Letters for November 15, 2007

Dishonest, diseased Bites …

Re “Anarchy in the U.S.A.” (SN&R Bites, November 8):

I think it’s dishonest to suggest that we live under a totalitarian government. I will agree with the corruption, but totalitarian? I think not.

So what exactly is a totalitarian government? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, totalitarian is defined as imposing a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed. Furthermore Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., wrote “A totalitarian regime crushes all autonomous institutions in its drive to seize the human soul.”

Nazi Germany, Saddam’s Iraq and modern-day Cuba are true totalitarian governments. A person is a number. They cannot advance in life. Most importantly, they are not allowed to dissent against those in power, less they risk being “silenced” by those in power. If you claim silencing happens in our media, this is because of the free market, not our government. Claiming it’s “liberal media” or “conservative media” is irrelevant to the point.

The United States has freedom of speech and press. The government doesn’t actually intrude in people’s lives. You are free to pursue your dreams with hard work and ingenuity. You are free to buy consumer products. You are free to go on vacation, and travel abroad. You are free to be a success or a complete failure!

I will admit this country has faults and failings, but the fact is our government will never dictate us. The very fact that your article even exists means that the United States is not a totalitarian government.

I really believe your line of thinking is diseased. You want a conspiracy to exist so that you can live out some sort of fantasy. After all, V for Vendetta effectively demonstrates the romance of overthrowing big government.

By the way, I support Ron Paul and I dislike your Bites. See! Now that’s America!

Ryan Andrew
Elk Grove

… won’t live long

Re “Anarchy in the U.S.A.” (SN&R Bites, November 8):

Your column is so negative. You never have anything positive to say and I can only relish the thought that you must be a miserable person. Negativity leads to a shorter life, and that is the only benefit I can see in your column.

Terry Wallace
via e-mail

When Hornets win, fans will come

Re “Sack State” by Nicholas Miller (SN&R Feature Story, November 1):

When the Sacramento State Hornets football team wins games, we fans will come. Regardless of what Grant Napear has to say, it is still true. I’ve been to games when they were winning and losing. It was crowded and fun to watch when they won consistently.

How do we get wins? One word: discipline. Discipline on the part of the players, coaches, marching band and school administration is what is needed.

The players need a little more discipline to avoid stupid penalties (illegal procedure, off-sides, delay of game, personal fouls). The defensive backs need to know when to look back for the ball when defending against passes. The quarterback needs to know when not to throw the ball, or just throw it away. Some of this discipline comes with maturity, but discipline will, it is hoped, be instilled in the players by coach Marshall Sperbeck to avoid these mistakes.

The coaches need to be a bit more disciplined in their choice of players in certain situations. How about keeping Cyrus Mulitalo on defense only, where he excels? That is a no-brainer. At the Eastern Washington game, when Mulitalo came in the game on offense inside the 5-yard line, everyone in the stands knew who was going to get the ball, and so did the 11 players on the field for the other team. Further, coaches need to get out and recruit. It is a year-round job, especially during the season. How many high-school football players and their families have been brought to the Causeway Classic as a recruiting tool? If the answer is none, then a bit more disciplined approach to recruiting needs to take place.

The Sacramento State marching band needs a bit more discipline, as well—somewhat above that of the volunteer Citrus Heights Community Marching Band, which is surprisingly good. At the Eastern Washington game, I sat directly behind the marching band, seven rows up. I don’t believe any of the band members could have told me the score during the game or the quarter we were in. It was like one big party going on.

The school administration, specifically the athletic department, has taken a positive step in hiring Sperbeck. It was maddening to have to endure the undisciplined, personal-fouling players that Coach Mooshagian allowed on the field the last few years.

I don’t care if people do use the “commuter campus” excuse for why nobody is interested. It will not be relevant when we win. The fans will fill the too-small stadium. It really is this simple.

Jerry Grinstead
Citrus Heights

Recruit smarter players?

Re “Sack State” by Nicholas Miller (SN&R Feature Story, November 1):

Of course your newspaper’s argument is to increase “diversity” for hiring better football players, but unfortunately that means CSUS is likely going to again lower educational requirements to get more football players. It’s a given that football is not known as a sport for those with high IQs and high grade-point averages.

One must admit, though, that unless universities as CSUS could recruit football players from certain groups of people whom tend to have high academic scores, especially Asians, then football should cease to be the major focus of the entire educational system as it is right now.

Michelle Kunert
Sacramento

No more taxes!

Re “Still single” by Seth Sandronsky (SN&R Essay, November 1):

Seth Sandrondky’s essay advocating in favor of the state government single-payer system proposed by SB 840 fails to answer an important question: Who’s going to pay for it?

