LETTERS
SUV Bill
Richard Nixon rightly said that, “If you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing.”
Being a Democratic nominee for office, I never much thought that I’d be quoting Richard Nixon, but I can think of no better a statement as a reply to my opponent’s stunning display of flip-floppy doubletalk on AB 1058, a.k.a. the controversial “SUV” bill.
I held my tongue for four months after my opponent, Assemblyman Tom Harman, voted for AB 1058 in January. I wasn’t going to hit the guy for casting a tough vote on a controversial bill. He was actually taking a stand for something.
I may likely have cast the same vote (after using it to leverage promises from other lawmakers to support park funding for West Anaheim and trees grants for Cypress and a big allocation for the Bolsa Chica.)
Now, it seems that maybe he just thought no one was looking back on Jan. 30. It seems that a few hundred phone calls from constituents blasting him for his support of AB 1058 put a new head of steam in his kettle.
Harman’s “yes” vote has since been covered up by loud talk about how bad the bill is and how he could never support its provisions. To hear him now, you’d think that the gentleman from Huntington Beach is leading the charge against the very same bill that he voted to support.
The admirable thing for Harman would be to thicken up his skin and actually fess up to his vote. But if holding to one’s principles proves a little too uncomfortable for the gentleman, maybe it’s better to quote another president.
“If you can’t stand the heat,” said Harry Truman, “get out of the kitchen.”
Bill Orton
Democratic nominee
67th State Assembly District
CHOC Follies
I want to thank Rick Reiff (or should I say, Gucci?) for our dance during the “Twistin’ Finale” at the CHOC Follies!
My wife and I truly enjoyed the performance and want to extend congratulations for the hard work put in by all. Thank you to the cast for what you are doing for Children’s Hospital because it means a tremendous amount to us parents who have had children spend time at CHOC. My oldest daughter Nicole and I have spent more than our share of time at CHOC over the last nine years. In fact, Nicole was able to be one of the first patients to christen the neonatal intensive care unit at CHOC at Mission when she was born.
Our family owes a great deal to CHOC and its staff for allowing our daughter to not just survive at birth but to grow and develop over the years. Without the support of people like yourself and others in the community CHOC would certainly not be what it is today.
Scott Larson
Executive Director
HomeAid Orange County
Irvine
Space Travel
In the future, the world economy will be based upon space exploration and travel. It is the only way to save life on this planet. If we continue to destroy ourselves and our planet, then we will end up just like the dinosaurs.
The arms race between the USSR and the USA created the space race. Space was considered and now is becoming the battleground of the future.
Our exploration and development of space travel technology will only improve our lives here on earth. From a military standpoint, having weapons in space gives the USA a huge strategic advantage over all other potential enemies. The development of a missile defense shield also adds to our security.
Another reason to pursue weapons in space is the asteroid theory. The fact that a very large asteroid has hit earth before, and that is the conventional explanation for the extinction of the dinosaurs, is enough for me to consider weapons in space. After all, history tends to repeat itself. Having a huge nuclear weapon on Pluto that is capable of blowing up that asteroid before it even comes close to earth sounds like a good policy for the world to pursue.
As it is right now, we hardly even go back to the moon. We should be looking into “biodomes” on the moon, and other structures that can assist in sustaining life. Our goals should include every planet and their respective moons in our solar system. In the future, you should be able to vacation on Pluto, just to get away from it all.
Exploring has been in our blood since the beginning. Exploring and inhabiting other planets is the next logical step in our evolution. The nations of this world should join together and pursue these policies and goals.
The Russian policy of allowing space tourism is fantastic. It uses capitalism to create and entirely new economy in which to earn revenue. The fact that the United States does not allow for space tourism should be readdressed immediately. Using capitalism as the fuel to drive the space exploration economy is the future. Let us put a woman on Mars, and more. Let us work toward traveling to the next closest star, and beyond.
Working toward complete world peace, freedom and the exploration of space should be the goals of every earthling. It is the New Frontier, and it beats the hell out of being extinct.
George Christopher Thomas
(Thomas is a freelance journalist in Agoura Hills. His website is www.georgechristopherthomas.com.)
