Letters to the editor, Oct. 6, 2008

On Sarah Palin's religion

Steven Beavers got it right (“Attack on Sarah Palin’s religion truly an attack on religion itself,” Sept. 25). All religions teach that prayer with faith can do anything. Not necessarily every time, but it can be done. Other wise why pray?

Also if there is only one God why so many churches? I think we should just turn the country over to the ACLU and have the perfect world. With no liberty freedom or rights at all.

The people afraid of Sara Palin should wake up and look at reality. When this depression is over there won’t be near as many geniuses around. They will have starved to death.

Also, if North Korea and Iran insist on nuclear weapons, I say why don’t we give them one and be done with it.

Joe Golden, Yermo

On drunken driving habits

Back around 1938, we all remember how Wrong Way Corrigan crossed the Atlantic thinking that he was flying west, at least that was how he told it.

About 35 years ago, I knew a man who had gotten very drunk at one of the bars in Yermo. When he left the bar and started to drive back to Barstow, he was confused and drove into the off-ramp for the freeway, the one across the street from the International Cafe (not the place where he got drunk). Well, he got onto the freeway and was driving along slowly, when a Highway Patrol car stopped right in front of him, causing him to stop. The officer got out of his patrol car, went up to the driver side window, and asked Wrong Way to get out of his car. Wrong Way held tight onto his steering wheel and the officer was only able to pull him out after a little difficulty. It was written up at the time in the Dispatch.

I knew Wrong Way slightly and once I asked him why he didn’t get out of the car when the officer told him to. He answered me as follows “How would you like it if somebody stopped right in front of you and told you to get out of your car?” Which shows, I guess, that Wrong Way didn’t think much better when he was sober than he did when he was drunk.

Entering the freeway on an off-ramp happens quite frequently, usually by a drunk person. This is why the free transport service provided by Hooz On First is such a wonderful thing. Of course there are some drunken patrons who will always stumble out of a bar, get into their cars and drive slowly out of town, headed for the freeway, maybe an off-ramp. Police surveillance of the bars around closing time. I mean by an officer actually entering the premises and checking on who is drunk and why they are still being served. But of course that will never happen. It would be un-American.

Robert Annal, Barstow