Sprinter is the quietest train ever

Last Saturday, I was riding by bike down Mission Avenue in Escondido as one of the new Sprinter trains happened to pass me heading west. It wasn't more than 50 feet from me and, although I had four lanes of traffic on my left, I wasn't in a car, and I'd say that this was the quietest train I'd ever heard!

Of course, the horns might be louder, but I think they're great.

Earl Brown

Escondido

Parking ticket a money-making venture

I just received a call from my neighbor informing me she had gotten a parking ticket on her car and advising me to go and check cars. My husband and I have three vehicles total. One is parked in the driveway, and two are on the street in front of our house. They are all registered and insured. I went outside and found a ticket on one of the cars parked on the street. …

I live near Grand and Rose. We own our home and are parked in front of our own house. There is nothing illegal about the way we have parked. To add insult to injury, the ticket goes on to claim that "should the vehicle not be removed, it will be impounded and stored at a public garage at the owner's expense." Note: Merely moving or relocating the vehicle does not satisfy the requirement that the vehicle be removed. The purpose of the law is to allow removal of abandoned vehicles and to prevent the storage of vehicles on the roadway. …

I want to alert others about this, as I do not intend to take this sitting down. Is this some way for the city of Escondido to generate revenue? … Did they run out of homeless people to harass? If I cannot park my car in front of my own house, where can I park? It is my house and we do not have a large-enough driveway. Any suggestions?

Michele Erwin

Escondido

The week that was(n't)

In response to Thomas Cowan's letter (Letters, June 16) accusing me of mischaracterizing and not posting the entire "war is lost" quote from Harry Reid, I'll repeat the entire quote for him: "Now, I believe, myself, that the secretary of state, the secretary of defense ññ and you have to make your own decision as to what the president knows ññ that this war is lost and that the surge is not accomplishing anything, as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday." Did you notice the period at that end of the sentence, Mr. Cowan?

But for readers who are sick of this relentless misinformation propaganda campaign for Harry Reid, you don't need to take my word for it. You can simply type in "Harry Reid surrender" in YouTube to see the actual video. Who will they believe? Mr.Cowan or their lying eyes?

As Harry Reid continues to put his foot in his mouth week after week and his approval rating (19 percent) plummets below that of Mr. Nifong and the TB plane passenger, Mr. Cowan should realize that his relentless damage and spin control for Mr. Reid will require that he abandon whatever little credibility he may have left.

Frank Wilkes

Escondido

Liberals want even higher gas prices

Do you remember what happened last November when the liberals won control of Congress and immediately promised to hose the oil companies? Our gas prices shot up $1 a gallon. Well, now they are flapping their gums with more threats against the oil companies.

Does it ever end with these liberals? No matter how much money Pelosi, Boxer and Feinstein want to steal from the oil companies, oil profits will remain the same, meaning we can look forward to another round of $1-a-gallon increase in gas prices. I thought they were elected to serve the people, not to destroy jobs and rip purchasing power from us.

Charles Bondy

Encinitas

Putting things in Iraq into focus

Apparently, the majority of our population have no idea of the scale of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the 2007 edition of the CIA world fact book, Iraq has an area of 437,072 sq km (roughly twice the size of Idaho) and a population of 27 million (July 2007 estimate). Afghanistan has an area of 647,500 sq km, and a population of 31 million (July 2007 estimate).

By contrast the U.S.A. has an area of 9,629,091 sq km and a population of over 200 million. We have established over 100 military bases in Iraq and built the largest embassy in the world ññ capable of housing over 1,000 personnel on over 100 acres. Appears as if we intend to stay there for a while.

Considering that we, with our allies, defeated the entire German/Italian/Japanese Axis on a worldwide battlefield in less time than we have been fighting in Iraq, it is obvious that we are doing something wrong. But, then, we were fighting to liberate countries that wanted to be liberated from the Axis forces, not from us.

Incidentally, we seem to have more generals in Iraq than we had in WWII in the European and Pacific theaters combined.

William Eade

San Marcos

Voluntary water conservation

Because of the ongoing drought, we have been asked to voluntarily conserve water. This is always a wise thing to do since we do live in an area that most of our water is imported.

