PUBLIC FORUM : SAY NO TO KOSOVO.President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Madeleine Korbel Albright (born May 15 1937) was the first woman to become United States Secretary of State. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on December 5 1996 and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate 99-0. She was sworn in on January 23 1997. seem determined to involve America in a NATO NATO: see North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO in full North Atlantic Treaty Organization International military alliance created to defend western Europe against a possible Soviet invasion. intervention in Kosovo. There is no vital American interest in Kosovo. And there is no constitutional authority for a president to involve U.S. troops in a foreign war without a prior declaration of war by Congress. The violence there is between the Maoist terrorists of the Liberation Army and the central regime of longtime Communist and Soviet-Russian ally Slobodan Milosevic. We must urge our U.S. senators and representatives to stop our intervention in Kosovo. We don't need to spill American blood in another foreign, no-win war. Let's stay out of it. - Robert W. Van de Walle Granada Hills A big tab For those who have complained about Ken Starr's $40 million tab for his Whitewater, Travelgate, FBI-Filegate and Monicagate investigations, well, look at these figures. When the 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. trial was set to start, President Clinton ordered four days of bombing of Iraq There have been several bombings of Iraq:
- Ruth S. Fraser Toluca Lake Little sympathy Re: ``A way to work'' (Daily News, March 8). Give me a break! I am sick to death of hearing about people who force me to pay for them and their children with my tax dollars. Nowhere in the story did I read about a father, who should be made financially responsible for this child. I have worn Payless shoes for years and find nothing demeaning de·mean 1 tr.v. de·meaned, de·mean·ing, de·means To conduct or behave (oneself) in a particular manner: demeaned themselves well in class. about it. When I was paying off my children's dental bills, I worked approximately 70 hours a week. I did not expect others to shoulder my responsibilities and have little sympathy with a woman who has reached her 30s but still can't take care of herself without public assistance. I know a number of struggling women who have neither pagers nor jewelry to pawn, yet they make ends meet without going on welfare. They work extra hours, and since they're paying their own rent, instead of two-bedroom apartments, they get by with a single, shared bedroom, at least when a child is preschool age. Their children may wear Goodwill clothing, but what's wrong with that? They have many meatless menus to fall back on and check into after-school programs where child care, although not free, is based on earned wages. They may not be eligible for free (taxpayer-paid) schooling, so check around for programs through their employment that may help them better themselves financially. - Anita Work Sylmar Get the money Recent reports that the city of Los Angeles
It is simply a matter of productivity of existing revenue sources. Most of the many revenue sources that the city has, and there are dozens, continue to perform relatively poorly because of the fiscal structure of the city. Our structure does not focus on any one department dedicated to the task of revenue collection. Contrasted with most any other large government entity, this is apparent and a fatal flaw in our fiscal management. The new Department of Finance-Revenue as proposed in the charter reform ballot measure now set for June 8, will stop trying to solve a revenue shortfall by cutting expenses (we have cut to the bone), or adding new revenue sources (we are taxed to the hilt). That is why we so desperately need tax reform. At least the two Charter Reform Commissions listened and unanimously embraced restructuring how we should go about generating the needed revenue for the services our citizens deserve. The City Council wisely followed their lead last week. - J. Paul Brownridge Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. city treasurer Everybody accountable As the teachers of LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) are about to receive a whopping 2 percent salary increase, there has been an outcry that, attached to this pittance pit·tance n. 1. A meager monetary allowance, wage, or remuneration. 2. A very small amount: not a pittance of remorse. , there is not an accountability clause linking mandated test scores to teacher performance. Why, may I ask, is there not an outrage that the other employees do not have an accountability clause linked to their increases? I have some suggestions for linking other employees' performance via production reports. Let's take the school security staff, for example: The district can link their salary increase to the number of arrests made at each school site. Or, in some cases, the number of phone numbers the male security guards receive from female students. A criterion can also be set up for the custodial staff. Their raises can be linked to the cleanliness of the restroom facilities of each school site. The Board of Health can make unannounced inspections of various campus locales. Based upon these reports, an appropriate raise can be determined for the hard-working janitorial staff at each school site. It is absurd to imagine some production-based, nonobjective form of evaluating these other employees. Isn't it just as ludicrous to base teacher's salaries on mandated test scores? - David Joel Shulman Sherman Oaks Union workers only Well it looks as if the Daily News Outrage Meter is about to go into orbit over the latest flap concerning the LAUSD plan to utilize union workers only in contracting for major projects to be funded by Proposition BB. I work for a local college, and the college is in the process of putting up a new science building, which is now near completion. The work is being done by one of California's top construction companies, which has all-union construction workers. The workmanship has been excellent, and for the most part the building completion is on schedule. There are enough horror stories going around not only on this campus but others as well about school districts taking a low