PUBLIC FORUM IT'S NOT WONDERFUL.

Whilst the Democratic Party celebrates at Staple Corner, waving its flags, wearing its rosettes and acting as if everything is so wonderful (the same could be said for the Republican Party), everything is not wonderful. The crime rate has risen, the gangs roam our streets at will, thousands of people do not have medical insurance, thousands do not have auto insurance, and yet our city and state politicians are celebrating as if everything in the garden is rosy.

All our politicians have spent years on mundane propositions, while the real issues have been ignored. Los Angeles has indeed become a toilet, with a coat of paint. You can paint it, you can disguise it, but . . . a toilet is still a toilet.

- Ian Waterman

Winnetka

Credit not theirs

Last night the Democrats took credit for the economy; however, the growth rate in 2000 is the same 4 percent that it was in 1992. The truth is that a Congress that would not let Clinton spend, the Federal Reserve, American entrepreneurship and, most importantly, the Internet fueled the economy.

If Clinton had a Democratic Congress, the surplus would be spent and the Internet would have been taxed out of existence.

- Donal Esdon

Mission Hills

What families?

Last night's opening night of the Democratic convention looked like a mixture of Sally Jessy Raphael, a late-night infomercial and a Larry Parker ad. And why is it that while they say they are for ``working families,'' Bill Clinton vetoes the abolition of the marriage penalty tax that would have allowed working families to keep more of their hard-earned money.

- Brian McGinnis

Castaic

Seems fitting

I'm in complete agreement that it's inappropriate for the Democratic Party to hold its fund-raiser at the Playboy Mansion. It should hold them at the Mustang Ranch.

- Fred Lienhard

Quartz Hill

Another first

Don't you just love it? Along with his many other inventions, Al Gore has now invented morality.

- Sylvia Roemer

Sherman Oaks

Need a weatherman

Re ``Does Gore miss irony of the image of virtue?'' (Viewpoint, Aug. 13):

Maureen Dowd slamming Clinton and Gore?

They must be passing out the snowshoes in hell.

- Brian Baker 

Saugus

A small prayer

Dear Father God, Mother Nature, space aliens, advanced secret societies and whoever is running this planet:

Please deliver a 5.0 earthquake to the Metro Los Angeles area at noon Thursday. Not enough to do any serious damage, but strong enough to remind politicians and protesters that there are things more powerful and more important than their species and spectacles.

- Woodrow J. Hughes

Northridge

Called that one

Re ``Campaign's moral center now secure.'' (Headline, Aug.8):

You sure can write 'em, chief.

- Christopher Mulrooney

Los Angeles

Not for everyone

Re ``Due to protest threats, theater shelves film,' by Valerie Kuklenski (L.A. Life, Aug. 10):

I wonder whether our First Amendment rights are just for the liberals? D.W. Griffith's historic silent film cannot be shown because it is judged ``politically incorrect'' by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Wasn't it the NAACP that said South Carolina cannot fly the Confederate flag? (But it's OK for the left to burn the American flag.)

Gay rights activists are close to silencing Dr. Laura's radio show. Why? . . . because their right of free speech is greater than hers. I get it. The Bill of Rights is not for all people, it's a tool for the liberal agenda du jour.

- John Knight 

Glendale

All the people

Re ``Official punished for Playboy party'' (Aug. 11):

So Rep. Loretta Sanchez is trying to have a fund-raiser to help Latino voters get registered. Is Sanchez not being paid by all taxpayers' dollars? So why is she only interested in the Latino voters, what about all other unregistered voters. Seems to me most Latino politicians are promoting programs for only Latinos instead of all citizens whom they take an oath to serve.

- J.A. McMillin

West Hills

Big difference

Shall Rep. Loretta Sanchez ever vote her conscience, or will she forever vote as directed by the Democratic machine? How bigoted not to be able to tell the difference between a tent on grass with no bunnies, and inside the mansion with them.

Did B.B. King get the nod because he is a Democrat or did he promise to donate to the Gore campaign? His fee out of $5,000 times 600 is a bunch of guitar strings.

- Don Schendel

Mission Hills

Selective freedom

It's refreshing that Joe Lieberman, who adheres to his faith with integrity, consistency and no embarrassment is treated so well. Segments were broadcast where he talked about praising and trusting God on national TV. Good for Joe.

Imagine the treatment for the same words if Bush, Cheney or any evangelical said them. ``So and so pandered to the fanatic, narrow-minded religious right today when he/she said it is time we returned to trusting in God.'' The choice of words would end with a negative spin to the meaning. Only certain ``brands'' are respected by the media.

- Jim Teague

Reseda

Watch your step

Re article ``Staples Center adjacent'' (Travel, Aug. 13):

Your recommendation for visitors to the Democratic National Convention to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art should include a warning for visitors to beware of the hazardous cracked and broken sidewalks that surround that museum, lest they trip and fall over the jagged edges of broken concrete.

Tree roots in front of the museum grounds on Fairfax have broken up and tilted some of the concrete in that sidewalk. I speak from personal experience with this problem, having very recently become closely acquainted with that broken concrete in just such a fall. The severe lacerations and bruises that resulted required medical attention.

- Joe Bott 

West Hills

Fundamental premise

Re ``Nader plays spoiler'' (Opinion, Aug. 10):

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ignores a fundamental premise of the Nader/Green Party grass-roots candidacy - that corporate power and abuse, and the current money-hobbled electoral system are common threads that underlie and hinder progress on a wide variety, and arguably all, of the environmental issues we face.

In both areas, Al Gore is too deeply invested in the status quo - his corporate sponsors and the political money establishment - to be the catalyst for the fundamental changes needed. These changes are in the nature of corporations and in the fundamental mechanisms of the electoral system, and they will be required before environmental problems can be meaningfully addressed.

- W. Woodland Hastings Green Party County Council

Los Angeles County

Accountability

Re ``Recreational waste'' (Editorial, Aug. 9):

Accountability and responsibility are a must in any program that uses taxpayer money. Withholding money that sponsors the Parks and Recreation programs will only hurt those who use the programs, not the ones responsible for the mismanagement you discuss in your editorial.

The county supervisors are correct in assisting the department by clearing the deficit and have served the children of this county well in doing so. When the results of this audit are complete, the Board of Supervisors should hold those responsible for the deficit accountable. However, they should also make it a priority to continue the excellent programs offered by the Parks and Recreation.

- John Anson

Quartz Hill

Robbed blind

Re ``Recreational waste'' (Editorial, Aug. 10):

My neighbor and I went to our neighborhood Serrania Park, which we hadn't visited for about eight years. We were surprised to see how the park grounds have been allowed to deteriorate. The hills within the park were covered with dead weeds. The walkways were dirty. The parking lot was poorly kept. There hadn't been any kind of new planting or building in all these years.

We saw a park keeper driving a jeep on the green lawn. We stopped him and asked what had happened to this park. He had no idea what we were saying, but explained that the weeds were dead because they were seasonal. We voters foolishly approved $1.2 billion in bond money, in hope of better parks and services. Now we found out that we've been robbed blind.

- Lani Bowen

Woodland Hills