Oct. 12 Letters to the Editor

Spending the prize

EDITOR: I understand that the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize receives a cash award also, something in the realm of $1.5 million. Now, President Barack Obama flew to Copenhagen to beg that the 2016 Olympic Games be awarded to Chicago. His trip, accompanied by his posse and the press, cost the U.S. taxpayer about $900,000. I don’t know how much was spent flying the first lady over there and back for her lobbying efforts. Would it not be appropriate that he reimburse the taxpayers for his trip to Copenhagen? I do take comfort in the fact that he did not apologize for past American transgressions in Copenhagen or in his Nobel Award acceptance speech.

ART HACKWORTH

Petaluma

Foreign adventures

EDITOR: Sen. Jim DeMint’s visit to Honduras to meet with the de facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti is a defiance of the U.S. government.

This sounds serious for DeMint, R-S.C., but it isn’t. The stick of choice in preventing the senator from such a stunt is the Logan Act. This law forbids any unauthorized citizen of the United States from negotiating with a foreign government, especially, in conflict with our government’s established foreign policy.

Other Americans outside of government could have been charged but weren’t either. They include Sean Penn, Michael Moore, Jimmy Carter and Jane Fonda. The list goes on. Of course, putting the above mentioned on trial would have exposed our foreign policy’s duplicity and criminal intents. Despite the Obama administration’s cutting back Honduras’ non-humanitarian aid, it didn’t prevent DeMint from rushing to Micheletti’s aid.

Is the Logan Act weak, or is it just that any administration can exercise it — or not — at the convenience of political or economic expediency?

ARMANDO GOMEZ

Santa Rosa

Power alternative

EDITOR: Congratulations to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for taking another look at the Republic deal to resume burying all our trash in Sonoma County (“County delays vote on sale of landfill,” Wednesday).

Continuing to bury organic wastes, which comprise up to 50 percent of our waste stream, does nothing to reduce the majority of greenhouse gas emissions created by municipal solid waste disposal. To their credit, the supervisors have recognized that there are viable options, including recovering the organic wastes and using them to create clean, green heat and electricity. In fact, if properly developed and financed, facilities to process organic wastes and other biomass can form the foundation for a locally based, low-emission energy supply.

Developing this energy supply represents the only true competition for our present electricity supplier, which enjoys monopoly status. Using public assets, such as the landfill, and public financing to create jobs and build a low-emission local electricity supply is the energy equivalent of the public option for health care.

Ask your local elected official how our communities can use “the energy public option” to provide a competitively priced, greener alternative.

DAVE ERICKSON

Sebastopol

Wrong target

EDITOR: It is a mistake for the United States to prosecute Gary McKinnon for hacking into Pentagon and other U. S. government computers (“Hacker’s extradition likely,” Aug. 1). If our government used an ounce of critical thinking skills it would realize that McKinnon has done us a valuable service by showing us how vulnerable we are. At no expense to us, he showed us how poor our security is in this area.

Rather than prosecuting this individual, the resources should be used to improve the systems, to prevent this kind of attack from the many malicious forces out there who would like to do us harm or take advantage of this weakness.

As long as we have secrets, there will be those who can benefit from penetrating them. If it is possible to hack our computers, and this case shows how easily it can be done, it is because of the weakness of the systems themselves.

If anyone is prosecuted for McKinnon’s breaches of this security, it should be the owners and operators of these computer systems. Surely these individuals not doing their jobs are to blame, not some deranged overseas hacker who is looking for information on UFOs.

MICHAEL ROSEN

Healdsburg

Changing the system

EDITOR: We think our government is a democracy. In reality it is an economic republic. We think our vote counts. What really counts is the money given to candidates running for reelection.

Campaign costs can total into the millions. Rich organizations send large contributions to incumbents. These contributors expect to be given a favorable hearing when legislation they are concerned about comes before these legislators. The unwritten message is an unfavorable vote will result in no financial support in the future. Under these conditions can a legislator not have a serious conflict of interest?

We can change this system.

First, no political contributions should be allowed to anyone running for public office. Campaign costs should be paid for by the government for all candidates equally.

Second, campaigns should be limited in time. One month should be more than enough time to learn what a candidate stands for.

Third, no ex-government worker, elected or appointed, should be allowed to become a lobbyist.

Fourth, no government worker, elected or appointed, should accept any gift from any organization that he is or has had interaction with.

MORRIS TORRES

Petaluma

Paying more for less

EDITOR: I am not real clear as to what is going on with the water department (“Board backs hike in water, sewer rates,” Oct. 2). First we are told there is a water shortage and everyone should cut back. Everyone did, as you can tell by looking at all the dried-out lawns. Now that we did what we were told to do, the water department has made less money. To fix that matter, the city plans to increase our water rates. It seems to me that we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

SAM ANKER

Santa Rosa

Unfair pension rules

EDITOR: The Friday article “Double checks for state workers” made me do a double-take. As a retired teacher, I am part of a group trying to get Social Security benefits now denied to widows of retired teachers, police officers and firefighters who paid into Social Security.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are trying to change the laws, and President Barack Obama says he will sign the bill when, and if, it goes through.

This so called “double dipping” also applies to retired teachers, who paid into Social Security themselves for 40 quarters and are denied their full benefits. This applies to public workers in 14 other states as well as California. Is this fair?

JANET MOBLEY

Petaluma