Posted on July 1 at 12:57 p.m.

Then it's settled. The author is clearly responsible for the death of the boy--he might as well have held his head under water and watched him make his final kick. After all, he, by his very words, encourages debaucherous behaviour. Although the apartment pool physically caused his death--as was reported in the piece--irresponsible drinking was the apparent cause.

God forbid the author should report straight, unvarnished facts. There's even a chance that this young man's family, in all their grief, would have LIKED to read a scathing reproach of their son's actions. It seems that, according to Mr. Clausen, the author should editorialize in order to relate the REAL truth to the public, as well as disregard any feelings the family might have about reading said diatribe.

This is a very sad matter, but getting into the social implications of WHY the boy passed on seems out of the scope of this news brief. Perhaps Mr. Clausen should have a cocktail and relax.

On Drowning Victim Identified as City College Student

Posted on April 22 at 9:59 a.m.

do you watch a lot of "sex in the city?!"

On Gaucho Footsteps Worth Following

Posted on February 25 at 12:08 p.m.

ok, let's look at the facts here. first of all, there was a beach at haskell's long before the bacara existed. as a matter of fact, it was here before any of us were born! second, beach access did, in fact, exist. for locals who knew about it, there was a place to park and trail to the beach, without the ugly bath house, the paved parking lot, the gaudy fake mediterranean village, or any of that other nonsense. it was just a plain 'ol beach near an oil facility, that people could use to surf or hang out or whatever.

anyone who thinks that the bacara has done us any favors is grossly misinformed, unless they think that having a paved parking lot and limited visitation hours is good. that is a local beach, and should be kept open for locals to use, WHENEVER they see fit to go to the beach. for many of us, the beach is the framework for a way of life. those special nights spent sitting on the beach with friends, family and loved ones would go by the wayside. early morning surf sessions free of the bother of indifferent security guards would become a thing of the past.

lots of people live in goleta in order to enjoy a pastoral and/or coastal lifestyle, and to think that it's ok to strip them of that right, expecting that they'll quietly slink back to their living rooms and post up in front of the idiot box with all of the other defeated slaves is wrong...it's insane! bacara, look out. the local populace will not stand for a takeover of our home by corporate development interests. this is santa barbara county, home of enviro-zealots for god's sake...get real!

On Shifting Sands

Posted on November 19 at 3:38 p.m.

It is important to realize that Palestinians are a group of people who are shamelessly used by the leaders of more powerful Arab countries to wrest power from what they consider to be an illegitimate government--Israel. The Israelis have given up significant amounts of land and resources to Palestinians, but there can never be enough. Israel DOES exist, and therefore has a right to exist. The fact that it has been around for so many years as a very productive member of the world community pretty much makes all other arguments moot.

As far as Israel being a victim, it is. So are the Palestinians. They are fed islamic fundamentalist propaganda, which they unfortunately accept, keeping themselves horribly repressed by the people they continue to attack.

If the Native Americans began suicide bombing Target and Costco, how would YOU feel? Chances are you would avidly call for strong reprisals by the military and law enforcement. I would imagine the same to be the case in Israel. The group of immigrants who settled the area found it to be without infrastructure and made an effort to better things by creating one. For this they were punished by the governments of the surrounding countries, who felt threatened by progress.

Honestly, as long as people keep looking at things from their own, detached perspective, there will never be a solution. All parties concerned need to recognize the fact that there has to be some swallowing of pride and an attempt to make amends DESPITE past conflicts. Easier said than done, but bilaterally progressive leadership would help.

On Teach-In On Israel