PUBLIC FORUM : PROP. 215 PROPONENTS REVEAL TRUE AGENDA.

It's interesting that Proposition 215 proponents are now revealing their hand.

``We only want marijuana for the sick and dying,'' they say, but Proposition 215 makes pot available to anyone with a doctor's ``verbal recommendation.''

``This is not about legalization,'' they say, but the initiative allows people to cultivate marijuana. To avoid arrest, they need only claim they're growing it for someone who's sick.

``Crime continues to go up,'' they say, as the nation's crime rate plummets to the lowest levels since the 1960s.

``The `drug war' failed,'' they say, as past-month drug use fell among teen-agers and young adults by two-thirds between 1979 and 1992.

Now that they got what they wanted, proponents give the same advice they gave in the '70s when they advocated decriminalization and drug use reached the highest levels in history - from 2 percent of the population in 1962 to 35 percent of teen-agers and 70 percent of young adults in 1979.

``Teach kids to use drugs responsibly,'' proponents advise in California op-ed pieces, as adolescent drug use doubles after a 13-year decline.

``Marijuana is not as harmful as alcohol,'' they assert, as young people's belief that marijuana can hurt them falls and their use of the drug heads up to the levels of the '70s.

Some in California may not understand why the Clinton administration is rejecting Proposition 215, but those of us who do are profoundly grateful.

- Sue Rusche

Executive Director

National Families in Action

Atlanta

President Clinton has come out against the use of marijuana for medical purposes. It was this same president that signed NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) into law. This same law that allows large numbers of trucks from Mexico to enter our country without being inspected.

Many of these trucks are bringing hard-core drugs into our country, and the tremendous increase in the illegal narcotic supply has caused the street price to fall sharply.

The American people need a special prosecutor to investigate the failure of the U.S. government to stop the drug trade. Don't prosecute the doctors but do prosecute the politicians who have failed to do their job.

- Conrad Hubert

North Hollywood

Higher L.A. wages

Re your article, ``Measure ordered to hike pay; council panels seek to raise contractors' minimum wages,'' Jan. 8:

I question Los Angeles City Councilwoman Rita Walters' qualifications to be a member of such a committee, let alone a council member. She doesn't seem to have any idea of the cost of a dozen eggs, loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. Maybe she only shops in very upscale markets.

As a council member, perhaps she feels guilty for being overpaid and feels contractors for the city of Los Angeles should be, too.

I was under the impression the city was in the midst of a financial crisis. What the heck, let's make it worse - after all, it's not their money they're spending. Just raise taxes.

If Walters was working for me as a cost estimator, I'd be out of business. My prices would be too high and noncompetitive, thus giving foreign manufacturers an even better edge. Has Walters ever wondered why more and more goods are being produced overseas or why the U.S. imports more than it exports?

For argument's sake, let's say they do pay these contractors $7.25 an hour and give the measure a one-year trial. If the plan proves ineffective, will Walters tell these contractors that their wages will be cut and returned to premeasure levels? Do you think that this would ever happen in the real world?

In my opinion, our city is being run by a bunch of con artists who happened to win a popularity contest.

- Eric Dresser

Burbank

On ethics

Now I get it. Ethics are only important if it's the other party.

- Mary Case

Chatsworth

Political correctness

I take great exception to Disney's planned makeover of the Pirates of the Caribbean. Now the subject of the pirates' chase will be food, rather than women, in order to be politically correct.

I find this reprehensible, glorifying gluttony in a day and age when so many people are overweight. What will this do to the potential riders who are watching their weight and attempting to cut down on their caloric intake when food is so dominantly thrust before them?

Plus, what about the vegetarians of the world? How will their sensibilities be affected when turkey legs and hams are showcased as desired food choices? Carrots, celery and tofu would be more politically correct eating preferences in light of today's awareness of better nutrition and the differences in food consumption in today's society.

I think Disney should think twice about these major segments of our society that can be adversely affected. Have they no rights or influence in this matter?

