Sunday's Letters to the Editor

<p class="bold allcaps">Lax DUI laws</p> <p>EDITOR: Why is a man with seven prior drunken driving convictions still walking/driving the streets? (“Police: Arrest could be driver's 8th DUI,” Friday.) He should be incarcerated before he kills someone.</p><p>I find it laughable that the Legislature is having so much difficulty passing a law that would revoke driver's licenses for lengthy periods of time for this offense.</p><p>How about first offense, overnight in jail, a fine and community hours. Second offense, a week in jail with daily AA meetings, a larger fine, longer community hours, required attendance at daily AA meetings and a suspended sentence (for whatever that's worth). Third offense, jail or prison for a long time and permanent driver's license revocation (again, for whatever that's worth).</p><p>Does this sound harsh? Yes, but I'm sick and tired of reading about innocents killed by drunken drivers. I am very much aware that alcoholism is a disease. However, if those with that sad affliction refuse to stay away from the steering wheel of a vehicle, then the rest of us need to be protected.</p><p>JANICE LEE</p><p><i>Petaluma<i></p><h3>Going green?</h3> <p>EDITOR: I am writing to express my frustration with the city's chosen garbage pickup and recycling contractor. In 2010, when it's more important than ever to reduce our footprint on this earth, North Bay Corp. offers no electronic billing but instead keeps mailing vast amounts of paper. I have inquired about this over the past couple of years and continue to be told that they have no plans to offer electronic billing. It does no good for a company to splash “go green” all over its website when it does not offer this most basic of green services.</p><p>PATRICK BRADY</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p><h3>Cultural bullying</h3> <p>EDITOR: It's nice that the owner of Santa Rosa Nissan has come to reluctantly accept the “Cyclisk” obelisk paid for by his $37,000 “contribution” to the city's public arts project (“Spire inspires,” Friday). But then what choice did he have after being strong-armed into footing the bill by the city fathers?</p><p>The irony of all this, however, is not lost on the dealership's customers, who will ultimately pay for this folly in the form of higher parts and service prices for their Nissan vehicles. It's also not surprising that Jim Bone was not interested in having the piece located on his property as the all-too politically correct “bicycle culture” theme of the piece flies in the face of the modern, technologically advanced products that are the lifeblood of his business.</p><p>That he was forced to support a trashy piece of sculpture that symbolizes a social movement and values bent on beating this country back to a pre-industrial standard of living is both immoral and obscene. Is it any wonder that Ayn Rand's prophetic 50-year-old novel “Atlas Shrugged” is once again flying off the nation's bookshelves as Americans struggle to understand how this type of cultural bullying have come to be the accepted norm in our country?</p><p>RON PARIS</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p><h3>Sanctuary city</h3> <p>EDITOR: The Novato City Council has declared Novato a sanctuary city, just like San Francisco. Just like San Francisco, Novato now has illegal immigrant gang activities. The council can hide crime statistics, but the facts are here. Anarchy by elected representatives has the danger of spreading. Is Santa Rosa next, Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Cloverdale, or is sanctuary already a fact?</p><p>The Novato council members violated their oath of office and the state elections code by refusing to place the Initiative for Legal Employment and Contracting on the ballot. The initiative was signed by enough Novato citizens to qualify. The council does not want Novato voters to be able to vote in favor of this initiative, which would prevent Novato taxes from being spent on illegal wages and protect American jobs.</p><p>Why? I do not know, and they refuse to say. But the council just announced yet another construction contract with an Oakland contractor. There are no provisions in that contract to prevent the contractor from hiring illegal immigrants, paying inferior wages and paying no employment taxes. These contractors submit bids lower than legal contactors.</p><p>Stand up and take government back from the politicians.</p><p>JEROME J. GHIGLIOTTI JR.</p><p><i>Novato</i></p><h3>Sorting factions</h3> <p>EDITOR: Thomas Friedman's Wednesday column set off chords in my mind (“The missing elements of surprise: Restraint and generosity”). How do we understand the difference between Muslim factions, Sunnis vs. Shiites vs. Ahmadis vs. Sufis? If Muslims are U.S. citizens, do they consider themselves Americans first and then Muslim? Can both sides in this debate act with restrained generosity and put their country first? Is it always necessary to win the battle and then lose the war?</p><p>MARCIA BERNIKER</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p><h3>Details lacking</h3> <p>EDITOR: I was disappointed in the depth of the reporting on Michael Hayden's struggle to keep his home (“Fighting to keep home,” Thursday). Hayden said he refinanced for $610,000 to “put on a new roof, insulate the house and buy new appliances.” By my calculations, that refinance pulled out more than $300,000 in equity. A new roof, insulation and appliances could not possibly use up $300,000.</p><p>It appears Staff Writer Sam Scott made no effort to find out what the rest of the $300,000 was used for. This is a key element to the situation at hand. We are bombarded by sad sack stories without the pertinent details of what led to the difficulty. If someone pulls out equity and uses it for vacations, consumer goods, business investments or any other purpose unrelated to the original mortgage, they are increasing the risk of not being able to pay off the mortgage.</p><p>I feel for Hayden, but almost without fail in these stories the blame lies with ourselves and not some evil bank. Heaven knows I have made my share of financial mistakes in my life, but they have been my fault. As individuals we need to start taking more responsibility for the poor decisions we make and stop blaming others for our misfortune. Those mistakes make us sadder but wiser.</p><p>JOSHUA RICHARDSON</p><p><i>Fort Bragg</i></p><h3>Pot invasion</h3> <p>EDITOR: The small article regarding Korbel finding a marijuana plot on its property, with the felling of 15 redwoods, one about 60 feet tall, should outrage everyone (“Pot farmers fell trees on Korbel property,” Tuesday).</p><p>For the past year or so, we have been reading about the Drug Enforcement Administration and various state and local law enforcement agencies trying to eradicate this invasion of our public and privately owned land meeting up with armed individuals, many of them employed by the Mexican drug cartels. Don't our elected representatives and governor consider this an invasion of our country?</p><p>I understand we are continuing to fight two wars, help half the nations in the world and work our way out of the continued recession, but I think it's time to protect our country from this insidious invasion. The bottom line is, no demand, no Mexican cartel invasion. Do you really want to live in a drugged out America? Let's use our trained National Guard and returning servicepersons to wipe this out.</p><p>MARY JO NORMAN</p><p><i>Santa Rosa<i></p>