PUBLIC FORUM; TRUING TRIPP.Re recent Daily News ``Opinions'' columns concerning Linda Tripp's legal problems, specifically Bill Thompson's (Dec. 20,) Richard Cohen's (Dec. 22,) and Mona Charen's (Dec. 22): Thompson says ``The scandal is over. Clinton beat the rap.'' But didn't he beat the rap only after the matter went to trial? Why, then,shouldn't Tripp's case go to trial? Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. says, ``Tripp was certainly entitled to think, as she supposedly did, that she was breaking a law no one ever enforced.'' Hey, it has beennoted many times by legal scholars that hardly anyone has ever been prosecuted for committing perjury perjury (pûr`jərē), in criminal law, the act of willfully and knowingly stating a falsehood under oath or under affirmation in judicial or administrative proceedings. in a civil case regarding sexual matters.But, President Clinton was prosecuted, i.e., impeached, wasn't he? Why, then, shouldn't Tripp also be prosecuted? Regarding the 49 Democratic members of the Maryland legislature who insisted that Tripp be indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. , Charen comments about the (supposed) lackof irony when they insisted ``There is no place for partisan politics within our justice system.'' Golly gol·ly interj. Used to express mild surprise or wonder. [Alteration of God.] golly interj an exclamation of mild surprise [originally a euphemism for , folks. Bill Clinton sure is lucky that his impeachment impeachment, formal accusation issued by a legislature against a public official charged with crime or other serious misconduct. In a looser sense the term is sometimes applied also to the trial by the legislature that may follow. and trial had nothing to do with partisan politics, isn't he? The president learned that if you want to play, you gotta pay. And he paid with dignity. Linda, it's your turn now. - David M. Galfond Palmdale EGALITARIAN NONSENSE I completely disagree with Verb 1. disagree with - not be very easily digestible; "Spicy food disagrees with some people" hurt - give trouble or pain to; "This exercise will hurt your back" Tom Teepen's article, ``Court's ruling no slap to traditional marriages'' (Opinions, Dec. 28.) His implication is that marriage is nothing more than some legal loophole by which heterosexual married couples garner benefits otherwise denied by the state. Nothing is further from the truth. This nation's greatest strength is the traditional family: a mom, dad and children. These families are clearly the building blocks of our society. These laws have been trampled upon with the advent of easy marriage and easy divorce, all in the name of equal protection under the law. Simply because a gay or lesbian couple can live together in harmony is no reason to uplift their marital status marital status, n the legal standing of a person in regard to his or her marriage state. , any more than it would be to raise shacking up to the level of a marriage. To say that a gay or lesbian marriage is the same, or is as equally desirable as a heterosexual one, is egalitarian nonsense and a tacit denial of our most precious and fundamental values. If we cannot admit this, than we might as well take the next step and make it legal to marry our pets. - Steve McCombs Chatsworth ONCE THEY ARE LOST To all the people out there such as John Mendez (Public Forum, Dec. 20,) please stop jumping up and down on my Second Amendment rights. Our Founding Fathers formed the Constitution and placed the amendments to it in order of importance. Believe it or not, they had criminals then as now. I believe all violent criminals are scum and should be treated as such. I don't believe law-abiding citizens should be treated as criminals, but due to the attitude forming in this country, that is now happening. If the general population would do a little research, they would realize the Second Amendment was placed in the Constitution for the same reason we have nuclear weapons. We don't use them, but still have them for deterrence. Do some research, push for stricter enforcement of the laws we already have and don't try to create a new class of criminals from the law- abiding citizens of this country. People have fought and died to protect the rights you enjoy. Don't be so quick to give them up because once they are lost, they are gone forever. - Steve Green For other people named Steve Green, see . Steve Green (b. August 1, 1956 in Portland, Oregon) is a Contemporary Christian music singer notable for his vocal range (tenor 3) and flexible solo style. Palmdale MONEY BETTER SPENT The Mars foul-up cost $125 million and the workers are crushed. Not that they pooled their money on a gamble. We paid dearly, and on their salaries. Yes, America got a man on the moon. But what is there to show for that but the nonstick non·stick adj. Permitting easy removal of adherent food particles: a frying pan with a nonstick surface. nonstick Adjective Teflon pan? We haven't gone back. And I'll stick to cast iron. Let us take a poll from muscular dystrophy muscular dystrophy (dĭs`trōfē), any of several inherited diseases characterized by progressive wasting of the skeletal muscles. There are five main forms of the disease. and cerebral palsy cerebral palsy (sərē`brəl pôl`zē), disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination. children, adults with cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, herpes and see if they can spend the Mars money wiser. No cure has been found yet, and yet somehow a dream of $125 million dollar paper airplane that does not happen seems more important than putting this money into medical research. Ask a child in Childrens Hospital or an adult plagued with disease their opinion. I am sure you wouldn't dare. - Paul Carson Paul Carson is a doctor and a novelist. Born in 1949 Paul grew up in Newcastle, a seaside town on the east coast of Northern Ireland. He studied medicine in Trinity College, Dublin from 1969 to 1975, graduating with an honours degree in Paediatrics. North Hollywood CAN'T HAVE IT ALL NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. was once the world's finest World's Finest may refer to:
