Saturday Readers' Forum

Norman Carlin writes: "We in this country are going through serious assaults on our basic freedoms often affecting those of us who are least able to resist the intrusion. We are concerned with justice and the fair application of the law."

This is not about serious assaults on our freedom. This was a DUI checkpoint that happened to also have netted 44 drivers without licenses! If you (or you say, we) are so concerned with what you call "justice and fair application of the law" then why is it OK for some to drive without license and insurance while the rest of us citizens follow the rules of the road? The Social Justice Center of Marin thinks that this was racial profiling and that the people who live in the Canal should be given special treatment because they can't get a license yet they have to go to work, etc. Well that's too bad. And until the illegal immigraion issue is solved, we will continue to have unlicensed and undocumented immigrants driving around our city streets. THAT is not fair.

You make a great point for immigration reform and a clearly established path to citizenship. Time to end this divisiveness that has been created around the migrant issue. They are here, lets reform our laws to meet the needs of our communities instead of cutting off our noses to spite our faces.

Intellect not racism.

I Agree, 94901, let us come together and solve this issue that divides us so.

Responding to Marjorie Macris, MILL VALLEY, CO-CHAIR,MARIN SMART CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE letter in Saturday's forum: 1.4 million car trips equals 3,800+ passengers daily on the STUPID train. She also states that the trains will be limited to 2 or 3 cars. In the last election the stated goal was to run the train about 5 times a day. I hope you like your fellow riders as that equates to over 700 people packed into each train.
This train will not be a public entity but a private one. This epitomizes corporate welfare. If it is such a good idea, then private venture funds would be lining up to invest in it. Furthermore, Ms. Macris now states this will be a odorless, clean train not the antiquated diesel technology previously declared. When did this change? Saying something is "green" doesn't make it so. She also conveniently omits the attached housing elements that automatically kick in with such a system.
Personally, if the STUPID train comes to fruition, I am going to enjoy watching the few people walking from beyond the Airporter premises to the ferry during the winter storms.
Mark Bell
Fairfax

Mark,

Please look at www.sonomamarintrain.org and check out the white papers under documents. You'll see you have been misinformed. SMART proposes 14 trains per day, and the clean diesel (ultra low sulfur fuel reduced by 97% versus the diesel that currently powers regular Golden Gate buses, combined with oxidative catalysts, and particulate traps)

I realize there is a perception issue that remains, and rightly so, as the old diesel technology currently used on most buses is dirty. SMART's proposed clean diesel is a whole different animal -- described in the March 2007 Scientific American as "nearly as green as hybrids" and emitting the same amount of particulates as a single car! Next time you're in san Diego, be sure to ride the Escondido to Oceanside Sprinter, the same type of contemporary self-propelled vehicle SMART is considering and you'll see no black smoke, and smell no odors at all. Here's a clip to see for yourself... http://www.youtube.com/watch...

SMART proposed 14 trains per day in 2006 as well. The 2008 proposal is very similar to the 2006 proposal with the exception of adding weekend service and the possibility of a lighter vehicle.

I agree with Marge... this may be the single most important project the North Bay can implement for the future. People who want to block this are truely shortsighted (stupid).