As for myself, I must admit that I will continue to enjoy the ride, only now with tongue in cheek - as it is now, as I write this letter.

- Marcy Young

Van Nuys

Black English

I have two questions regarding the proposed legitimization of black English or Ebonics by the Los Angeles school board.

When is our society going to stop teaching our children to automatically place the blame for their shortcomings or problems on some uncontrollable outside force? When are parents going to accept responsibility for being the primary educator and role model for their children?

If the Los Angeles school board chooses to follow the lead of its counterpart in Oakland and bring an Ebonics curriculum here, it will also be doing a grave injustice to African-American children in our city and everywhere.

The fact is, using improper verb tenses is just plain bad grammar. Whether parents and ``educators'' wish to admit it or not, the solution is not to coddle students and help them to blame - or credit - their culture for educational shortcomings. Instead of teaching children to look outward for explanations of why they are falling behind in school, we should be showing them how they can make a difference in their own lives.

While I am sure school board member Barbara Boudreaux is very well-intentioned, she is merely tying another brick around the necks of Los Angeles schoolchildren. How does she think potential employers will react to an interviewee whose language is peppered with poor grammar?

Go ahead and call the PC (politically correct) police on me, but I strongly feel that parents are supposed to teach their children by example, and using black English, Ebonics or whatever, is just plain lazy and irresponsible.

- Don Lukenbill

Sherman Oaks

The ``dumbing down'' of America continues with the decision by the Oakland school board - and I use that term loosely - to officially recognize Ebonics as a legitimate language.

The seeds of multiculturalism have finally taken root and are beginning to bloom.

To cloak inferior grammatical construction and pronunciation behind a guise of implied cultural diversity is both misguided and harmful. Yet if black street slang can become a sanctioned and approved language, may I suggest, tongue in cheek, to the following school boards that they make a claim for the legitimacy of other ``languages'': Malibu, Surfonics; Dallas, Texonics; and Nashville, Twangonics.

And finally after decades of ridicule and censure, Brooklynese should be recognized as the culturally and ethnically diverse language it has always been.

- Doug Cooke

Sylmar

List of disasters topped by crime

If my family and I leave the San Fernando Valley, it won't be because of the earthquakes, the winds or the floods.

My in-laws live in Idaho. Every winter, the harsh northern weather chases them to Hawaii, where they have a condominium.

They drive to Southern California, visit us for a few days and then fly to Maui. They leave their beautiful four-door, fully loaded Cadillac with us. We're welcome to use it, but we seldom do. The in-laws are getting old. We don't want to put a lot of mileage on what may be the last car they need to buy.

Recently, the car was stolen out of our driveway, stripped bare and left on a Panorama City street as junk. What a Christmas present for my in-laws. We had to deal with police reports, insurance agents, towing problems, impound yard, etc. It was hard to keep the Christmas spirit.

The very same thing happened two years ago. We had the folks' car in our garage when the earthquake came. Everything in the garage fell down, and we had to pull my father-in-law's previous Cadillac out of that mess. They were in Hawaii then too.

We were congratulating ourselves on the fact that the car had escaped with only minor scratches, when overnight it was gone. We never saw the car again. All that was left was a little pile of green glass from the break-in through the driver's window.

This time when we came home from Christmas eve dinner at my son's in-laws, still in shock over the just stolen Cadillac, we discovered that our curbside mail box had been bombed, with the mail still in it, shredded by the explosion. Kid's prank, no doubt. Minor, compared to the car, but it adds up.

When we first came to the San Fernando Valley over 30 years ago, it was a safe and beautiful place. We built a house and raised three boys here. We've survived two earthquakes and fire. But in the last few years, we've had three cars stolen from our property, our front plate-glass window stoned several times and a break-in. This isn't just happening to us, it's happening to a lot of people.

If we finally leave the San Fernando Valley, it won't be because of earthquakes, floods and fires.

- Melvin H. Kirschner

Granada Hills