Editor, Ceres Courier,

Here they go again, running on an empty tank of rhetorical gas. In his letter titled "Why does the Courier shortchange Citizens for Ceres' civic interest?" Rick Rushton deemed the tone of the editor's pro-Wal-Mart Supercenter editorials as "rabidly antisocial" while at the same time making a plea for civility (or shall we say stumping for it).

Come now, Mr. Rushton, your tone resonates with such an acrimonious display of condescension that anti-Supercenter attorney Brett Jolley could not have done better - or shall we say "worse"? Prior to the Supercenter issue, one would be hard pressed to say that "Citizens" was even "remotely"" known in the Ceres community as a civic interest group. "Citizens for Restricted Market" is a more accurate moniker.

In researching to find if Mr. Rushton's claim that "Citizens for Ceres" had in the past helped protect Ceres homeowners from foreclosures, I found nothing to substantiate in newspapers or sources elsewhere. Then there's Rushton's absurd attempt to rationalize "Citizens" trumped up and frivolous environmental complaint laden attacks on Wal-Mart Supercenter while not uttering a single syllable against Dollar General.

The logic given here is that between the two, Supercenter alone poses a threat to its competitors' fiscal stability as it would be 30 times larger than Dollar General. What else can one expect coming from a self-proclaimed "civic-minded group" that attempts to limit and control free market enterprise. "Citizens" needs to chill down, lighten up and find a cause that actually benefits somebody.

In expressing my final thoughts here, I have something special to share. On the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Fifth Street (cat-eye cornered from Alfonso's restaurant) is a little sign that has been placed on a fence. Not to be misconstrued with the "Citizens for Ceres" group, the sign reads "Citizens of Ceres - Taking Back Our Town - Drug Free Zone."

Non self-serving actions like this serve to demonstrate that true community-based civic responsibility is alive and well in Ceres - and I would add "well balanced" regarding Jeff Benziger's editorials in our city's preeminent paper, the Ceres Courier.

Narrinder Mann,
Ceres