Letters to the Editor

Hugo Chavez
undeserving of
just joan’s praise

Editor: It’s not surprising that Joan is impressed by the military populism and neo-Marxist statism to which Hugo Chavez is subjecting his country. Many previous articles by Joan established her as a socialist leaning columnist. If she would only read the information coming from the “Bolivarian Revolution,” she would see an entirely different picture. Government policies are favoring bankers and other intermediaries, which have given rise to what is known as the “Boli-bourgeoisie.” It’s hard to get a table at Caracas’ best restaurants and the city is crowded with 4×4’s –– mostly Hummers. According to a new report by its own central bank, income inequality in Venezuela has widened slightly under Mr. Chavez: the Gini coefficient, which measure income dispersion, has gone up, from .44 in 2000 to .48 in 2005. The oppressed and poor are not getting more community projects funded by the government. The World Bank recently ranked Venezuela as the second worst country in the Americas for the control of corruption, above Haiti. Official connections are now the ways to wealth in the country with a government official’s take recently increasing from 10 percent to 20 percent as the required bribe. It’s interesting that Joan attended an obviously choreographed event and naturally was impressed by the performance. Too bad she didn’t take the time to research what’s going on in the country so she could write a more balanced report.
Walter Unti

Sonoma State
Historic Parks in need of docents

Editor: I have been a docent with the Sonoma/Petaluma State Historic Parks for the past four years. I had a general interest in local history when I moved to Sonoma so I decided to enroll in the annual State Park docent training program. The six historical lectures covered the period from the Native Americans, through the Spanish and Mexican era, to the arrival of the Americans in California starting with the Bear Flag Revolt in 1846 and ending in 1890, the year of Mariano Vallejo’s death. All the lectures were very interesting and were given by authorities in their subject area.
Many of our docents like to dress up in period costumes. I often portray a Californio vaquero (cowboy) who tended the vast herds of cattle, horses and sheep on the Petaluma Rancho. Other docents dress as elegant Californio women in hoop skirt finery or as Mexican soldiers serving in Alta California. The State Parks Association maintains a large collection of period costumes and some docents choose to make their own outfits. Others just give tours dressed in regular clothes.
In addition to our docent tours, we have the opportunity to go on great trips to visit other historical sites – Monterey/Carmel, the Santa Barbara and La Purisima missions and Fort Ross are recent examples. We also have several fiestas each year at the Vallejo Home or the Petaluma Adobe as a thank you for our volunteers.
This year’s training and lecture series will start on September 19 at the Sonoma Barracks and go through early November. Participants can choose either to become a docent or merely audit these lectures. Please call 707.996.4978 for more information about this great program.
Richard Arendt

Rave review for
local SVTV27

Editor: I really appreciate being able to watch the Sonoma City Council meetings televised on Channel 27 SVTV.
This is a great opportunity to observe council members debating their positions on issues and making decisions.
I feel better informed. Thanks.
Loretta Carr