Letters

Editor,

So, the FDA only inspects 1 percent of all food shipments from China, into the U.S. I guess Georgie’s administration can’t afford to monitor the safety of our food because he is sending all our money to Iraq. And, last month, several hundred shipments were rejected because of "physical, filthy conditions.” China uses pesticides that we have long banned and it has been known to use human waste as fertilizer. China has devastated us by "poisoning” our pets. Why do we have so much cancer, dementia and Alzheimer’s. Or could it be mad cow diagnosed as dementia and Alzheimer’s since the FDA does not monitor that, either? Could China be poisoning us, too? How would we know? If you doubt these statistics, research the CBS-Katie Couric broadcast on April 26. And, if you doubt my theory, look no further than who we have for president. Only a society with "brain disease” would get this "cowboy” in office, twice, and then, "stay the course.” Speak up, people, politicians are "puppets,” they do what we "tell” them to do. We are the "Puppet Masters.”

Gwendolyn Wolf

San Carlos

Better to remain silent

Editor,

I’d like to make a couple of comments about "Sheriff looks to weather storm” in the April 30 edition of the Daily Journal.

I want to make it clear that my "advice” to any client in this situation would be to make no comment. My statements were professional advice and do not reflect my personal feelings or opinions.

Last week, at the time of the interview, I was unaware that it is believed a county car was used to make the trip from San Mateo County to Las Vegas. If that is true, it makes the incident very much taxpayers’ business. I have also heard that the prostitutes involved were young girls. Personally, I have a lot of tolerance for what goes on between two consulting adults but am not the least bit tolerant of what goes on between adults who are sick enough to use children and the children they use.

Peg Collier

Daly City

Mental illness support

groups available

Editor,

To memorialize the 33 lives lost in the Virginia Tech tragedy on April 16, 2007, let us consider three main issues: severe mental illness can be treatable with medication and therapy just as diabetes; how far should individual civil liberty and right to privacy extend at the risk of harming a person with mental illness or others?; and when does withholding involuntary medical treatment because of her/his mental illness and therefore refuses help?

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) listed thirteen mental disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder (manic-depression). The latter two are now considered brain diseases just as are multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) was founded as a national organization in Wisconsin in 1979 and had its origins in NAMI San Mateo County in 1974 through Parent of Adult Schizophrenics when mothers were blamed for causing mental illness. It is a grassroots organization of families and individuals whose lives are affected by mental illness.

We advocate for meaningful treatment and services for people with mental illness, offer free support groups for families, and educational services in our communities. One of the ways we fund our free programs is through our annual NAMI Walk SF Bay Area coming up in Golden Gate Park on May 12. For more information contact (800) 556-2401 or www.namiwalkSFbay.org.

Carol Gosho and Glen Rossman

San Mateo