Letters to the Editor

Congratulations to Congress for using common sense and putting a stop to future frivolous lawsuits against fast food restaurants and other food suppliers.

If Americans are overweight and "anti-junk food/fast food/ sweet food activists" don't like it, that is too darn bad. Let them keep their noses out of our kitchens and from where we buy our food.

It is time to put a stop to all lawsuits that common sense tells us are just plain stupid … who goes along with the brainless things people do and then want to blame others for their own dim-witted actions. These lawsuits have become blackmail tactics for out-of-court settlements and a monetary gravy train ride for unscrupulous trial lawyers. They tie up our court systems and end up costing every one of us our hard-earned taxable dollars.

"We as Americans need to realize that suing your way to better health is not the answer," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. "Trial lawyers need to stop encouraging consumers to blame others for the consequences of their actions so they can profit from frivolous lawsuits against restaurants."

So we salute our Congressional leaders and congratulate them.

Karen Kennedy

San Mateo

Too many hospital

beds is not a problem

Editor,

We all received the very sad and appalling news that terrorists targeted innocent civilians on their way to work in Madrid, Spain, killing nearly 200 and injuring 1,200. On the news, it was reported that the number of injured strained area hospitals; cameras showed patients laid out on the floor because of the lack of facilities to accommodate.

Here in San Mateo County, the newspapers are making an issue out of three hospital groups, (Kaiser, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Sequoia), all wanting to build new or expanded campuses within close proximity to one another. A concern raised is the creation of too many hospital beds. Considering the number of people who live in the area and who pass through on their way to work every day, coupled with possibility of a tragedy of epic proportions, creating too many hospital beds, I think, should be the least of our concerns.

Matt Grocott

San Carlos

Regime change

Editor,

Many intelligent Americans, including Democrats like myself, can clearly see how the cowardly vote in Spain on Sunday confirmed that terror can be highly efficient and effective in achieving its ends. We can now expect a major terror attack in the United States, committed with hopes that Americans will shift far left and vote for John Kerry in anguish over their "mistaken adventure in Iraq."

The childish socialist rants of the new Spanish government are like an advertisement against democracy and in favor of those who would want to avoid such instability in the future. But Bush and Co have to hold their tongues because our policy in the Middle East is to give the Arabs precisely this kind of unstable institution! Note that most of us Democrats would have been fine with a socialist victory in Spain if the polls had been forewarning such. Meanwhile we can chalk up one quick regime change for al-Qaeda in what had been 2-0 at half time.

Allen MacDonald

Walnut Creek