Letters to the Editor

School Board contendersTo the Editor:We are fortunate to have a number of good people running for school board in Santa Paula. I’m sure each one has his or her agenda that they feel strongly about. However there are some things that they will not say in their literature, because it is too true.Today, one child born in a home without a computer has a handicap; two or three children born in a home without a computer could have a tremendous lifetime handicap. I cannot think of one industry in the United States today, where a person can earn a good living without some computer skills. Even McDonald’s requires computer skills.Technology is doubling about every 5 years. It takes a lifetime of dedication to try to keep up with today’s technology. Some immigrants bring a tremendous amount of skills/talents to the U.S. and we appreciate this very much. Some bring nothing but hungry tummies. There are fewer jobs every year for unskilled workers because we keep inventing up ways to automate repetitive tasks. Frito Lay automates the digging, harvesting and processing of potatoes all over the world!Man-hours to build a car have been reduced by almost 80%. Man-hours for the food processing industry have been greatly reduced. Earth moving man-hours have been reduced over 90%. Point in any direction and you will see technology replacing labor. Equipment operators require a very high level of skills. Unskilled labor market in the U.S. is drying up. Today our military cannot use the uneducated, in fact they will not be allow to enlist!!Those that have large families that they cannot afford to feed, house, clothe or educate sentence their children to a life of poverty. Sadly those that are highly educated usually have the least number of children. The uneducated tend to have the larger families.Their job as a members of our school board is to help prepare our youth to start learning a skill for a successful career. A high school diploma is not enough. From what I understand, Yolie Cerda wrote an entire Master’s thesis on how to prepare our young people for careers and futures. Please consider voting for Yolie Cerda during this upcoming election!David KaiserSanta PaulaNot hateTo the Editor:Has it ever occurred to you, the reader, that when someone who does not know you levels a name-calling attack upon you, that they are really revealing their own true self? So it may well be with Sr. Xavier Montes who last week in this newspaper accused the undersigned of being a “hater”. Sr. Montes, I say to you, there is no person, or any group of people, in Santa Paula, that I “hate”. The closest I can imagine fitting into that category would be the Taliban or the Al Qaeda’s, those that want to keep their country and people in the dark ages and who regularly abuse women, children, and others who do not subscribe to their black hearted anti-religious cult; even then, it is not “hate”, more like - “I despise”. Any comments made by me regarding “low-income”, high-density housing are based upon the economics of the city. That is why we need housing “balance”. As to the subject of open borders, no, I cannot accept that theory, whether to the North, Canada, or from South of the border, Mexico. No country can call itself “sovereign” if it cannot control its borders. “Hate” is not an issue in this discussion, Sir. You should just address the real issues and leave name-calling out of it if you want to have credibility.Richard MainSanta PaulaProblem not exclusive to usTo the Editor:The world’s major problem is a simple one: over-population of the human species! Those that know history are aware that this is more true today than it has ever been before. Sr. Xavier Montes, unfortunately, is apparently not knowledgeable of world history. I do not “hate” anyone, as he has implied in last Friday’s opinion/letters page.When people bring with them into this country the same failed behavior that they have had for years in the old country, problems result. Look at Mexico. A huge and wonderful piece of geography and yet, it is failing, and failing as a nation-state very rapidly. In case you do not know what I am talking about, I will try to explain.Every country that produces more people than they can feed, or provide safe potable water for, is a third world country. Some call it a “developing” country. “Third world” is a term sometimes used, but usually reserved for Africa, and until recently, Asia. There are many names for failures. The big question is why? Why hasn’t Mexico become more like - Miami or San Antonio? Why hasn’t the middle class become far larger? Why are the schools and medical care so marginal? Why is crime rampant with murder and kidnapping, even beheadings, right near our border? I will say, President Cardenas is doing his best to fight the drug cartels and crime and we need to support him and the current government in that effort. Many, many honest cops and chiefs down there, and their families, have been murdered by the drug thugs. And this is one reason we need to have a tight border, for our safety, Sr. Montes. Safety is not racism or hate, it is just third grade logic. Can you not see that?Technology cannot flourish where people are hungry. Third world countries do not produce cars, airplanes, ships, elevators, high rise buildings, space ships, computers, television sets and the like. Mexico is trying, I will say that, cars but no planes yet. Face it, by and large, most of Mexico’s population is concerned with where their next meal is coming from and having their children obtain basic medical care.Ask yourself one question, do you see the number of jobs for the uneducated in the U.S. growing or shrinking? Our people think about ways to invent automated machines to replace hand labor. Supply and demand, globalism, dictates the direction for this economy. We cannot afford more tax-free housing in Santa Paula at this