Dude, oh dude

Sara Bir's piece "Band Bads" is a vitriolic piece of tripe (May 9). To her credit, there is no hidden rhetoric. Her band bigotry is big and bold and available for everyone to see. She manages to froth out an article on naming a band complete with bullet points and veiled insults to local groups who happen to use the Emmas and Jacobs of today.

I openly wonder why Ms. Bir, who is immersed in the local music scene, would patently insult a good number of hardworking DIY outfits that call this area home.

Maybe it is too much assume, then, that Ms. Bir would be intelligent enough to eloquently broaden our layman-like artistic horizons. Instead, she chooses to be an arrogant scenester blowhard showcasing her disdain and absolute contempt for those with artistic aspirations that differ from her narrow view.

I also have to question whether the Bohemian has become home base for a few disenfranchised scenesters to launch formulaic, self-absorbed detritus at unsuspecting readers and the artistic community at large. If true, loyal readers will have to wield a large shovel to dig through the garbage the Bohemian continues to heap upon them.

Ryan Lynch, Sonoma

Mr. Lynch, a member of the band Val Papadins--which received a glowing profile in our pages less than two short years ago--is not alone in slamming us tough on the bad-band-name piece. We do remind that the only local band mentioned was Polar Bears and then only in context of a recent run on "bear" names. We never once, for example, made mention of Orjazzm, our in-house worst local band-name winner, because they've promised to change it . . .

Big little problems

I read with interest your article about Lloyd Chapmen ("Size Matters," May 9). The biggest problem that we face is that the Small Business Administration insures loans to citizens of other countries. When we sold our business, the buyers were foreign citizens, yet they received an SBA loan. They defaulted on it, and the taxpayers picked up the bill. The buyers are free to return to their home country and start over. This happens every day, yet American citizens are routinely denied SBA loans. I believe that the SBA should only insure loans to citizens. Why should the American government insure loans to people who haven't made the commitment of citizenship to our country?

This is a huge issue, and it is costing us a fortune!

Monique Verrier, Healdsburg

Complete disgust

The recent article by Peter Byrne on gun control ("No Right to Bear Arms," April 25) is an insult to every American citizen who believes in the Constitution of the United States. His facts are not facts, and he is speaking from emotion only. Many people are reading this article with complete disgust for him and your website. You'll notice tons of hits from gun forums, and I'm one of them.

As a military veteran, a Second Amendment supporter and constitutionalist, I believe that Byrne has every right to say what he chooses, but he must also deal with those consequences when he does.

To be succinct, this man is bad for your business.

Clyde T. O'Briant, Riverside

Go ahead and shoot

Thank you for Peter Byrne's recent column, "No Right to Bear Arms." It was an interesting read. Unfortunately, he seems to be gravely misinformed.

1. I don't know where you live, but in the rest of the nation, you don't need to fill out federal forms, swear under penalty of perjury and pass a criminal background check to buy a pack of chewing gum. Perhaps your municipality is more restrictive.

2. It is an axiomatic fiction that when guns are not legally available, homicides and suicides decrease dramatically. The data just doesn't support your assertion.

3. The United States Supreme Court has not addressed the issue of whether the Second Amendment applies to individuals. The Miller case cited by the Legal Community Against Violence deals with the utility of certain weapons in a militia.

4. Reputable legal scholars disagree on the interpretation of the Second Amendment. Scholars such as Harvard's Laurence Tribe favor an individualist view. Further, the 5th District Court of Appeals and most recently the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees and individual's right to bear arms. Please see Parker v. District of Columbia available with a simple Internet search. The debate is far from settled.

Charles La Rue, La Cañada

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