Dear Editor,

We repeatedly hear whining from the socialist left, complaining about the two-thirds supermajority required to raise tax rates. They never use those words; they say, "to pass the budget."

What they fail to acknowledge is what led to this: People getting taxed out of their homes (during the Governor Moonbeam regime). There is one conclusion upon which every analyst has agreed: had the state legislature spent at the combined rate of inflation and population growth, California would be coping with a $5.2 billion deficit instead of $20-plus billion.

Yet the extreme left, which dominates the legislature (those who write the budget), will not significantly cut the rampant spending. The last time we agreed to a tax hike was in the mid-1990s. They raised the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent. They sold it as a "one percent" increase; it was a one-percentage-point, or 17 percent, increase. They promised to lower it when times got better.

Times got better (the tech boom), and they increased spending instead of keeping their promise. Gov. Davis kept his promise to the state employees who elected him; for the state (typical), he broke its promise to the people. With the highest gas tax, the highest income tax, the highest sales tax, and above-median property tax (including vehicle fees), California is the fourth-highest tax state in the nation. And we're the biggest debtor.

In the wake of the above, we must accept absolutely no tax hikes. Not a one. There is no room for compromise. This state spends four times the national average (as a percent of its GDP) on social services, and continues to grow poverty. The place to cut is clear. No compromise. No more taxes.

Alan Viarengo, Gilroy

The Golden Quill is awarded occasionally for a well-written letter.

Relay for Life volunteers really made the luminary event shine!

Dear Editor,

We had a great Relay for Life weekend recently and I have a few super volunteers to thank for their hard work. The Rainbow Girls are absolute gems. Those girls and their chaperones work so hard and with a great attitude! Without them the luminary bags would not be filled with sand and a candle and put around the track.

Many of the girls also helped light them along with my husband, Steve.

Also providing wonderful assistance were Steve, Jimmy and Stevie Lemberger; Leon, Leanne, Beau and Timmy Haygood; Steven Kahn, Debbie Thompson, Justin Jeske, Lacey Bourdet and Adam Escobar.

I want to thank Rusty at Lowe's for his gift of sand and Christopher Jeske for driving the tractor and digging for sand when we ran out. Thank you to Jan and Marcia for running the Luminary Booth Table for me. You gals are great!

Miss Jiana Escobar and Miss Dawn Marie Perry-Anderson you spoke beautifully and Det. Stan Devlin, dude YOU ROCK THE BAGPIPES!

I was so proud to be the Luminary Chairman for 2009 and it was successful because of all of my volunteers. I also need to thank Pauline Lemberger and Kristy Bourdet for manning my team tent while I was doing my luminary business. I love you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Lori Jeske, Gilroy

GOP sex scandals might actually move the party in right direction

Dear Editor,

In the early 1990s it was rare to hear about a Republican sex scandal. But after the Clinton affair was exposed, Republicans started being caught cheating on their wives, fathering children out of wedlock, and caught with prostitutes (Livingston, Gingrich).

Even Republican women like Helen Chenoweth were getting caught. By 2006 Republicans had moved on to homosexual encounters in airport restrooms (Craig) and going after male congressional pages (Foley). Things were getting out of control. If the trend continued people would have had to tie up their dogs when Republicans were around.

Then Sen. Vitter reversed the trend moving back from male prostitutes to female prostitutes, and now Sen. Ensign, a Promise Keeper, was having an affair with a married female staffer. Is this a move back to traditional family values? I think so.

Republicans might be disturbed about Sen. Ensign's affair, but I think the Republicans are moving back to their traditional values. If the Republicans can get Vitter and Ensign to resign they can show their Christian conservative base that they are serious.

Marc Perkel, Gilroy

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