ere was the guy who wagged a warning finger of fear that we ought not to “wed Obama” in the November election

A waste of moneyWhy in this time of financial stress does Rancho Simi Recreation and Park Rosetta Stone District want to waste over $380,000, not including upkeep or consideration of drought conditions, on a “splash park” in Oak Park?Who thought this up? Were residents polled? Is there going to be an admission fee? Then there’s the liability factor in this litigation-crazed society.— Dave McDonald,Oak ParkNo translation neededRe: Terry Paulson’s Feb. 2 essay, “‘Obamaspeak’ translation”:Dismayed as I was a few months back when The Star reluctantly redesigned its format and cut and/or combined sections, I looked for the silver lining. With the shrinking real estate of column inches, I wondered if the editors would finally send Paulson back to his “blah-ging” and reserve what was left of the Op-Ed pages to fresher talent that wouldn’t rely on specious thinking to make a point.Here was the guy who wagged a warning finger of fear that we ought not to “wed Obama” in the November election. While Paulson may have employed the verb as figure of speech, the reality is that “wed” implies a lifelong commitment. We (the people) elected Barack Obama to a four-year term, a subtle but important distinction.Now, barely two weeks into the Obama presidency, Paulson anoints himself translator, if not the de facto speaker, of the loyal opposition.For whom are you translating, Mr. Paulson? Give the readers of The Star a little more credit for their higher levels of literacy and comprehension.— Kevin Gillogly,Thousand OaksStop thinking ‘me first’Re: Becky Berg’s Feb. 1 letter, “Give it to me”:The major problem with Berg’s letter is that neither she nor her husband has a very good grasp of mathematics.If you took the entire amount of the stimulus package and Rosetta Stone Spanish Latin divided it among all single people and families in one lump sum, the individual payout would not pay off any mortgages or buy any cars. It might help pay off some credit-card debt.We have lost a third or more of the value of our homes, seen dramatic reductions in the value of our retirement funds and seen jobs reduced by the tens of thousands in the past few weeks. Even those who still have jobs are not very confident they will keep them. One individual share of a stimulus-package payout would not be all that helpful in the face of these problems. If you were smart, you would use it to pay down debt. You would not be buying cars or any other “stuff.”We need to invest in things that have a lasting impact on our lives, such as education, healthcare and improvements Rosetta Stone American English to our infrastructure, to our environment and to our energy position. These kinds of investments will create new jobs that provide the wages the middle class needs on a continuing basis.Our tax rates are not high. Decreases in our marginal tax rates will provide very little stimulus to our economy. We have a revenue problem — both as individuals and business owners. Increase my revenues, and I’d be delighted to pay more taxes. As a small-business person, I wouldn’t dream of hiring any new employees at this time. I’m happy to be able to keep my current payroll in place.We’ve tried the tired, worn-out ideas that say that everyone looking out for their own personal interests is enough to create and maintain our own personal and financial well-being and that of our communities [Rosetta Stone ] and nation. These ideas simply haven’t worked. Nor are they the ideals that led our founders in creating our nation.It’s time to better balance our own personal self-interest and that of our common destiny. It’s time for a change.