Dear Editor, The pendulum is swinging from the extreme of
citizens presuming the government is capable of handling the
business of the people without any oversight, which included an
almost apathetic mindset toward same said government, and is now
moving toward a renewed interest by citizens toward regaining the
knowledge and power that the everyday American formerly had, and
held dear.
Keep the city clerk, treasurer jobs accountable, vote no on Measure P
Dear Editor,
The pendulum is swinging from the extreme of citizens presuming the government is capable of handling the business of the people without any oversight, which included an almost apathetic mindset toward same said government, and is now moving toward a renewed interest by citizens toward regaining the knowledge and power that the everyday American formerly had, and held dear. This is very healthy, as our nation was never meant to have a lot of rules and regulations for a people that were to be self-governing, and knowledgeable about our founding, history and laws.
So, in this era of public interest in politics and a regaining of public input and control over the process, why does our own City Hall seek to gain more power by changing the currently accountable-to-the-people positions of city clerk and city treasurer to be accountable to them? This is a perfect example of why we the people must keep a close eye on how our elected officials manage the city’s business. Power grabs are disguised by words like “expediency” and “qualified.” Perhaps the city has already changed the position of city clerk so substantially that they need us to rubber-stamp it … much like the projects mentioned in a previous letter to the editor, regarding projects that the City Hall approved, that were found to already be underway!
Vote no on Measure P!
Jan Comstock, Morgan Hill
Public access television provides forum for candidate discussions
Dear Editor,
The Morgan Hill Times and MHAT-19 (Morgan Hill Access TV) recently teamed up to offer mayoral, city council, and school board candidates an opportunity to tell the public on MHAT’s “Question Time” show why they are running. All three mayoral candidates – Art College, Marby Lee, and Steve Tate – participated. Two (Lee Schmidt and Michael Castelan) of the eight city council candidates, and six (Kirsten Francis Carr, Bart Fisher, Don Moody, Claudia Rossi, Shelle Thomas, and Ron Woolf) of the eight school board candidates also took advantage of this cable TV connection to the community.
Providing a First Amendment platform for all political views and opinions is what public access television does well. At last weekend’s Taste of Morgan Hill, we interviewed live on TV many candidates for local races. We also provided a television forum for people to discuss current events and social issues they feel passionate about. We had a wide spectrum of views – from people supporting same-sex marriage to Tea Party members advocating their values. MHAT-19 will share the highlights in upcoming weeks.
Citizens who feel connected to the drama of democracy tend to vote more often. A well-informed voting public is the backbone of the American republic. The more we know about candidates and election issues, the better decisions we make in the ballot booth. Public access television stations such as MHAT-19 provide a dynamic forum for the discussion of ideas and opinions in election campaigns.
I encourage all candidates running in Morgan Hill and Santa Clara County races to use MHAT-19 as a communication resource to connect with the community. I also encourage voters to check out our “Question Time” broadcast of local candidates this Saturday and Sunday evening. The shows can also be viewed on the Internet at www.mhat.blip.tv. Voters can also go to a special page next week on the Morgan Hill Times website at www.morganhilltimes.com to learn about the various candidates’ views.
Martin Cheek, board member of Media Access Coalition of Central California
Help keep children safe and healthy, vote yes on Measure A
Dear Editor,
I am proud to support Measure A – The Children’s Health Protection Act. I am an avid advocate of youth leadership and understand that without proper health care, children will not have the opportunity to become strong young leaders.
The 15 cities within Santa Clara County produce some of the best and brightest children; many will become future business, civic and political leaders. But poor health can affect these children, depriving them of the opportunity for a full education and the success that would follow. All children need access to health care that will maintain their good health, so they can be prepared for school and success.
I strongly urge voters to say “yes” to Measure A.
Steve Tate, mayor of Morgan Hill
Pampuch’s response typical of head-in-the-sand Democrats
Dear Editor,
Lisa Pampuch’s response in “Around the Water Cooler” is so typical of the head-in-the-sand Democrats. They insist on blaming prior presidents, rather than assess what the new leader has accomplished after 18 months in office.
She conveniently overlooks the fact that a major part of the economy tanking is due to the housing crisis, which was mostly created by the Democratic legislator’s push to lower the lending standards so that anyone who could fog a mirror would qualify for a home loan, even when it was apparent that they could not afford the payment, in return for the votes of their under-privileged constituents.
Maybe Lisa could tell us what part of the Health Care catastrophe, which has caused our nation trillions of dollars of debt, Bush played a part in.
Possibly she could even tell us what part of the failed stimulus package Bush sponsored and pushed through Congress.
The bottom line is this. It doesn’t matter if it was a policy decision made by George Washington or George W., neither of them have had the last 18 months to correct any problems.
If the Morgan Hill Times is comfortable in providing Lisa a forum to spew, rather than provide an UNBIASED journalist to inform the readers of the facts so they can make informed decisions, so be it.
Apparently the Morgan Hill Times are not so effected by rising employee health care costs, and over taxing corporations who create jobs, that they need to lay off any employees. It probably would only be a minor setback for Lisa. I’m sure Nancy P. would have a position for a like minded person in her organization.
Robert Wolford, Morgan Hill
Editor’s note: Lisa’s column appears on the opinion page and is not intended to be unbiased. Those with differing points of view are welcome to submit letters and or guest columns to ed****@*************es.com.
Campaign signs create a nuisance and safety hazard for animals
Dear Editor.
As elections in Morgan Hill are just around the corner, I can not help but think about all of the towns’ anticipation of the outcomes.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for voicing my opinion when it comes to change, however; one thing I can never seem to understand are all of the advertisements that seem to be taking up the streets of Morgan Hill.
Nowadays, I am forced to see a least a dozen posters (some of which are even hung upside down) with names of the nominees.
Of course this is a great attention-getter and a fantastic self-esteem booster to the nominees, but I cannot seem to get around the fact that all of these posters pose a great threat to our environment.
As a resident of Jackson Oaks, I witness wildlife roaming around some of the posters and sometimes even knocking them down.
The ties that hold down the corners of the posters are loosened, thus making unnecessary garbage on the hills and a safety hazard to our friendly animal neighbors.
Kassandra Pena, Morgan Hill
Hiccups may have roots in physiological history shared with tadpoles
Dear Editor,
Author Nancy Churnin wrote in her Sept. 28 column “How to deal with pesky personal problems,” that hiccups “have no known function.”
Perhaps of interest to Ms. Churnin and your readers is that at least one function has been described by Neil Shubin, a paleontologist and professor of anatomy, in his book “Your Inner Fish” (2008) page 190: “This annoyance has its roots in the (physiological) history we share with fish and tadpoles.” Hiccups as he describes were useful – essential – for tadpoles. He describes the function of the hiccup spasm in tadpoles and the evolution of and muscle control parallels between our hiccups and gill breathing in tadpoles.
Bob Shomler, Morgan Hill
