Letters to the Editor

Recognizing dignity

EDITOR: The ruling by the California Supreme Court on same-sex marriage was good news for me and my partner of 19 years. Even though we have no immediate plans to get married, we appreciate the legal recognition of our basic dignity and rights implied by the ruling.

At the same time, I am saddened by the promises of retaliation by religious and social conservatives and would ask them to remember that despite their beliefs, this is a legal, rather than a moral or religious, issue -- and that our country's constitution does not permit the two to mix.

Most importantly, there are times when a presidential decision or court order must lead the way -- as happened in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education, or when the laws against mixed-race marriages were overturned.

Nobody in today's world questions the correctness of those decisions (at least nobody I'd like to meet), but at the time there were plenty of angry citizens who would have loved to put the decisions up for a vote and have them overturned. Thank goodness they never had the opportunity -- and let's hope that today's voters will recognize that granting other people equal rights under the law does not take away their own.

STEPHEN SHARE

Santa Rosa

Thanking fire crews

EDITOR: Words will never be adequate to express our gratitude to the firefighters who saved our beloved St. Helena Road/Alpine Valley neighborhood! Many departments from far and wide staved off a fire that could have had disastrous consequences.

At 6:30 a.m. Friday, as I was coming down the hill, I passed crews on the side of St. Helena Road. All these people had clearly worked long and hard to rescue us from the jaws of devastation. The gentlemen (inmates) from the Department of Corrections' Konocti and Delta camps deserve huge kudos for their courageous and difficult efforts.

Again, heartfelt thanks to all who helped in this herculean effort.

PAUL MARKING

Santa Rosa

No spraying

EDITOR: You ran an editorial stating that light brown apple moth "eats almost any crop or ornamental plant -- grapes, citrus, roses, mums even oaks and redwoods."

For the record, the apple moth does only superficial damage because it needs leaves to wrap around its larva so they survive -- i.e., it would not be in its biological interest to seriously damage or defoliate a plant. The state's list of host plants is exaggerated as it includes plants on which the moth has never been seen.

The moth does not do any significant damage to crops or native plants in New Zealand where it was introduced more than 100 years ago. It is kept in check there by natural predators. All of this info is available on New Zealand's HortNet Web site, which is New Zealand's equivalent to our USDA and UC Co-op Extension, and can also be found in the report by Dr. Daniel Harder, executive director of the UC Santa Cruz arboretum and Jeff Rosendale, grower and horticultural consultant, titled "Integrated Pest Management Practices for the Light Brown Apple Moth in New Zealand, Implications for California."

Families, we are not out of the dark -- the state could still use the toxic spray. I wouldn't want my daughter inhaling it. Stopthespray.org.

HELEN GRIECO

Executive Director, California National Organization for Women Environmental Justice Committee

Petaluma

Elite sanctuary

EDITOR: In response to Art Hackworth's May 8 letter ("Send them home"): Well, I'll say sir, you are an extraordinarily kind citizen for single-handedly providing free medical and education to those you deem "illegal." However, I find your limited perspective on the matter to be of no surprise, and yet, very disturbing.

The part that is disturbing is the refusal to acknowledge the other's perspective.

Besides, it's easy to argue when you choose to engage from only one perspective, although it then becomes impossible to find solutions. How about this perspective:

I have gotten tired of laboring for the "elites," harvesting their food and taking out their garbage. All this and watching my family and those of fellow laborers fall further below the povery line. Now the demand is to make Sonoma County a sanctuary for "elites."

Those who engage in fair and honest business practice have nothing to lose, but those who don't do. They will have to take care of their own garbage and harvest their own food.

JOSEPH SIMMONS

Santa Rosa

Banal boy king

EDITOR: In his latest interview, President Bush stated that he gave up golf because "I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

This latest from the boy king is absolutely stunning in its banality. But then, this is what one must expect when you have a small man in a big job.

RICH JONES

Monte Rio

Why we fight

EDITOR: Recently the Willits City Council voted in favor of impeaching the president and vice president. I have lived all of my 89 years in Willits and I am deeply ashamed of the council's actions. They seem to be condoning the murderous terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Much is made of the loss of 4,000-plus lives in the Iraq war, and rightly so. The loss of even one life in war is tragic. Our involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars was far more unnecessary than Iraq, and many lives were lost.

World War II cost nearly a half-million lives, with as many as 4,000 dead in one day. Millions more were injured with many coming home with permanent disabilities. This sacrifice was made so the parents of those on the Willits City Council and all Americans could live in peace.

All adults should put themselves in the president's chair. I have many times and each time was the same. I could not and would not allow the 9/11 massacre to go unanswered.

The next president must stand up to terrorists. I sincerely hope he or she has the guts of George W. Bush, the strong president of the United States of America.

GEORGE SIRIZZOTTI

Willits

Fishy decision

EDITOR: Can someone please define the logic of the May 9 decision of the California Fish and Game Commission to allow in-river take of chinook salmon?

Due to the projected shortages of salmon returning to the Sacramento River system, the ocean fishery is closed for the first time ever. To allow any take of spawning salmon in the Sacramento River system is asinine.

The salmon that return to the spawning grounds have a good chance to propagate for future generations.

The Fish and Game Commission's decision must be tied to a political agenda instead of resource renewal issues.

CHARLIE BECK

Bodega Bay