Letters for December 15, 2005

Corrections: Carole Oles, whose poem was featured in last week’s cover-story sidebar “Words on War,"(the last line of which was mysteriously dropped) is no longer director of creative writing at Chico State University. The Chow story “Trader Woes,” should have said that Trader Joe’s is open seven days a week.

Good political climate
Your editorial “Watts’ political baggage” [Dec. 1] has given me a few chuckles. It broadly criticized the people with me and worries that somehow their past political history would become my future.

One of the basic tenets of journalism is asking questions, rather than assuming answers. The editor never asked me why those people were standing with me.

A supervisor’s position is non-partisan, and requires working with a broad spectrum of leaders, departments, local governments and constituents. The group of leaders I brought together represented supervisors, city council, county law enforcement, business, education, the Grand Jury and regular citizens.

As a supervisor you are part of a team, decisions are made by votes, not by individuals. I would be remiss in my candidacy if I didn’t reach out to collaborate with other county supervisors. I’ve had conversations with each one.

My best preparation for serving as District 3 supervisor is to proactively embrace the role and the issues, through dialog with people “in the know.” That’s exactly what I will continue to do.

Anthony Watts
Chico

Clay soldiers
Good for you, Dorothy Parker; the true meaning of patriotism in this nation, in its early rendition, involved citizens having the steel will to stand up against what they saw as injustice ["Civil disobedience,” Newslines, Dec. 8]. It does not surprise me that Dorothy is a registered Republican; true conservatives have values and are not afraid to stand and be counted. We really have no true conservatives in the current administration, only wild-eyed idealists.

While in infantry school at Fort Benning in 1984, I had a couple of encounters with School of the Americas trainees. I remember their looks of contempt when our paths crossed. In those days the CIA was tinkering to mold every nation into a banana republic whose resources were at our disposal. Perhaps what we fail to acknowledge in training these Central American recruits to be killers is the cultural differences. American soldiers had a duty and responsibility to ensure that the American ideals of justice were adhered to in all instances. The lads from El Salvador likely grew up in a culture of violence and injustice where racial and class differences were exploited and there was no effort to educate them on American ideals. Look at the source of the clay before you mold it.

I’m very glad that Dorothy understands and accepts that she has violated the law and will likely pay the piper. In the truest of American, conservative traditions, she will accept the consequences of her actions, like the patriots of old. Good luck, Mrs. Parker, and thank you for the important civics lesson.

Don Gregg
Chico

Uncivil union
Doesn’t the public find the verbal posturing presented by the California Nurses Association disturbing ["Nurses: It won’t be pretty,” Newslines, Dec. 8]? The union wages war on everything and begins that war with negative publicity. Not that Enloe is perfect, however, it is quietly negotiating without making a big scene over every item on the bargaining table. David Welch’s comments regarding Enloe having issues with almost everything the union proposes is a bit premature. How can the union make that statement when all the issues are not even laid out on the bargaining table? The union uses hate to wage its campaign. This method pits worker against worker. We constantly hear how Enloe is stalling the contract negotiations; however, could it be that the union is also guilty of the same?

I, personally, am tired of hearing how the CNA is so wonderful and Enloe is the evil villain. I find it harassing to go somewhere such as the Farmer’s Market and have the union supporters verbally assault me trying to get signatures. The union targets every Enloe function, whether union-related or not. I expect they will even protest the annual holiday party. Since all involved are adults, perhaps they should act in a more civilized manner.

Mary Schmidt
Chico

Traitor-Mart
May I suggest a better spelling of Trader Joe’s, as Traitor Joe’s. Why? As I see it the store is the natural food equivalent of Wal-Mart. It moves into cities and takes a bite out of locally owned businesses, namely S&S and Chico Natural Foods.

Will it put these locally owned businesses out of operation? Probably not. But it will take a large amount of money out of our local economy and ship it down to Southern California. Who is the Traitor? People who normally shop at S&S and CNF and now are more willing to save a dime than keep their local economy healthy and vibrant. Have I shopped there? You betcha! We bought some things that are not available at our locally owned stores. But I have forbidden our household to buy what we can locally, even if it costs more.

As globalization increases, these are the choices people will be confronted with: spend their money as local as they can, or be a Traitor, and send it, and what could be our neighbors’ livelihood, to some faceless corporation.

Matthew Martin
Pyramid Farms

Dildo vu
The CN&R has stooped (stumbled) to a new low (Me and My Weapon, Dec. 1) Our society is saturated with violence-oriented magazines and papers—does the CN&R need to do the same? In the past I have trusted that responsible editorship existed at your paper but not anymore.

At a time when many parents (like myself and our son’s mother) are trying to teach respect and restraint to our children concerning violent behavior—your paper is illustrating and advertising a passion for guns and “when to shoot someone” in the center section of the paper. Pages 14 through 21 should have been reserved for Soldier of Fortune magazine not a Chico weekly. Shame on you and your staff!!

You should stick to criticizing Bush and the military and stop trying to poison our children with your inappropriate articles that should be X-rated. In the future, I will preview any of your publications before my child does. God Bless you. You need it! Just remember, people armed with dildos don’t kill; people armed with guns do!!

Beau Grosscup
Member, National Dildo Association (NDA)

Xmas greeting
Merry Christ-less?

Stephen T. Davis
Chico