With the emergence of the shuttle, it became a commercial operation. Many of its failures can be attributed to the deadlines imposed by commercial customers. It has used the political process to ensure that private space enterprises literally have little chance of getting off the ground. It is time to reverse this policy. We now hear space bureaucrats speak of ``cheaper, better, faster.'' This only works if you choose among them. In research and development it must be ``redundant, unique, tested.'' - William S. Pirone Sherman Oaks FOR THE COMMON GOOD Re: Sunshine Canyon; It is refreshing to see public officials stand firm when deciding the best course in the entire community. Mayor Riordan could easily have caved in to the editorials in the Daily News or the double-edged sword in the hand of Richard Close, who would also like to further the cause of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, the organization hellbent on breaking away from the city of Los Angeles
Everyone wants the services of schools, firehouses, airports, power stations and trash disposal, but no one wants them next to their home. We have become a selfish people, afraid of our own shadow. We have long forgotten how or why our country came into existence. Individual sacrifice is necessary to further the common good. Our forefathers forefathers npl → antepasados mpl forefathers npl → ancêtres mpl forefathers npl → Vorfahren , many of whom were men of means, risked their lives and fortunes to establish a government dedicated to the furtherance fur·ther·ance n. The act of furthering, advancing, or helping forward: "Pakistan does not aspire to any . . . role in furtherance of the strategies of other powers" Ismail Patel. of common good. - Philip Wilt Van Nuys WHAT ABOUT THESE? Re ``Mayor Riordan gives himself A+ grade'' (Dec. 17.) In 1995 a poll reported that his popularity has slipped 46 percent. What grade do you think the people of Granada Hills would give the mayor? How would you grade yourself on these topics, Mr. Mayor: Tax burden for Los Angeles businesses; South Central development since 1992; Racial bias in rental practices; Home loan practices in South Central L.A.; Stopping the Belmont disaster; The Rampart revelations. - Raymond Lee Olson Sylmar WHAT'S MORE OFFENSIVE A sailor convicted of mutiny mutiny, concerted disobedient or seditious action by persons in military or naval service, or by sailors on commercial vessels. Mutiny may range from a combined refusal to obey orders to active revolt or going over to the enemy on the part of two or more persons. during World War II was given a prison term of 15 years for disobeying a direct order. He served 19 months of his sentence and was released. Our service-loving president praises this man's actions and gives him a presidential pardon. What were the media's reactions? They have made a national hero out of a man who is a convicted mutineer. The same media hear Spike Lee Noun 1. Spike Lee - United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957) Lee, Shelton Jackson Lee asking for the murder of Charleton Heston. Not a negative word is said criticizing his words. A ballplayer makes some stupid remarks and the media immediately demand his removal from baseball. I ask you, What is more offensive, a man calling for the death of an American citizen or a baseball player shooting off his big mouth? - Frank G. Carlisi Calabasas DO SOMETHING Re: Public Forum letter ``Cold Comfort'' (Dec. 20.) Fred Reiner asks Rosie O'Donnell two questions: How are you going to comfort and support the wives and 17 children left fatherless when six firemen were killed by the homeless? And how are you going to comfort the woman who was hit in the face by a brick thrown by a homeless person An individual who lacks housing, including one whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations; an individual who is a resident in transitional housing; or an individual who has as a primary residence a ? Well, Reiner, what are you doing to help these wives and 17 fatherless children ? And what are you doing about the homeless? At least Rosie O'Donnell is doing something. You can't do it all and every little bit helps. Whether it's helping humans, animals, land, the sea or whatever. It's all important. Hey Fred! why don't you walk your neighborhood and collect money for your favorite charity and let Rosie give to her favorite charity? - Joanne Albert North Hollywood THE WAY IT WAS Growing up, I would live it over again. We had very little. But no one had anything. The only thing that saved us was we lived in a house that my grandmother owned. Everyone was welcome in our home. If we had a piece of bread, you got half. I can remember my mother gluing the soles back on our shoes. Shoes cost one dollar a pair, but we didn't have a dollar. Most of the things we got for Christmas were homemade. My aunt would send us dresses she made. Another aunt would bring us buckets of coal in the back seat of her car, so we could stay warm. I could go on and on. As I said, I would live it over. - Wilda Summers Arleta CAPTION(S): cartoon Cartoon: All things considered All Things Considered (ATC) is a news radio program in the United States, broadcast on the National Public Radio network. It was the first news program on the network, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets. I accomplished a lot in 1999...I managed to stay out of jail! Brookins/Richmond Times Dispatch |
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