Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Wednesday August 17, 2011 - 12:51:00 PM

Approaching Anniversary; Perry Exposed; Foggy Day; Immigration 

Approaching Anniversary 

Although 10 years have passed since that horrifying suicidal attack on the World Trade Towers, I still grieve for the lives lost. But I also think of my good friend and neighbor, Don Gunn, who had a passion for Point Reyes. He authored a very readable and detailed book, "More to the Point.", describing his favorite spots. He drove there every almost every day to clear brush and debris. But now, suffering from terminal cancer, he was no longer able to make the drive. He therefore wished to bid farewell to his favorite spots and colleagues at the Bear Valley Visitors Center and the Chimney Rock So, early that morning we set out for the point. I was in tears at the news of the Tower's attack. but Don could think only of his beloved Center. I had noticed a revolver on Don's desk, but fortunately he did not use it. 

So, each in our own way, we mourned for the tragic events of that never to be forgotten day! 

Dorothy M. Snodgrass 

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Perry Exposed 

Shedding a little light on Texas Governor Rick Perry and newest Republican to join the GOP presidential fray: Until recently Perry has dismissed talk that he would seek the GOP nomination. In fact, quoted in Newsweek, Gov. Perry insisted he would not run for president under any circumstances. Now, here's a man of his word. Compared to Perry, George W. Bush was a raving liberal. Both play to the same base, mostly white fundamentalist and evangelical social conservatives. Perry is a hard-line anti-abortionist who wants to teach creationism in schools (that earth is 6000 years old). Would kids laugh at a president like this! Until 1989, Republican Governor Rick Perry was a Democrat ... While in office, Perry has signed into law a measure that allows undocumented college students qualify for in-state-tuition. By all measures, Perry's tenure as governor has been disastrous for the state. The high school dropout rate has climbed to nearly 30 percent, more than one-quarter of Texans have no health insurance and Lone Star Staters pay some of the highest utility and homeowners' insurance rates in the country. By all means, let's let Rick Perry do for the nation what he's done for Texas. 

Ron Lowe 

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Foggy Day 

I'm taking liberty with that familiar Gershwin melody. Opening the drapes of my sixth floor window each morning, I'm thrilled to see heavy fog -- fog so dense it blocks out the Campanile and east bay hills. Having spent my childhood in South Bend, Indiana, I recall all too well its unbearably high temperatures and humidity. I'd wake up each morning with soaked hair and pillow case. Taking a shower didn't help as I' d never dry off. (South Bend is located in the St. Joseph Valley, thus accounting for its miserable weather.) There were only two air conditioned places in that town -- Walgreen's Pharmacy and the radio station where I worked. Leaving my job at 5 p.m., stepping outside was like walking into an open furnace. It was then I decided to move westward, to my beloved Berkeley. It was a move I've never regretted! 

NOTE: Two letters in one day is too much of a good thing. 

Dorothy Snodgrass 

 

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Immigration 

 

The "press release" by the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights referring to the DHS program as "Dragnet" did not deserve a front page position where at least semi-objective news is expected. Editorials and so-called "press releases" that support illegal immigration are fine, but please put them where they will not be confused with legitimate reporting. 

Robert Gable