Sandronsky quotes an initiative proponent saying the plan “would be free—no co-pays, no deductibles, no premiums—and would provide quality health care to all Californians.” Does SB 840 or the initiative require the state to pay the bill? If so, how will this be funded—by new taxes? That means “we the people,” which translates into another state bureaucracy.

I already pay too much in taxes. If this is what the single-payer system means, it does not have my support.

Terence Kilpatrick
Sacramento

Ride ’em, guitar man

Re “Along for the ride” by Lara Martin (SN&R Green Days, November 1):

I’m surprised your article doesn’t reference “The Bicycling Guitarist,” Chris Watson, who has played guitar while riding a Schwinn 10-speed bicycle for tens of thousands of miles since the early 1980s. There are many articles online about this guy, and he has his own Web site: www.TheBicyclingGuitarist.net.

Kurt Muller
via e-mail

Give him some updates

Re “Along for the ride” by Lara Martin (SN&R Green Days, November 1):

I found the article fascinating. I certainly hope you will be publishing update articles, as I know a few people just in this office who would love to hear more about how their tour is progressing.

Kudos to you for running it in the first place! Since we relocated from the area and moved to the Southeast, the level of ecological responsibility we’ve seen has plummeted. This was a refreshing story, and needs to be continued.

Joseph Burkholder
via e-mail

Kate’s bad day …

Re “Chust not good enough” by Kate Washington (SN&R Dish, November 1):

I am a great fan of Cheffery’s and cannot believe this woman wrote such a horrible article. The whole article is presumed on her theories and not fact, especially alluding to the fact that the food comes from the already-prepared catering kitchen.

She must have had a bad day or perhaps is upset with the owners for some unknown reason.

I highly recommend that the editor of SN&R take the time to personally visit Cheffery’s and seriously consider a retraction of this article! These are two young men who have worked very hard to establish this great eating establishment and it would be a shame one person and one editor could really harm them in such a fashion.

Russell Joseph
via e-mail

… gets worse …

Re “Chust not good enough” by Kate Washington (SN&R Dish, November 1):

I felt the review on Cheffery’s was very rude and offensive.

We have eaten there several times and each time we enjoyed the food and the staff. We have taken several friends there and in turn they have taken their friends.

The start of the article was, I felt, in poor taste. This woman obviously has no creative skills of her own. We have eaten all the dishes she mentioned and enjoyed them all. As far as location, she makes it sound like a bad area. From what I understand, it’s a very profitable area.

It appears she can’t have a meal without alcohol. That’s a shame, as not everyone enjoys drinking while they eat.

It’s sad that [the editors] would trust the opinion of this woman without eating at Cheffery’s yourself and forming your own opinion.

Patrick Longshaw
via e-mail

… and worse

Re “Chust not good enough” by Kate Washington (SN&R Dish, November 1):

The review of this restaurant was not fair. I feel that some of the author’s points were overstated in the negative. After visiting Cheffery’s twice, I find that the food and prices were good and my overall evaluation would be much better than the one presented in your publication.

Randy Hartley
via e-mail

Good fence, good neighbors

Re: “Rabid-proof fence” by Kel Munger (SN&R Upfront, November 8):

One of many improvements scheduled for our B Street Health Center, our new fence has allowed our patients access to confidential low-cost services with a reduced amount of harassment and intimidation. The fence allows our patients to get out of their cars without being instantly confronted with angry words and misleading and inaccurate brochures. Our patients’ and employees’ privacy and health are our primary concerns. We will continue to make every effort to ensure access to basic health care. Every year five million women, men and teens worldwide rely on Planned Parenthood for health-care information, education and services. Our community should be able to get quality health care without fear of violence, harassment or intimidation.

Rather than protesting our services and harassing our patients, we believe it would be more effective to work with Planned Parenthood to increase access to affordable birth control and comprehensive sex education. The overwhelming majority of Planned Parenthood services focus on prevention. In the Sacramento region, 95 percent of our medical services are related to prevention, including contraception, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Our B Street Health Center also provides prenatal care, pediatric care, and general primary care.

Thank you, Sacramento community, for your support.

To learn more about how you can help, contact sacramentovol@ppmarmonte.org.

Katharyn McLearan
director of public affairs, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte

Correction

In “Frontier justice” by Kari Westerman (SN&R News, November 8), the name of writer David Kulczyk was misspelled. We also garbled the name of his book, California Justice: Shootouts, Lynchings and Assassinations in the Golden State. SN&R sincerely regrets the errors. This has been corrected on the Web site.