PUBLIC FORUM LAME LEGISLATORS.

Re ``Eat your heart out, House tells litigants'' (March 11):

I see that our legislators in Washington were able to approve the hamburger bill. This will protect the food industry from frivolous lawsuits. They stated that it was all about personal responsibility and not allowing the lawyers to go around finding someone to blame for being overweight.

Too bad they were too lame to pass a clean bill protecting firearms manufacturers against frivolous lawsuits. It is the person who has the cheeseburger or pistol in his hand that is responsible. Not the person who made it. It is all personal responsibility. I wish the legislators had more.

- Tom Suter

La Crescenta

One-way taxes

Re ``Congress must address upsurge in gangs'' (Their Opinions, March 10):

Californians are sending far too much money to Washington. We get back much less federal money than we send. This is clearly a local issue.

- Ernie Jessup

Woodland Hills

Deteriorating missions

Re ``White House not backing bill to repair ailing missions'' (March 10):

Way to go, Bush administration. Now our future fourth-graders won't need to build those sugar cube and toothpick missions any more. I'm sure you feel it would be better that they build something they are more familiar with with those sugar cubes and toothpicks, like our more popular ``Tent Cities.''

- Dave Gersuk

Porter Ranch

Affirmative running

The powers that be of the L.A. Marathon decided to give the women runners a 20-minute head start. The women won, but the male runner from Kenya actually did the run in less time than the women. So how come the woman won even though she came in first with a 20-minute head start while she still took more time and she got the $50,000 plus the car?

I think there is no doubt that this is discrimination. I thought women wanted to be equal to men. Big joke.

- Joseph A. McMillin

West Hills

Strike that failed

While most people are happy with the supermarket strike results, I am not. I will continue boycotting those stores until late July; after then I will limit my shopping to loss leaders. There is little difference between those stores and the Wal-Mart stores.

The unions that conducted this farce played with the public's sense of fairness and then weren't willing to finish the job. Now there are much worse conditions for new hires. Other employers will have less inhibitions in taking away benefits. More people will be without health insurance or be underinsured. National health insurance may be voted in. It will have one of two outcomes: it will either bankrupt the country or health care will become inadequate for all but the millionaires that can pay cash.

- John Sax

Glendale

Responses to the strike

We have just endured a very sad and unnecessary time in the history of the middle-class worker. However, we did not do it alone. I wouldn't be able to ever thank individually each one of you who also made sacrifices and endured tremendous inconveniences due to this strike.

I just wanted to let you know my heart and gratitude goes out to you all. Your honks, waves, kind words, doughnuts, bagels, coffee, water, pizza, Mexican food, back rubs, free tax preparations, money, hugs and laughs meant so much. I can't say it enough, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Also, those of you who flipped me off, yelled obscenities, threw firecrackers, mooned us and just in general were rude, remember, what goes around comes around.

- Jody Bourgeois

West Hills

No sense at all

Just a couple of things I've noticed that make no sense at all: A woman bakes two small children to death in her car and gets six months in jail. So, that's three months per child. Where are all the folks who storm to abortion clinics because they love life so much? Aren't they outraged at this? Aren't these children's lives worth anything more than three months? Strange.

The other thing is if you have a few tickets, your insurance rates go up; if you smoke, your insurance rates are higher; but you can be obese and you pay the same rates as the thin people do? Why do thin people have to subsidize the obese when it comes to medical care? And in the article it said it amounts to billions of dollars.

- Barbara Johnson

Canyon Country

No apartheid in Israel

In ``Where is dignity?'' (Your Opinions, March 7), Brandon Avery refers to Israel as a ``brutal apartheid regime.'' Having been to South Africa prior to the end of apartheid, I recall with horror the signs of ``whites only,'' and recall that blacks were not allowed the vote, and did not have freedom of movement or residence.

In Israel, Arab citizens not only have always had the vote, but have decided several elections. There are Arab members of the Israeli parliament. Arab citizens are allowed freedom of religion, movement and can legally live wherever they choose. While I can't account for the personal views of every Israeli, there is no apartheid-like government-sanctioned discrimination in Israel.

- Maryanne Tracy

Van Nuys

Foundation and standards

Americans have been hornswoggled by the ACLU and others who want todestroy this nation as they use the ruse of ``separation of church andstate'' to remove the foundation and standards from the public arena. Religion seems to be mentioned in one place in the law, and that is theFirst Amendment: ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.''

How clear can it be? The Ten Commandments on a stone are not an establishment of religion, nor is the Boy Scout oath, the Bible or prayer. Having a Bible on the desk of a teacher or blessing one's food at lunchtime is also not an ``establishment of religion.'' Having ``The Church of the Righteous Minority'' as the state church that all must join - now that would be a political problem.

- Bob Sharp

Arleta

Working pretty good

Let's see. We're a week before the war began a year ago. The interim constitution has been signed, schools are open, teachers' salaries up, hospitals open, oil being pumped beyond prewar levels (thank you, Halliburton), business is being conducted, even Boy and Girl Scout troops are being started (don't tell Jackie Goldberg).

For an administration accused of no postwar plan, it seems to be working out to be a pretty good no-plan plan.

- Roger Olsen

Burbank

All aspects of war

Re ``No pleasing the left'' (Your Opinions, March 11):

It is unfortunate that some people to the extreme right do not understand the need of the people of this country to see all aspects of war, including the flag-draped coffins of our true American heroes. What happened to President Bush's promise not to politically capitalize on 9-11?

- Daryl Smith

Chatsworth

Counter to JFK's view

Re ``Bush bears burden,'' and ``Earned the right'' (Your Opinions, March 10):

Yes, JFK did say, ``The U.S. would bear any burden to extend freedom across the globe.'' However, ``extend'' does not necessarily mean impose, force or takeover. That position is exactly what the current administration is doing and it is the direct opposite of what JFK meant in the face of a real communist threat. For example: We were in South Vietnam (a war that I opposed) to deter North Vietnam, not to impose our ideology on the North Vietnamese.

On what grounds does President Bush deserve credit for a leadership role after 9-11? The plan to attack Afghanistan was already on the Pentagon table. He had no hand in developing it. The action would have been initiated regardless of who was in office.

- Jim Caputo

Valley Village