Veteran sees ruthlessness of Rove
Karl Rove, who never served in the military, and Dick Cheney,
who was unavailable for service since he had
”
other priorities,
”
openly attacked Kerry on many fronts, including Kerry’s service
in Vietnam. The
”
Swift Boat
”
group were as
”
objective
”
as Karl Rove.
Veteran sees ruthlessness of Rove
Karl Rove, who never served in the military, and Dick Cheney, who was unavailable for service since he had “other priorities,” openly attacked Kerry on many fronts, including Kerry’s service in Vietnam. The “Swift Boat” group were as “objective” as Karl Rove.
To be critical of John Kerry’s wear record and his eventual post-Vietnam anti-war activity is symptomatic of the ruthless attacks made by Rove’s GOP propaganda machine. The U.S. Navy does not award Silver Stars without thorough investigation. However, the Swift Boat group, with urging from Rove, had a field day inciting veterans questioning Kerry’s service. Many of us saw the futility of this senseless war, as I did at the time and spoke out in protest to help shorten the conflict, although I served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War.
George Bush rushed us into a non-winnable war, under false pretenses, without proper preparation, and with no plan to secure the borders or even the streets of Baghdad (other than the oil ministry).
When it was his time to serve, he enlisted the service of an influential family friend to secure a billet in the Texas National Guard. While Kerry was seeing combat, Bush opted to let his medical certification lapse, although there was a dire need for combat pilots in Vietnam.
Which one of these men has the moral courage to lead our country to war or peace. I would not leave it to Karl Rove to provide the answer.
Pat Ash
Hollister
D.A. doing great harm
I talked to Mr. Keith at M K Ballistic Systems Inc. some time ago about the visit he had by thirty members of our bureaucracy. Even though the two reasons that they used to obtain the search warrant were found to be false, I was told, they did not do the rational thing by apologizing and leaving, but, apparently embarrassed, tried to find something incriminating.
I understand this is Mr. Keith’s take on the issue, but I’ve known him for years. He is a conscientious citizen and employer with an extensive background in the munitions industry, stemming from his college days, where he was one of the first to graduate specializing in the properties of explosives. He is one of two or three prominent experts in this community.
I don’t see how civil servants can measure his competence.
Mr. Keith has plied the treacherous path of red tape and endured regular inspections by the BATF, State Fire, County Planning and Sheriff in order to maintain the many licenses and permits it takes to run such a business (manufacturing munitions for law enforcement and the military).
Mr. Sarsfield has labeled Mr. Keith as a “bomb builder” an epithet carrying grave weight in this era of Homeland Security. Yes, but for Law Enforcement Agencies, to be used in destroying terrorist bombs!
Should we not be supporting companies which furnish us with the tools to fight terrorism?
Mr. Sarsfield is doing America and San Benito County a great harm in my opinion.
Bill Colburn
Hollister
Main Street is Place’s toy
As a former resident in the San Benito-Salinas area, I used to look forward to keeping tabs on my old stomping grounds by catching the Pinnacle on its Web site. It was gratifying to see a small town paper with a “free voice” grapple with the problems of open space, infrastructure needs, fiscal challenges, and local issues that affected all San Benito county residents. Indeed, the Pinnacle used to win statewide journalistic awards for their incisive reporting and excellent human-interest story selections. This was the Pinnacle that lived up to its name.
Lately, however, with the muzzling of reporting under the pretense of “End[ing] the Personal Attacks” the Pinnacle has now inverted its image. It no longer strives to scale the peaks in pursuit of truth. It now seems content with taking the path of least resistance, like run-off water running down the lowest gully it can find. Outside forces are reshaping The Pinnacle from a real newspaper into a shopping flyer with nothing of any serious content. This is more than lamentable: this is censorship, plain and simple and ugly. And this must not stand.
First amendment rights seem a trifle trite, in the papers that Richard Place runs, and those who oppose him are sure to get poisoned, and often are treated like Huns.
