Pubdate: Sat, 2 Jan 2010 Source: Times-Standard (Eureka, CA) Copyright: 2010 Times-Standard Contact: http://www.times-standard.com/writeus Website: http://www.times-standard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1051 Author: Fred Summers STOP PRETENDING The author of Losing What Matters uses a time honored formula of Humboldt mythology. She describes an idyllic land or unsurpassed beauty under assault by the nefarious forces of evil that want to travel Highway 101 and destroy her lifestyle. Only by reinforcing the Redwood Curtain can this army be stopped by high-minded folks like herself. This will of course protect all of us misguided citizens who think maybe something is wrong in paradise. She neglects to mentions that she lives in a economy kept alive by a pervasive drug culture and all the violence and destructiveness that comes with it. You can not build a civil society with the drug trade as its underpinning. Perhaps she should look closer to home to find the danger to her lifestyle. The only solution is to legalize marijuana and move on. Let's no longer pretend that there is nothing corrosive in Humboldt County. Fred Summers Ferndale - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake