Publication Date: Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Letters
Letters
(January 05, 2005)
Utility gratitude
Editor,
At a time when Palo Alto is going through more growing pains, it doesn't hurt to be mindful of at least one of the great advantages we have.
As a long-time Midtown resident, I express gratitude for our fine privately owned utilities, and for the quality customer service.
The times I've called for any kind of service, such as lighting gas pilot lights, or gas, electrical, or water checks and PASCO services, etc., I've been more than gratified at the personal, qualified, cheerful and ready response.
And don't forget about PASCO's once-a-year pickup of large household items.
Our expert utility service reps have always given us the small-town and neighborly, helpful approach.
Being privately owned, prices have held lower than any of the surrounding communities with which I've compared utility statements.
Joann George
Cowper Court
Palo Alto
About the Bible
Editor,
Your readers of all religious backgrounds appreciate your efforts to reflect our diverse community, so it's important to correct misinformation about one of those communities when it arises on your pages. The ReaderWire letter, "Urging Gay Rights" (Dec. 31), stated several factual errors about the Bible that in fairness should be addressed.
First, sacrifices did not cease because they became "outdated," but because God did not require them after God himself came to earth as a man to make the ultimate sacrifice to atone for our sins.
Secondly, the Bible does not declare women to be inferior to men. As just one example of quite the opposite, Jesus launched his earthly ministry by revealing his identity to a Samaritan woman at a well. In doing so, he broke all social conventions of the time (he spoke to a woman and to a Samaritan and to a Samaritan woman who had been married multiple times), and he has been making waves ever since by his radical call for love and justice.
Which brings me to the final fallacy of the letter, which states that homosexuals are damned by the Bible. The God of the Bible prohibits all sexual activity outside the framework he designed. In that sense, most of us have been guilty at one time or another. But we now come back to the first point about sacrifice and atonement. According to the Bible, Christ's death means that damnation is no longer a consequence of sin, but of unbelief.
I recommend that readers interested in these topics read the Bible themselves (the New International Version Study Bible is a good place to start). Not one time in all of history has the God of the Bible contradicted himself or rescinded his commands to keep pace with our society. The Bible is an amazing read for those who want to take the time to learn the truth about it, whether or not they decide to accept what it says.
Callie Grant
Windsor Drive
Menlo Park
Time for tolerance
Editor,
Hats off to Marie Nightingale (ReaderWire, Dec. 31) for speaking up on the issue of gay rights. I'm a relatively young man in the eyes of the world. That is to say, I wasn't alive for the African-American and other civil right issues that arose in the 1950s and before.
But I'm old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.
As human beings, we are all born different. We are all born with our own beliefs about the world, sexuality, religion and much more. And it is up to us to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally.
Here in Palo Alto, the general population is fairly open-minded. Being so close to San Francisco helps us understand and appreciate every individual's inalienable rights -- especially their right to be themselves. Thank goodness for that.
But in other parts of the country, the lack of acceptance and outright bigotry is thick enough to cut with a knife. It is high past time for that to end.
As with other civil battles in decades past, the gay right issue is the tug-of-war of my generation. And I plan to hold fast to the twine that offers each human being the freedom, rights and liberties to be the person they were born to be. Let's open our minds people and allow gay marriage. Heck, if you aren't gay, what do you care?
Daniel Rand
Park Boulevard
Palo Alto
Marriage = man + woman
Editor,
Marie Nightingale asserts in ReaderWire (Dec. 31) that, "It is unfair to deny them (gays) the right to marry someone they love."
I have news for you, little bird. However much I might wish, I cannot marry Doris Day, my sister, my daughter or my brother. I cannot even marry another willing woman while I remain married to my wife.
Unless you are ready to propose that society must allow all these matchings, as well as matchings I dare not even think of, your assertion that your very special demand must be met is presumptuous. If I don't object to what you do in bed, don't try to control what I do in my mind.
You have precisely the same right that I have. You may marry one consenting member of the opposite sex who does not lie within the prohibited relationship. You can, of course, fool around.
Walter E. Wallis
Waverley Street
Palo Alto
Inhumane Guantanamo
Editor,
Would you call the humane society if a neighbor's property had pens with dogs lying in their own filth? If dogs cowered listlessly by the fence of the dog-run because their legs were tethered so they couldn't walk without pain? If lights and noises all night prevented the poor animals from sleeping?
Why are we not outraged at the conditions at Guantanamo, where prisoners have been warehoused in similar conditions for three years? In August 2003, General Geoffrey Miller, in charge of Guantanamo, gave advice in Baghdad about Iraqi prisoners. Soon after, the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison began, using these abuses plus beatings and sexual humiliation. In March 2004 he was transferred to head prison operations in Iraq.
The FBI's opinion is that coercion is not the way to get good intelligence. One agent's opinion: "It's evil, but it's also stupid."
Alberto Gonzales, the president's lawyer, issued opinions in 2002 that cleared the way for disregarding international norms of behavior. He has called the Geneva Conventions (which protect our soldiers as well as theirs) "quaint."
Now he is the nominee for U.S. Attorney General. If this isn't what you want, notify your senator soon.
Gertrude Reagan
Moreno Avenue
Palo Alto
'Eagles' article soars
Editor,
Thanks so much for the Palo Alto Weekly article of Dec. 8 entitled "Program Hatches Legal Eagles." In a time when headlines are full of tragedy, kudos to the Weekly for publishing the heart-warming story of young people making a positive change in their lives.
Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto is proud to have brought such a wonderful program to the community of East Palo Alto. As an organization that provides free legal services to 1,200 individuals and families in need, we hope that 2005 will yield even more successes.
Our appreciation of your recognition cannot be understated.
Lome A. Aseron, Esq.
Executive Director, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto
University Avenue
East Palo Alto
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