Dear Editor:

As a former Marine considering reenlisting I was disappointed in General Peter Pace’s remarks about gays and lesbians serving openly in the US military. A person of his rank and position is tasked with leading all of our service members, not just those whose moral views match his own. I doubt his remarks contributed to his ability to lead.

I would point out to General Pace that gays and lesbians are already serving lawfully under his command and quite likely in his own office. Like General Charles Krulack before him, however, General Pace is asking this country to continue to accommodate the prejudices of a few in favor of providing the human resources and talent to our armed forces require in their hour of need.

Our military commanders are leading the armed forces of the United States of America, not a boy scout troop.

I have looked on as service members ‘came out’ during times of war only to be told ‘fine, now pick up your gun and go fight’ ( a statement i agree with). I have also witnessed this same military during times of peace tell gay and lesbian service members they cannot serve because their presence will undermine ‘unit morale and cohesion’.

I respectfully ask, ‘which is it General Pace? You can’t have it both ways’. Either they’re good enough to bleed and die in times of war, or they can’t serve at all. Many of our allies including Israel have integrated gays and lesbians into their armed forces. I dare say we can too. It simply requires leadership, and leadership starts at the top.

I have not yet reenlisted. I am not sure that my morals match those envisioned by General Pace. But I have served my country with honor, and I could again. Perhaps General Pace you can tell me, what I should do?

Timothy P. Holmberg

Dear Editor:

I am a very loyal reader. I am 19 Latino have written you once or twice before.

The reason I am writing you today is to disagree with the constant attacks against Council member Toni Atkins. I am a past intern for Council District 3. I truly have no idea where all these attacks come from. I would be willing to put everything on the line to support this statement. Toni Atkins is truly one of the most caring, loving and genuine woman and a true dedicated public servants with a true passion to give back to her community that I have ever seen or known or read about. She could have left for the county board of supervisors and been done with the cities mess to move on like most politicians and always jump at the next opportunity to move up or advance their careers, but she didn’t she stayed and stood by her word and oath to the people of San Diego and was Deputy Mayor during one of San Diego’s darkest moments. Has it ever occurred to anyone that maybe she isn’t corrupt? That she is such a loving caring person she wants to believe most people are honest and possibly gotten taken advantage of? If people would do their research into the cities finances and the former City Manager maybe they could put two and two together hypothetically speaking. Toni is a very devoted honest person and others take advantage of that. YES I would vote for Council member Toni Atkins if she ran for the State Assembly. Now grow up people stop attacking each other and come up with some solutions instead of just pointing the finger and making people scapegoats.

Raymond A. Portillos-Leon

Dear Editor:

The significance of the closing of the 2200 Club is that it is based solely on gay sexual activity between consenting adults at a private club. City Attorney Michael Aguirre had threatened to arrest members at the club, including employees, if the club did not agree to close voluntarily. Russell O’Brien, Gay & Lesbian Times Editor and Chief, reported in his editorial that according to Deputy City Attorney Bryan Ziegler, the Code Enforcement Unit in the City Attorney’s Criminal Division filed the complaint under California’s Red Light Abatement Act, which allows for civil injunctions and fines of as much as $25,000 per violation for any business – including bathhouses – that as a primary activity encourage or permit sexual activity. The complaint did not allege any other illegal activity at the 2200 Club.

By doing this Aguirre has issued a threat to the LGBT community that he can and will force the closure of businesses based on sexual activity alone. By the authority of his public office he can pick and choose which businesses to close while ignoring other similar businesses like the Tubs, a bathhouse catering to straights. He has made no attempt to close the straight owned F Street Bookstore chain based on sexual activity. Under Aguirre’s new policy any gay bathhouse, hotel or bed and breakfast could be targeted and forced to close.

Mike Aguirre is not the friend of the LGBT community that he claims.

Juan Gonzalez

Dear Editor:

February 15 you called me a raving lunatic. Though I have had little respect for this paper’s journalistic integrity, never would I have thought you would lower yourself to the level of a Ramirez-Murray by calling me names and impugning my character rather then addressing some of the important issues I have raised over the past 2 ? years. You lied to the community in a January ’05 article regarding Club 2200 stating, “a new staff of nine people was hired by Smith to operate the bathhouse…” Even after court testimony from Charlie Sharples verifying that Mark Ernest Carter was indeed the former “general manager of the Mustang Spa,” you continued your lie.

In your January 12, ’06 feature article “Young and Poz,” Mr. Vandemark documented the life of an HIV positive 18 year old who at the age of 15 had “managed to make his way into a bathhouse and ‘became the life of the party.’” The author did not mention the name of the club where this boy believes he became infected during the night of December 13, ’03, but I can’t help but wonder if Mr. Carter was working that evening.

Perhaps if you weren’t so blonde, you would not need to ask “what logical reason could there be for sending undercover officers into a bathhouse?” The police department spent more than 100 hours on calls for service to the former Mustang and the Spa’s “former general manager” to this day is managing Club 2200. Two detectives spent less then an hour in the establishment, an hour making reports and a couple of hours in court. One might think that in the long run they spent their time wisely.

Mr. Portantino told me, “What goes on in bathhouses is the responsibility of those who regulate them,” yet you again mock those responsible for regulating. This paper had an entire decade to expose horrifying and deadly conditions at the establishment at Mississippi and U. This community abdicated its responsibility to clean up and monitor the activities in our baths years ago. Perhaps if Portantino had taken an interest in the front lines of HIV infection and drug addiction long ago, 2200 would not be closing.

Mr. O’Brien, you know more than anyone I tried to take care of this problem within the community. However when I wasn’t being ignored, I was called a liar. Because I believed so called “AIDS aware” Alma Vassic shared some of the responsibility for the drug related deaths occurring on her property, I was called an idiot. Though I have had my own “off the record” and “confidential meetings” with “high ranking city officials,” most of the time I just make them aware of what is printed in this paper.

Contrary to one of my misguided brothers, your editorial was not brilliant. It was nothing but Kool-Aid now being served from the publisher’s glossy new carafe. (Reference made to Jim Krupiarz brilliant letter, 10-19-06.)

Kevin McCarthy