The DeCinzo cartoon of Vic Monia in the June 2 Saratoga News was quite amusing. However, to set the record straight, Vic Monia was never mayor of Saratoga. He served on the city council from 1990 to 1994 with my husband, Willem Kohler, who was in fact mayor 1990­1991.

Sandra Kohler

Via Regina

Simple solution to the
Highway 9 concerns

Regarding Highway 9 ... leave it alone.

Tom Keeble

Austin Way

The statements in
letter outrageous

In the May 26 Saratoga News, William E. Sirvatka makes two outrageously inaccurate statements about World War II.

His first is the assertion "It is well established that Roosevelt knew of the impending attack at Pearl Harbor but allowed it to happen."

In point of fact, Imperial Japan flat-out caught the United States Navy with its pants down by employing a radically new approach to naval warfare (the combination of six aircraft carriers in one massive strike), which was planned for over a year in complete secrecy. The greatest reasons for success of the strike were: 1—The revolutionary tactics involved, 2—The tremendous amount of vetting the plan underwent due to debate within the Imperial Navy over said new tactics and, most importantly, 3—A well-documented racist attitude of superiority on the part of the U.S., which did not believe the Imperial Navy could seriously harm its forces at Pearl Harbor.

Indeed, so surprising was the strike from Japan that it was "difficult for these men in Washington to accept the fact that ... [the attack] did not originate with Hitler." (At Dawn We Slept, Gordon W. Prange, Penguin Books, 1981.)

It is important to note that these racist feelings of superiority which cultivated a false sense of security in 1941 bear a curious resemblance to the same lack of seriousness about terrorist capabilities which again cost the U.S. dearly on 9-11.

As for Mr. Sirvatka's other irresponsible statement about World War II, "We declared war on Germany, not the other way around": Again, this is utterly incorrect. "Hitler took this occasion [of Pearl Harbor] to abandon his policy of avoiding open warfare with the New World, and on 11 December declared war on the United States ... At 15:30 the same day, the Congress declared war on Germany and Italy." (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume 1, Samuel Eliot Morrison, page 114.)

It would be well for Mr. Sirvatka to actually research the voluminous historical records of World War II prior to making such egregiously incorrect comments on such a well-studied subject. It would also benefit Mr. Sirvatka to read some of today's news, so he might become aware that Iraq was not behind the attacks of 9-11 and that Iraq has been found to harbor no weapons of mass destruction capable of threatening the U.S. This might explain to him why support for this phony war has been sinking so steadily, and why it has been so conspicuously lacking the patriotic fervor of yore.

William Lorton

Saratoga High graduate, Los Angeles

Letter doesn't allow
'reasonable discourse'

Mr. Sirvatka's letter in the May 26 edition implies the divisiveness that has been encouraged and promoted by the Bush Administration. To ask if "liberals convinced us we are not at war" shows a smug disregard for reasonable discourse. You're either with us or with the terrorists, end of discussion, thank you.

More disturbing is the implication that "Roosevelt knew of the impending attack at Pearl Harbor but allowed it to happen"; therefore, any lies the Bush Administration tells are OK? If Roosevelt knew in advance, it wasn't generally known by the public at that time. You better believe the reaction would have been different had they known.

Like Chicken Little, Mr. Sirvatka tells us to be afraid, very afraid. Must we support the Bush Administration that has squandered our treasury, the lives of our soldiers, our moral standing in the world and attacked our liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights? Spending $180 billion on these shores would go a long way toward making America safer.

Our atrocities in Iraq have not made us safer, they have increased the danger to Americans at home and abroad. It is a well-documented fact that Iraq had nothing to do with the tragedy of September 11.

Phillip P. Pflager

Palm Avenue (Cupertino)

Letter contains minority
opinion, factual error

In the May 26 edition, there was a letter from William Sirvatka regarding the war in which the U.S. is engaged currently. In his letter, Mr. Sirvatka stated "it is well established ..." that FDR knew of the impending air attack on Pearl Harbor and he let it happen to sway public opinion. This is a minority opinion held by a small number of historians. It is as factual as stating that a second gunman on the grassy knoll killed JFK; while many believe that to be true, most historians do not.

Yes, most historians believe that FDR knew an attack by Japan was imminent, most likely in the Philippines, but few believe he knew of an attack on Pearl Harbor.

Also in the same letter, Mr. Sirvatka makes the assertion that "[The U.S.] declared war on Germany, not the other way around." Unlike the previous assertion, this one is factually in error. To set the record straight, the U.S. declared war on Japan alone on Dec. 8. Three days later, on Dec. 11, Germany declared war on the U.S.

C.J. Floyd

Arroyo de Arguello

The photograph on the front page of the June 2 edition of the Saratoga News was incorrectly identified. Featured in the photo were Saratoga High School freshmen Andra Gheorghiu and Tara Graham.