Opinion

I detest cigarettes; it robs the quality of life from smokers and nonsmokers alike. My dad spent 36 of his 73 years trying to kick the habit before it took his life. Proposition 29, however, is as dirty a tax as the habit itself. Sin taxes do not deter bad habits significantly and it is immoral for the government to use taxes to cajole those who choose this nasty vice. Furthermore, it does not raise substantial revenue to solve California's budgetary problems.

I detest cigarettes; it robs the quality of life from smokers and nonsmokers alike. My dad spent 36 of his 73 years trying to kick the habit before it took his life. Proposition 29, however, is as dirty a tax as the habit itself. Sin taxes do not deter bad habits significantly and it is immoral for the government to use taxes to cajole those who choose this nasty vice. Furthermore, it does not raise substantial revenue to solve California's budgetary problems.

Recall is a procedure that allows citizens to remove and replace a public official before the end of a term of office. What a great option. "Recall" is the word that comes to mind when I think of the job the sheriff has done since his election.

It appears that Merced County's district attorney and sheriff are going to make a gallant attempt at keeping public safety as a priority after implementation of AB 109 on realignment, according to the article "Packed jails spark debate" (May 5, Page A-1).

Letter writer Steve Beck is wrong on several counts about abortion, the Obama administration, and media reporting on Chinese dissident Guangcheng, whose fate is still in limbo as I write this. Chen Guangcheng was convicted in 2006 by the Chinese authorities after suing the government on behalf of women forced to undergo sterilizations and abortions under the one child per family policy. I read this in the New York Times and the Sun-Star as well. At least one of these sources is touted by the right as being a bulwark of the liberal media. Maybe Beck gets his "fair and balanced" news from his television namesake, Glen. But I digress.

The death of a police dog recently serves as a reminder to all of us that animals are no more resistant to weather conditions than we are.

Obama is spiking the football with all of his bull about what he has done. I hope people are smart enough to see through all his lies. I know that liberals will not, even though they know for a fact he has driven the economy down the drain.

Is not the Atwater Elementary School District part of the public school system? If it is still a part of the public school system; then, the general public still has a right to know just what is happening in the public domain. If board members Lena Mendoza, John Hall and Sheila Whitley want their actions to remain secret, then let them; but, at the same time let action be taken to immediately fire them from their positions of trust. There would be no secret about their being fired as the general public would already know just why such action was taken.