Tiaras and tongue-piercings

I think this ("Starbuck'd," Aug. 16) is rather funny, because I am a Starbucks barista and I share many of the same views as you do, yet I am also strangely proud of where I work. I do feel slightly dulled down by the dress code and the lack of any color, style or personality that can truly be shown while being in full dress code. I personally wear a tiara every day to bring a little bit more of myself into my job. I have been fighting myself because I want a lip piercing so badly but I know I can't have it if I want to keep working at Starbucks, and there is no way in hell I am going to trade my benefits for a piece of metal. In fact, I have a huge problem about the whole covering up of our tattoos and piercings. I think it looks way worse to be covering them up with sweat bands and Band-Aids.

As for the music, I play Senses Working Overtime as long as I am in the building. It's the best music we have, and everyone else hates all the music we have as well. Every night at closing, we blast the music and sing as loud as we can because sometimes, with the people we have in our stores, wonderful '80s music is all that can keep us going.

Next time you're in your Starbucks, fill out one of the cards asking for your ideas on how to make Starbucks a better place. They have a special team hired to read all of them and changes are made from the input they receive. Maybe if enough people say they'd like baristas with personality and piercings and tattoos, we'll have the chance to be who we want while doing what we enjoy.

Laura Hall, Seattle

Big uneasy

I just spent a week in New Orleans helping an organization called Operation Blessing gut and rebuild homes destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. With the anniversary of Katrina just past, it's important that people realize what is going on in Louisiana and Mississippi. It's been a year, and the residents there are still devastated. They live outside their damaged-beyond-repair homes in FEMA trailers. Most of them don't even know where to begin.

The reality is that there is too much to do and not enough volunteers to do it all. I'm urging people everywhere to take time out of your busy schedules and help. The only way things are going to get restored is for us to step up to the plate. Please come work side by side with the residents of this area to rebuild and restore New Orleans.

Tara Lynn O'Sullivan, Santa Clara

Nonprofit thank yous

Heritage Homes of Petaluma wishes to thank all our faithful tour-goers who attended the 2006 Biennial Summer House Tour. Your support is essential for our preservation efforts in town. Thanks, too, for the more than 100 volunteers whose combined efforts were a model of cooperation and teamwork. Special thanks to the generous homeowners who opened their doors for our fundraiser. Every house and building sparkled with beauty and graciousness. Those who were not able to attend missed a rare treat.

Kit Schlich, Petaluma

Lies, damn lies and the lying liars

George Bush and his press secretary, Tony Snow, among others of their ilk, continue to pound us with the usual "with us or agin' us" cant, which attempts to obfuscate the true facts.

They are as follows: The nation was united after Sept. 11, 2001. Bush, instead of working with that, shamelessly used 9-11 as a political opportunity. Despite the countereffective efforts of his defense secretary, our CIA operatives cornered a true enemy, Osama Bin Laden, at Tora Bora in Afghanistan. Without sufficient air support, Bin Laden was permitted to escape. In the greatest intentional fiasco in modern history, Bush invaded unrelated Iraq and eventually screwed that up in very predictable but horrific ways. Now he tells us that the only way we can be safe is to emulate the British, from whom we won our freedom in 1776 from unreasonable search and seizure. He, his cronies and his Fox News lackeys have the nerve to call those of us who disagree "traitors."

Americans, raise your voices to stop this madness!

Ed Coletti, Santa Rosa

Dept. of Corrections

In last week's Brief "Rolling Along (Not)," Sonoma County counsel Steven Woodside was mistakenly attributed. Remarks regarding Caltrans were actually uttered by deputy counsel Brian Nussbaum. We regret the error.

The Ed.
So glad that for once
it wasn't my fault

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