PUBLIC FORUM INCOME TAXES.How many of us really believe the government's propaganda that the IRS An abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency charged with the responsibility of administering and enforcing internal revenue laws. has become kinder, gentler and more understanding? Now that we've paid last year's income taxes, we can look forward to working through June to pay for next year's taxes. Worse yet, only 40 percent of us middle-class working stiffs are paying the majority of our nation's bills. We are being penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. instead of being rewarded for our dedication and hard work. What happened to all of that bogus political rhetoric about implementing a fairer flat tax or sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. and doing away with this complex unethical income tax system? Like everything else these pompous politicians promise us, it's nothing but hot air. - Robert Dovidio Newbury Park Smell the sulphur Congratulations to District Attorney Steve Cooley for designating the Belmont Learning Center This Belmont Learning Center contains information about a building currently under construction. It may contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change dramatically as construction progresses and new information becomes available. as a ``crime scene.'' This is exactly what it is, and perhaps Cooley will be able to make 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. Superintendent Roy Romer finally sit up and smell the sulphur. - Pat Lamoree Granada Hills The people's choice Regarding ``Who gets voter's blocs?'' (April 15): It appears that mayoral hopefuls Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Assembly speaker, and City Attorney James Hahn are both rallying to garnish bloc leftover votes from the next four runners-up: Steve Soboroff, Joel Wachs, Xavier Becerra and Kathleen Connell. What right does Villaraigosa or Hahn have to assume that the people who voted for the other candidates will now fall into bloc lock-step support of either of the two of them? Those of us who voted in the primary already said whom we would like as mayor of the city of Los Angeles
- Shirley A. Minser Eagle Rock One fewer day I hope the post office does end Saturday deliveries. That would be one less day that my incoming mail is put in the wrong mailbox or my outgoing mail is not picked up due to negligence. - Linda Lawson Van Nuys Values? Was Joseph Honig, who bemoaned ``humiliation TV'' (Viewpoint, April 15) the same Honig who was reaching for the smelling salts smelling salts: see ammonia. over the possibility that religious hucksters might feed at the public trough along with secular hucksters? Where does he get off scolding the American public for its loss of values? Values are based on a belief system that encompasses where we came from, where we are going and what our purpose is here. If we came from nothing and are going nowhere, then our purpose is to make hay while the sun shines. Any other purpose would be the product of a sentimental religious hangover. Does Honig think we would be better off if we shared his values? Shame on him. He should keep his values to himself. - Henry S. Mercado Encino Free lunch Re ``Supes OK soup spending'' (April 18): Hey, I work for Los Angeles County. I wonder whether the Board of Supervisors will give me $5,000 for meals and refreshments at the meetings I attend? What do you think? - David Ponce Chatsworth Where the buck stopped If any president past or current deserves more recognition, he is Harry Truman. In taking over after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's death, he had to make some very hard and tough decisions. The dropping of the atomic bomb atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy). The first atomic bomb was produced at the Los Alamos, N.Mex. was devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. , but also saved American troops from tremendous losses by not having to invade Japan. That ended the war. His recall of Douglas MacArthur, a very popular general, was a gutsy move. He also ended segregation in the armed forces. It is about time this president received the recognition he deserves. - Stanley Gold Van Nuys Occupational hazard I, for one, was proud of the president for not making it his show. To do so is an easy way to garner feelings and shape his image. I assure you Presidents Reagan and Clinton would both be there. I understand that Teddy Roosevelt never missed an opportunity like this either. He is reputed to have said, ``If it's a wedding, I want to be the groom. If it's a funeral, I want to be the corpse.'' - Jerry Esten Northridge No one noticing Ironic, isn't it, the excessive political energy devoted to 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 Clintons because of their peccadilloes, while the fatuous sophistry soph·is·try n. pl. soph·is·tries 1. Plausible but fallacious argumentation. 2. A plausible but misleading or fallacious argument. sophistry Noun 1. of a man staggering toward the destruction of our country and world meets little serious opposition. - Kenyon B. De Greene Woodland Hills Exactly right In the April 13 Public Forum regarding the China incident, the letter by Albert Obregon suggests that we were caught with our fingers in the cookie jar, and a second letter, by John Smart, criticizes us for groveling grov·el intr.v. grov·eled also grov·elled, grov·el·ing also grov·el·ling, grov·els also grov·els 1. To behave in a servile or demeaning manner; cringe. 2. in our negotiations with China. Obregon, without any reliable evidence, has decided that the United States was at fault and that we are in denial. At this time it appears that the United States was not at fault, although this has not yet been proved. Smart is disgusted by the administration's display of weakness. It seems to me that since the Chinese were holding all the cards - 24 service personnel - the only reasonable approach was to negotiate for their release. President Bush handled this exactly right. - Louis Bernstein Woodland Hills China bashing Since the demise of the Soviet Union's ``Evil Empire,'' the new bad guy on the block is ``Red'' China. I'm saddened by the increasing China bashing in the media. This incessant, provocative and dangerous rhetoric exacerbates the current cordial relationship, however fragile, between China and the United States. An armed conflict between the two countries - heaven forbid - would make the Korean and Vietnam wars seem like playground skirmishes. I want my hard-earned tax dollars to uphold, nurture and maintain a world of peace, stability and tranquillity. Let Americans continue to wallow wallow mud bath frequented by pigs, elephants, red deer, hippopotami as a cooling aid. and luxuriate lux·u·ri·ate intr.v. lux·u·ri·at·ed, lux·u·ri·at·ing, lux·u·ri·ates 1. To take luxurious pleasure; indulge oneself. 2. To proliferate. 3. To grow profusely; thrive. in our tax-created environment of prodigality prod·i·gal·i·ty n. pl. prod·i·gal·i·ties 1. Extravagant wastefulness. 2. Profuse generosity. 3. Extreme abundance; lavishness. , lavishness and hedonism hedonism (hē`dənĭz'əm) [Gr.,=pleasure], the doctrine that holds that pleasure is the highest good. Ancient hedonism expressed itself in two ways: the cruder form was that proposed by Aristippus and the early Cyrenaics, who believed that is the quintessence quin·tes·sence n. 1. The pure, highly concentrated essence of a thing. 2. The purest or most typical instance: the quintessence of evil. 3. of the United States of America UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The name of this country. The United States, now thirty-one in number, are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, . - Monroe Leung Monterey Park Receding glacier Re ``It's a drought'' by Douglas C. Kubler (April 13, Public Forum): Kubler missed the point. Dante Rochetti's citation of Mount Kilimanjaro's vanishing glaciers was meant to be an example of global phenomena. The fact is that glaciers worldwide are retreating at an unprecedented rate. And while some of Antarctica's attributes may fit the definition of desert, it must be noted that this continent's coastal ice floes are disappearing at an accelerated rate. Parts of Africa are currently experiencing a drought. If you look at the history of African weather patterns, you will see that droughts occur frequently in Africa. The rapid deterioration of Mount Kilimanjaro's glaciers, however, has not accompanied these droughts until recently. - Thomas Shepherd Canyon Country Light bulbs for all Gov. Gray Davis could really put our tax dollars to work on solving the energy crisis by subsidizing low-power light bulbs. Most of us can't afford $15 a bulb for fluorescent conversion bulbs. How about if the state buys up massive quantities and distributes them for the cost of an ordinary bulb? Even low-income families then could afford them. We might see about a 25 percent reduction in demand for electricity. Davis, save us! - Bob Burson West Hills |
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