Column cancellations and intimidations have now become Main Street Media decorations that adorn the halls and smoke-filled rooms in the location that Place and Dick built.
Richard Stoeltzing
Napa
Henry likely boarded a boat
Just a correction … Ms. Barrett in her Feb. 26 article about Miller and Lux states that Henry bought a rail ticket. The transcontinetal railroad wasn’t built until the late 1860s or 1870s. Treadwell, in “The Cattle King,” says that Henry bought passage on a boat.
Just want to get the record straight on Mr. Miller.
Dabney Smith
Park Ranger
Mt. Madonna Co. Park
Gilroy
Telling the story is irresponsible
I wanted to respond to Patrick O’Donnell’s article, “Lives are needlessly lost Helmets are given away in some local cities, so why are children still dying?”
Devon Estrada is my cousin, and I didn’t appreciate that the writer didn’t take the time to get his facts correct. Devon was indeed supervised. The fact that this was stated in your paper just gives the impression that his parents are irresponsible. I think this was very hurtful to myself and to his family.
This writer didn’t get all the facts straight. I feel like the cause of his death is being blamed solely on him and had nothing to do with the fact that he was hit by an SUV of a woman who stopped 25 feet from where his body laid. Or the fact that he was 2 feet away from the sidewalk and was in the crosswalk when he was hit. I think this was a very tragic accident but I also thinks it shouldn’t have been used as an example if it was going to be portrayed as the reason why he died was because he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Obviously this writer didn’t take the time to get all the facts straight and offended a lot of people. I agree that regardless Devon should have been wearing a helmet, but if you were walking down the street and a SUV hit you it would have been the same outcome.
Erica Sanchez
Hollister
Editor’s note: The facts The Pinnacle reported are based on reports from the Hollister Police Department.
Another ‘badlands’ has been created
There are many badlands around this great country. In South Dakota, they made a National Park around one. Our own Anza-Borrego Desert State Park has it’s own. The City of Los Angeles almost created another in the Owens Valley by piping all its water south. Badlands are caused by erosion.
The badlands I am reporting on exists all around us. They are caused by the erosion of the freedoms that we hold dear in this county: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press. Whenever those in power start to pretty things up, sweeping them under the rug or washing their hands, new badlands are created.
When Pappas Telecasting offered $325,000 worth of free television time to Central Valley Republicans while offering $125,000 of the public’s airways on one Spanish-language station to Democratic central committees in the Bay Area, as they did in 2004, our freedoms eroded and new badlands were created.
When members of Congress use their Franking privilege to target voters in key districts, as California Rep. Richard Pombo did in Michigan in the 2004 election, new badlands are created.
When the press takes what a Republican candidate says, matches it with what their Democratic Opponent says without asking if either makes any sense, the reliance of the public on a free press has been eroded and a new badlands created.
When reporters are silenced, dropped, fired or shunted off to write obituaries because what they wrote was not popular, our freedoms are eroded and a new badlands created.
Wes Rolley
Gilroy
Papers have no ties to Hollister
I can’t believe you would let Kate Woods go. Your paper can’t get any lower. Who are you in bed with?
Please drop my address off your list. I’ll file charges with the police department for trespassing.
I’m also disappointed in Kate Woods for selling out to you. There’s no word to describe how low you’ve stooped.
Please keep your newspaper in Gilroy. The Free Lance and The Pinnacle have no ties to Hollister. Get out?
Lenore Perrett
Hollister
Is ‘another newspaper’ pulling Pinnacle’s strings?
I opened the Pinnacle News to find chaos! Kate Woods Badlands has been banished because it is an election year. Kate is a wonderful writer and reporter and that is evident in her style and wit. As a reporter she writes clearly and gets the facts right. As a newspaper, the Pinnacle feels it needs to do what is best for us, the readers. Heaven knows what could happen in an election year! Are we supposed to believe that?
