PUBLIC FORUM : SOCIETY NEVER SAFE.RE: ``Intolerable'' Editorial (Aug. 12): About the only point on which we agree is no one has been safe since Cain slew Abel. When have our children ever, in the course of human history, been safe? When have parents ever been secure? Now we are going to embark on another round of trash-talking by media pundits regarding the Second Amendment and Christian extremists. No government, no religion and no society will ever eliminate this problem. All we can do is hold the problem to a low roar. It is time to return to morals, ethics, principles and integrity on an individual basis. It is time to return to our synagogues, churches, temples, etc. It is time to rid ourselves of humanism and secularism sec·u·lar·ism n. 1. Religious skepticism or indifference. 2. The view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or public education. . It is time to replace metal detectors in our schools with school prayer. - Tom Delaney Cyril Terence "Tom" Delaney (8 January 1911 - 31 August 2006) was a British sportsman and industrialist, perhaps best known in his later years for being the oldest licensed racing driver in the world, having competed in the same Lea-Francis car for more than three-quarters of a Reseda Where's the outrage? In the aftermath of the shooting at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, the questions that need to be asked are: How is a monster like Buford O'Neal Furrow furrow /fur·row/ (fur´o) a groove or sulcus. atrioventricular furrow the transverse groove marking off the atria of the heart from the ventricles. Jr. allowed to own a weapon like the one he used to cut down innocent little babies? Where is the National Rifle Association National Rifle Association (NRA) Governing organization for the sport of shooting with rifles and pistols. It was founded in Britain in 1860. The U.S. organization, formed in 1871, has a membership of some four million. Both the British and the U.S. ? Where is Charlton Heston? Where is their outrage? Even if this monster was never an NRA NRA (National Rifle Association of America) organization that encourages sharpshooting and use of firearms for hunting. [Am. Pop. Culture: NCE, 1895] See : Hunting member, I am sure that he must have been one of the many who constantly scream that they have a constitutional right to own such weapons, so they can go into a workplace or a school and kill innocent people. Or, in this case, they can go into a day-care center and shoot little kids, a teen counselor and a receptionist. If the NRA and Heston have any decency in them, they will come out en masse with a strong statement condemning such despicable acts by gun owners. However, I am sure that, when people ask how scum like Furrow was allowed to own such a weapon, the NRA's answer will be that it's a constitutional right. - Solomon Swidler West Hills Face of a coward Buford O'Neal Furrow Jr., the anti-Semitic white supremacist who apparently opened fire at the North Valley Jewish Community Center, is a coward and a prime example of how the justice and mental health systems have failed society. If Furrow is an example of the average white supremacist, I would prefer to be surrounded by so-called minorities than by crazy, cowardly losers. The justice system should have kept this idiot locked up a lot longer when he committed assault with a deadly weapon Assault with a Deadly Weapon is the term used to describe the act of threatening to harm one or more people by using a weapon (usually a firearm). Here, assault must be differentiated from battery as they are often confused. Assault is threatening to use force. in the state of Washington. - Michael Finley Canyon Country Standards pursued Re ``LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) exploits loophole in law,'' Daily News, Aug. 8: Loophole or not, the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. will subject all school sites to the strictest environmental standards before they are constructed. As evidence of this new policy, the school district has engaged the oversight and applied the requirements of the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control at two new school sites in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . The environmental conditions at both the Langdon and Valerio primary center school locations have been reviewed and closely monitored by the state, and environmental tests at the sites were conducted according to Department of Toxic Substances Control standards. The department, for instance, requested that we test for lead, herbicides and pesticides, and that's exactly what we did. Future sites will be treated no differently, regardless of whether they are financed with local bond funds or state dollars under Proposition A. - Genethia Hudley Hayes President Los Angeles Board of Education Los Angeles Cardenas defended Why did the Daily News publish such blatantly racist letters in response to the Public Forum letter headlined ``Cardenas chastised''? As a person who has been involved in many areas of the Valley, it still saddens me to see or read about prejudice n any form. State Assemblyman Tony Cardenas does not need my or anyone else's defense. I can only say with honesety that if all representatives had the empathy and understanding for all the people that Cardenas has, this country would be in far better shape. - Majorie Britt San Fernando Boy Scouts destroyed It was greatly disappointing to read that the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America Noun 1. Boy Scouts of America - a corporation that operates through a national council that charters local councils all over the United States; the purpose is character building and citizenship training must admit homosexuals. The court may have just dealt a death notice to the great institution of scouting. If one