Ms. Peggy Guina is quoted in the Jan. 26 issue of the Willow Glen Resident as saying that had there been a strike of the grocery workers in the San Jose area she would have honored the picket line by shopping at Trader Joe's. I, for one, find that strategy as not very pro-union in view of the fact that Trader Joe's is not a union shop. Perhaps she was misquoted and really meant she would shop at Albertson's or PW.

Jerry Mungai

San Jose

The standouts are
non-native speakers

I have no doubt that Leonor Robledo is a good teacher. However, placing her on the same level with the real "Stand and Deliver" teacher, Jaime Escalante, is to overstate the difficulty of the subject matter.

The huge majority of Leonor Robledo's students speak Spanish as their primary language. That they do well in the Spanish AP exam is great, akin to me as doing well in any subject that I spent most of my young life perfecting before studying for an AP exam.

The truly outstanding students in her class are those who are learning Spanish as a second language and who earned the highest score.

Jerry Connolly

Willow Glen

However we fly flags,
it's still a free country

Just from the headline ('Upside-down flag sends un-American message', Feb. 2 issue ) I knew what to expect in Kara Jones' letter about a Willow Glen resident flying an upside-down flag: Bush has just been reelected, if an individual doesn't support his policies he or she is an "immature, whinny cry-baby, and why doesn't that person leave the country."

Jones, instead of lying to her kids, has an excellent opportunity to give them a valuable civics lesson. Obviously the homeowner disagrees with our government's policies. Flying the flag upside-down means distress. Participation in the political process, expressing your views, criticizing and holding the government accountable are at the core of our political system. Even burning the flag in protest of governmental policy falls under the category of political speech in our democratic society.

Therefore, this individual is exercising his inalienable right as an American to speak up and make his views known. And I must say he did so in a very creative manner.

In fact, Bush's lack of coherent foreign, economic and social policies has so distressed this household I am immediately going to take my American flag and fly it ... upside down.

Elaine Brown

Fairview Avenue

Disagreeing with the
status quo is a right

I am writing in response to Kara Jones' complaint about the resident on Coe Avenue who hangs his or her flag upside-down, and whose signs in the yard protested the recent re-election and inauguration of President Bush.

I also regularly drive past these "immature" signs and when I see them I feel grateful to live in a country where citizens can exercise free speech and disagree openly with the government. When my 6-year-old daughter says, "Gee, that person doesn't like President Bush very much." I say, "I guess you're right" and feel thankful that 1) the resident has the freedom to express this opinion and 2) that my daughter can correctly assess the meaning of the display.

Is there a timetable to making political statements as there seems to be for taking down Christmas decorations? The inauguration may be in the past now, but policies are still in the present and still open to criticism.

The United States offers rights and responsibilities to all of its citizens, not just those who agree with the status quo. What strikes me as "immature" is not hanging the flag upside-down but suggesting that if someone is unhappy about the current government that this person should leave the country.

The right to freely express an opinion is one of the cornerstones of our democracy, not necessarily guaranteed if you "pack up and try living in another country."

Renée Schell

Hudson Drive

Time for everyone to
lighten up and relax

Things must be pretty good here in Willow Glen. With everything that is going on in the world today, tsunamis, war, budget deficits, education cuts, the biggest problems here in Willow Glen are people who leave their Christmas trees lights up, flags flown upside-down, a Statue of Liberty in the front yard, dog poop in schoolyards and a restaurant named Beavers.

To the lady who wants to know how to explain to her child why someone is flying a flag upside-down, well unless you keep your child terribly sheltered, that will be one of the easiest things you will ever have to explain to them, namely someone expressing in a non-violent way their dissatisfaction with the president.

To the other people who are upset about Christmas lights left up, large statues in front yard, and the lady who was embarrassed to walk downtown with friends because of the name "Beavers" on a restaurant, lighten up.

The thing that really gets me is how at the end of each article or letter the person doing the complaining states "it has a negative effect on property values." It seems there are a lot of people who are not happy unless they know their property values are swelling while they are dreaming at night. I'm happy going to sleep knowing my neighbors are good people, and should the time come when you ever needed some help they would be there for you.

If they want to have an 8 foot tall statue in the front yard or leave their Christmas lights up is of no concern to me. Recently, I had someone tell me it is not proper to put out the garbage cans before 5 p.m. the night before pickup, because it hurts the "character of the neighborhood" to have the cans out too early. Well having made to many 6 a.m. garbage dashes in my pj's when I hear the trucks, knowing I forgot to put out my cans, I'm going to put them out the day before pickup when I think about it, even if it is noon. I guess if home prices drop in Willow Glen next month, my putting the garbage out at noon will be the reason.

Unfortunately, like most things in life it all boils down to money. There was a time when you bought a home because the people who lived in the neighborhood seemed like good people, it was a nice place to live and perhaps raise a family. Now it seems all most people are concerned with is protecting their property values, and it has gotten to the point where it has gone to the extreme.

My advice is to not sweat the little stuff. There are too many other more important things to worry about if that is what you want to do. For me, I'm thinking a pair of pink flamingos out in my front yard would look good right about now.

Michael Taylor

Carolyn Avenue

Correction

In the Feb. 2 issue of the Willow Glen Resident one of the restaurants that donated food for the Mulcahy on the Avenue fundraiser was Willow Street Pizza.