PUBLIC FORUM DO AS THEY DO.

The city of Los Angeles wants $280 million a year, and the Daily News cries foul. The Daily News and the Valley secessionist leaders need to go back to school. Rather than complain about this gouging, we should learn from L.A. city officials.

The Valley simply needs to agree to the ransom and promise to pay. Then, after the secession is complete, we simply ignore our moral and contractual obligations - a la past and present city councils - and don't pay a dime. Oh, yes, then we vote ourselves a pay raise and name a building after ourselves.

- James J. Menotti

Sunland

Keeping tally

According to the city of Los Angeles, a new Valley city would owe (Val)imony in the millions of dollars for assets, buildings, etc. I just wonder if Los Angeles would be held accountable for the decades of neglect of these assets, such as streets, police and fire stations, libraries, water and sewer systems - the list goes on and on.

Would Los Angeles be held responsible for every road not repaved or sidewalk not repaired in the last 20 years? I am not a resident of the Valley, but one only had to read through the Daily News to find yet another part of the city forgotten by its leaders. Breaking up the city may or may not be the answer, but it seems that a portion of those millions of dollars would be going in the wrong direction.

- Scott Powers

Simi Valley

More is less

Eight hundred new laws and one tax hike. Good grief, Charlie Brown. There is something increasingly rotten in the state of California. Kids grow up, go to law school and then run for public office. Increasingly our governments at all levels are inundated with lawyers. Each knows in his heart of hearts that everything can be micromanaged by laws. A recent vice president talked about no compelling legal authority.''

Time was when the behavior of most citizens was ruled by personal responsibility. Now, thanks to several generations of liberal politicians, nobody is responsible for anything. And our freedoms are being further eroded each time government at any level meets.

- John Pierson

Thousand Oaks

Airport facts

Your editorial ``Policing LAX'' (Dec. 28) and Lydia Kennard's reply (Public Forum, Jan 4) omit some very important items. The airport system contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the taxing authorities in business taxes, property taxes, parking revenue, access fees for commercial carriers and service companies, sales taxes, rental fees for concessions, etc.

None of this money is used to provide any services to the airport system. It simply disappears into the morass of government entities and bureaus. Consequently, the airports have to provide and pay for their own fire, police and maintenance services despite the enormous sums leached out by the governing authorities. This is a grossly unfair situation.

- Harry Berg

Northridge

Not an embarrassment

One can only guess that the lives of Larry Levine (``Glendale resident subject of complaint,'' Dec. 22) and Phillip Wilt (Public Forum, Jan. 4) have been greater and more remarkable than the life of Abraham Lincoln. Abe's problems and failures ran long and deep, much worse than any problem Jeff Brain has or probably ever will encounter.

It takes a special person to carry the ball across the line. Brain is that person, and the opponents of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment are doing their best to damage, derail and stop any possible breakup of the city. As our streets and sidewalks decay, as crime rises and gangs conquer our streets, as our police, fire and paramedic services disintegrate, we continue to be spectators. Brain is not an embarrassment; he is a messiah.

- Dan L. Huffman

Chatsworth

Lesson of Vietnam

The greatest generation - like beauty - is in the eye of the beholder. And the beholder is a product of his or her times. Robert Thompson's piece (Opinion, Jan. 1) generally pays proper tribute to earlier generations, and his conclusion is certainly within the realm of honest speculation.

However, he goes way off track in his summary of Vietnam. While there are many lessons to carry away from that conflict, the two he cites - ``We may not always prevail'' and ``We are not all-powerful'' - suggest he lives in a tower. A better lesson, well understood by veterans, active military and successful sports teams, is that winning requires leadership that wants to win more than the other side does. That was missing in 'Nam.

- Michael C. Savell

Simi Valley

Not a dirty word

I'm becoming increasingly irritated with those who criticize those who display the flag at home, on the car and at work. Frank Johnson (Public Forum, Jan. 6) considers the display of flags as a means to aggrandize certain people. Some also think that we are wrapping ourselves in patriotism as some sort of protection.

Just as one can speak to God anywhere, the fact is that one gets a feeling of community at a house of worship. Many of us get that same feeling by displaying the flag and wearing flag pins or T-shirts, etc., and by seeing others doing the same. Obviously, since so many of us choose to display flags and wear patriotic attire, someone must manufacture these things. It's called capitalism, and it isn't a dirty word. Are businesses that sell religious articles also hucksters?

- Terri Andrews

Castaic

Root of the problem

The Daily News has, almost daily, printed horror stories of Los Angeles City Council demagoguery, Los Angeles Unified School District fraud and deceit, Los Angeles Police Department misuse of authority, the governor's seeming lack of intelligence in handling his job, voting fraud that nobody seems to want to stop, proposed L.A. city financial charges if the Valley secedes and California legislative intent for more taxes, more government control and less freedom. On and on it goes.

The problem? The Democratic Party taxers control the City Council, the Mayor's Office, the California governorship, the California Legislature, the LAUSD and the LAPD. We even have a U.S. Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, who is a Democrat, and he is stonewalling judicial appointments and legislation, refusing to let the Senate take a vote. But Daschle let a raise in salary for the senators go through.

- Robert D. Sharp

Arleta

Facts are the same

Re Todd Strasburger's Jan. 1 Public Forum criticism of my choice of words in my Dec. 27 letter:

There is more than one way to express oneself correctly in the English language. I made my point: The LAUSD has quite a difficult task in educating children who have so many negative factors in their lives. Your pedantic response in no way negates the facts.

Maybe you should venture outside of Thousand Oaks into a classroom in South Central Los Angeles to see that the problem of low test scores is not as one-dimensional as you think.

- Laura Fiddler

Northridge

Unneeded car repair

There were numerous announcements on television on New Year's Day about police enforcement action against persons selling counterfeit sweat shirts and shorts banners. I wish some of that selective enforcement could be directed at the auto dealership repair facilities that continue to sell unnecessary and unneeded parts and service to unknowing customers.

I've already written to Gov. Gray Davis and the Bureau of Automotive Repair, whose officials stated that auto dealerships are not violating the law. What about my neighbor who was offered a steam cleaning of her 5-month-old car for better all-around performance?

- Talbert Kanigher

Burbank