Livermore

Thanks for making Fourth a big success

I am excited to be able to thank the following people and groups for their help in making the Livermore July Fourth event at Las Positas College a huge success.

First of all I would like to thank the "Amazing Livermore Fireworks Committee" for the many months of tireless hours to make this event come to fruition. I would like to thank the following sponsors. Our presenting sponsor Dean Schenone, president of FloraTech Landscape Management, Al Phillips, Shea Homes and Scott Haggerty. I would like to thank the companies and organizations that provided in-kind donations, Las Positas College and the Knights of Columbus.

We had several groups and individual volunteers whom we could not have done without that evening.

Thank you to the Livermore community for coming out and supporting this event. We hope to see you there next year!

Wendy Weathers

Livermore Chair LARPD Foundation Livermore Fireworks Committee

Presidents offer budgets, not Congress

Charles Whaley's July 11 editorial, "Budgets come from Congress" is wrong: budgets are drafted by the president and approved by Congress.

An article called "Introduction to the Federal Budget Process" spells out that federal law requires the president to submit a budget to Congress no later than the first Monday in February. Congress is not required to accept it. The president budgets, and Congress spends.

Mr. Whaley is also wrong on who created the deficit; It was a joint effort of Republicans and Democrats from before the time of Ronald Reagan. Only once during the past 30 years has the budget been balanced without using Social Security surpluses to offset revenue deficits.

The Obama middle class tax cut is a 2 percent reduction in the employee contribution to Social Security. Depleting funding while outflows are increasing is a recipe for disaster. President Obama's reduction of record annual deficits does nothing to reduce the federal debt.

I suggest Mitt Romney get a budget ready for adoption on Jan. 21.

Jon Barsanti Jr

Livermore

Dougherty, California should play

You can call it old school versus new school, north versus south or Grizzlies versus the Wildcats, but it's time California High played Dougherty Valley High.

Danville has the Wolfs and Mustangs; Pleasanton has the Falcons and Dons. Livermore has the Cowboys and Matadors. The De La Salle Spartans will soon be independent, so let's include that beautiful school with the high test scores in one of the most competitive leagues in the Bay Area.

That nationally ranked school in Concord can schedule one or two "Tri-Valley" teams a year, keep travel cost down and still have a competitive game. The Grizzlies have played strong games against the Spartans the last few years and drew close to 9,000 fans the last time the men in green and silver came to San Ramon. Let's keep that alive, but it's time the Wildcats got some big-time competition and cut down on Friday night travel. We have a good thing going here in the Valley. Let's make it better. Now about them Gales ....

Bill Chestnut

San Ramon

Democracy only as good as its voters

Our zeal for democracy as the best form of government has thrown us out of accuracy in judgment to notice the systemic weaknesses.

As the strength of a chain depends on its weakest link, the quality of democracy depends on its voters. In our present system, most voters are ignorant about the political issues and their resolutions. Their collective judgment never rises above their collective ignorance.

Both dogmatic ignorance and scientific knowledge act as compost for their further growth. Scientifically oriented, knowledgeable societies are progressive; dogmatically oriented, ignorant societies are regressive.

The ignorance of voters impairs the roots of democracy. To improve the quality of democracy, the dogma of the citizen's right to vote as the "birthright" needs to be replaced by the empirical learning that voting rights be regarded as privileges to be earned by citizens with equal opportunity.

To earn voting rights, the requirements may include but not necessarily be limited to: