire to use alternative fuels to push gasoline use down 20 percent in 10 years and producing 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2012. Unfortunately, Bush is putting his weight behind the wrong fuel.
Bush has made his stance on E85 quite clear and is pushing for its increased use. It’s an admirable goal, but it uses the wrong fuel. E85 is fraught with problems. It's derived from corn. Even with the low current usage, farmers who raise livestock are already seeing the price of feed-grade corn, which is inferior to human-grade corn, rise markedly. It's has about 30 percent less energy than gasoline and a similar toll on mileage, but it is about 20 percent more expensive. And my car doesn't run on it.
The answer is biodiesel. Biodiesel can be made from corn and burns cleaner than gasoline and even cleaner than normal ultralow sulfur diesel. It can fuel all modern diesels, and older ones simply need new fuel lines. It has 30 percent more energy than gasoline, and an average small diesel sedan will return 50 miles per gallon. Unfortunately, California's Air Resource Board effectively outlawed them in 2001, making it economic suicide to sell diesels in the United States, but that can be changed.
Short of changing the fuels cars run on, the United States could adopt a system many other countries use: taxation. The government could tax owners of excessively large vehicles and encourage the use of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles with tax breaks. Japan has been doing it for years. The United Kingdom has a similar system with carbon dioxide emissions, and it rewards users of motorcycles and hybrids.
Congress will never do something like this. It makes too much sense, and it means the government will decide what people will drive. That's the automakers' job.
— William Klope, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:18 AM
Raise driving age to 18
The overwhelming evidence that the current global warming is caused by fossil fuels used by ordinary people isn't new news. Yet it's just always apparent that the fastest way to get home in time to take care of other business is driving your own automobile. Many find public transportation just not that reliable.
In order to increase public transportation, there needs to be more people demanding it. What needs to be done is to make more people unable to drive so demand will increase. I know this sounds cruel at first, but keep on reading. The minimum age to drive should be moved up to 18.
This topic has already been discussed in the past, not for the reason of helping to stop global warming, but because car accidents, for awhile now, have been the number one cause of death for teenagers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 16-year-olds are three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all other drivers together. It is no secret that teens have a bigger tendency of being reckless drivers.
Contributing to stop global warming should be another good reason to move the minimum driving age to 18. Drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 make up 12.5 million of the total 198.9 million drivers in the United States. Doing this will obviously decrease the number of cars being driven, making a contribution in cutting down carbon dioxide emissions.
Of course there will be teens complaining about it, but sacrifices must be made. Today's youth will be the ones to inherit this earth and could be the ones to experience the worst of global warming if drastic measures are not taken.
- Jose Luis Perez, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:12 AM
Knowing who’s in jail
Re: your Jan. 29 article, “Illegal immigrants caught in jails”:
This article lighted an anger and deep fear inside of me. The legal system not knowing who is being incarcerated and where they are from is a frightening thought. Many illegal immigrants can commit a crime, be thrown in jail and be released before immigration discovers and deports them.
In 2004, Justin Goodman was on his motorcycle when a car hit him. It was driven by an illegal immigrant, and Goodman was killed. The alien’s name was Roberto Martinez-Ruiz. He had been arrested many times and even served jail time, but nevertheless, he escaped deportation only to kill an innocent American. This sad story leaves me with one question similar to that asked by Justin’s mother: “ How can illegal aliens possible escape justice so many times and be put back on the streets where they are able to kill?”
Too many people spend their time yelling and blaming the U.S. Border Patrol for not being more efficient; yet every day we are releasing criminal aliens back onto our streets. All the while, taxpayers are paying for the jails and inmates care, illegal or not.
What can authorities possibly be doing that prevents them from knowing who is in their custody? In the Roberto Martinez-Ruiz case, fooling the authorities was as easy as using fake IDs.
Once in jail, aliens fear being deported, all the while hoping to be released before anyone is the wiser. That hope needs to be eliminated by a program that doesn’t just wait for immigration officials to do their sweeps. Everyone in jail should be checked when brought in, and not just at random. Deporting criminal aliens is crucial to protecting our society and being a step closer to controlling immigration by eliminating the criminals.
— Lauren Gomez, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:00 AM