November 8, 2007

ValleyViewpoints

No need to view pornography at the library

Editor,
I have a right to a Rolls Royce. It is in the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution by our judges. It is with “right to privacy,” “separation of church and state” and “right to view pornography.”

Having the right to own a Rolls Royce does not mean that the taxpayers should pay for it. I can get a job and pay for the vehicle.

The same rule applies to pornography. If I choose to view pornography it is readily available at the numerous adult bookstores or adult movies. If I choose to stay home I can log onto the many X-rated Web sites from my computer.

There is no need to go to the library unless you don’t want your boss or wife find out that you are viewing pornography.

The argument that this puts a burden on the librarians is bogus. All we need to do it block all pornography from the computers at public libraries.

If I pay for my Rolls Royce they can pay for their pornography.

Keith C. De Filippis
San Jose

‘Cat’ fight results in huge vet bill

Editor,
Just before 5 a.m. about two months ago, I was awakened by what I thought was a cat fight, but the sounds weren’t typical. My 11-year-old cat was out for the night and because of his age and lack of fighting ability I try to nip any cat fights in the bud to avoid vet visits.

So my usual routine for early morning cat fights is to get out of bed, go to the window and clap my hands loudly. But this time an animal scurried across the neighbor’s yard, and then doubled back to whatever it had been attacking. I ran down the stairs and out onto the yard and found my cat near dead. The attacker was a coyote. A $1,000 vet bill and two weeks later the cat was finally on the mend.

I had seen this slinky figure scurrying down the sidewalk earlier in the summer after I had clapped my hands to stop what I thought was a cat fight. My wife used to walk in the early morning but stopped after she disturbed a coyote (probably the same animal) two doors from our home. We live on a cul de sac, there used to be four cats on the block. Now there are three. We’ve alerted the neighbors to keep their cats in at night.

I see pictures of missing cats on telephone poles. These cats aren’t missing; they’ve become part of the Almaden Valley food chain. The local coyote population has grown substantially. I was awakened at about 3 a.m. by a coyote yipping and howling very near my house; I counted a minimum of five other coyotes yipping at various distances. This commotion lasted for some time.

As the pack increases in size and the food supply (local cats and small dogs) dwindles, they will hunt earlier in the evening and later in the early morning and range further into neighborhoods. I contacted the city and received the obligatory reply…keep your cat indoors.

We live just off McAbee and Almaden Expressway and thought the Times would be a good vehicle to alert our community of this problem and save a few precious pets.

Jim Cleveland
Almaden

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