However, if mandatory residential water conservation comes about, a fair method would be to base household consumption conservation upon the actual number of residents, not upon a percentage of past usage. That punishes residents who have actually practiced conservation for whatever reason.

Roger Covalt

Poway

Why is iPhone front-page news?

North County Times, front page in big letters, "Eager customers snap up iPhones," June 30. Page 10, "China's legislature approves new labor law," June 30. Approval would help stop the use of children and adults as slaves (ya, right).

Maybe I'm old-school American, but this blind eye that is going on in this country when it comes to our representatives in Washington selling out the jobs of hardworking Americans to slave labor in China should be on the front page and not hidden within the ads. I have personally witnessed factories in Los Angeles change from garment manufacturing (sweatshops) to warehouses stored with the same clothing that used to be cut and sewn by cheap labor here, coming in from China, cut, sewed, packaged and with price tags ready for shipment to stores such as Wal-Mart. Even the illegal alien workers coming up from Mexico are losing their jobs to this sellout.

NCT, or any newspaper, should not hide the facts of trading with China (which is still a communist country and has slave labor), but should get the word out on the front page that there is something wrong in Washington when the American people are not the priority of our elected officials anymore and ask why.

Mike De Leo

Oceanside

A moving and honest memorial

Kent Davy's tribute in today's North County Times ("With death near, Joel says 'celebrate,'" June 30) is one of the most moving and honest memorials to the sad passing of a beautiful life that I have ever read. The poignancy of the parting is made all the more touching by the inclusion of the picture of Joel Davy, young, flirtatious, vibrant, full of life and clearly beaming all her love toward her beloved.

I'm sure that the lives of these two people have been uplifted by the love and the union that they have shared through these years. Our thanks to Kent Davy for sharing his pain, and thanks to the North County Times for publishing it.

Jack Cumming

Carlsbad

First step in taking back our country

Congratulations, America. The defeat of a bill that voters disagreed with is a first step to taking back our country!

Robert Neal

Oceanside

Stop building to save water

It's been another dry year in San Diego County, and I am waiting for the authorities to start admonishing us to use less water.

My suggested response: We will conserve water when you quit building new houses and businesses.

Steve Stults

Carlsbad

Destroying ourselves from within

Sheriff Joe Arpaio [Maricopa County, Ariz.] knows what he is doing and isn't politically correct. Here in California our prisons are run by the politically correct and have created Motel 6 prisons. This attitude of the California people has filled our prisons to the point they want to release them early so they can commit more criminal acts, which in some leads to murder.

You, as a newspaper, are at fault for not telling your readers the truth. I have fed you with enough information that a good editor could write a five-page editorial informing the people where the problem is ññ the judicial system. For starters, attack the judicial system that is a party to the murders committed in this state. Taking over 29 years to process a death penalty appeal is criminal. Keep in mind that the defense people have elongated the DP appeal and, because of this length of time in processing, are now starting to claim cruel and unusual punishment.

We are destroying ourselves from within.

George Cullins

Oceanside

War has been a disaster for Israel

In response to Robert Green's letter to the editor (Letters, July 1) titled "Bloomberg's strategy": Careful, Mr. Green, your prejudices are showing. I wonder what Mr. Green's tortured logic would be to explain Bloomberg's party switch if he were not Jewish?

The fact is, Bloomberg is a life-long Democrat, like me, maybe like Mr. Green too. He only became a Republican to win the mayoral race in Rudy's wake. If he's hoping to split a vote, it would be the Republican vote, since they have no decent candidate. Or maybe he wants to win. Or maybe he's not even going to run for president and is simply bailing on the Republicans, whom he only joined for a short time. Sometimes the easiest answer is correct.

Meanwhile, Mr. Green's characterization of the Iraq war as "Israel's war" is woefully ignorant. This war has been a disaster for Israel, creating a whole new generation of terrorists to attack them. At least they haven't been attacked with missiles as they were when Bush Sr. invaded Iraq. If he thinks tiny little Israel has any influence over whom the U.S. superpower makes war on, he is very confused. And if they did, they would have chosen Iran or Syria, not Iraq.

Al Lefcourt

Carlsbad

Freedom comes from within

Let me tell you about freedom. Freedom is the core idea of America. No, America didn't invent freedom, our founders just knew how precious, rare and vulnerable freedom is.

