Bloggermania 2 is around the corner... Are you coming?  

A recent Register article focused on the work Steve Jensen, head of Napa’s building department, has done on California’s new, sustainable building code (“Napa man helps green standards,” Aug. 20). I was pleased to see an article about this issue just when we’re considering the new Napa County housing element of our General Plan.

Although I did not think the email about Palin I posted yesterday was entirely negative about her, I recieved several complaints from Republicans that the letter was b.s., as it is colloquially called. In fairness to them I point you to one of the supporters emails coming out of Alaska, which I have no doubt is basically true.

Her interview with Charlie Gibson was partially run on Nightline. Her answers on foreign affairs seemed canned, stilted, and like she was out of her league. At one point she offered up that she could see Russia from Alaska. Huh? That is a qualification? She explained that it shows what a small world we live in. Ok. She really was reaching.

The story with Palin and the Library is hardly over. ABC did a report that showed that she belonged to a church that advocated removing books from circulation at the time, and she inquired about it to the librarian at a City Council meeting. When you are the Mayor of a town and you even bring something like that up, especially when you are well known to attend a church that advocates for it, it is intimidating. Unless you agree, of course, then it is a good idea.

After seven years, are Americans tired of reliving the memories and images of Sept. 11 on each anniversary of the attacks?

America has been at war for nearly seven years. Terrorists struck on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, and within weeks U.S. soldiers were attacking Taliban redoubts in Afghanistan. Shortly afterward, President George W. Bush and Congress created a new Department of Homeland Security to address concerns about enemies within the United States. In 2003, President George W. Bush expanded the war on terror to Iraq, where more than 100,000 U.S. troops are in service today.

Dear editor, In this election year I have been asked numerous times who I would vote for president. My answer in all cases has been, “Flip a coin,” a metaphor for having to choose the “lesser of two evils.” Honestly, that’s what it boils down to. How do I know whom is the lesser of the two evils anyway? What is cast out by the two candidates is a rhetoric of promises to do this and that with no guarantee that anything will be different after the election.

Dear editor, Napa County is considering a workforce housing ordinance, proposed by Supervisor Mark Luce, that is a non-starter. The workforce in Napa is mostly associated with the major industry in Napa County — liquor, or as most Napans prefer, the wine industry — mainly low-paying jobs. As we Napans are learning the hard way, it is a double-edged sword. The announcement that one of the largest employers in Napa — Dey L.P. — is leaving left local officials “stunned.” That is only stunning because of a total lack of leadership at both city council and county levels.

Dear editor, I want to thank Lori Stelling for taking the time to eloquently write to you about her family’s experiences in the Copia Edible Gardens (“A magic garden, free to all,” Aug. 25) and thank you for publishing her letter. Thank you, Lori, for making the gardens a weekly part of your lives. You truly get what we are doing here. It moves me to think about you and your son continuing to observe, explore and communicate about the cycles of the seasons.

Barack Obama chose Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate ... what do you think of the choice?

(Editor's note: The comments on this crashed about 9:30 a.m Friday, right after McCain's announcement. We were able to rebuild most but not all of the comments)