I wonder if The Pinnacle News cares about its readership. Maybe we should just “follow the money.” Does this newspaper have ties to another newspaper that might have more weight in what they want to see in a newspaper? I watched this newspaper go from a small gossip paper to a nicer California award-winning paper that had very informative and well-researched articles. With current ownership, I see more articles with less quality. I would hate to see this newspaper become the Wal-Mart of the newspaper world.
I just wonder if monetary forces (partnerships, etc.) are driving this idea of getting rid of the “soul” of this newspaper. Its character is slowly being destroyed. After all, character is what makes things interesting.
The readership is what drives this newspaper, not the other way around. Bring Kate Woods back to the Pinnacle News.
Lorrie Morrison
Hollister
Woods issue points to sad state of Constitution
It came as no surprise to read about Kate Woods being silenced to neutralize the mudslinging between her and the potential candidates and political sect. This “Silence of the Kate” only proves that our Constitution is more like a document of guidelines. Don’t do as I do, do as I say.
Whether one considers Kate to be a satirist, humorist, or just an ornery person is debatable but, nevertheless she delighted some readers for years, just as did the former ‘Our Man Friday’ Bob Valenzuela. Kate and Bob are probably on more hate lists than one would rather believe and maybe the cause of anger stems from some truth and false observations but, it is or was entertaining.
François-Marie Arouet, more popularly known as Voltaire was chastised for his repartee was exiled and imprisoned but continued to freely express his philosophy about life even on his deathbed. After 300 years his quotes still provide amusement. One quote from his Essay on Tolerance reads, “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.”
Daniel T. Maese
Hollister
The terrorists have won
When someone mentions gangs to you, what do you think of? I have been wondering when the authorities, the local governments, and the public at large for that matter, would start identifying gangs for what they really are. They are urban terrorists. That’s right, terrorists.
Most people I talk to fear local gangs more than Osama Bin Forgotten. Remember when Mr. Bush told us on Sept. 12, to “shop, go out, and live as normal and don’t let the terrorists win.” Well, with the cancellation of the Hollister Rally on the premise that the gangs were too big a risk, the terrorists have won.
The gangs have not only stolen our way of life, our peace and quiet, our safety and security, and driven home values down in many areas, they have also stolen our ability to have annual events in one of the last small towns in America. Nice.
So here’s what I say to the city council, you let the terrorists take a great event from us – you let them win. Now 150,000 people with pockets full of money will have to find someplace else to visit, some other town that isn’t willing to let thugs steal their way of life, or their good time. Just my two cents.
Preston W. Kincaid
Hollister
Censorship is bad business
I am happy to see the outpouring of letters in support of Kate Woods in this week’s Pinnacle. I am kicking myself for not immediately writing my own letter last week after reading your shocking editorial about putting Kate on hiatus. Your readers spoke eloquently about why it is so wrong to eliminate her column (“Gagging Woods disservice to community,” “Censoring Woods is ill-advised,” “Pinnacle has lost is spine,” etc.).
Let me give you a business reason as to the importance of Kate’s column. I only started looking at the Pinnacle in the last three to four months. I subscribe to the Morgan Hill Times and have, to some degree, ignored the free Pinnacle that shows up on my driveway on Saturdays. A couple of months ago I came upon Kate’s column thumbing through your paper. I was delighted that a newspaper would have the courage to feature a columnist who challenges the conventional wisdom about local and national government. I looked forward every week to her column and naturally started reading the rest of the paper which, of course, exposed me to your advertising messages. I even considered stopping my Morgan Hill Times subscription; why get two papers when the Pinnacle was meeting my local news needs?
With your decision to eliminate the Badlands column, I am likely to regress to my old ways of discarding the Pinnacle into the recycling bin, and continue on with the Morgan Hill Times.
