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Letters
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- Written by: Greg Cornish
Is Edward Snowden a traitor? Not in my view. This spying on the citizenry has absolutely got to stop. With this technology theoretically the American Revolution that gained our independence would never have happened.
Why can't my country just come out and tell me, “We record everything you do. If you don't like that, change it with your vote.” Why do they think they can make those decisions about out safety better than we can? Why do they shroud it in a veil of secrecy?
This whole terrorist facade is an overinflated, mostly contrived information that allows our government to take away our freedoms and rights one by one and parse them back to us in the form of privileges. Well I'm sorry, its not OK to do that. There's a price to pay for freedom and that includes dying for it.
I don't want you to have a camera on my life. I want my privacy to conspire against you if you threaten my freedom as an American.
Snowden is a hero who is sacrificing his life to inform us of what really is happening in our country. Bring him back and place him on a pedestal.
Greg Cornish lives in Nice, Calif.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The Lake County Land Trust once again enjoyed a successful fundraising dinner at the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro in Kelseyville, thanks to owner, Marie Beery, and her wonderful staff.
Eighty people enjoyed the delicious dinner held in May which was the Land Trust’s annual spring benefit dinner.
Proceeds from the event help further the trust’s efforts to preserve the beautiful landscapes of Lake County. The event raised almost $5,000 towards this effort.
The Lake County Land Trust is a charitable nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to preserving Lake County’s natural resources through education, partnerships, and land conservation.
The trust owns and operates the Rodman Preserve near Upper Lake, owns the Rabbit Hill Park in Middletown, and is currently working on several land conservation projects in Lake County.
The annual Spring Dinner at the Saw Shop in Kelseyville is one of two major fundraising events for the Land Trust.
Marie Beery, owner of the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro has been presenting this dinner for the Land Trust for many years and her generosity and hard work on this event are greatly appreciated.
Also very much appreciated are the staff at the Saw Shop and our yearly sponsor, Dennis Darling of Foods Etc. of Clearlake.
Thank you to the many local wineries that contributed wine and to the local media for publicizing our event. Also, thank you to everyone who attended – your support is very important to us!
Roberta Lyons is president of the Lake County Land Trust, based in Lake County, Calif.
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- Written by: Nelson Strasser
A few days ago, I got a call from Sutter that a friend of mine was in the emergency room, and would I come and sit with her? She had fractured her knee as a result of a fall.
I drove to the emergency department and waited with her for five hours or so, and then they sent her home.
The man who got her from the wheelchair to my truck was large and way younger than me. I said “How do I get her inside when we get there.” He said, “If you have trouble, call 911.”
Now, my friend and I are both about 70 years old, so, getting her out of my truck seemed insurmountable.
So, I called 911, and two burly fellows came out, got her in the wheelchair the hospital provided, and carried the wheelchair, with her in it, up the steps. Then, reality set in.
My mind must have been dulled by the wait, because suddenly, I had a lot of questions: My friend can’t cook, can’t move, can’t do bodily functions and, can’t even feed her dogs. And, an osteopath could not even see her until the following Wednesday. So, I called the hospital and the operator put me through to a man who evidently was functioning as administrator.
I explained her plight. The man said, “You can call 911, bring her back here, and we will send her to a convalescent home.”
But, my friend did not want to go to a home. So, I stayed with her and the next day a caretaker who lives in her park came to help. Several neighbors stopped by, and Ray and Silvia, neighbors, brought us dinner.
I slept over again. More precisely, I slept until I was awakened by a thud. She had fallen out of bed! I called 911 again, and one of the two men that had come out earlier returned, this time with a woman partner.
My friend was confused and vacillated as to whether she wanted to go to the hospital or just get helped back into bed. She decided to stay, and the emergency duo got her up and into the wheelchair.
As they put her in, the woman partner, who must have got some of her skin caught between my friend’s arm and the arm of the wheelchair, yelled, “You’re pinching me.” My friend apologized.
Then, the duo asked my friend to stand up. “You can do it. You can put weight on the injured leg, come on.” But, she could not, and the duo got upset. The guy said, “That’s it, we are putting her on the gurney and taking her to the hospital.”
Evidently the duo perceived my friend as recalcitrant. I told the duo about the convalescent hospital plan. The guy said, “That is not what they are for! We have 55 years of experience between us and that is not what you should do, and you should not argue with us.”
I said, “I am not arguing, I am asking for direction. Here you see two people, each about 70 years old. We are incapable of moving her. We can’t do this, and so, I am asking you, with your 55 years of experience, in similar situations, what do people do?”
“What do people do,” he echoed, “They help themselves.”
I don’t know whether he was taken with the alliteration, wanted to create emphasis, or just was enamored with the notion expressed, but, he repeated, “They help themselves.”
On the way to the ambulance my friend uttered her concerns, much of which seemed relevant, and the duo began to argue with her.
I said, “She is in a drug-induced stupor, perhaps you should not listen.”
The guy said, “No, we listen to everything.” So, the duo set their respective jaws, groused and did their job.
Today, the sun shone on our magnificent county and my friend’s fortunes. The wonderfully kind Dr. Diaz at Sutter listened and heard my friend, and arranged for her to see a specialist in Santa Rosa this very day, and secured transportation.
I am going to remember this episode for a long time, I think, and the wisdom of the guy: “What do people do? They help themselves.”
Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Randy Ridgel
Obama is shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn there is gambling in the casino.
He was shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn folks were skeptical after he spent a fortune to conceal his birth and college records.
He is shocked, shocked I tell you, that his many vacations, some of which flew his wife, children and dog separately cost this destitute government millions of dollars.
He was shocked, shocked I tell you, that some were upset when he threw out the bust of Winston Churchill, insulted the Queen of England, announced the most beautiful sound he ever heard was the Muslim call to prayer and bowed to the waist while sucking up to the Saudi King.
He was shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that his longtime pastor, Jeremiah Wright, hated America and Americans, especially white Americans.
He was shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn of “Fast and Furious” gun-running to Mexico, killing an American and untold numbers of Mexicans.
He was shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn the IRS suppressed the vote of enough conservative organizations to reelect him. He thought he should have known about the vote suppression after meeting the head of IRS 157 times leading up to the election.
He was shocked, shocked I tell you, that those under him called off all rescue efforts for Benghazi and got the ambassador and three others killed. He would have saved them but he was too busy preparing for a political trip to Las Vegas.
He was shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that his old buddy, Attorney General Eric Holder, apparently lied his head off to Congress about his illegal searches of news organizations’ and reporters’ records.
I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that not one of those high-level thugs he appointed ever gave him a hint about any of this.
Randy Ridgel lives in Kelseyville, Calif.