CLAWS board should resign before it does more damage
As a former CLAWS board member, a recent letter to the editor about the Clear Lake Animal Welfare Society (CLAWS) peaked my interest (Observer?American, April 25). These problems at CLAWS are nothing new, and seemingly are getting worse.
I joined the board to help make a difference in our community, at an agency I firmly believe in. I had several questions regarding the business practices of the core members of the CLAWS Board.
I questioned what I saw as overspending, with no completion of the projects started. The painting on the CLAWS Thrift Store is a prime example. The job remains unfinished after two years. The job could have been completed with volunteer help, but the board insisted on hiring a consultant.
My questions were answered with hostility, and I was attacked on a personal level. Their behavior was appalling, and I saw no need to stick around and take their abuse. I am not alone. One need only look at the membership of the board over the recent years. Three core members remain, while they cannot fill those two extra chairs for more than a few months at a time.
The CLAWS Board is run as a dictatorship. They refuse to take advice from outside sources who could help improve their agency. I have observed them treat their employees inappropriately, with harsh language, ostracism and harassment.
I believe the current board of CLAWS should resign, and leave CLAWS in more competent hands. I suggest the board resign immediately, before they do more harm.
Janet Cammarata
Clearlake
We need to take responsibility for the cost of occupying Iraq
Armed forces volunteers know they face the realities of war. They may become killers. They may be killed themselves, or maimed physically or mentally.
One thing they don”t volunteer to do is to pay for our wars.The war in Iraq has cost at least $500 billion, and not one cent of it has been paid for. The entire cost has been borrowed.
The best way we can support our troops and veterans, and all our other children and grandchildren, is to pay the Iraq war costs and not leave it to them to pay for
To do that, we could (should, I say) institute immediately a 10-percent surtax to be paid in addition to all income taxes. The surtax would remain in effect until all the costs of the war in Iraq are paid.
We say we aim to teach our children to be responsible citizens. It is high time that we take responsibility and pay for what we have done.
Don K. Moeller
Kelseyville
President Bush is determined to keep Iraq war going indefinitely
The president”s veto signals his determination to keep this war going indefinitely. Even his Secretary of Defense has said that a timeline — like the one in this bill — communicates to the Iraqi government that this is not an open-ended commitment.
Our troops have done what we sent them to do. It”s now time for the Iraqis to bring peace to their country.
We need to show the Iraqi government that we”re serious about the benchmarks we”ve set for them. Just asking them to meet the benchmarks hasn”t worked for four years. This bill sets a realistic timeline for making progress in Iraq.
The president also criticized the bill for including critical domestic funding the American public relies on:
This is an emergency supplemental appropriations bill and by definition, it is used to fund emergencies outside the normal budgeting process. Emergency aid for American families is exactly what this type of spending bill is for. The money for the war in Iraq is the only funding in this bill that isn”t an emergency. We”ve been in Iraq for more than four years, and there is no reason this spending shouldn”t be included in the president”s annual budget request. Rather, he has sought to hide the true costs of the war by continuing to use emergency supplemental funding bills, while criticizing the emergency domestic funding the supplemental should be used for.
I am very disappointed –? but not surprised — that the president has called critical relief for American families “pork.” This includes the people affected by the salmon disaster in Northern California. This disaster was caused by the president”s own staff who manipulated the science to divert water for salmon, even though they were warned it would cause tens of thousands of salmon to die. Five years later, the president is still refusing to take responsibility for the thousands of families who have lost their income. Instead of working with Congress to help these families, he is trying to score political points by falsely claiming this disaster relief funding is “pork.” But these families aren”t the only ones being neglected. The president is also denying desperately needed funding for the families hit by Hurricane Katrina. What he calls “pork” is actually funding for our nation”s uninsured children and funding for our schools, roads and public safety initiatives. It”s also funding for our run-down veterans facilities.
Last week, I visited Walter Reed hospital, as I have regularly since this war began. I met a soldier who had traveled 300 miles for his 14th surgery because he couldn”t get adequate care at his local veteran”s hospital.
This isn”t the bill I wanted. This disaster relief should have been taken care of last year during the normal appropriations process and we should be moving faster to bring our troops home. But, unfortunately, this Congress needs to responsibly deal with the bad decisions made by the president and the previous Majority in Congress. I will continue to fight to get our troops out of Iraq as safely and quickly as possible and do everything I can to shift our government”s focus back in line with American priorities.
Rep. Mike Thompson
U.S. House of Representatives
Editor”s Note: Rep. Thompson issued this statement on Wednesday, May 2, in response to a veto by President George W. Bush of the “Critical Emergency Spending Bill.” A subsequent vote by the House in an effort to override the veto fell 62 votes shy of the two-thirds majority that was needed.
CLAWS governing board is making a foolish mistake
I am writing this letter because I am very concerned about things I”ve heard. If they are true I must say I am appalled. My understanding is that the CLAWS Board is going to fire Lisa Pecchenino. This is unbelievable since her clever idea made so much money for the organization last year.
I wondered why the photo shoots scheduled for March kept being postponed. If Lisa is not going to be the photographer I will be withdrawing my bid to “take it off.” It would be such a shame; I have a sponsor ready and many friends wanting the 2008 calendars. I don”t believe I would be comfortable with or have confidence in just any photographer.
I don”t know any of the CLAWS board members but I feel this is a foolish mistake. Please tell me what I”ve heard is wrong and if not how can I help. I have every confidence that Lisa is the best and should be allowed to continue her success for this worthy cause.
Michelle Parks
Clearlake Park
Presidential candidates should support bringing troops home
A new strategy has emerged among Republican candidates for president who appeal to the party”s huge conservative base. Front-runners Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, as well as several lesser candidates, have chosen to hearken back to the Reagan era. Identifying with the man whose name is virtually synonymous with conservatism evidently makes a lot more sense than tying oneself to either George W. Bush or his father.
The current occupant of the White House, of course, is adamant in his continuation of the increasingly unpopular Iraq war. Now four years old with no end in sight, the struggle has already cost 3,200 American lives, wounded over 20,000, and destroyed whatever positive attitude for our nation existed in the Muslim world. Instead of deciding that the U.S. goals have been accomplished and ending the conflict, Mr. Bush is pouring more troops into the fray, even sending some units back for a third tour. No GOP political aspirant wants to be identified with such a record.
I think that any candidate who says forthrightly that it”s time to bring the troops home would receive strong support. Please also visit www.jbs.org/node/3235 regarding my concern.
Matt K. Davis
Henderson, Nev.
