Letters for January 26, 2006

No judge of character
Asking for Mr. Mayo’s opinion on the legal acumen or emotional stability of a judicial candidate or anyone else for that matter is, in my opinion, akin to asking advice from Eric and Lyle Menendez on child rearing [“Judge not—yet,” Newslines, Jan. 19].

I have worked with Kristen Lucena for many years and believe I know her reasonably well. She is studious, serious, compassionate and has a commitment to justice that would make her a great judge. The judges and attorneys who have endorsed her show she has support from a very diverse group of knowledgeable and experienced people in the legal community. The voters would do well to elect Kristen Lucena to the bench in June.

Leonard D. Goldkind
Chico

Feel the warmth
Many thanks to the News & Review for the feature article about Kim Stanley Robinson and his dire warnings concerning global warming [“Fear of a frozen planet,” cover story, Jan. 12]. This may ultimately be the greatest crime of all by the Bush administration—its refusal to take responsibility for our enormous share of green house gases being pumped into the atmosphere. Fortunately, many U.S. states and cities are moving forward with policies to reduce global warming, in spite of Bush and his cronies’ arrogant refusal to get their heads out of the sand. The article about Robinson’s work inspires me to do more in my own life, and try to do more to influence others that we must take this threat extremely seriously—as if our lives depend on it—which they do, along with so very many lives and life systems on this beautiful planet we call home.

So let’s get passionate about creating less greenhouse gases: Get some physical exercise before we turn on the heat (it’s amazing how increasing circulation warms the body!), pull out the long johns, turn down the thermostat, wait a couple of hours to build that fire, turn out the lights we don’t need, walk instead of drive, fix that flat on the bike in the garage, purchase a car that runs on biodiesel or a hybrid, use less stuff, use less stuff, use less stuff. And our local governments—city councils, county board of supervisors—need to hear from us to do municipal planning that minimizes green house gases, maximizes alternative energy sources, to design neighborhoods where people can walk to get their necessities, to educate the public and to take responsibility.

Let’s get passionate about saving our earth home from global warming!

Emily Alma
Chico

Where’s Wally?
I have been part of groups trying to speak to Wally Herger (to no avail) in the past. He is not in his office and no one knows where he is. I heard on the radio yet another group was at his office trying to speak to him last Friday. He was out of his office and the office staff said they did not know where he was. I have heard this so many times I am beginning to wonder if Wally Herger actually still exists anymore. I think the Taliban is holding him hostage, they just know we won’t pay to get him back so ransom demands are not being publicized. Maybe we should offer a reward of, say, $5, to anyone who can find the missing Wally.

Jeanie Richardson
Chico

Whose rights?
I’m not certain if anyone who read Ms. [Shauna] Heckert’s “call to action” [“Reproductive rights are human rights,” Guest Comment, Jan. 19] will take the time to read this, but in case they do I would like to address a few points in her commentary.

I know that it helps the cause if you use statistics to make it seem like everyone is doing it, but one in three women do not have an abortion by the time they are 45. If we divide the number of abortions by the number of women in that age group, we might get a number close to that, but if you factor in the women who get multiple abortions, the actual figure is much closer to one in six.

Abortion providers are operating in an increasingly hostile system, which is usually the case when you are doing something in a society that the majority thinks is wrong. Reproductive rights are not necessarily human rights if you are attached to the wrong end of the umbilical cord.

She is correct that women with means have more options than women with less means. That is the way it will be this side of Heaven. Since she is one of the privileged who also has a great deal of access to those she desires to help, let me offer an additional thought on how she could best aid them. If she were to focus on those who do not want to be single parents and convince them that they should not have sex with men to whom they are not married, they would not need abortions. Albeit very difficult, this would be the one thing that would break the chain of misery that affects so many lives, born and unborn.

Tim Edwards
Chico

Good for Gore
I would like to call your readers’ attention to the powerful and passionate speech given by Al Gore today. In it he said, “The president of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently.” He called for a special prosecutor to be appointed immediately to investigate these illegal actions and to take whatever measures are suggested by such an investigation.

You would think that a speech by the man who won the popular vote in 2000 expressing the concerns of many that our constitutional government is in grave peril would be covered live. But you would be wrong. It is clear that cable news stations are beholden to their corporate owners and cannot be relied upon to present controversial points of view.

Our constitutional democratic government is being threatened by an out-of-control president who has clearly committed high crimes and misdemeanors.

The president must be held accountable for his actions. I support Mr. Gore’s call for a special prosecutor and call on all of us who care about the future of our democracy to let their voices be heard.

Michael H. Goloff, MD
Chico

Craving citrus
I arrived in Chico five years ago and was pleasantly surprised by the municipal service that provided free oranges to Chico residents each December. Last year most of the trees that supplied this fruit were removed and the program was eliminated.

Coming from the Northeast, where oranges don’t grow on trees and are a cherished commodity, I was disappointed by the cessation of the wonderful program. Many of the side streets of Chico have public orange trees the fruit of which appears to eventually rot on the ground. Since I, and I suspect others who valued this program, lack the equipment to efficiently reap this harvest, why not use the resources formerly used to harvest the fruit from the downtown trees to collect this fruit which would otherwise go to waste? Let’s not abandon this admirable Chico tradition?

Michael Farley
Chico