Letters to the editor Letters to the editor (November 26, 2004)

Nation's safety net being dismantled

Editor:

This past nationial election was a contest between the Wild West values popular in American history during dangerous times and the more nurturing values that emerged from the Great Depression, when the government mitigated the worst of the economic trauma on American workers. The Wild West won.

Going forward the danger is that all the safety mechanisms invented will be jettisoned. As workers who have already paid for our parent's retirement and expect the same of our children we are being directly attacked by the upcoming Social Security privatization scam. I urge anyone thinking of retiring in the next 20 years to keep a weather eye on Washington and tell them not to give us an old age of insecurity. Ed Taub Devoto Street

Time to turn off the sprinklers

Editor:

Autumn is here. We've had a few good rains, the leaves are falling, the days are shorter and cooler, the plants are slowing down, and every day on my early morning jog, I see -- sprinklers.

There are always a couple of lawns being watered on every street, even when it's raining. It puzzles me no end. Our own irrigation system has been off since the first rain and our lawn is green and thriving. Try as we may to give our plants well drained beds, they are always surrounded by the native clay soil, which this time of year is pretty soggy.

Let's give our grass a break. Let's avoid the swampy look, complete with gutter runoff and save the water for those long hot summer days. Our plants will appreciate it. Martha Cutcomb Ernestine Lane

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