bid from a nonunion nonunion /non·union/ (non-un´yun) failure of the ends of a fractured bone to unite. non·un·ion n. The failure of a fractured bone to heal normally. contractor to save 5 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent and then have to pay out 100 percent in repair, maintenance and modifications because the work was done by incompetent and unskilled labor usually associated with nonunion contractors. The low bid is not always the best bid. When that new science building is open, I'm going to feel very safe in it. - Fred Zimmerman Canoga Park Some people need armor I actually think it is a bad law to keep people from wearing body armor Noun 1. body armor - armor that protects the wearer's whole body body armour, cataphract, coat of mail, suit of armor, suit of armour armet - a medieval helmet with a visor and a neck guard . Rapper ODB ODB Our Daily Bread ODB Object Database ODB Old Dirty Bastard (Wutang clan & rap group) ODB Old Dirty Bastard ODB Open Database ODB Ontario Drug Benefits ODB Cordoba Spain (airport code) gets arrested for wearing body armor. The guy might actually need it. Two rappers, Tupac Shakur and somebody named Notorious B.I.G., were shot to death. This is one of those ``obey the law, and the death penalty will be your reward'' situations. A bad law undermines good laws. A bad law does not breed respect for law or law enforcement officers. I don't respect this law. It's a bad law. - Rikio Matsunami Los Angeles Y2K See Y2K problem and Y2K compliant. Y2K - Year 2000 explained Re Ken Lucas' letter on March 6 saying he doesn't understand the basic Y2K problem Y2K problem or Y2K bug: see Year 2000 problem. (Year 2000 problem) The inability of older hardware and software to recognize the century change in a date. , this is what it boils down to: Virtually everything is computerized, and the mainframe computers that monitor, control and direct hydroelectric generators, utilities, sewage treatment Sewage treatment Unit processes used to separate, modify, remove, and destroy objectionable, hazardous, and pathogenic substances carried by wastewater in solution or suspension in order to render the water fit and safe for intended uses. plants, and every facet of banking and money transfer will stop. They're operating on a timed basis. Computers cannot think, and so ``00'' will look like gobbledygook gob·ble·dy·gook also gob·ble·de·gook n. Unclear, wordy jargon. [Imitative of the gobbling of a turkey.] Noun 1. to time-sensitive computers. Logically, ``00'' does not follow ``99.'' Computers behave only within the confines of the way they're programmed to behave. Come New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. , the symbols won't make any sense to non-Y2K-compatible computers, and so just as Lucas tilts back another bubbly or otherwise parties at midnight on 12-31-99, the lights, fridge, natural gas, traffic signals, phone service, ATM access and Lord knows what else likely will go kaput ka·put also ka·putt adj. Informal Incapacitated or destroyed. [German kaputt, from French capot, not having won a single trick at piquet, possibly from Provençal. (for how long is the $64,000 question). The techno-geek morons who chose two-digit year symbols are the culprits! Phillip A. Pilgram's letter on March 6 spoke of rampaging mobs, looters and utter chaos and havoc. That's a thing to expect if computers balk balk the action of a horse when it refuses to obey a command to which it usually responds. See also jibbing. and stop on Jan. 1, 2000; what would law abiding people do if absolutely nothing is functioning anymore? (We take so much for granted.) What will the criminal element do? What would prevent their seizing the opportunity for laying siege to L.A., New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Chicago? In the final analysis, we're in for one wild ride come 2000. It's less than 300 days from now. - Curtis B. Kellogg Los Angeles Makes them save The argument that people would be better off if they saved and invested their money for retirement vs. Social Security may be true except for the fact that most people do not save money - they spend it, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. all the statistics I have read. Therefore, we need an enforced system, like Social Security. - Marie Daily Los Angeles Agreeing with Hayden I never thought I'd live to see the day I would agree with Tom Hayden Thomas Emmett "Tom" Hayden (born December 11, 1939) is an American social and political activist and politician, most famous for his involvement in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. on anything, but regarding his desire to be more cautious about licensing ``seniors,'' I have to agree. I went through this with my late aunt. Like most people, seniors understandably want to cling to Verb 1. cling to - hold firmly, usually with one's hands; "She clutched my arm when she got scared" hold close, hold tight, clutch hold, take hold - have or hold in one's hands or grip; "Hold this bowl for a moment, please"; "A crazy idea took hold of their independence. While anyone could suffer a heart attack or stroke at any time, those with a history of small strokes or any other condition that could render them unconscious for even a moment should not be behind the wheel. While many seniors surely still have good vision and good health, I still think it would be a very good idea for anyone over 75 to be required to be relicensed every year. I am very much against too much government and its attempting to pass laws to save us from ourselves, such as mandatory seat belts. However, seniors who cannot see well, who are in stages of glaucoma glaucoma (glôkō`mə), ocular disorder characterized by pressure within the eyeball caused by an excessive amount of aqueous humor (the fluid substance filling the eyeball). (and may not know it) or are prone to small strokes should be treated like those who are subject to seizures. - Terri Andrews Castaic A good plan What an excellent idea I read in Charlene Vincent's March 10 letter to the editor. It would be so much easier to tax pet food than try to collect pet fees from owners of unregistered or unlicensed animals. As she said, all pet owners would equally support animal regulation. This would greatly improve the current situation. - John Miller Simi Valley |
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