Freedom means that individuals can be who they strive to be, within societal limits (and others' same freedoms) and our own capabilities and limitations. Since freedom cultivates an aware social evolution, enabling personal development and growth, it's natural that our culture constantly changes.

There is no American Way, as if the nostalgic 1950s remembrances are some sort of norm. It was just a passing phase. Thomas Jefferson recognized and encouraged this constant evolving.

The right-wing bloviates about freedom ññ free to be how they think is normal. Like the Muslim fundamentalists, they are afraid of true freedom. They see it as evil, and that's a reflection of them. They need laws to stay civil. Rick Santorum dreams of man/dog sex if we allow gays to have freedom. That's a sick mind.

I believe mankind is inherently good. I believe all religions point to the same God and that God is rather passive. We are on our own to be good, and that takes a strength that Republicans don't believe in.

Richard Crews

Encinitas

Weasel while we work

Aren't those politicians lucky that there are two sets of laws in our land, one for the hardworking taxpayers and one for the weasels who commit crimes while in office? The really unfortunate thing is that they feel no shame.

An all-new low for Bush. He must be digging a hole pretty deep to go any lower.

Claudia Faulk

Vista

Haditha the tip of the iceberg

I was reading in a newspaper about Haditha, where a few of the … [servicemen] that some of us call heroes [allegedly] slaughtered innocent men, women and children. I realized that this was only the tip of a very large iceberg of dead Iraqis.

Then I realized that these heroes were only doing what they had been trained to do ññ kill people and blow things up. At least these men and women serving in Iraq realize that they are traveling thousands of miles to an occupied country where everyone hates them and wishes them dead and/or gone. Our average citizen seems to see things differently.

Since we have the planes, tanks and guns ññ the most powerful force on earth at the moment ññ I guess we think no one has the right to hate and kill us just because we are invading and destroying their country. All of us are taking part in this murderous (and cowardly) war for Iraqi oil and deserve whatever God and/or karma plans for us.

Eric Parish

Vista

Take the industry out of health care

Health care is now an industry that works only for the middlemen ññ the insurance companies that shape it and administer it, primarily for their own profit. In the process, they create confusion and paperwork galore, and they seriously degrade the quality and quantity of the care provided.

I am a provider as well as a consumer of health care services. However, I do not now have private health insurance, for me or for my family, because I have found that the restrictions and limitations of insurance companies and HMOs limit and distort my choices to the point that I wind up paying for the bulk of my health care out-of-pocket anyway.

A couple of generations ago, paying out-of-pocket was an acceptable and even satisfactory arrangement for most people. However, as costs have skyrocketed, and the system has become more complex, this is no longer prudent or even workable. … The irony is that the usual alternative ññ private or employment-related insurance ññ has been largely instrumental in driving up the costs, as well as in generating rampant complexity and confusion. The only way to make health care effective, efficient and fair is to get back to the concept of health care as a service, not an industry. … SB 840 is the closest approximation to this approach that has come down the pike in recent memory. … I support it wholeheartedly.

Bart Body

Cardiff-by-the-Sea

Fundraiser set for teen with cancer

This is an update on Danny Alonso and a continued plea for prayer and help.

Danny was diagnosed with liver cancer on June 9. He had surgery on June 18 and he had another surgery on June 25 to insert a central line for chemotherapy and a drain to his liver. The Kaiser doctors decided to do this because there are other new treatments they can try on Danny. Danny was doing well in recovery. We received an authorization on June 28 for Danny to be seen at City of Hope hospital. Your prayers are still very much needed. Thank you to everyone who is praying and helping with fundraising.

There will be a fundraiser at Claim Jumper restaurant in Temecula on July 9 from 4 to 10 p.m. and you must present a flier or this letter so that the proceeds can get to Daniel. Other fundraisers are in the planning with Richie's Diner, Rubio's, El Torito restaurant and Pizza Factory. If you can give, please make all deposits to Wells Fargo Bank Account #558-45-67100 for Daniel Alonso. All checks can be written to Daniel Alonso and the bank account number on the bottom and back of the check. If you have any questions or need more information, please call Jessica at (951) 303-2239 or (951) 440-9446.

