ReaderWire ReaderWire (October 21, 2005)

Mitchell's position

My response to the school board candidate question on intelligent design has created some confusion, which I would like to clear up (Weekly, Oct. 5).

Intelligent design does not belong in the Palo Alto Unified School District's science curriculum. If a proposal to add intelligent design or creationism to our curriculum came before me as a school board member, I would oppose it.
Barb Mitchell, PAUSD school board candidate
N. California Avenue, Palo Alto

Palo Alto philosophy

The philosopher Hegel wisely observed that, "Peoples and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it."

Kudos to Jeff Blum for his recent call to public action to address homelessness (Weekly, Oct. 5). Before he and the current Human Relations Commission proceed, however, may I respectfully suggest they all read in its entirety (six pages) the Aug. 1, 1996, report of the Homelessness Task Force of Palo Alto, a body created by the then Human Relations Commission to the considerable pique of the then City Council.
Joe Baldwin
Waverley Street, Palo Alto

Senator talks security

It's unnerving to read about security breaches, especially when they hit home, as did the recent breach at the Palo Alto Children's Health Council exposing the Social Security numbers and credit-card information of more than 7,000 patients, donors and employees (Palo Alto Weekly, Sept. 23).

However, it's important to remember that Californians now have the right to know when their personal information has been ripped off. With early warning, you can take steps to protect yourself before any damage is done.

Everyone has the right to one free copy of their credit report once a year from each of the three national credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. To make the best use of these, ask for one of the three reports every four months and check it for signs of identity theft, such as a change of address or a credit card you don't have. To get started, call (877) 322-8288 or visit www.annualcreditreport.com.

Finally, every Californian has the right to freeze access to their credit reports -- the only truly effective way to foil identity thieves. Once you freeze your credit reports, even if a criminal snatches your Social Security number, your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft drops significantly, because banks simply won't approve new lines of credit in your name without checking your credit.

No credit-report access means no identity thief will drive off in a brand new Porsche and stick you with a $70,000 car loan. To freeze access to your credit reports, call (866) 785-9663 or visit www.privacy.ca.gov.

We'll always have computer hackers and identity thieves, but if people use their rights to protect themselves, they can dramatically lower their risk of becoming victims.
Debra Bowen, Senator, 28th District
Artesia Boulevard, Redondo Beach

Avoiding right-wing vote

On Nov. 8, I will be saying "NO" to the Bush/Schwarzenegger agenda by voting "NO" on all six right-wing initiatives.

To succeed in the global economy of the 21st century, California needs leaders willing to tackle the real issues facing our state. At the very time that we should be focused on issues such as education, transportation and health care, Schwarzenegger is forcing the state to endure his deeply divisive special election and spending money that could have benefited our schools or MediCal.

The last thing California needs is to become the proving ground for Bush's divisive politics and destructive policies. What California doesn't need is for Arnold to start the "fourth reich" in our state.
Donnasue Jacobi
Haight Street, Menlo Park

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