looks at the Boy Scouts' Web site, one learns that the Boy Scouts' organization is a private one. It is a Judeo-Christian organization that believes in the Ten Commandments. The organization promotes character, citizenship and personal values based on religious concepts. These religious concepts do not include homosexuality. Take a look at the last sentence of the Boy Scouts' Oath: ``To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.'' - Patrick Mallon Mission Viejo NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga not welcome If the would-be owners of a National Football League franchise in Los Angeles want public money, they should have a telethon tel·e·thon n. A lengthy television program to raise funds for a charity. [tele- + (mara)thon. and see how much public money they can raise. That will show them how much support they have in the city. Or they could sell stock options to the public and let Angelenos be part-owners. Then maybe they would have some pride in their team. But no tax money. City and state politicians should stay away from football with our money. - Reymundo Rodriguez Van Nuys Name change meaningless I just read in Saturday's Daily News about 3,000 households hoping to generate a groundswell ground·swell n. 1. A sudden gathering of force, as of public opinion: a groundswell of antiwar sentiment. 2. of unofficial recognition so that Lake Balboa will be recognized, as are Valley Glen, West Toluca Lake, North Hills, West Hills and other communities willing to join the parade. What for? Lake Balboa is no Lake Arrowhead or Lake Como or any other resort lake. It's just a piece of land filled with reclaimed water. The project was a huge success and a necessary park for the Valley. No one doubts that. My feelings on tehis is that we should demand that the mayor, City Council and the county Board of Supervisors The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. The Board of Supervisors is the body governing counties in the U.S. get busy and clean up all of the Valley. Get the streets swept every week. Clean up the entrances and exits of all the freeways, etc. Let's get the message to the right people. - Johnny Rotella Van Nuys California no Mexico After reading Abel Valenzuela's column (Opinion, Aug. 6) regarding the demise of Proposition 187, I would like to remind him that California is not a suburb of Mexico. I am personally not against legal immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. in any way, but for many good reasons this country does have laws about those who come here illegally. Perhaps Valenzuela should better direct his editorials toward the corrupt government of Mexico instead of the wishes of the voters of California. - Dan Francis Northridge Downey deserved it As a father of three, resident of Los Angeles County and card-carrying member of the three major acting unions/guilds, I would like to extend kudos and my sincere thanks to Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mira for finally bringing the curtain down on the legal shenanigans shenanigans Noun, pl Informal 1. mischief or nonsense 2. trickery or deception [origin unknown] of Robert Downey Jr. Along with many acquaintances of mine who are not in showbiz, I am sick and tired of celebrities - including entertainers, athletes such as Darryl Strawberry and politicians such as City Councilman Mike Hernandez - who continue to weasel weasel, name for certain small, lithe, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae (weasel family). Members of this family are generally characterized by long bodies and necks, short legs, small rounded ears, and medium to long tails. out of their deserved legal comeuppance come·up·pance n. A punishment or retribution that one deserves; one's just deserts: "It's a chance to strike back at the critical brotherhood and give each his comeuppance for evaluative sins of the past" and repeatedly flaunt flaunt v. flaunt·ed, flaunt·ing, flaunts v.tr. 1. To exhibit ostentatiously or shamelessly: flaunts his knowledge. See Synonyms at show. 2. their prestige and prominence as ``reasons'' to avoid accepting responsibility for their actions. Along with countless thousands of fellow Screen Actors Guild members, I manage to eke out a living in the field of entertainment while we watch in disgust as a few of the fortunate waste their blessings while they are coddled by their managers, agents, producers and hangers-on to keep the cash-laden gravy train rolling. Couple this with the machinations of illustrious legal talent, such as Robert Shapiro, and is it any wonder that it is a evirtually unheard-of proposition for a celebrity to answer for transgressions? - Dink O'Neal Burbank Marriage-less Newt Re Newt Gingrich's divorce: The hypocrites are at it again. It seems that yet another member or former member of Congress who voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which deprives gay people of the right to a civilly recognized marriage, has filed for divorce - his second actually. I guess only heterosexuals are allowed to be as disrespectful dis·re·spect·ful adj. Having or exhibiting a lack of respect; rude and discourteous. dis  re·spect to the institution of marriage as they like. Perhaps if the measure ever comes up for another vote, all the self-proclaimed defenders of marriage should be forced to cast a more honest no vote if they have committed adultery, lived in sin or dissolved a marriage. I guarantee it would then go down to a resounding re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. defeat. - Roland E. Zwick Valencia CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Buford O'Neal Furrow Jr. is escorted by federal officials as he arrives in Los Angeles late Wednesday, after surrendering to the FBI in Las Vegas. Michael Caulfield/Pool |
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