For Shame

I am the owner of one of the properties featured in Gabe Meline's article ("Wine Country Confidential," April 23). His research was not as complete as it should have been.  Apparently, he is unaware that two trespassers have accidentally died on this extremely dangerous property. He has no idea the trouble he will have caused me. I have fought for years to keep people off my land and finally was feeling as if I had made some real progress. Foot traffic had significantly decreased. I am absolutely sick about this irresponsible article.

Amy Ciddio

Guerneville

Fishnets & Fisticuffs

Nice to see roller derby alive and well in the Sonoma County area ("Wheels on Fire," April 16). And it was nice to see an article about the sport again. However, coming from the old school as a fan, I prefer a banked track and a coed game. Much success to the new group, though!

George Gong

Vallejo

Don't Fence Me In

If the supposed motivation for building a multibillion dollar wall on the Mexican border is to thwart a terrorist threat, then why are we so completely unconcerned about the border of Canada?

Unlike the Mexican border, where vast expanses of desert can make traveling extremely difficult, the Canadian border is crossed by 10 gigantic lakes, several large forests and the Rocky Mountains. Good luck building a fence across that!

The racial/political nature of the Mexican border fence should be obvious to people by now since it goes hand-in-hand with an English-only, anti-immigration movement that exclusively targets the Mexican population. White supremacy not only assumes one language to be superior, it attempts to close off the culture to all but a single cultural group. This idea becomes particularly offensive when that group has grown to be one of the largest minorities in our nation. We should teach our children to respect Spanish, not to fear it.

Ronald Lemley

Santa Rosa

A Needed Voice

Thank you for publishing the article by John Sakowicz depicting the current mess on Wall Street ("Hello, Alternative Universe," April 23). As a self-employed single woman, it's frightening how out-of-bounds the industry has become and is becoming.

I am not wealthy. The unregulated activities by high-rolling individuals who behave without regard must be put in line. In truth, we who don't work on Wall Street have the usual and customary path to be financially responsible for ourselves, our children and our community.  To be asked to absorb this fallout is immoral.

Please put the word out with Mr. Sakowicz and others like him. We need your voice.

M. Kathryn Massey

Indianapolis, ind.

We didn't know it had Gone Away!

Thank you for a general overview of the "shadow economy," which has become so vast as to dwarf the common economy which we all are led to believe encompasses all "our" assets and liabilities globally as well as nationally. In my opinion, the greatest transformation of wealth is being done before our eyes. The legislation created to answer to and counter the debacle after the Enron failure left out the financial-services sector so as to accommodate the "back room" economy so eloquently described in Mr. Sakowicz's commentary. The elimination of the Glass-Steagall Act was also a facilitator, as mentioned. Furthermore, the promotion of the "ownership society" by Mr. Bush and Mr. Greenspan also aided in the subprime mortgage fiasco. Mr. Walker, Comptroller General, has resigned mostly because he cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The general economy has collapsed, and we are witnessing internal functionaries attempting to patch it up and give a positive spin to it while aiding the insiders on Wall Street, Fleet Street and elsewhere as the masses of each nation grasp for less than subsistence wages. We have entered a new era in "fractional reserve banking." Furthermore, we are told that the rising price of fuel is not the direct result of the oil cartel or the petrodollar nations but the speculators—who, I suppose, are out of reach of regulators and legislators. Thus, the impotence factor in resolving the current unfolding of this global event is high as we witness the steady reallocation of wealth from the many to the few and the powerful.

Kakistocracy has returned.

R. D. Gordon

Deerfield Beach, FLa.

Send a letter to the editor about this story.