Obama isn't ready

Re: May 8 letters by Diana Thorn, "Who is Barack Obama?" and Earline Randall, "Capps wrong to back Obama":

Thorn is right on. I read Obama's book twice and decided he is as he said in his book: probably selfish and has an ego. This may not be an exact quote, but it is correct in its implication.

Obama speaks platitudes but rarely has concrete resolutions for our problems. He has gotten worse as the campaign has gone along. His wife told him not to run; he lucked out on both the state and U.S. Senate seats. He is just an inexperienced, well-meaning person who needs more time to learn the job — but not on his presidency time.

I have met with U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, on several occasions, and I wrote her an e-mail expressing my being upset about her decision to support Obama. I mentioned to her that her son-in-law, who is on Obama's campaign, influenced her — I am sure against her judgment. She owes the Clintons a return for their support of her.

— Sheldon L. Schein, Oxnard

Pay, morale and test scores

Re: Monalisa Hasson's May 9 commentary, "Working to succeed in Rio School District":

I agree wholeheartedly with her statement that everyone who chooses to work with children in the school system does so because they are passionate about student success. She goes on and states, "This passion extends well beyond the paycheck."

She misses the whole point that teachers do need money to live on — money for purchasing a home, buying food for their family, having a car to go to work (school) and buying gas, not to mention the amount of money teachers spend on school supplies.

Why should teachers have to work second and third jobs just to survive? Hasson makes out like $41,000 is a lot of money. Has she ever considered the cost to get the college degree, the advance work to get a credential and to maintain professional growth?

How much money does she get as assistant superintendent of human resources? It has to be at least three to four times that of a teacher. If district administrators made the same salary as teachers, they would be asking for big-time raises, including healthcare benefits and a car allowance.

If she and the Board of Education are so interested in improving teacher morale and test scores in the Rio School District, she wouldn't settle for what the teachers are asking for, but would add another 5 percent or 10 percent. This would go a long way to improving teacher morale and also improving the test scores that she is so concerned about.

The Rio School District Board of Education and Rio's administration should be embarrassed with a 3.3 percent salary offer for their teaching staff.

— John Weiss, Ventura

Teacher shuffle under way

It is no secret the Sacramento budget woes are hitting public education with the force of an out-of-control train. As the parent of a Pleasant Valley School District student, I am sorry to find my child in this situation, but I trust the district will persevere and do what is best for students. Unfortunately, a situation has come to my attention where the district is doing the exact opposite.

My child attends Las Colinas Middle School, where three teaching jobs have been lost in addition to two experienced teachers being forced to move against their will. Why? Will there be fewer students in Las Colinas next year? It doesn't appear so. The superintendent has announced the district will not keep teachers at schools or hire new ones until he "sees the whites of their (students') eyes." How long will that take? August? September? What are the extra students supposed to do after school starts? Wait in overcrowded classes until the district decides to do the right thing?

Once again, my child is paying for the stubbornness of adults.

The two teachers in question have been at the school for more than six years each. Besides the excellent education they provide, they personally give my child the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities such as basketball and California Junior Scholarship Federation. I also know each teacher serves on leadership committees within the school that help make Las Colinas a better place for my child.

Between them, they serve approximately 250 students. Is the population of Las Colinas going to drop by that amount? I don't think so.

Parents, get involved. Demand to see the numbers. Are these cuts really necessary, or will there simply be two new teachers filling spots vacated by experienced, involved teachers forced to move against their will?

— Jean Pericone, Camarillo

Burying the big news

Re: your May 11 articles, "Global riots spur debate on farming" and "Classroom competition among kids downplayed":

I can't believe The Star buried the food riots article on Page A18 — and in an agricultural county to boot!

"At least 34 countries have had protests in recent months," the article states, but somehow The Star thinks an article about third-graders is headline news.

How are Ventura County citizens supposed to understand what is happening with their grocery bills and the plight of our own local farmers when The Star buries a story like this? Our own small- and mid-sized farmers are being squeezed out of business here, just as they are around the world.

The much-touted free-trade agreements have driven farmers off their land, and food costs have increased, rather than decreased, as promised.

The United Nations has several recommendations, calling this a "window of opportunity for governments to relaunch the small-farming sector and traditional farming." What's needed is a "radical rethink of how the world gets its food."

But somehow, that's buried on Page A18.

Guess The Star doesn't think that's as important as third-graders coloring pictures as a group.

— Dulanie Ellis-La Barre, Ojai

Obama's books tell all

Re: May 8 letters by Diana Thorn, "Who is Barack Obama?"; Marvin Petal, "Turning Wright into a wrong"; and Earline Randall, "Capps wrong to back Obama":

If these three letter-writers would take the time to read Obama's two books, especially the second one, "The Audacity of Hope," they would not need to ask, "Who is Barack Obama?" Instead, they listen to the sound bites of the press and the Republican Party, who are trying to discredit him at any price. Shame on you all!

— Eunice Koch, Ventura

Hang it up, Hillary

It is time for Hillary Clinton to throw in the towel. She is trailing in popular votes, superdelegates and states won. She is only hurting the Democratic Party by continuing to go through this when she has almost no chance of winning the nomination. The Democrats should be focusing on an election with the Republicans and preparing for it instead of fighting amongst themselves. Besides, Hillary was already president before.

— Chris Franz, Port Hueneme

Is there enough tutoring?

My personal belief is that the president's "no child left behind" program is a failure, at least in California. As one involved in education who is seeking work as a tutor, I've seen many companies that are contracted to help students go out of business — one in particular, Extreme Learning. After-school tutoring helps, as does the Boys & Girls Club. However, is it enough to make an impact?

— Gary Traxler, Camarillo

Many issues await

When the price of gas hit $2 a gallon, it was the beginning of the current inflation. Every product and service is impacted by the cost of fuel.

I have been told the cost for OPEC countries to extract a barrel of oil from the well is $9 for 250 gallons. It is able to average 88 million barrels per day, but actually can adjust the supply to demand at will at this time.

The price of oil per barrel on the stock market is so volatile it gives "big money" the opportunity to make more "big money" through shrewd speculation.

This will never stop until a moratorium on oil-stock trading is created.

The world economy was doing well until the price exceeded $50 per barrel.

Overpopulation has created many problems for civilization and nature. Nature's solutions are lengthy and painful. It is not accidental that most of the natural disasters occur in highly populated areas.

Disasters like 9/11 and the genocides going on can be attributed to man's inhumanity to man. These can be avoided over time, through education and a sincere adoption of morality along with charity. Of course, the vision of a world society without corruption, greed or racism anytime soon is naive. For the future? Not impossible.

We must deal with the present. The U.S. has chosen to be the world leader, policeman and savior. Even though we have a glass storefront, we continue to throw stones. We are not perfect, but we still look for perfection as we judge our neighbors. Even so, our heart is in the right place.

History proves that politicizing problems deems failure.

Let us hope whatever new administration takes over the difficult task in January will be able to trash the past mistakes and attack the new objectives with majority fervor.

— Max Van Der Wyk, Ventura

Orellana overlooked

Re: your May 11 article, "Courting ethnic diversity on bench":

This article describing the need for the appointment of minority judges in Ventura inexplicably failed to mention that a superbly qualified candidate, Roberto Orellana, is on the June 3 ballot for judge. What was The Star thinking in not mentioning him? He not only fulfills the desire for a minority on the bench, but, more importantly, he will bring along superb educational qualifications. He is an honor graduate from both Thomas Aquinas College and Notre Dame Law School. Orellana also has the support of the Ventura County Deputy Sheriffs' Association. What more could you ask for?

— William G. Short, Esq., Ojai