time, what we do need is balanced housing.I can remember when organized labor fought against spray painting houses, nail guns, plastic piping and the like. The future is now. Get with the program or consign yourself and your loved ones to a life not much better than is happening south of the border. We urgently need a good trade school, with computer skills taught, right here in Santa Paula, and our Council can back this. Ask them to do this when you see them.David KaiserSanta PaulaDisrespect intolerableTo the Editor:Re: “Get informed” & “Who’s negative?” “What do we want for Santa Paula?”I was really hoping these past weeks that Mr. Castaneda’s perspectives and comments are that of his own, which he at liberty to do so in this great country. BUT, a thin line has been pasted when it comes to have a negative impact on our youth in our school district and such personal views and public disrespect and stereotypes towards our Raza’s should not be ever be tolerated, again.We had fought too hard for too long to repeat such false views on our national organizations such as MECHA, which I was a very active member both in high school and in VC back in the day and had benefited greatly from my involvement in academic and community spheres.I have so much I would engage with him at the moment, but I would to read out his positions on school social groups such as MECHA vs. 4H Club, and in general, what he is to accomplish as SPUHSD Governing Board? I wonder now more than ever before since making his mind public on immigrants whether they are “legal or illegal” and their children that will continue to populate the schools here in Santa. Would he create some kind of Gestapo crackdowns in our schools, stop the “pataleros” from scrolling around the schools and stop MECHista’s from meeting in school? All kinds of red flags started racing by me and once again, just when I thought those days were over; here they are again, from a “His-panic.” Boy, keep talking out loud, so this way you can be defeated at the polls, and rest of sure there will be plenty of Raza out there in those polls this year and hopefully just enough to send your campaign a signal that hatred brings no resolution to better our community’s institutions and its youth.As we had said in the past, that our own very worse enemy would be that of our own, nuez de coco, a coconut - brown inside and white outside.MECHista’s, Raza - Organize, Mobilize for the lucha that faces you today and that of your children of tomorrow.¡La Lucha Continua simepre! Y que ¡Viva Mi Raza Linda Querida!¡E Pueblo Unido, Hamás Será Vencido!Daniel Zapata HuertaXikano-Xiximeka Nation, Aztlan CxSSanta PaulaA lot less Mexicans than statedTo the Editor:Re: Tony Vasquez Jr. letter of Sept. 26, 2008 “Get Informed.” Tony’s letter states “After the U.S.-Mexican war in 1848 the current U.S. Mexican border was formed and hundreds of thousands of Mexicans became U.S. citizens overnight. Thus we came to be classified as Mexican-Americans.” That number is incorrect. There were only 82,500 Mexicans in the land the U.S. acquired from Mexico (known as the southwest consisting of the territories or now states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas and small parts of Colorado and New Mexico) in 1848. Most of these Mexicans arrived after 1822 or were born to those who arrived after 1822 when Mexico acquired this same territory from Spain in its revolution ending in 1822. Mexico gave land in their new area as a reward to soldiers who had served in the revolution and the majority of these Mexicans and their offspring were the Mexican occupants in 1848.The U.S. conducted a census immediately after acquiring these new lands in 1848 and counted 7,500 Mexicans in California, 1,000 in Arizona, 60,000 in New Mexico and 14,000 in Texas. By 1848, most of these Mexicans in the southwest were disillusioned with Mexico’s governing or mostly lack of and were glad to be part of the U.S. The first major Mexican immigration into the southwest U.S. started after 1914, 66 years after acquisition, due to Mexico’s civil revolutions and economic discord which still continues today and for the jobs or better jobs and life opportunities that America had developed. The U.S. census in 1990 showed that 80% of people with a Spanish surname had immigrated, legally or illegally, from Mexico and Central America within the last 10 years or since 1980.This information was obtained from resources and websites from the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. My letter is meant for historical information only with no negativism intended toward any nationality or ethnic group. Tony knows me and where I’m coming from.Steven MarellaSanta PaulaFallen Firefighter MemorialTo the Editor:The Fallen Firefighter Memorial was dedicated On Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Ventura County Government Center in memory of personnel who lost their lives in the fire service in Ventura County.Many Santa Paulans were instrumental in raising funds for this memorial and we wish to thank them. Yamaguchi Flowers was very generous in providing an array of arrangements, garlands and the red roses for family members.The Memorial is a figure of a firefighter in turnouts holding a baby. A close-up of the 7’ statute shows that the baby is smiling. Names of 39 firefighters from six different agencies are inscribed on the marble base. The agencies include Ventura County Fire, Ventura City Fire, Ventura County Federal Fire, Oxnard Fire, US Forest Services and LA County Fire and Hand Crew.The monument is a reminder that some have given all in service to their communities. We know that many others lose their lives from injuries or illnesses related to this work after they leave their departments. The monument is a lasting tribute to the memory of all firefighters. We promise to never forget.Chief Rick AraizaSanta Paula FireDepartment