This week's feedback

The left is right 

About your Sept. 9 editorial: Just look at the local and national media. What do we have here in San Diego? On the radio, we have righty listening stations such as 600, 640, 760, 1070 and probably a few others I don’t know about. The left has a feed from L.A. of Air America on 1150, which barely comes in. A right-wing editorial and other slants from The San Diego Union-Tribune and The Reader, owned by a Christian right-wing ideologue—versus you. Nationally, we have 24 hours of Fox News, Lou Dobbs and others on CNN, and even the liberal-leaning MSNBC has a morning show hosted by former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough called Morning Joe. The left has Olbermann and Maddow.

This said, the one thing we lefties have on our side are facts, non-distortions and (gasp) the truth! I always try to convince others, who enjoy getting their information from the right, to look it up. Google what you just heard before you go spouting it yourself, and try not to buy into speculative, pulled-out-of-Limbaugh-et al’s-butt, rhetoric. If you were honest, even only to yourself, you should want to check and re-check what it is you’re believing. For some reason, righties that I know never seem to want to go this extra mile. I wonder why? Could it be they’re afraid of the answers they’ll find? Or is it just a matter of no one speaking with the flag and pretty red, white and blue colors streaming all around them could possibly be telling mistruths? Speaking of pretty colors, I have some delicious Kool-Aid in the fridge I need to attend to.

Aaron Buckley,

Ocean Beach

Downtown displacement 

Thanks for the article on homelessness [“Editorial,” Oct. 7]. The city tore down all the inexpensive housing Downtown to put up condos that nobody will buy or rent. The people displaced live on the sidewalks. I propose a huge tax on vacant real estate to force occupancy of the hundreds of thousands of vacant units. The tax would have to be federal, as the state and local governments favor an economic depression (caused by decreased government spending) over any tax increases. Or, how about making the condos into HUD housing, Section 8, where the tenant pays $200 a month and the U.S. pays $800 a month per unit?

Incidentally, I donate space on my air-conditioning website, NZ9F.com, telling where the soup kitchens are. Also info on food banks, food pantries, free Internet and penny-a-minute long distance telephone service with no monthly or connection fees.

John Kitchin,

El Cajon

Homeless: It’s their fault 

Congratulation on a one-sided, single-minded tome sympathetic to the plight of the homeless. Nowhere in that editorial [Oct. 7] was any responsibility for the situation in which the homeless find themselves attributed to them. Others are guilty of lack of compassion. Yet the homeless are disrespectful of the right of others.  They defecate and urinate where they please,when they please. Tough luck for those that find that unacceptable behavior.

Most homeless are in their state because of drug or alcohol abuse. Did the majority of citizens tie them down at age 18 and inject them with drugs or pour alcohol into them?  Were they victims of some nefarious plan by good citizens to create this underclass?

You allege that Kevin Faulconer responds to people who prefer to call the homeless “vagrants” or “bums.” The latter two terms are both accurate. The term homeless was popularized in the 1980s as a rebuke to the alleged hard-hearted President Reagan and Co. Using a softer name for these citizens does not lead to more acceptable behavior; it only facilitates excuse making by vocal supporters of their so-called plight. What happened to the concept of free will, which holds that each of us controls what we do and what we are?

Mario Tilaro,

El Cajon

Re. "ACORN: It's about power, stupid" Editorial, 9/30

As pointed out in the editorial, ACORN should have taken more care to be squeaky clean. But given that they are spread thin and can't afford tip-top help; incidents are inevitable. But what really struck me was how quickly the Dems backpedaled; the Dems just don't seem to get it that backpedaling is only blood in the water for the GOP and the right. If the shoe was on the other foot, the GOP would have said, "so what;" they might have even increased ACORN's funding instead of cutting as the Dems did. And the phony outrage from the GOP and the right is laughable to anyone who has an iota of a clue; for instance the allegations thrown about by the likes of the County Board of Supervisors and Daryl Issa (all 6 are Republicans) are predominantly lies, speculation, innuendo, and charges already debunked. Listening to those clowns you'd think that ACORN was on par with the corruption of an Abramoff or Cunningham scandal. It's not in the same league much less the same ballpark. Regrettably, Issa probably doesn't read CityBeat, the criticism in the editorial might have made him cry like he did when he dropped out of the gubernatorial race.

Dan Jacobs,

Mira Mesa

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