My First Time

Re "Morning in Obamaland" (MetroNews, Nov. 26): I really appreciated reading this article, which was forwarded to me. I was part of the Palo Alto phone bank and plan to participate, along with thousands of others, in helping create the change we so desperately need. I am 69, and this is the first time I have been so politically energized to help create the government America can be proud of and to contribute the time and resources in making a difference. Please keep reporting on these wonderful people who are America's future. Thank you.

Pauline Siedenburg
Woodside

Even Better

Re "Morning in Obamaland": Just as with a previous article your paper printed about Obama and why he'd be the right choice for president, this article was well written, well put together and of far higher quality than a reader might expect from an entertainment newspaper like Metro. I was impressed with the first article, now this one has done an even better job of getting my attention.

The article was forwarded by Roger Hu to all of the volunteers of thesv4obama group. I will start looking for Metro on a frequent basis here in Los Gatos. Thank you for keeping the tradition of high-quality journalism alive!

Joanna Snyder
Los Gatos

Keep reading, and you'll find that Metro is much more than an entertainment publication. But because the California Newspaper Publishers Association just named our entertainment coverage the best of the state's biggest weeklies, we're going to award partial credit.  Thanks, Joanna!—Editor

How Can It Be Wrong?

Re "Outlawed Love" (MetroNews, Nov. 19): I am so proud of these fine gentlemen. They have opened their homes to children that others have closed their doors to—how can that be wrong? How is it wrong to love? Others would like to take the gay life style and compare it to the extreme; i.e., pedophiles, polygamists, and one even said "If you can marry same sex, why can't I marry my dog," which I'm sure the dog would have something to say about that, if it had a choice). The land of the free. America came to be because of people fleeing from their own countries due to religious persecution (as far as the history books stated). I know that gay freedom was not something that our forefathers thought about back then, since gay folks have always had to hide. This country has faced so many obstacles, civil wars, terrorism. When it comes to fighting, don't ask, don't tell—but we'll let the gays fight. Taxes: we'll take the gay money—how about civil rights? Oh no, hold on now, we can't have that! I am so surprised at the African American population. It was not too long ago when they couldn't marry white folk. That was about civil rights and freedom, yet for gay people, it's different. Because gays are not people, right? Different from the last group of people that fought for their rights, correct? Why are people so hateful of that they don't understand, no matter what background they're from. Quick to forget and quick to judge—and hate—and kill. And Jesus wept ...

Arlene Jimenez
San Jose

 

Hep Crisis Continues

Re "The Real Hep C Crisis" (metroactive.com): My father passed away in July from end-stage liver disease. He had been incarcerated eight years and had 13 months left to serve. We, his family, pressed everyone from the prison to the governor to the state Assembly for adequate medical care. My father filed numerous papers for proper treatment, but went untreated and was allowed to bleed internally for 22 months. My father, Ron Ramirez Sr. of Lake County, was allowed to sit in prison and die because everyone could do nothing or "passed the buck," as my dad would say, to another department. We fought long and hard from the outside while my father not only fought legally but fought and suffered physically, emotionally, and eventually gave his life. He was not sentenced to die, but CDCR gave him a death sentence on top of his sentence for the crime he was convicted of. What all the power people didn't do took him from five children, 9 to 28, and two grandchildren, also a wife of over 25 years. So someone needs to step in and get a handle on this before more families and inmate suffer unjustly.

Desiree Ramirez
Lake County