Letters for April 22, 2004

Wake-up call
Regarding your April 18 editorial, “Bush’s tar baby,” of course the war in Iraq is a quagmire for the United States. Of course it is costing us hundreds of billions of dollars that we don’t have, and of course it’s killing and wounding tens of thousands of people and there’s no end in sight. Hell, our government says it doesn’t even know who it plans to turn power over to on June 30. (Whoever it is, the power transfer will only be symbolic.) How could you expect anything else when the people who run this country, both Republicans and Democrats, are arrogant, ignorant, incompetent and corrupt? It’s a shame that these people are not the ones paying the true cost of this war. Instead they send others off to kill and die while they bankrupt the country.

And where in the U.S. Constitution does it say that the president of the United States gets to decide what form of government other countries will have? This war and occupation are completely unconstitutional.

This administration lied about the weapons of mass destruction. They lied about the links to 9/11 and Al Qaeda. They lied when they told us the Iraqis would greet our troops with flowers. This weekend we learned that the administration may have illegally appropriated $700 million for this war before the invasion began.

And now there is no end in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel, no end to the death and destruction. And the politicians (both Republican and Democrats) are clamoring to send more troops to Iraq.

America, how much longer will you tolerate your government lying to you? How many more thousands will have to die and how many more billions of dollars will be squandered before you wake up?

David Howell
Chico

Turn the tables
Imagine the United States invaded and occupied by a foreign country. The justification for invasion is that the America is governed by a tyrannical leader in possession of a nuclear arsenal who plans to take over other nations. America is claimed to be a threat to world peace and sovereignty. The invasion occurs in defiance of the United Nations and is called a preemptive strike. It is immediately evident that assassination of our president is an early goal of the invading force. They claim that our president is an illegitimate leader, who was not elected by a majority of the populace.

After a year of occupation, it is evident that easy access to our natural resources was the true goal of the invading country. The occupying force refuses to leave until it has installed a puppet government identical to its own. In the meantime, reparations contracts, interim government services and access to natural resources have all been sold to foreign contractors who profit greatly while our citizens exist in relative squalor and chaos. The current military dictatorship seems unmotivated to return control to the citizens—we, the people.

Wouldn’t every red-blooded American do anything he could to expel this foreign power and regain control of our country? Would we expect to be called heroes and patriots for our efforts, or terrorists, extremists, religious fundamentalists? How do you think our underground press reports, assuming they are allowed to exist, would compare to the mass media of the invading country?

Paul Hood
Chico

Narrow-band radio
My name is as Stephanie B, and I am responding to the Alan Raetz piece [“Freedom for KZFR,” Guest Comment, April 15. I hosted an R&B and hip-hop show called “Music for Your Mind” on KZFR for nearly 10 years. My format never changed, and there wasn’t a problem/complaint issue with my music format that I was aware of.

After Leon Frazier (DJ RubbaBan) resigned, I was asked by a Program Council member to move to the open Thursday time slot, but I was happy with my Friday-afternoon show. Then I was asked if I would move my show to an after-10 p.m. slot. Why was there suddenly a problem with my show?

I believe the station has a bias against “urban” music. Program Council member John Dubois made comments that “hip-hop carries messages of casual violence, casual sex and gang culture” [“The trials of freedom or death,” CN&R Music, Dec. 12, 2002], and now Preston Powers is saving women and children from “hardcore rap songs” [“KZFR: The good, the bad and the ugly,” CN&R cover story, March 18].

A majority of KZFR programming is not necessarily something I would choose to listen to, but I appreciate each programmer for his or her own unique style and contribution. There used to be an aired disclaimer stating, “Unlike most radio stations, KZFR welcomes diversity.”

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and taste, but I refuse to be a part of a station that I feel is narrow-minded and does not equally respect nor represent the community it serves.

Stephanie Bravo

Chico

Step up
If there is anything that you are missing on KZFR, put in a program proposal. If you are interested in the programming, please join the Program Council. We have openings for three community members starting in June on the council.

Help keep community radio what it is, a non-censored, local media outlet for anything.

You too can be a programmer.

What isn’t there is because no community member has stepped up. Come on down. KZFR airwaves are what we/you make them. On the Web www.kzfr.org or 895-0788.

Bobbi Tryon
KZFR volunteer

Pork belly futures
The pork-filled police budget is run so unsuccessfully, it’s enough to make one squeal. There is no common sense in determining crimes to enforce. There are not enough police on the streets in touch with the people. The priorities of our local Billy Bob law enforcement are poor. Serious crimes go unabated while they focus on petty, revenue-enhancing infractions.

Recently I was riding my bike where the bike path crosses Big Chico Creek from Bidwell Mansion. Some drunk college wannabe thugs yelled insults at me. I yelled back; they caught me, threw me off my bike, punched and kicked me and threw my bike off the bridge. There were no police around. I broke free during the hassle, jumped into the street and told passing motorists to call the police. Someone did. The punks left.

The next night I was riding my bike on The Esplanade’s side street crossing Ninth Street at 7:30 p.m., and I was given a citation for running the stop sign on my bike. There were no cars near, and no hazards except for the revenue enhancing Chico Police Department. If there was eminent danger it would have been justified.

The obvious questions arise: One, where are the police when you need them (like getting mugged) and, two, where are their priorities?

Scott Love
Chico