Dems not for Velazquez
On behalf of the San Benito County Democratic Central Committee,
I wish to respond to two recent mailings received by registered
Democrats in our county, and presumably throughout the 28th
Assembly District. In these mailings, it is suggested that
Democrats should support Republican Ignacio Velazquez for State
Assembly.
The first mailing came with the heading
”
Democrats for Velazquez
”
and was signed by Robert Scattini. The most recent mailing
details traditional Democratic concerns – the needs of working
people, public education, and accessible health care – and claims
that the Democratic candidates have lost sight of these
concerns.
We want to make it clear that no one on our committee is
supporting Mr. Velazquez’s bid for the Assembly, and we cannot
imagine why anyone with Democratic values would do so. If for no
other reason, sending another Republican to Sacramento would
jeopardize what protection we now have against Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s attacks on working Californians, on public
schools, on labor unions, and on public employees’ pensions – a
majority of actual Democrats in the state legislature, not
Republicans campaigning as Democrats in targeted literature.
Jeanie M. Wallace,
chair San Benito County Democratic Central Committee
Dems not for Velazquez
On behalf of the San Benito County Democratic Central Committee, I wish to respond to two recent mailings received by registered Democrats in our county, and presumably throughout the 28th Assembly District. In these mailings, it is suggested that Democrats should support Republican Ignacio Velazquez for State Assembly.
The first mailing came with the heading “Democrats for Velazquez” and was signed by Robert Scattini. The most recent mailing details traditional Democratic concerns – the needs of working people, public education, and accessible health care – and claims that the Democratic candidates have lost sight of these concerns.
We want to make it clear that no one on our committee is supporting Mr. Velazquez’s bid for the Assembly, and we cannot imagine why anyone with Democratic values would do so. If for no other reason, sending another Republican to Sacramento would jeopardize what protection we now have against Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attacks on working Californians, on public schools, on labor unions, and on public employees’ pensions – a majority of actual Democrats in the state legislature, not Republicans campaigning as Democrats in targeted literature.
Jeanie M. Wallace,
chair San Benito County Democratic Central Committee
Hit piece product of ‘silly’ minds
I received a pamphlet paid for by “Friends of the Constitution” that lists allegations unfavorable to Tracie Cone, a candidate for election to out Board of Supervisors. These allegations seem mostly based on suspicion and supposition except for Ms. Cone’s support of Measure G.
Considering all the money and allegations devoted to opposing Measure G, and some of the actions of our present supervisors, what the above pamphlet purports to disclose seems pretty silly. Being a bit suspicious myself, I suspect that Ms. Cone’s biggest “fault” had been her stand for slow and controlled growth in our county.
John Blake
Hollister
Mailer is nonsense
Heated discussion and differences of opinion can be expected during an election, but the nonsense in the mailer by the so-called “Friends of the Constitution” is a different story.
For those of you who are new to the community, Tracie Cone and her staff, when she owned The Pinnacle, gave the $37,000 recovered from Joe Felice to non-profit and charitable San Benito County organizations. These included the After School program formed by the SBC Library and Librarian Jo Wahdan to prevent students from joining gangs, the Wildlife Center, Community Pantry, and others.
In fact, if the “Friends” and the Milita are so concerned about the community we could ask them to prove it by matching Tracie’s $37,000 in charitable donations.
The bottom line is that as owner and editor of the Pinnacle, she made sure that the 55 non-profit and charitable organizations were always given free space in The Pinnacle to announce their fund-raisers and activities. People saying otherwise either don’t know the facts, or don’t care about them.
Dian Wood Picone
Hollister
Anti-gang? Of course!
Art Cantu has a full page add in the local newspapers here. It states “Endorsed by the Department of Justice, special agents, and statewide law enforcement organizations. Also it states “Had enough of gangs in San Benito County?” Well of course we have! But he keeps putting them back on the street!
His job has a defense attorney is to get them lighter sentences or drop the charges. So we still have the same problem! Now he says put them in prison where they belong? Well I’m all for that, but is Mr. Cantu? But I guess anything is better than Sarfield who files criminal charges on nobody.
Melanie Rodriguez
Hollister
Commie paper, writers, movie reviewers …
I live in Morgan Hill and just happened across The Pinnacle the other day. I am amazed that such a blatantly left-wing publication exists in our lovely area.
Does your readership actually believe and endorse the sly and not so sly leftist, anti-American slant of your newspaper?
As an example…what is the word “retaliatory” doing in a supposed non-political movie review of the film, Flight 93? Even the mainline, left leaning press has not been so self-serving as to label the terrorist attacks on 9-11 as “an organized effort to inflict retaliatory pain on the United States.” Is the column, “He Said, She Said”, in the May 7 issue a movie review or some sick anti-American political statement?
