Letters for June 7, 2001

Correction: The May 31 Letters page included a letter from Mike Rogers, who does not represent the Butte Alliance for Medical Marijuana. Rogers is only a member, a fact that was lost when we printed his letter. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Natural gratitude
The Chico Creek Nature Center would like to express its gratitude to all of those individuals who helped make our annual silent-auction fundraiser such a successful event. We appreciate the offerings of the generous merchants, musicians and volunteers who contributed merchandise and services that day. We should also acknowledge the Butte Environmental Council for its organization of the Endangered Species Fair (held the same day), as the spillover crowd from that event aids us greatly. Most of all, we are grateful for the broad-based support that we receive from the community at this event and throughout the entire year. Many thanks!

Staff and animals of the Chico Creek Nature Center

Glass house
I can’t let this one go. You folks seem to take delight in every opportunity that comes along to blast people or groups of people that you deem dangerous to the environment, our economy, society and our morals. Even a person’s individual preference, whether it be a SUV/RUV or a road and bridge improvement project, is subject to your biased scrutiny.

The point I’m about to make is a point that will surely be shared by both liberals and conservatives alike and should haunt you for some time to come. “He who lives in a glass house should not throw rocks.” The Chico News & Review panders to the public; pornographic advertising and alcohol ads promote an irresponsible party life, and now, cigarettes. Man, you folks are something else.

I will never give up reading your newspaper because I think the entire thing is quite a hoot. It’s free and it’s pure, unadulterated entertainment. You’re on the same plateau as Rush Limbaugh; you’re both entertainers. Keep up the … well, is “good work” appropriate or not?

Alan W. Hiatt
Chico

Rainbow room
Chico! A pot of gold does exist at the end of the rainbow, and it is located at the Chico Creek Theatre Festival (a.k.a. The Blue Room). The Blue Room is a treasure in our town. The theater’s staff, directors, stage crew and actors all create work of superb quality, and their intimate plays are always top-notch productions founded on passion for life.

The current production (runs through June 9) of Picasso at the Lapin Agile, under the direction of Joe Hilsee, had the whole audience in stitches! We encourage everyone to re-consider sending your money to Hollywood (does Julia Roberts really need your $?), and instead wisely invest those few bucks in our local talent. Your brains, your hearts and your souls will improve as a result.

Eric, Lois and Sonia Hitchcock
Chico

Only the lonely
I wish to comment about your article on the police bust at the exotic dance club The First Amendment ["The night they busted the nudie club,” May 17]. Why is a bunch of lonely men hungry for companionship watching women take off their clothes so immoral? The real immorality in the world is genocide, racism and war, to name a few.

In reference to the occasional drug problem and fistfights at the Amendment, these problems are no more prevalent than at regular liquor bar and nightclubs in Chico. I am reminded of a Mexican restaurant that was busted for cocaine dealing a few years ago in Gridley. The police did not close this establishment down, and in fact it is still in business today. Think of what a better world it would be if the only sin were lonely men watching women undress.

John Martin
Redding

GOP defection
In his recent tirade to the Chico News & Review ["Energy plan option,” Letters, May 24], Dan Bovee says President-select George W. Bush should draft all the “liberals” to go fight Sadaam Hussein in a repeat of Desert Storm, in order to solve the so-called energy shortage. Oh please, Dan, get real!

Now that Sen. Jim Jeffords, a “moderate Republican” in his thinking, has declared his independence from the decidedly anti-environmental, clearly right-wing Bush agenda, should he be included?

Beware, Mr. Bovee! Sen. Jeffords may not be the last to leave the GOP fold if Bush tries to turn his agenda into law and his followers display the kind of rabid intolerance to people with different ideas, as you seem to do. I’ve heard Sen. John McCain’s name mentioned more than once as another potential GOP dropout.

Sen. Jeffords is obviously a true patriot who puts his country first, before his former political party. So, God bless America yourself, Dan. Advocating the compulsory sending of many good citizens to fight in some hellish war overseas because of their political views is not very funny or patriotic. Besides, Uncle George “Dubya” might want YOU!

Finally, speaking of great courage, that was certainly a wonderful essay written by Ole Quiberg about the “Best + Whitest” cartoon [Ted Rall, CN&R May 10]. I agree with Mr. Quiberg. It was awful! Not only does it put down Vietnam veterans, but also those of us who opposed that war as a matter of conscience. Why on earth would this newspaper stoop to printing such cheap revisionist garbage?

Jay Castor
Paradise

Such a strange vibration
Concerning Sheriff Scott Mackenzie and the “rented copters” ["Sheriff: Copter use is accounted for,” Newslines, May 24]. We all pay lots of taxes, fees and permits to do just about anything on our own land. We all also try to live within guidelines and laws set by the politicians and lawmakers. When Butte County and the sheriff spend $41,000 to rent helicopters to look for pot gardens, Mackenzie claims they look for marijuana growing in Butte County’s federal and state-owned lands. This claim is mostly untrue.

I am a landowner in the foothills near Lake Oroville and can see for miles from where I live. I have watched these copters this spring come so close to my personal vegetable garden as to shake the leaves on my tomatoes! These copters are being used to invade mostly personal and private property whenever and however they choose. They fly mostly over private land, houses and roads. I watched them fly for one to two hours just over my “neighborhood,” which is all private!

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Sheriff’s Department make no discernment between federal, state or private land. They cannot extort money from a pot bust on public land, so they are actually flying mostly over private homes, making lots of noise and peering in our windows with telescopes—with our money and without permission or permit! Why can’t the sheriff tell it like it “really” is!

Ed Cooper
Berry Creek

We like tobacco
Glad to see you are accepting the tobacco ads, even thou it may seem “politically incorrect” according to some. If the busybodies really wanted to save lives, they would take their meddling noses and investigate death by automobiles. More deaths are caused by autos than anything else in present-day society. I have yet to see any inanimate object kill anyone without the actions of a human being.

No smoking put me out of business because of busybodies with nothing else to do. I not sure all the hype about smoking is true. My grandfather died at 92 and was a heavy smoker all his life with no major health problems. Education in school is the answer. The facts of informed people are that more and more people are smoking less and less. Smoking has been around since the dawn of time. Why? Because we like it.

J Burnett
Chico