Gerald McCutcheon

Published online on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009

Age: 60

Occupation: Retired Sanger Unified School District bus driver.

Hobbies: Reading, writing, gardening, travel.

Bee reader since: 1993

How many letters: 10 since 2007.

Favorite topics: Injustice in the world, and state and national politics.

Why do you write? I react to writers I disagree with or who got facts wrong. I also write to offer alternatives to problems.

Reaction to letters: I have only had a couple of reactions from other readers printed in The Bee. Friends and relatives are very supportive (or so they say).

Topic that doesn't get enough attention: HIV and AIDS in the black community.

Excerpt from recent letter: "The Wells Fargo junket to Las Vegas was outrageous. The bank claims no bailout money would have been used. But money is fungible, which means it is interchangeable and one dollar is the same as another dollar.

"When you use money for a junket, you are inevitably spending from the big pool of money available, no matter what accounting gimmicks you use ... . It is all money from the same big pot."

Education: Bachelor's in Sociology from California State University, Long Beach. Graduated from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey where I studied Korean while in the U.S. Air Force. I also served in Vietnam.

Family: Not married, but recently celebrated 20 years with the same woman, who is also my best friend. Two brothers and a twin sister. We have a close family including both my father and mother.

Political philosophy: Socially very liberal, but fiscally fairly conservative. I supported Barry Goldwater, but I don't think he would recognize the new GOP that turned a surplus under Bill Clinton into a massive deficit. I was an early supporter of Barack Obama and I think he is going to be an outstanding president.

-- Compiled by Pam Rowse