Kenneth E. Johnson
Morgan Hill
Great local talent showcased at Ridgemark
For four weekends, the San Benito Stage Company is offering an opportunity to step outside your normal form of weekend entertainment. My husband and I had a rare night out and we went to see “Arsenic and Old Lace,” a play performed by what could be some of your very friends and neighbors.
It was held at Ridgemark and was a dinner theater presentation. Ridgemark served a nice buffet dinner and dessert. The show provided some great laughs and showcased talent that you may not know exists right here in our big little city of Hollister. Try something different, put the remote control down and support your local arts scene.
Amelia Souza-Hatcher
Hollister
Woods decision costs another reader
The only reason I read the pinnacle is Kate Wood’s column. While I don’t always agree with her views, I find her column witty, trenchant and timely. And those who hate her column obviously read it just as religiously as those of us who love it, which really goes to the bottom line. You see, I’d read the whole paper, saving Kate Woods for last, which exposed me to your advertisers, which is why they pay for add space, right? But now, without Kate, the Pinnacle will go from the driveway, direct to the recycle bin.
Steve Harkness
Morgan Hill
Censoring Woods is ‘shameful’
Firstly, thank you for printing all the letters castigating the Pinnacle for removing Kate’s Badland’s column. It shows you have not entirely moved to the dark side of the force. Yet.
I expected to see many congratulatory missives from the GOP/right-wing/neo-con side of the fence and am a bit surprised at their absence. Sorry, I don’t mean to generalize or demonize, obviously not all of the above groups were against her. When I read that editorial I felt punched in the gut, as if I myself had just been fired. I waited a week to say anything to see what may transpire, but ever since this paper started showing up in my mailbox years ago it is the only newspaper I read, and I trusted both the former editor’s and owner’s grasp of responsible journalism, especially for a free small-town paper. The writers are what makes your paper special.
Kate was the most obvious talent, and yes, I admit I agree with her all the way down the line on Bush, politicians in general, etc. Nevertheless, this blatant, heavy-handed move at censorship is transparent and shameful. As with any channel on television that offends, it should not be removed but ignored or switched off by those who deem it offensive.
But I must heartily join the chorus of protest for this weak-excused and ill-considered decision. I have long been a fan of the Pinnacle and hope to stay one, but then that decision is being made for me by others now.
Chuck Gauger
Morgan Hill
A rose by any other name
I was discouraged to hear of Kate Woods’ dismissal – call it what you may – but then encouraged to see letters from all corners of the political boxing ring calling for her return. Add me to that list.
I don’t always agree with her views or style, but let’s be really honest with ourselves: one thing every town needs is a s–t stirrer – someone unafraid to poke at the crust of the inconvenient facts most of us aren’t brave enough to mess with. Sounds unappealing, doesn’t it? Really, it’s even worse if people like her are gone or silenced.
Reid Fisher
San Martin
You’re as mediocre as the Dispatch
Please add my name to the list of disappointed readers of your paper. Kate Woods was a breath of fresh air for those of us who read between the lines. Censorship it seems, is always imposed on the people who search for the truth. Especially if they do it with style and wit. Your paper is falling into mediocrity, alongside of the Gilroy Dispatch.
Tom Engebretson
Gilroy
Withdraw all our troops from Iraq
For: Our troops, the Iraqi people who voted in the elections.
Against: Bush/Cheney, Republicans who support them, Al Qaida, Hamas, Bush’s Axis of Evil, Suicide bombers in Iraq, and China and Japan because they gain wealth from the interest on larger and larger loans to the U.S.
W
hat is the sensible course of action, in the best interest of the American people?
Frank Crosby
Morgan Hill
Main Street and Place, true bedfellows
I’m confused. First a Pinnacle editorial, with no byline but in the spot where Badlands used to be, tells us Kate Woods is being shifted to north county where she won’t annoy anyone with her accurate reporting during the election year.
