Counter 'Protest'

I was very disappointed in Metro for the article "Protest Vote" (MetroNews, Oct. 15) that compares the two candidates for the District 2 supervisors seat, Richard Hobbs and George Shirakawa. In defense of Hobbs, he is the only true "grassroots" candidate on the ballot for supervisor, meaning he has a whole community of people behind him, and is not a career politician like Shirakawa. In terms of endorsements by the Board of Supervisors, I would not expect them to endorse someone who has vocally opposed the selling of the Fairgrounds, a process currently under way by the Board of Supervisors.

Lailo F.

Mountain View

Yes on B

Re Endorsements (Cover Story, Oct. 15): Silicon Valley values education. We're home to some of the finest education institutions in the world. Yet, with constant traffic gridlock, and an incomplete transit system, pursuing these paths is literally a daily grind.

Connecting BART to Silicon Valley has many obvious benefits: providing traffic relief and reducing emissions are but two. However, BART also completes a missing link in our transit system—connecting BART with Caltrain, Light Rail, buses and express buses to our region's education system. By voting Yes on Measure B, we can connect Stanford, Berkeley, San Jose State, Santa Clara University and our other quality schools together with a transit system that works.

Getting a higher education should be hard work. Getting there should be easy. That's why I'm voting yes on Measure B.

Muhammed Chaudhry

Silicon Valley Education Foundation

San Jose

Red Scare

Re "Barack Obama for President" (Cover Story, Oct. 15): The Republicans must be stopped. I applaud Metro for endorsing Sen. Obama in what is undoubtedly the most important election of our time.

Much work must be done to combat the vitriol spewing from the other side. Obama and Biden have proposed very detailed plans to lift us from the slime of the Bush Reich, and to watch the Palin/McCain ticket and their Hate Talk Express trying so hard to point America's focus on what divides us is sickening.

Sarah Palin has resorted not only to calling Obama a terrorist because he's worked with an organization of which Bill Ayers was a member, completely ignoring her husband's ties to groups working for Alaskan Independence From America—does this mean anyone who knows someone with radical views is suspect?

Doesn't anyone else smell the McCarthyism? We've got Joe the Plumber and Joe the Six Term Senator and now we resurrect Joe the Witch Hunter?

Is that how low the Grand Old Party has to stoop, clinging to the their last hope of maintaining power?

It's true, they can't steal a landslide. So it is up to all of us in every state, red, blue and purple, to speak up—correct people when they tell lies about Barack Obama, ask them to name their sources when they say something like "I heard Obama burned a flag" (yes, someone actually said that to me—but when I asked where they had heard it, I got an "uuummmm, I don't remember").

The most common thing I hear is Reds calling Obama a Socialist. These are the same people who are in favor of the "Bailout"—the nationalizing of our financial institutions. They don't even know what Socialism is when pressed.

The point of my letter: Thanks very much for taking a position and possibly helping to sway some undecided voters.

Eric Hussein Victorino

Campbell

The One and Only

Re "Barack Obama for President": I truly hope that your stance and endorsement for Messiah/Obama was a poor choice of title.

The truth is, no matter who is appointed head of the United States, we as Americans have been a prosperous nation by and through the grace of God.

He is the one and only true Messiah.

Johnny Granado

San Jose

On the Mark

Re "Barack Obama for President": Regarding your article and endorsement of Barack Obama, it was right on the mark. The one thing better you could have written was to mention exorbitant gasoline/energy prices in your second paragraph. Nonetheless your article was very powerful. It was a blaring indictment of not just failure by omission or incompetence, but failure by corruption and bad intention. I have saved it and plan on emailing it to several friends. May I mention the erosion of friendly ties to our southern ally Mexico. At the beginning of his first term, Bush invited Mexico's President Vicente Fox as our best ally. At the end of his second term, he is building a wall on the border of that same ally. I'm sure it would take several articles and newspapers to include everything. Your article and endorsement just captured my sentiment exactly. And many others like me I'm sure.

Gary Garcia

Dallas, Texas