Thank you from all the friends and family on behalf of Daniel Alonso.

Alfred and Jessica Maldonado

Temecula

Editor's note: The account number published in connection with the Alonsos on June 23 was incorrect.

Governor has changed since 1991

In the summer of 1991, my wife and I were standing on the corner of an intersection in Sun Valley, Idaho, waiting for the light to change. A bicycle rider stopped and turned his head away from us. Another rider who followed pushed his bike between the first rider and I, running over my foot and hitting my shin with his pedal.

He said, "Excuse me." I thought, "Who do you think you are?" followed by "I should wipe the smirk off of their faces." As they rode away my wife asked, "Do you know who that was?" I said, "No." "That was Arnold (Schwarzenegger)," she said. My pride thought, "He's lucky I didn't react!"

Do we always react on our thoughts? Last week, forest fires burned many homes. A news clip of Arnold showed him walking in ashes left from the fire. He picked up a dumbbell. He had curled thousands like it becoming Mr. Universe, making movies, and now as governor. He looked at, then dropped, the dumbbell -- without pumping it. His priorities changed. His expression was different from 1991. He showed concern.

My life has changed tremendously since following Christ. Paul told the Philippians in 3:8: "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ."

Have we changed and gained?

Stephen Harris

Sun City

Nation was founded on Christianity

"The Christian Life and Character" by Benjamin Morris (1864) and the real history of the United States will be a surprise to many (William Hidalgo, Letters, April 18) who think we were not founded as a Christian nation. Our founders learned from previous cultures, the theocracy of the Hebrew commonwealth, the Roman religious obligation to government, the Greek Republic with beauty and the arts, the British Empire with its national aggrandizement and selfishness of the feudal system, and the atheistic evil of the French.

The persecutions in England, the conflicts in Germany by Luther, in Geneva by Calvin, and in Scotland by Knox were all considered and our country established as the Christian ideal where government could not dictate the particular sect of Christianity as an official religion, as in England, but that it would be under the direct influence of Christianity. "Separation of church and state," by Thomas Jefferson's meaning -- and corrupted by the court -- meant state separated from the church, not church from state, but state underpinned by Christianity.

John Quincy Adams said, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: It connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity." Even since the early 1800s there have been those who have willingly meant to remove Christianity through socialism by the establishment of public education methodology.

Today, we see the result in our schools of inadequately prepared students, brainwashed in evolutionary doctrine, homosexuality, abortion and all things anti-Christian that were not our founders' intent.

Irvin H. Forbing

Escondido

No additional gasoline taxes

Many times it's been said that we could add a gas tax to support the city as if it would help a broader base of people who receive any city services. Why has it not been said that all of us would pay too much if we did it? The companies being taxed would raise prices so that even people who use public transportation would pay more. There would be a cascading of various price increases with many companies passing on their cost increases to their customers in order to stay in business. The big oil companies would not be making any less profit and everyone would be paying more for less.

This idea of additional gas taxes costs too much. No additional taxes would help a broader base of people.

Maureen Christian

Murrieta

Ginsburg not 'moderate' in real world

Excuse Ellen Goodman, but her liberal bias slip was showing when she said: "(Justice) Ruth Bader Ginsburg was always called a moderate." ("Court's lone woman evolves," June 29). Maybe in Massachusetts, when compared to Kennedy, Kerry, Frank, et al. In the rest of the country, aka the real world, "moderate" would hardly be used to describe this former lead counsel of our America-loving friends at the ACLU.

I guess liberalism is a mental disorder. It certainly has distorted that columnist's view of the world.

Jeffrey A. Gorman

Winchester

Evolution's pillars are crumbling

I thought that Paul Wanson hit the nail on the head with his June 30 letter, "Evolution lacks basic credibility."

Yes, the pillars supporting the Darwinian theory are collapsing as we learn more about the complexity of the cell, DNA chemistry and examine the fossil record over the last 150 years.

However, there is not much I can say that will persuade minds that have already concluded evolution to be a fact, rather than a theory. In fact, Darwinian evolution is still a theory, not a scientific fact. A theory is a plausible explanation, but there's no firm basis to teach it in our schools as factual, and the only source of our origin. It is OK to teach as a theory, as long as other "origins" are taught as well. In the interest of diversity, let's teach all theories and let the students decide.

