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Letters to the Editor

Published Thursday, 04-Jan-2007 in issue 993

“Our scarce public dollars should instead be used to get the best law enforcement money can buy.”

Dear Editor:

In early December, 2006 five women were murdered in Ipswich, a coastal town North of London. England has almost as many surveillance cameras as it has people, and it ballyhooes its cameras as crime fighters on a par with DNA. This past weekend a man was shot to death in a Hillcrest café. Although the face and physique of the killer were videotaped, his identity is still unknown.

Cameras didn’t prevent the Ipswich crimes or the Hillcrest killing. Cameras didn’t get a

picture of the Ipswich suspect or murders - not one. Those crimes were solved, as crimes are always best solved, by constables on foot doing what they are trained to do, asking questions, gathering evidence, piecing clues together into plausible theories. The Hillcrest murder will be solved the same way.

Against good common sense, we have spent about a quarter million dollars on camera systems in Mid-City. The City is poised to spend more. A quarter million dollars buys a lot of equipment and training that San Diego’s Finest Officers could effectively use to protect and serve America’s Finest citizens. More will be wasted if we put more cameras at more sites.

We should pause and think carefully about how we spend money. Cameras are cool. Police officers like cameras. They impress illogical and unthinking people. As the Ipswich murders show, however, cameras have small crime solving ability and less deterrent value. Our scarce public dollars should instead be used to get the best law enforcement money can buy.

Trained officers are a proven way to prevent or solve crimes. Cameras still have a lot of proving to do. We should invest in police officers, training, and equipment; not cameras.

Jim Varnadore

“New Zealand does not deserve such ignominy.”

Dear Editor:

I’ve been reading the Gay & Lesbian Times nearly weekly for close to ten years. I’ve been noticing a significant omission from the world map you portray in the weekly World News section - the delightful (and progressive!) country of New Zealand is nowhere to be found.

On those occasions you print news from that land “down under” you place a triangle in the sea off the Australian coast.

New Zealand does not deserve such ignominy. It’s a country that is progressive and tolerant; and its land area is larger than Cuba’s, which appears on your map.

Please include New Zealand as part of the World!

Phil Darby

“Look to the Democrats for cosmetic changes, for wheeling and dealing our rights away at their whim, and for demands for unswerving loyalty and votes.”

Dear Editor:

The Democrats didn’t win because they were serious about our fight for equality or the struggles of working people, African Americans, immigrants, the elderly, or any of the other important questions that will chart the next great upheaval in American history.

The Democrats won because the Republicans are abysmally reactionary. The American people smelled the stench of fascism in the air and bluntly rejected it. However they were again compelled, for lack of a substantive alternate, to accept a ’lesser evil’ as a counterfeit solution.

The Democrats are not going to insist on the immediate and total withdrawal of our armed forces from the Middle East, push for the formation of a secular and united Palestine or renounce Bush’s oil piracy.

They won’t impeach and convict Bush and his cabinet and the Joint Chiefs nor will they prosecute them in the World Court as pirates and war criminals.

The Democrats will not take the far reaching steps necessary to stop the dangerous changes in the environment.

They won’t force Wal-Mart and the companies who illegally import and callously export workers to accept unionization.

They won’t push for an ERA, full equality for our GLBT communities or protect the unfettered right to abortions.

The Democrats aren’t the party that can lead the next great change in American society. Instead they’ll try to sidetrack the struggles that can ignite change, debasing them and subverting them to their own corrupt exercise of political power to amass wealth and influence.

Look to the Democrats for cosmetic changes, for wheeling and dealing our rights away at their whim, and for demands for unswerving loyalty and votes.

For real change we’ll have to build our own militant organizations and push our own agenda for full equality. We’ll have to support the struggles of women, unions, African Americans, immigrants and others. In the political arena we should get out the political closet provided by the Democratic Party and into the union sponsored, union controlled Labor Party

Bill Perdue

“This apparently random attack adds to the concerns I know we all share as a result of the recent increase in street robberies.”

Dear Editor:

I wanted to update you on the tragic shooting that occurred at Extraordinary Desserts in Park West on December 30th, resulting in the death of Michael Fineman and the hospitalization of one of his dining companions.

Reports indicate that the suspect, Ralph Stephen Garbarini, may have fled the area, but we need to continue to be vigilant. A copy of the police bulletin, including photos of the suspect’s vehicle, can be viewed at http://www.sandiego.gov/press/pdf/bulletingarbarini061230.pdf . If you have any information that may be helpful to the police, I urge you to contact Lt. Kevin Rooney at (619) 531-2425 or the police department at (619) 531-2000. Anonymous tips may also be called into CrimeStoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.

Please be aware that the police consider Garbarini to be armed and dangerous. If you encounter him, do not engage him, but call the police as soon as possible.

This apparently random attack adds to the concerns I know we all share as a result of the recent increase in street robberies. While this attack is not the kind of crime anyone can be prepared for, we probably all could benefit from a review of the tips on how to avoid becoming a victim that were distributed before the holidays (please see attachment). Most importantly, we all need to be very aware of our surroundings whenever we are out.

My thoughts are with the Fineman family during this very difficult time. A memorial fund for Fineman’s children—ages 3, 5, and 9 — has been established. Contributions will be accepted at any Wells Fargo Bank branch. The account number is #886139997.

Councilmember Toni Atkins

Letters Policy

The Gay & Lesbian Times welcomes comments from all readers. Letters to the editor longer than 500 words will not be accepted. Send e-mail to editor@uptownpub.com; fax (619) 299-3430; or mail to PO Box 34624, San Diego, CA 92163. To be printed, letters must include the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

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