PUBLIC FORUM DELUSIONS.President James Madison said people never give up their freedom, except under some delusion. Such delusions are as ancient as Nero's exploitation of the fire in Rome in 64 A.D. to fuel the persecution of Christians The persecution of Christians is religious persecution that Christians sometimes undergo as a consequence of professing their faith, both historically and in the current era. Christians are by far the most persecuted religious group in human history. . Adolph Hitler used the Reichstag burning in 1933 to promote his Enabling Act Enabling Act Law passed by the German Reichstag in 1933 that enabled Adolf Hitler to assume dictatorial powers. Deputies from the Nazi Party, the German National People's Party, and the Center Party voted in favor of the act, which “enabled” Hitler's government that began the end of freedom in Germany. President George W. Bush is promoting a delusion. He claims that a Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States is necessary to protect us against future 9-11 attacks. However, he doesn't tell us that this department was planned long before 9-11. One of its objectives is to federalize our local police. Let's stop this power grab to build a future American Gestapo. - Dominick Odorizzi Northridge Rotten in Iraq ``To be or not to be, that is the question - Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows'' of those who hate us, those who would destroy us, ``or to take arms to commence war or hostilities. See also: Take and by opposing so end them.'' Yes, that is the question, the limp-wristed intellectuals, the ``peace at any price'' prattlers and the purely partisan, political pygmies are hard at it - And ``the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast'' of timidity and indecision. My apologies to Shakespeare and ``Hamlet.'' To the others who would ``Make cowards of us all'' under the guise of ``conscience,'' my contempt. - Bill Clarke William Hillary (Bill) Clarke (born 5 July 1933 in Toronto, Ontario) was a Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was a Chartered Accountant and businessman by career. Llano lla·no n. pl. lla·nos A large, grassy, almost treeless plain, especially one in Latin America. [Spanish, plain, from Latin pl Financing our foes As long as we continue to finance Saddam Hussein's acquisition of the weapons he seeks as well as finance the Saudis' ability to aid bin Laden, we'll have no choice but to go to war. We do this every time we fill our tanks at the gas station. Don't insult what little intelligence I still possess by telling me we don't have the know-how to drive gasoline-free autos. The auto manufacturers will fight to the death not to put the nation's well-being before their profits. If the government picked up the added expense and mandated a Marshall Plan Marshall Plan or European Recovery Program, project instituted at the Paris Economic Conference (July, 1947) to foster economic recovery in certain European countries after World War II. The Marshall Plan took form when U.S. to make us foreign-oil independent, the Arabs would have to export sand instead of oil. This beats the hell out of financing our own destruction. - Paul Wasserman Northridge 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. the office In her Sept. 5 Bush-bashing column, Maureen Dowd Maureen Dowd (born January 14, 1952) is a Washington D.C.-based columnist for The New York Times.[1][2] She has worked for the Times since 1983, when she joined as a metropolitan reporter. seems unable to express an opinion without demeaning the office of the president with disrespectful dis·re·spect·ful adj. Having or exhibiting a lack of respect; rude and discourteous. dis  re·spect names and cliches the Democrats have attached to anyone with an opposing view. They seem unable to make a point without personal destructive words and phrases Words and Phrases®A multivolume set of law books published by West Group containing thousands of judicial definitions of words and phrases, arranged alphabetically, from 1658 to the present. such as the Bushies, stupid, idiot, wimp, Jr., Daddy's boy, oil cronies, selected not elected - to name just a few. This paints a childish, divided picture of our country for all the world to see. What a disgusting example for our children to imitate. - Jeanne Hovland Northridge Perfect profile Having grown weary of a vacation trip recently, I sent my car and luggage on and flew home to Los Angeles from Reno, Nevada. The Reno Airport security people were so utterly meticulous about their work that I complimented them repeatedly on their thoroughness as they scanned, poked, prodded and interrogated me, and finally whisked my shoes away for a special screening. It was not until I read your fine Sept. 10 article ``Who's watching'' that I realized I had provided those folks with the perfect airport-terrorist profile: I had no luggage, I had paid in cash and I bought a one-way ticket. I still admire those security people in Reno - what if they had found what they were looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. ? - Don H. Richards - Sylmar This rifle no threat Re ``City may outlaw sniper gun sales'' (Sept. 11): I see by your paper that Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas (the man who once wrote a 700-word essay about the Los Angeles Riots without once using the word 'riot') wants to outlaw sales of ``.50-caliber sniper rifles'' in the city of Los Angeles
I suppose the councilman thinks that this costly and heavy monster is being used in drive-by shootings. Single-shot versions cost $3,500 and weigh about 22 pounds. Semiautomatic versions weigh more and cost over $5,000. But let us not annoy the councilman with facts. - James F. Glass Chatsworth Making progress The Patrick O'Connor cartoon of Sept. 6 indicates that our ``leadership'' is a homogenous homogenous - homogeneous group of fat old white guys. In all fairness, the cartoon fails to recognize the progress made in the universally sought goals of multiculturalism and diversity. We can be proud that there are dozens of examples right here in Los Angeles of women (young and old), blacks, Latinos, and even some Asians who have struggled to overcome prejudice and fought their way to the leadership positions whose duties are now confined to conducting meaningless studies on issues that call for immediate action and kowtowing to the special interests while the rest of the city unravels. See? We're making progress. - J. 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. Culver City Mock council meetings One way those who seek to form a new Valley city can convince those who are undecided would be to organize and hold ``mock'' City Council meetings weekly at various venues throughout the Valley until the election. This would enable the voters to see how their proposed representatives would handle themselves and what their views are on the myriad issues that would face this new city. As a showcase of ideas, it would also be a way for all the candidates to subordinate personal ambitions to the idea of Valley cityhood and demonstrate to us all that they can cooperate for the common good. - Noel Weiss Northridge Shortchanging boys Glenn Sacks' Sept. 6 Opinion article on boys on school is spot on. If the gender gap in college were reversed and widening, there would be a national outcry. Like it or not, up to now, males have invented, discovered, written, composed, sculpted sculpt v. sculpt·ed, sculpt·ing, sculpts v.tr. 1. To sculpture (an object). 2. To shape, mold, or fashion especially with artistry or precision: and designed essentially everything of value. This is not to say males are superior ... merely that they are capable. If boys are outperformed by girls in schools today, there is something wrong with schools, not boys. Schools and teachers need to serve the needs of both sexes. By shortchanging boys, we are shortchanging our own future. - John Blakey Palo Alto No contenders Re ``Only two more years'' (Sept. 4) Chuck Heinold gleefully glee·ful adj. Full of jubilant delight; joyful. glee  ful·ly adv.glee proclaims the end of the Bush administration in 2004. I hate to burst his bubble, but I wonder if he's taken a good look at the leading Democratic contenders. All I see are retreads, has-beens, and dinosaurs with nary nar·y adj. Not one: "Frequently, measures of major import . . . glide through these chambers with nary a whisper of debate" George B. Merry. a fresh idea among them. Sorry, Chuck. Maybe in 2008. - Ken Lucas Woodland Hills Misspelled a word When Chuck Heinold said in the Sept. 4 Public Forum that the Democrats ``have proved that they can run an economy'' he must have been thinking of the state of California. Democrats control every part of government here, and the economy sure is in great shape, isn't it? They have created a $23 billion deficit that will take years to correct. I think that he simply misspelled one word. He must have meant to write that the Democrats have proved that they know how to ``ruin'' an economy. None of them deserve our votes this November. - David Hall Winnetka |
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