PUBLIC FORUM FORMER GOVERNORS.

Re "Legislators must vote to back repair bond" (Their Opinions, March 8):

The chutzpah shown by the former California governors supporting the upcoming bond measure is breathtaking. For decades, they and the Legislature have looted the funds set up to repair much of the state infrastructure by taking our already excessive gas tax money collected for that purpose and dumping it into the general fund to help cover up their disgraceful spending habits and make the huge deficit appear smaller.

The same thing happens with many other "fees" and taxes that were meant to fix these problems. This is outrageous and they should be ashamed of themselves. Don't vote for any bond measure or tax proposed by these thieves.

- John Nelson

Canoga

Buying rope

Re "Preschool tax backed" (March 8):

"Field poll shows the more people know about the measure, the less they are inclined to support it." Proposition 82 is being supported by tax money. Wake up taxpayers, you are paying for the rope to lynch yourselves.

- Richard Hampton

Sylmar

Jesse Hollywood

Re "Murder suspect wants prosecutor removed" (March 8):

So Jesse James Hollywood's lawyer is afraid that a movie will depict Hollywood "as a monster, an individual with no redeeming value." Well, James E. Blatt shouldn't worry because long before we ever heard of this biopic, Hollywood's own thuglike, lowlife behavior conveyed this impression.

Jesse's stint as a fugitive while his accomplices faced justice also proves him to be the biggest coward of this murderous group. Don't make him look worse by blaming his scuzzy image on an unreleased movie. After all, this trial can only benefit your image, Blatt.

- John Adams

Valley Glen

Cardinal urges

Re "Mahony urges end to hostility toward immigrants" (March 2):

Cardinal Roger Mahony seems to love dabbling in social engineering and international relations, as long as the taxpayers foot the bill. If he believes in an open border and unrestricted immigration from Mexico, then, let the Catholic Church assume the financial burden for everything involved in that noble pursuit.

While he's at it, maybe Mahony could clean up the corruption in Mexico's government, so millions of their citizens wouldn't have to leave their country to seek better lives here. Mahony should decide if he wants to be a politician or remain a cardinal. He can't have it both ways.

- Charles Robinson 

Saugus

Not reported

Re "Hit and run crashes on rise in Valley" (March 4):

The high hit-and-run figures don't even include many minor collisions not reported. We've had three cars hit, no notes, while parked on our quiet street. My car was significantly damaged by someone picking up a child from the nearby middle school. What a message to teach the next generation.

Perhaps we should start teaching rules of the road to youngsters. I learned from my dad before I was ever behind the wheel. Of course, I also learned personal responsibility, courtesy, human compassion and how to stay calm in emergencies - the other things lacking in those who hit and run.

- Diane Muff

Granada Hills

American women

Re "Activists mobilize as South Dakota enacts abortion ban" (March 7):

Perhaps the catch slogan the Bush administration might put forth in support of the South Dakota Bill: "American women - Uncle Sam wants your body."

- Jerold Drucker

Tarzana

Evolution question

Re "Daily News Online Poll" (March 8):

Any poll asking readers whether or not they believe in evolution without defining the type of evolution referred to in the question is like asking readers if they believe in government. Because there are several beliefs in evolution as there are several types of government, any poll result would be confusing. There is the Darwinian version of evolution. There is the intelligent design version, and there is the spiritual version. Moreover, the word "evolution" has more than one meaning such as the evolution of aviation. By failing to be specific in the poll, the responses may not accurately reflect the opinions of those responding.

- Jack Allen 

Pacific Palisades 

Not just Bush

Since the media has persecuted President Bush with a videotape of pre-Katrina, will they now give equal coverage to Democrat Louisiana Gov. Blanco for her newly exposed videotapes wherein she denies the levees were broken when in reality they were? If a city is in peril and its own mayor, as well as the state's governor, refuses to follow warnings as presented in phone calls from the president of the United States, why is only the president being held responsible? He is not the local level.

Even Amtrak called the mayor and told him they were going to get their train equipment out of the city. Amtrak told the New Orleans Mayor Nagin to put the citizens on those departing train cars and they could evacuate masses of people; the mayor refused and we know what happened. Now it's the president's fault? How foolish.

- Betty Arenson

Valencia

Dubai ports

In her March 3 column, once again Marianne Means dipped into her vast store of ignorance and came up with what to her was a pearl. Dubai Ports World is not buying any U.S. ports. Dubai Ports World is not going to run any U.S. port. Dubai Ports World is going to operate some terminals in the several ports.

For example, of the (about) 14 terminals in the Port of Baltimore, Dubai Ports World will operate two. Foreign operators have been so engaged for decades - Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, Korean, Singapore. I am appalled by the ignorance of the media people and the politicians who do not seem to have had the initiative to investigate what is going on.

- William F. Gilger

Simi Valley

Go Harvard

In a region where Americans, even aid workers are routinely kidnapped and beheaded. The Taliban used to rule. We spent our treasure (blood), to drive them out, and still kill them where we find them. Now Yale University lets the spokesman for this terrorist organization attend classes there. The lunatic left has finally lost the last ties to reality.

I am a veteran and as such would like to call for a boycott of Yale and any of its entities until they kick this terrorist wannabe out. Isn't it a great idea to educate our enemies at our finest universities so he can go home and plan our demise? All I can say is, go Harvard.

- Craig S. Hawley

Reseda

Irreducible complexity

Re "Darwin needed intelligence" (Your Opinions, March 2):

Lyndell Brown says that advances in biochemistry have proven evolution false. He points to something called "irreducible complexity," which is one of the few falsifiable claims of intelligent design. ID holds that only a supernatural designer could have created the diversity of life we see around us. IC is the claim that species can't evolve via Darwin's "descent with modification."

Brown points to the blood-clotting cascade as an example of IC. He says that, "Over 15 factors must be present at once or death results." This is incorrect. Both the whale and dolphin are missing factor 12; the puffer fish and sea squirt are missing three factors. All of their blood clots just fine. The "irreducible complexity" of this system has been disproved by peer-reviewed studies dating back to 1969 and by molecular tests in 1998.

- Justin Olson

La Crescenta

Jackie and Roger

My, my, what's next L.A.? Jackie wants to continue at the fat public trough and Roger is busy defying the law to draw attention from his perverted priests.

- William Mills

Santa Clarita