In the same issue, the OP-ED column by John Yewell was ridiculously insulting to everyone who is not a “card-carrying, knee-jerk liberal.” The man is eloquent and amusing but where is the truth? Do your readers not wonder that, when he cites the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll citing that the “party in power” has the lowest approval rating “posted in nine years of records”, that Mr. Clinton and his lock-step Democrats had been at the helm of state for well into two terms nine years ago?
I pray that your readers are aware of what is being foisted on them in their local newspaper.
Diane C. Dawson
Morgan Hill
Raider Nation speaks
In response to sports editor John Bagley’s “draft day dummy”. I guess that’s why you work for this liberal newspaper. Liberal and ignorant. You say Heisman Trophy winner, yeah. And? Well, if you follow pro football at all, the Raiders have had their share of Heisman Trophy winners – Plunkett, Allen and Brown. But most have been mediocre at best and even some flops. My point is, Heisman Trophy winner doesn’t mean free ride into the NFL. In fact, some Heisman winners don’t even make it to the big show. So don’t quit your job yet. There’s plenty of Pop Warner games and high school athletics for your to report on.
Just because Michael Irvin says so, doesn’t have much credibility in my mind. Did you forget or were you born yet, Irvin is a crack head, great receiver, but always a crack head. So think about who you get this info from next time, then make your decision, because the only “dummy” here – well I wont go there. So just don’t automatically jump on the Al Davis bashing bandwagon before you do your homework. By the way you couldn’t be a Niner fan are you?
Ron Ramirez
Morgan Hill
Corrupt Congress targets seniors
Assessing lifetime penalties on our senior citizens for missing the May 15th deadline to sign up for the Medicare drug benefit is just criminal. The only people who are benefiting from this so-called fix of the Medicare prescription drug plan are the big pharmaceutical companies and the crooks in Congress who took their money in exchange for passing this sham of a reform plan.
The deadline should be cancelled, and then we need a real overhaul of our Medicare system that puts people first and corporate influence second. But most of all Americans must start caring enough about themselves, their neighbors and our country to get out and vote. The corruption in Congress that is making more headlines every day has run rampant because we have not been paying attention to what is going on in our government. It is time for a change, but it will take informed people showing up at the polls in June and November to make it happen.
Jan Saxton
Aromas
Birch Society watches borders
I notice the John Birch Society has concentrated their entire focus on their nationwide campaign to secure our borders and oppose ANY open borders legislation in Congress, such as amnesty or “guest worker” bills, being promoted by the anti-American leaders we have been cursed with in The White House and congress.
The Birch Society, I also notice, is working with The Minuteman volunteers, now protecting our borders, and through educational efforts is providing back-up public pressure on Congress to stop this scandalous open borders sell-out of our republic by our own leaders who are obviously front men for their New World Order Globalist bosses.
Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colorado, a hero of the movement to secure our borders (and incidentally no longer welcome by the subversive White House crowd for obvious reasons), has warned that over 51 Mideast terrorist suspects have been arrested crossing our southern borders which I feel indicates the greater clear and present danger. I wish to absolutely urge ALL concerned citizens to go to The John Birch Society website at www. JBS.org (or call: 1-800-JBS-USA-1 for free petition) and sign, download, or circulate the “Petition to Members of Congress” to secure our borders – Time is short !
Ed Nemechek
Landers
Take the survey
As a 26-year resident of San Benito County, I am somewhat suspicious of the massive El Rancho San Benito development that is currently being pushed to local residents. While I think that master planned communities can be positive, I am concerned about the impact that this would have primarily due to its location.
Although there are a lot of promises being made about creating jobs and attracting businesses, the likely reality is that the vast majority of the residents will be commuting to somewhere in Santa Clara county and spending most of their money there as well. While there attention will be elsewhere, they will vote in San Benito County on issues that affect the entire county.
While I am suspicious, I am also trying to keep an open mind. This is somewhat difficult since all the information I see from the developer looks like a political add. As an example, take a look at the survey that was mailed to residents and is available at their website (http://www.elranchosanbenito.com/survey/).
Outside of question 1, who would oppose these statements? This survey should be insulting to any resident and I urge everyone to let them know by using the comment box. Tell them to prepare a survey that shows they are truly interested and not a bunch of fluff that they can use to get the project approved.
Mark West
Hollister
Thanks to carriers
I would like to send a very big thanks to the postal carriers and all who donated last Saturday to their annual food drive. We received 8,155 pounds of food from their efforts. This is an increase over last year by about 1.100 lbs! With summer coming and kids home from school, the need is higher among families. This will help us to fill that gap!
We do appreciate the generosity of our postal carriers and our community. P.S.: we are going out to collect the signs placed around town to advertise the event. If we miss one in your neighborhood, please remove it or let us know at 637-0340 and we will be by to get it. Thank You, thank you, thank you.
