Dear Editor,
On behalf of the volunteers of Operation Interdependence Gilroy
Unit I would like to thank you for your help this past year in
supporting the troops.
Toothpaste, soap, shampoo – but so much more for our soldiers
Dear Editor,
On behalf of the volunteers of Operation Interdependence Gilroy Unit I would like to thank you for your help this past year in supporting the troops.
With your help we have reached 15,000 plus young men and women in the military each month. For many it is the only communication they receive from home.
I’d like to share with you what one student wrote after being given a homework assignment of writing a letter to a soldier and filling a baggie with goodies from the list.
“My name is Elizabeth and I am six years old. My family and I have filled this little bag with many things just for you. There are things in this bag which you can see, like toothpaste, soap, lotion, and shampoo. But there are many things you cannot see. My heart, my love, my respect, and most importantly, my prayers for you to return home safely to your family very soon.”
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Karon Carley, national president, Operation Independence, www.oidelivers.org
Columnist overzealous and lacking common sense on ‘religion’ issue
Dear Editor,
Columnist Lisa Pampuch is so right – to a point. The United States Constitution does not have the words separation of church and state but that is what we hear all of the time from the non Christian Zealots when they are out protesting.
I just had to use the word Zealot that you are so fond of. You say you joined a group of zealots that use the words Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Isn’t that what you said was not in the Constitution or is that fine as long as it fits your need. I am sure you do realize what our forefathers came from and they did not want to see was a government that forced any one to worship God in the way they dictated.
I lived in Washington for a number of years and I have noted that on so many federal buildings there is a recognition of God. As you walk away from the back of the Capitol building you see the Library of Congress on your left and the Supreme Court on your right with a large relief of the stone tablets representing the Ten Commandments.
Read the writings of what our founders had to say about their reliance of God. Read your state Constitutions, they also reflect the same. Our laws come from the biblical Ten Commandments, take a look. Try as you may, you can’t escape it. One case in point, the “In God We Trust” has been relegated to the edge of the new gold coin.
Christians and Jews both celebrate this time of year from biblical traditions handed down though the years. Don’t tell me we can’t have a menorah displayed or a star on a tree that is not the government dictating a religion, that is the freedom I fight for.
Are you arrogant enough to think the people of America are the smartest in the world? In my personal opinion I do believe America has been blessed because we have recognized God. We have been told in a speech out of Washington we are no longer a Christian nation. I think we are headed down a slippery slope if we allow this attitude to continue.
God Bless America!
Erwin Boggs, Gilroy
The Golden Quill is awarded occasionally for a well-written letter.
How easy to bash Republicans and forget Democrats and slavery
Dear Editor,
In the Dec. 25 Dispatch editorial page Marc Perkel used broad brush strokes with no specifics, and the strong word treason to describe the politics of Republicans. He blames the Republicans for the condition that our country is in. Its always interesting to me how this mind set has either forgotten history or purposely disregards it.
For example, in the 1800’s the Southern Democrats were the definitive pro-slavery wing of the Democrat party, opposed to the anti-slavery Republicans (GOP). President Lincoln, the first Republican President introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
White Democrats used their power to segregate public spaces and facilities in law and reestablish dominance over blacks in the South.The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was a United States federal law proposed by Republican Senator Charles Sumner and Republican Congressman Benjamin F. Butler in 1870. The act was passed by Congress in February, 1875 and signed by President Grant on March 1, 1875. After losing control of their party and territory in the American Civil War, and during the Republican-led Reconstruction that followed, Southern Democrats regrouped into various vigilante organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the White League.
Today we are faced with the most left leaning Democrat administration this country has ever seen. President Obama’s administration has sent our national debt skyrocketing through reckless spending way above what President Bush had done. President Obama promised 8 percent unemployment or less when they passed the stimulus package and the rate now exceeds 10 percent nationally, and worse in some cities. His administration is advocating a cap and trade bill (now known to be based on bogus science) that would wreak havoc on our economy and hurt small businesses resulting is less jobs being available.
His National Health Care plan will also cause our economy major problems by raising taxes, mandating employer penalties, mandating individual penalties, expanding Medicaid, and funding taxpayer abortion.
I am glad the Republicans in Congress have stood firm against these socialistic policies because it shows the difference between the two parties. The Republicans don’t want America to fail, they want these socialistic policies to fail.
Doug Wilber, Gilroy
VTA free bicycle plan latest in a string of absurd, wasteful decisions
Dear Editor,
A few years ago the City of Santa Cruz set up a program where they provided bicycles for mass transit commuters. They purchased bicycles painted them yellow and distributed them around the community. In a very short time the bicycles disappeared.
A few years later the City of Fresno tried the same thing with the same results.
Why would the VTA promote a plan that has failed twice? Has no one ever heard of due diligence?
Keith C. De Filippis, San Jose
Plenty to enjoy about the local paper – keep up the good work
Dear Editor,
Just to let you know, I am the secretary for Our Senior Friends Luncheon Club that meets once a week to discuss all that has happened the past week.
There are 13 of us, and we all subscribe to the Gilroy Dispatch and Morgan Hill Times and discuss the papers. We all agreed that they are better and more informative to us than other newspapers that are available to us. We wanted to let you know some of our thoughts.
We all agreed that the TV guide is most helpful. The reviews on the theater by your writer, Camille Bounds, are great. It’s great to know what is going on – on the other side of the hill. She makes us want to get up and go to the shows she reviews. She gets the general picture of the shows in a direct, simple and well-informed way so that what is going on is understandable. We look forward to her reviews since we love going to the theater. She gives us a really good heads up on what’s worth going to see. We also enjoy her articles on travel and destinations that also make you want to get up and go. Wish she would do more.
The articles on animals by Ron Orozco and by Dr. Pete Keesling are really enjoyable and helpful since we are all animal lovers. We all wanted to know what happened to the Wine Guy, David Cox. We miss him. Laurie Sontag keeps us laughing.
Keep up the good work. We enjoy our paper for the most part and hope you keep up the good work.
Roz (secretary), Gloria, Maddy, Gina, Nora, Madison, Megan, Laura, Ginny, Louise, Barbara, Allison and Thelma
