Dec. 25 Letters to the Editor

Diplomat arrested

EDITOR: I want to ask the Indian government and the people protesting the arrest of an Indian diplomat ("Maid sparked diplomatic furor," Dec. 20), how about the maid who was way overworked, underpaid and abused? How about millions of domestic maids and servants who most likely get about the same or even worse treatment?

Think about those so-called shadows of our society, my fellow Indians.

LAKHBIR SANDHU

Jenner

Still alive, too

EDITOR: Elaine Richter's story ("Still very alive, thanks," Monday) has happened to hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. It happened to me several years ago, and it represents government at its most infuriating.

In my case, I noticed that my Social Security payments were no longer being deposited. I called Social Security and was informed that the reason was because I was dead. I took my identification to our local Social Security office, only to be told that even though I was standing right there breathing, I was officially dead and needed to go through a series of convoluted steps to be resurrected by the government.

It took many weeks for the government to bring me back to life, and further inquiry led me to the shocking conclusion that Social Security will accept just about any allegation from any source — even anonymous ones — that a recipient is dead, with little if any attempt to verify. I suggested that had they simply called me, my answering the phone might have led them to suspect that I was still alive. Evidently nobody thought of this.

I had hoped that by this time Social Security would have developed some simple programs to verify a death, but in view of Richter's ordeal this is evidently not the case.

CONNEL L. MURRAY

Kelseyville

Military pensions

EDITOR: All the false "we honor your sacrifice and services" words. We all just allowed these military retirees' meager retirement checks to be cut without a word. Shame, shame, shame.

JENNIFER HU

Boyes Hot Springs

Teen drinking

EDITOR: Did you know that in recent studies 26.4 percent of underage people (12-20) admitted to consuming alcohol in the past 30 days? Although the rate has decreased since 2008, something should be done to lower it more.

I've heard from friends and read articles claiming that adults are supplying teenagers with the alcohol they drink. Even though it's illegal, local police don't take the matter seriously. As a result, these adults keep disobeying the law. A stricter punishment should be applied.

Statistics show that 4,700 annual deaths of teens involve alcohol. The Centers for Disease Control says that approximately 189,000 emergency room visits by persons under 21 are linked to alcohol. Just recently, at our school's annual Golden Apple football game, a young girl (14) collapsed on the bleachers because she was so intoxicated. Paramedics had to pump her stomach and insert a breathing tube right there. These actions should not be happening on school properties. Such behavior can lead to permanent memory loss, poor grades and even suicide.

If I were a parent, I wouldn't want my child to go through that. The law is there for a reason; people shouldn't break it.

AMANDA SLATER

Sebastopol

Running fine

EDITOR: Two weeks ago, I got a letter offering me $1,000 if I sold them my 1992 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer so it could be removed from our roads. It has 158,000 miles on the odometer, runs fine, gets good fuel mileage and passes smog tests. They never offered me an overpriced new one, and the obscene cost of registration, license and liability insurance, not to mention a down payment, on a new one would cost more than my yearly income.

California smog tests are a farce. When my car was in Healdsburg it didn't require a smog test. I now live half way between Windsor and Santa Rosa, and it must have a smog test every two years. Why? We still drive on the same roads and streets.

A recent letter complained about SUVs using so much fuel ("Immorality of SUVs," Sunday). My Blazer is an SUV that doesn't use much fuel. But consider this: I no longer travel, but my late wife and I drove our 1986 Ford Diesel pickup, pulling a trailer, to the East Coast and back, and we used less fuel than a jetliner does just getting airborne. There are hundreds of them in the air every day.

VERN HENDERSON

Santa Rosa