Mary Anne Hughes
Hollister
Bill the Mexican government
Maybe when we start billing the Mexican Government for all of the welfare, childcare, medical and all of the other subsidies that these people are getting he’ll do something about keeping his side of the border controlled. Any one who commits a criminal act and has come across the border illegally whether they are Mexican or not, start billing the Mexican Government for the amount that it costs us to house, feed and clothe them, maybe then he’ll do something about keeping his side of the border controlled. Why do we have to bear all of the responsibility? You wanna play You gotta pay.
Dawn Eason
Hollister, CA
Mother’s Day lost in the spin
I do not celebrate Mother’s Day. Other than enjoying berry waffles with my son and cleaning the highway for Adopt-A-Highway and my daughter’s business, this Sunday is just another day on my calendar.
Originally Mothers protested for peace and against the Civil War. They proclaimed, “Our husbands shall not come to us reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.” They proclaimed further, “Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.”
Where are those Mothers today? Although we do have a few: “Women In Black,” “Hollister In Black,” “Code Pink” and “Raging Grannies.” This Bush Administration has marginalized us that speak the truth.
Where are those ministers, priests, and rabbis who honor mothers in their congregations? How can they honor mothers and not the sons and daughters who march off to war needlessly? How can they honor mothers and ignore the indescribable suffering that awaits them?
When Mothers courageously, indignantly, and protectively speak out for their sons and daughters and reclaim Mother’s Day for what it was intended, then I will joyously celebrate the day.
Mary Zanger
Hollister
Conservative’s view of civil rights
The far left has for at least two generations sought to indoctrinate our children through infiltration into the monopoly known as public education. I went to Las Animas School in Gilroy in the early 1970s, and I most clearly remember when in fifth and sixth grades we were all subjected to a film and a brief lecture about racial discrimination (against blacks and Mexicans, of course, boo hoo). Some do-gooder was brought in to go from classroom to classroom and tell us how unfair everything is (my heart bleeds). This was clearly indoctrination, not education, and is exactly the reason for which no religious denomination is permitted to force its views in public schools.
A bill by state Senate Democrat Sheila Kuehl just passed state Senate committee that would force every public school curriculum to include homosexual “contributions.” In other words, special attention will be given to historical figures if they slept with certain people.
It was evident last year, when the state Legislature approved same-sex marriage and the state Senate voted to serial-number bullets (a back-door handgun ban), that the extreme Left has hijacked the California legislature. Now they want to force our children to be subjected to “studies” in the greatness of perversion.
There are three ways to fight this: (1) Refuse to support any tax hike for public education. Coming soon on the ballot, most likely November, is a statewide demand for a $50 parcel tax for public education. Vote no. (2) Take back the state by voting every Democrat out of office. (3) Abolish the teachers’ union, which slavishly supports those like Kuehl who are pushing the gay agenda.
Alan Viarengo
Gilroy
Need a fresh ‘cot market
In regards to the article about dried apricots and the old time Blenheim growers “Remember When” because of turkey imports, seems strange to me. I was shopping in a Hollister supermarket last winter and saw what looked like size 16 fresh Blenheims that came from Chile.
Sad they can ship fresh apricots so far and we have no fresh market ourselves in the summer?
Robert Gila
Hollister
Thanks for helping literacy
The Friends of the Morgan Hill Library would like to thank the entire community for making the city’s new library groundbreaking celebration on May 13 a huge success. Blessed with sunshine and lots of smiling faces, kids and adults alike had a great time in getting the project off to a fantastic start.
Thanks especially to groundbreaking chair Yvonne Duckett, Julie Spier and other city staff, those who contributed food and entertainment, and to Main Street Media for helping to promote the event.
Carol O’Hare, President
Friends of the Morgan Hill Library
The problem is big oil
Someone needs to point out that there are several things being overlooked. First oil companies explore, drill, pump, refine and sell the gas to us.
Oil on the open market isn’t part of this. So why is excess oil on the open market the driver of the price of gas? There is significant domestic production not part of this open market oil. Second The win win. Why would they wish to make gas more expensive? Because it’s a win win. More taxes, lower emissions because of less driving, Kyoto. Push people on to mass transit systems that are underutilized and don’t pay for themselves.
Open up drilling on the coast and Arctic refuge, get rid of environment gas recipes, the list goes on and on as to why they would like gas to go to $5.00 a gallon as one economist recently mused. “Gas will have to go to $5.00 before people will change their driving habits and move to mass transit systems, slow down their driving and reduce the need to repair and upgrade our roads.”
Oil their win is obvious. One would think they must be in disbelief that they can make these profits with the blessing of the government, or not. Several years ago there was some interest in what Cheney had talked with big oil about in those closed-door meetings that were none of our business. Well I guess we are finding out. Put your mind to work and listen and it all becomes clear that this is a plan, not a problem. Big oil is in the driver’s seat and his name is Shrub? I mean Bush.
Dan Nilsen
Pacific Grove