Then Richard Place is given a whole article to respond to supposed discrepancies in one of Kate’s articles, but as far as I can see he did nothing but rehash the original article. Then half the town, including (GOP leader) Jennifer Zapata (way to go, girl!), wrote in to complain about Kate being gagged and Badlands shut down. But wait – in the same edition there’s a headline story about Pekin and Los V’s, co-written by Kate!
Dear Pinnacle, what on Earth is going on over there? Did you sneak in that whole article, including Kate’s name, under the noses of whoever is trying to stifle you? Who IS Main Street Media, anyway, and if they thought the Pinnacle was so great when they bought it, why didn’t they leave it alone?
If the people who are made to look stupid by Kate’s articles would stop doing stupid things, her articles would probably stop making them look stupid. And if “Los Valientes” are so valiant, why are they hiding? And whatever made Mr. Pekin, a lawyer, think he could file a lawsuit anonymously in the first place?
One last question: who needs reality TV? Not us – we live in Hollister!
Carolyn Johnson
Hollister
Woods is best part of paper
Kate Wood is the best part of your paper. She is funny and entertaining, and gives your paper a big-town feel. Instead of just writing about things going on around town, which she also does well, she writes about the bigger picture of national politics.
I have gotten some belly laughs from her writing reminiscent of Herb Caen.
Bring her back.
Patti Blomquist
Gilroy
Another reader boycotts Pinnacle
I think that it is a shame that you have stopped the voice in the wilderness. The column by Kate Woods was some times abrasive, and sometimes opinionated, and not always refreshing. It was, however,the most interesting part of the paper for many, if not most readers. She may have rubbed a few folks the wrong way, but she did give us all a good view of her slant on the local politics, like it or not. I’m sorry to see her banished and I will probably send the paper to the waste basket, because of my unhappiness with this decision.
David Barton
Gilroy
Badlands was the best thing in Pinnacle
With the deepest sadness I’ve felt since ‘W’ assumed the presidency, I gazed upon my hermetically-sealed Pinnacle knowing the Badlands column would not be there to enlighten and amuse me.
At four, I was reading the Atlanta Constitution/Journal. I am a voracious reader of all print – most recently subscribing to the Washington Post – another newspaper that’s caved under the Bush administration. I should have kept a diary of the tiny, one-inch bits buried on the back pages that feebly noted each action further eroding our democracy and gutting our laws. Yeah, the big, bad Post prostituted itself to gain access to the administration.
Discovering the Badlands was like finding a friend the first day in a new school. It is most original and clever regardless of any political point. Saturdays used to hold a special joy as I anticipated arrival of your paper. Today was so different.
In my opinion, Badlands was the best thing going for your paper.
People may threaten not to read a publication, but controversy engages people and sometimes sells newspapers, and we hope, enlightenment. Dennis Taylor certainly made the Dispatch more interesting to read.
Jodi Avery
Gilroy
Councilman wants Badlands
I wish to thank the Pinnacle Staff for their strong support for Kate Woods. After last weeks bombshell regarding Kate’s reassignment, eight Pinnacle Newspaper reporters showed their support for Kate by making their presence in Judge Tobias’s courtroom for the next LV court date. This show of solidarity was a breath of fresh air with all the bizarre events happening in San Benito County.
However, there is another story that needs to be told. What were the events that lead up to Kate’s reassignment? What were the events that influenced this “Media Management” to take such action? Who politically was forcing these changes? Who were these individuals that demanded Kate’s removal? Were current or past county supervisors instrumental in this action? Does this Media Management group know how they have damaged the integrity of a well defined and established newspaper? Has Kate’s civil rights been violated?
Let’s remember, our great nation was designed so that we might rise above the din of special interest, and protect against the trampling of the truth.
In my opinion, Kate’s ability to view and develop a meaningful news story is a real gift. I challenge the “Media Management “to apologize to the public and especially to Kate Woods. Let’s reinstate Kate and bring back the Badlands.
Chuck Geiger
City Councilman, San Juan Bautista
