Tuesday May 6

Letters

Children's Theatre

Dear Editor: I have been following your stories on the investigation of the Children's Theatre by the Palo Alto Police Department. I think they are wasting our tax dollars on something that is obviously an accounting oversight. The theater staff should simply be advised to set up better procedures for submitting receipts against future city funding.

As it is, I wonder if our city has already expensed more than the amount in question. The majority of this $40,000 in question was apparently used for legitimate trip expenses, although the receipts were not submitted. The actual "unaccounted for" amount is only $10,460. If the police department is really going to keep investigating or even bring criminal charges against the concerned parties, how many more thousands of dollars are we going to waste? If we are ready to spend that much money, I say let's use it to hire them a CPA so these dedicated employees can go back to doing what they do best - educating and entertaining our children through theatre arts.

Laura Chiu,

Palo Alto



Police conduct

Dear Editor: Without question, men and women who police our nation do so with honor and distinction consistent with Chief Lynne Johnson's own assessment of her officers of the Palo Alto Police Department [Letters, Wednesday].

"Many officers, including Sgt. Michael Yore, have received awards and commendations for their bravery, expertise, hard work and investigative skills, talents that my staff utilizes every day in the line of duty. The community is fortunate to have such competent employees working tirelessly on its behalf."

What Chief Johnson has failed to point out is that hundreds, if not thousands, of like individuals she describes are currently serving time in prison for rape, fraud, embezzlement, drug trafficking, coercion and soliciting false confessions.

Consider the case of Jorge Hernandez [who under police interrogation confessed to a rape he was later cleared of], to which multiple detectives were assigned, as in the "Galbraith" case.

Furthermore, these same men and women of supposed honor and distinction have also sent innocent people to prison just to gain that badge of honor (award) through shoddy investigative findings, only to find themselves in prison along with multimillion dollar settlements.

Mark Petersen-Perez,

Palo Alto



Abortion issue

Dear Editor: On April 8, the people elected Jackie Speier to Congress. There were three major issues: the war, the economy and immigration. There is an even bigger issue, the right to life. As a Roman Catholic, I believe in the sanctity of life, and I understand what it means to be pro-life. One must believe that life is not possible without conception; therefore, life takes place from conception to death. Out of five candidates, I was the only pro-life advocate. In retrospect, I was a political coward because I did not take the initiative to bring it up. The media did not bring it up, nor did the people and obviously, the pro-murder candidates did not bring it up.

I will no longer be silent on this subject because Pope Benedict XVI, during his visit, reminded me that there is not such thing as liberal Catholics. He reminded me that true Catholics are about life and justice for all, including the purest essence of life - the child in the mother's womb. I am aware that abortion in this country is legal. We have a responsibility to try to change this law.

The blatant hypocrisy of Jackie Speier on the issue of abortion is astounding. She claims to be a Catholic who attended Mercy High School and a member of the Saint Bart's Parish, where she receives communion. How can she possibly do all these things and be an advocate for abortion (murder)?

Where is the silent mayority of Catholics of this district? Why are they not speaking out against abortion? Why do you keep voting for these hypocrites? Since when do we take God's job on our hands? Since when do we decide who lives or dies?

Mike Moloney,

GOP candidate for Congress,

Foster City



Don't blame Dems

Dear Editor: Joseph Locasto shows his ignorance by blaming the Democrats for the price of gasoline [Letters, Wednesday]. Unfortunately, it is our (not-so-)wise president who put the economy in the tank and made sure the dollar isn't worth half a dollar in the rest of the world, making the price of oil go up. The Arabs want real money for their oil, not a worthless dollar. Add to that oil speculation on the stock market and we have our answer. Blame our president.

Theo Albers,

San Francisco