Letters to the Editor

Ban offshore drilling

EDITOR: The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation's unanimous endorsement of the bill to expand the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries was a huge step toward protecting marine life off the Northern California coast.

During the debate on Rep. Lynn Woolsey's bill, the Cordell Bank Sanctuary's advisory council recognized the need to protect all of Bodega Canyon, a large submarine canyon near the rocky reef that forms Cordell Bank. Bodega Canyon extends from the shallow continental shelf to the deep sea and harbors a great diversity of fish and invertebrates, including uncommon deep ocean corals and sponges.

The advisory council of 12 private citizens wrote a resolution recommending that an additional 416 square-mile area be added to the proposed Cordell Bank Sanctuary expansion. Because of the council's resolution, all of Bodega Canyon was included in the bill passed by the House of Representatives on March 31 and now endorsed by the Senate committee. This is a striking example of Margaret Mead's quote, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

TOM LAMBERT

Sebastopol

It's not about flags

EDITOR: I am incensed that you have the gall to donate space on your editorial page for this contrived issue of wearing a flag pin in one's lapel to determine if you are loyal and true to your country. And I am even more outraged that Barack Obama has fallen for this scam.

Personally, I determine one's patriotism by the size of their flag pins, how many, and where they are displayed on one's personage. Patriotic piercings, tattoos, and other body accoutrements also help me determine whether one is qualified to be president.

GERARD F. ORME

Sonoma

The flag matters

EDITOR: On Sunday, you mentioned Barack Obama's wearing or not wearing the U.S. flag pin and fluffed it off as Obama has.

This is why it matters. First, he apparently didn't feel it suited his character, but changed his mind when his Hamas and Black Panther endorsements came to light. Quick thinking, I would say.

Second, the flag pin question came up in the debate because of his patriotism or lack of patriotism. The reasons being: His ties to two questionable Iraqis funding his campaign; his long-time friend and boss, William Ayers, who help start and fund his campaign, and is also the unrepentant terrorist bomber who was part of the attacks on U.S. buildings and American people, and enjoys stomping the American flag; and Tony Rezko, his long-time Syrian friend and money-backer, who was involved in the Chicago real estate transaction, and has very close ties with wealthy foreign criminals.

And, of course, the racist, anti-American preacher doesn't help Obama's image either. So, he better keep wearing that pin.

GAIL and JOHN RICHARDSON

Penngrove

Industrial waste

EDITOR: Let's look at the facts on fluoride and your health. In 2005, 11 unions within the EPA publicly called for a ban of water fluoridation over concerns that it may cause bone cancer. And in 2006, the American Dental Association warned mothers about using fluoridated water to mix their powdered baby formula.

Now, finally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is developing software to try to assess just how much fluoride you're ingesting, citing new findings that cumulative fluoride intake might lead to painful skeletal fluorosis.

Yet despite long-standing, ever-mounting evidence of fluoride's hazard to human health, the CDC still clings to its outdated recommendation to add fluoride to drinking water in order to protect your oral health -- even though it was a lie, right from the start.

It is nothing but a carcinogenic industrial waste product, passed off on the public as a "nutrient" with necessary health benefits, to benefit nuclear arms, aluminum and phosphate manufacturers to the tune of about $10 billion per year.

FRANCOIS P. JERINS

Windsor

For Migden

EDITOR: Sen. Carole Migden is an effective legislator and one I count on to lend her voice to issues affecting my city. In my role as mayor of Cotati, I have found her to be consistently receptive to concerns I have brought forward.

She fought hard and successfully to bring much-needed dollars to Sonoma County to fund transportation projects, including various phases of the Highway 101 widening. She is listening to serious concerns Cotati has raised about Caltrans plans for additional traffic lights associated with the 101 project.

She was out front on the light brown apple moth spraying issue. Aware of health-related complaints raised elsewhere in the state and responding to alarm expressed by citizens in her district, Migden arranged a meeting with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and convinced him to postpone the spraying that was to take place in Marin and San Francisco.

So, because of her previous efforts, when the presence of the light brown apple moth became known here in Sonoma County, steps had already effectively been taken in calling for a moratorium on aerial spraying of pesticides.

I count on Carole Migden to be there for Cotati, and she has not let me down.

PAT GILARDI

Cotati

Gay marriage

EDITOR: This is in response to the quote given by John Schmidt, pastor of Santa Rosa Alliance Church, regarding gay marriage rights.

First of all, why is the newspaper seeking comments from church leaders about a legal issue? Is this really unbiased impartial information? Did you also seek quotes from Buddhist monks or other denominations? The law is separation of church and state.

And if God did ordain marriage purely between man and woman for procreation, should barren couples not legally be allowed to wed? Or if they partake in birth control methods, do they give up their right to equal rights and tax and health insurance benefits?

Equal rights are across the board -- not for some, not for the majority, not based on which religion you are a member of, but for all.

JAN CUNNINGHAM

Santa Rosa

Saving gas

EDITOR: Here is a simple way we all could get at least 20 percent more miles per gallon and lower the price of gasoline in the process. Simply enact a 50 mph national speed limit. It was 35 mph in World War II, and we obeyed it. But I guess we had more patriotism in those days.

I've tried getting in the slow lane and driving 50 mph, but I got a lot of flashing lights and one-fingered salutes. I've tested the differences between 65 and 50 and believe me it is a savings of more than 20 percent. It's a shame that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney won't let this happen.

DEE R. EGBERT

Cotati