I was disappointed that the San Francisco Giants invited Barry Bonds to Saturday’s celebration at AT&T park. I note that during the celebration Bonds did not come clean about his steroid use and apologize to baseball.

How soon we forget. Remember in 2004, Bonds testified before a grand jury that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer who was indicted in a steroid-distribution ring. Bonds claimed he didn’t know they were steroids.

Some have argued that because Bonds has not admitted to using steroids knowingly, there is a constitutional presumption of innocence. While this might be true in a court of law, it is not necessarily true in the court of public opinion, where Bonds’ lack of credibility and the substantial circumstantial evidence have persuaded me and others that Bonds knowingly took steroids.

In 1991, Fay Vincent, then baseball’s commissioner, issued a commissioner’s policy that said “the possession, sale, or use of any illegal drug or controlled substance by Major League players and personnel is strictly prohibited. This prohibition applies to all illegal drugs and controlled substances, including steroids.”

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But does it matter? In this age of wide-scale cheating and lying by public officials, researchers, school officials, students, etc., Bonds’ use of steroids appears irrelevant to a lot of people. After all, baseball is just entertainment and “everyone” was doing it. So, yes, it does matter because steroid use is up among high school students and even eighth-graders.

Ralph E. Stone

San Francisco

Endangered program

Your Aug. 11 story “Zoo’s seniors may bunk up” shows why Supervisor Chris Daly’s rescue-zoo legislation is a bad idea. If this legislation passes it will mean an end to the San Francisco Zoo’s endangered species program.

Over the past decade, the San Francisco Zoo has been a leader in the area of animal conservation and endangered-species protection. The zoo has played a vital role in species-survival programs, and dozens of species simply would not exist today if weren’t for the efforts of the San Francisco Zoo and other institutions.

Would Supervisor Daly have preferred that these animal species had gone extinct, which would be the result if his rescue-zoo legislation passes? Let’s give the new director a chance to address the zoo’s problems and not allow this poorly written legislation end the San Francisco Zoo’s wildlife conservation mission.

E.F. Sullivan

San Francisco

Get it right the first time

With violence breaking out between Russia and Georgia, it raises the question if we can afford to take a chance electing a president who has shown poor judgment on foreign policy.

Sen. John McCain was wrong on the Iraq war and even to this day has yet to admit that he made a mistake in supporting Bush’s war.

We live in a dangerous world and we can’t take a chance electing people who think like Bush. We need to vote for someone who gets it right the first time rather than someone who is experienced in getting it wrong.

Marc Perkel

San Bruno

America: a toothless tiger

Now that Russia has invaded the country known as Georgia and seems to be determined to bring about a little “regime change,” America is going to learn what it’s like to be a toothless tiger again.

The best the Bush administration can do is wag its fingers and whine. Unfortunately, bleating “tsk, tsk” and “naughty, naughty” is not going to be much comfort to the West-leaning government of that nation.

Well, maybe Bush can look into Vladimir Putin’s eyes again and persuade him to stop. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to cut it.

Vernon S. Burton

San Leandro

Pelosi is right

For six years, when the Republicans ruled Congress, they treated the Democratic minority as though it didn’t exist, refusing to allow Democrats to propose amendments or even to see the language of legislation until the bill was up for vote.

Now, the minority GOP hollers when Speaker Nancy Pelosi refuses to go along with their demand for offshore oil drilling. The GOP puts a populist spin on its calls for drilling, but it’s really paying back its campaign contributors. The oil-and-gas industry gives 75 percent of its contributions to the Republicans, and is getting its money’s worth.

Even if we had offshore oil drilling, there’s no assurance that prices at the pump would decline, and we’d be in the same situation when we run out of that oil. If anyone cares to plan ahead, we must wean ourselves from finite and polluting fossil fuels eventually. Why not start now?

Thank you, Speaker Pelosi!

Bill Collins

Pacifica