If you truly believe that life came from non-life billions of years ago with lightning striking primordial soup to form the first unicellular organism that eventually evolved over billions of years into the variety of life forms you see today, forming the male and counterpart female of the various species, and through chance and circumstance organisms became more and more complex and produced humanity that is capable of destroying all of life 50 times over in a nuclear war, then I'd like to talk with you about buying 50 acres of land out in the Mojave desert.

Edward Vargo

Temecula

Fresh from the Web

Two killed in fiery crash at McClellan-Palomar Airport

Readers respond to our July 4 story about a plane slamming into power lines just after takeoff from McClellan-Palomar Airport on Tuesday, killing the pilot and passenger in a fiery crash that narrowly missed two maintenance workers on the city's new golf course below.

Very sad

bleovao: "My husband works across from the airport. I was deeply saddened when I learned about the plane crash. With deepest sympathy … "

Ground the planes

Too Many: "Too may crashes, time to shut this airport down! Just a big danger to all who live in North County."

Medical issues?

Howie: "For all we know, there was a medical emergency that contributed to the crash. You have to have all the switches in the right place, too, or you may lose fuel to an engine during a critical moment. Glad nobody else was hurt. It could have been a lot worse."

Keep flying

no name: "My sympathy to this family. Many lives were changed due to an awful accident. Keep in mind for all those who want the airport shut down - 12 accidents in almost 40 years. Come on. Keep the airport open, move out the nuts. I live in the flight path and since I know a little about flying, I am not concerned at all."

In our hearts

friend: "Both men will be terribly missed, I knew them both and they were doing what they loved, accidents happen anywhere anytime, lets remember them and stop blaming the unknown."

Engine trouble?

Yeager: "I would suspect that the NTSB will look at the possibly of engine failure. That twin had two engines. If one failed on takeoff, it would not be unusual for the plane to descend and turn right and hit those power lines. Condolences to the family … "

Plane crash into power lines prompts energy warning

Readers respond to our July 4 story about how Tuesday's fatal plane crash near McClellan-Palomar Airport also destroyed a key power line, taxing the state's power grid just as a heat wave moved in.

Priorities?

Osider: "Power alert? Oh my God! People lost their lives and NCT is worried about a power alert?"

Irreplaceable

Cheryl: "This article concentrated on the impact and damage to the 'towers that can be replaced'! Those two lives can NOT be replaced!"

Life does go on

What?: "While my sympathies go to the families and friends of the two people lost in this crash I don't understand your anger at this story. There is another story specifically about the plane crash. The loss of these two people will affect a couple of hundred lives at most. The power issue will affect millions. Plus, those millions need to be encouraged to try and conserve energy to help prevent overloading of the system. Hate to be the one to tell you this but you are about to get one of the fundamental life lessons. That lesson is life goes on even when a loved ones life doesn't."

Forum: Thanks to MiraCosta's Loyal Opposition

Readers respond to a July 4 community forum by Diane Bessell, former member MiraCosta board of trustees, praising the faithful consistency of the MiraCosta faculty who opposed the recent controversial actions of the college's president and majority trustees.

Lighter wallet

taxpayer: " 'They dissented when this president's 'style' proved totally incompatible with the school's deepest values - a collegial model.' In other words, she wanted to be 'the boss,' and the faculty who previously ran the campus, and ran former presidents, didn't like it. Past presidents caved, why wouldn't she? So, they get rid of her - at my expense. Thank you, faculty. Thank you for double-dipping into my pocket simply because you did not 'like' your new boss."

One on one

divide and conquer: "Divide and conquer is exactly how Richart dealt with the board members all the way through. Individual meetings to 'work' them - and the board buffoons bought into it. Richart stroked the board members egos and promised 'massive fraud' but couldn't produce it (according to D.A.), except for her own benefit. Massive egos keep the board members from admitting their errors."

Who's the boss?

to "taxpayer": "OK, let me get this straight - the 'boss' wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars in investigating a $305 loss (despite the faculty's warnings), then shook down the trustees for over a million dollars, and you think it's the faculty's fault? Maybe you need a reality check … "