November 5, 2004

LETTERS2theEDITOR

Let’s hold Beshoff MotorCars accountable

Editor,
Your article on the problems trying to secure a sit-down restaurant for the site on the Beshoff property poses two problems.

One, and a very large problem, is why at the time of the approval do they now say, that no one knew how much land was needed for the dealership and the restaurant? It seems that they knew just how much land was needed for the dealership.

Councilmember Cortese’s stipulation should not be taken lightly. The Economic Development Department did everything for the dealership, now let’s do something for the community.

It seems to me that Mr. Beshoff is putting way to many roadblocks on the restaurant. Our community needs a decent restaurant, but not at Eastridge.

By reading Staff Writer Mariecar Mendoza’s article about all the problems that have taken place over the past few months, let’s get serious, it’s not the restaurant operators, it’s the dealership.

Let’s hold him accountable.

Roy Wash
Silver Creek Valley
Country Club

Resident suggests Hometown Buffet or Sweet Tomatoes

Editor,
I’m responding to the article in the Evergreen Times about a possible restaurant at Beshoff Motors. That’s what we need in this area—a good place for families to eat, stay in this area and spend the money here locally in Evergreen.

Every time we go out and dine, we tend to go out of the area. I’d like to strongly suggest a Hometown Buffet or even a Sweet Tomatoes as a great addition to the Evergreen area.

Victor De La Cerda
Melnikoff Drive, Evergreen

Iraq war is unnecessary diversion of resources from real terror issues

Editor,
I have read all the letters about President Bush’s re-election and the Iraqi war. I fully support what Mr. Huntington and Mr. Testa wrote [in the Oct. 23 – Nov. 5 Evergreen Times]. I myself consider the Iraq war unnecessary and a diversion of our resources from real terror issues.

I always wonder if there are any thoughts given as to why Muslims hate America and are waging war on us. Sometime back, Rudyard Kipling said, “East is East and West is West,” they should not try to imitate others.

Because of the U.S.A.’s blind support to Israel and its state-sponsored terrorism, slowly the Muslim world turned against us. The French and Germans see things in the Middle East more rationally and use reason to deal with Israel/Palestine.

President Bush’s illegal war in Iraq has stimulated terrorism in Iraq. The only people who benefited from that war are Bush and Cheney with their oil investments. And of course the Saudis are reaping windfall profits from $55 per barrel prices.

Prakash Deshmukh
Evergreen

Student dismayed that Bush won given his track record

Editor,
Over the last four years, George Bush has made America an aberration of what it should be. Mr. Bush had failed in education, foreign policy, jobs and several more issues. His catastrophic errors should be stigmas on his record, and given these errors, I’m disappointed that Bush was re-elected.

Entering his first term as president, George Bush was known to be an education genius for his success reforming schools as governor of Texas. Actually, a Texas Education Agency found widespread fraud in Bush’s reporting.

For example, Bush’s administration claimed Houston’s high schools had a 1 1/2 percent dropout rate. Truthfully, the schools actually had a 40 to 50 percent [dropout] rate. As terrible as this sounds, George Bush has also lied on other issues dealing with education.

When first becoming president, Mr. Bush proposed a new education plan called “No Child Left Behind (NCLB).” This plan passed with bipartisan support. Unfortunately for schools, Bush has under supplied NCLB by $27 billion. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic candidate for president, would have given NCLB all the money it needs to increase high school graduation rates, hire trained teachers, provide after school programs and more.

On March 21, 2003, George Bush declared war on Saddam Hussein and his regime with a “shock and awe” bombing campaign. But before the war, he did not find the support of enough allies to make a true coalition. Also, Mr. Bush did not fathom how to win peace with the Iraqis after combat operations.

Now, car bombings are occurring in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq daily. When making his case for war, Bush claimed his reasons were first to remove Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath Party and second to find and destroy his weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Where are the WMDs? And if Mr. Bush was concerned about WMDs, why did he not invade Iran and North Korea, who already have [atomic] weapons?

To the dismay of average citizens, George Bush has lost American jobs. Over the last four years, 1.8 million private sector jobs have been lost. Mr. Bush will become the first president since Herbert Hoover to have a net loss of jobs during his first term in office. Yes, jobs have been increasing in a few areas of America, but the Silicon Valley has lost 17 percent of its jobs from 2001 to 2003 and is projected to loose another 1 percent this year.

These are a few of the issues George Bush has failed upon in the last four years. Now that he has been re-elected, we
can expect more job losses, poor education and foreign policy misjudgments. I was hoping for a better America under John Kerry, an America stronger at home and once again respected in the world.

Kevin Liao
Chaboya Middle School Student

Have an opinion?

Let the Evergreen Times hear from you. In order to be considered, letters must be signed by the author or come with the name in an email and have author’s phone number, which will not be printed. Send letters to bea@timesmediainc.com, or via mail to:

The Evergreen Times
1310 Tully Road, Ste. 107
San Jose, CA 95122