PUBLIC FORUM MISPLACED CRITICISM.Re ``Time for candor'' (Editorial, April 18): Did we see the same press conference? President Bush said he wished he had done more before 9-11, and later admitted mistakes but refused specifics. Wisely so, for the blood-thirsty press was salivating for a ``gotcha'' moment that would have been in every headline, sound-bite and Kerry commercial the following day. Has any president ever admitted to mistakes in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of a war? Imagine your loved one dying in a battle that was called a ``mistake'' in a press conference. Bush reiterated why we must win this war, acknowledged the recent problems and commended our troops for a magnificent job. Your criticism would have been more appropriately directed toward the press and their shallow questioning of a wartime president. - Sharon Howard Encino I'm just saying Re ``Sheriff takes his budget needs to the people'' (Viewpoint, April 18): Sheriff Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (b. May 27 1942, East Los Angeles, California) is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School (Los Angeles) in 1960, Baca worked his way through East Los Angeles College before starting with the L.A. is trying to get the people of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County to back an increase in the 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. on the grounds that he hasn't enough money. He has released prisoners from the jail system after they serve only a small portion of their sentences. He claims that he will need to reduce the number of deputies on the street because of the budget. Each day I check out the status of writs of execution on the sheriff's Web site. In the last year, I have seen his home page redone re·done v. Past participle of redo. three times. The cost involved may not be all that much, but it seems to me that if Baca hasn't sufficient funds to keep sentenced criminals in jail to serve their sentences he shouldn't be spending what little he has on pretty new Web pages. - Clyde L. Dotson Lancaster Instant replay In case you missed James Hahn's ``State of the City'' address the other day. Here is a translated, reality version: Blah blah blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah, blah blah blah, etc. As proven by his past actions. - Dave Petterson Sherman Oaks Gay marriage bill Re ``Gay marriage bill advances'' (April 21): Of course, our politicians will pass this bill; 50 percent of the marriages in California end in divorce. Since a lot of our politicians are formerly lawyers, they are just looking out for themselves when they get out of politics - they will have more people to represent as their lawyers. When I was divorced, my lawyer told me, ``Your wife isn't going to get rich, you're not going to get rich, I'm going to get rich.'' - Bill Martin Chatsworth Return of the draft When Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-NY, suggested resuming the draft, he was laughed out the door. Now, when Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel (born October 4, 1946) is the senior United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002. of Nebraska says the same thing, he's taken seriously. I say yes, to both Rangel and Hagel, with these caveats: Everybody goes. No excuse letters from daddy. The first to be drafted are the children and grandchildren of the president, the Cabinet, the hawks and every member of Congress. No one, but no one, is exempt except for reasons of health, and if they're the least bit able-bodied, they must serve in some capacity here at home. Beware hawks, when you ask for a lie-predicated, unjust, pre-emptive pre·emp·tive or pre-emp·tive adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of preemption. 2. Having or granted by the right of preemption. 3. a. war, this is what you get. - Sandy J. Sand West Hills Medals and hours of duty Re ``Purple Heart Purple Heart U.S. medal awarded to those wounded in military action. [Am. Hist.: Misc.] See : Bravery records released'' (April 21): This ongoing feud between Ken Mehlman Kenneth Brian Mehlman (born August 21, 1966, Baltimore, Maryland) is an American attorney who was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007. He served as the campaign manager for George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. , Bush's campaign manager, and Michael Meehan, Kerry's campaign manager, is becoming ridiculous. Three purple hearts Purple Hearts can refer to the following:
I choose to believe that our country will vote for a president on their determination, will-power, strength (not physically) and reliability, rather than the number of medals they have won or the hours of service to our country. - Ronnica Choi Chatsworth Enemy of my enemy The al-Qaida terrorists hate the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , yet they were relieved that Bush 43 was so obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with his plans to have a regime change in Iraq that he didn't finish the job against them in Afghanistan. It's amazing that President Bush gave $60 million to the Taliban in the spring of 2001 even though he knew the Taliban harbored al-Qaida and al-Qaida was responsible for blowing a hole in the USS USS abbr. 1. United States Senate 2. United States ship USS abbr (= United States Ship) → Namensteil von Schiffen der Kriegsmarine Cole. Even more mind-blowing is George W.'s getting rid of Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (born April 28, 1937, Tikrit, Iraq—died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad) President of Iraq (1979–2003). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1957. Following participation in a failed attempt to assassinate Iraqi Pres. , Osama bin Laden's enemy because Saddam persecuted fundamentalist Muslims. Now those Muslims are likely to control Iraq. - John Wisdom Dancer Canoga Park To the end I stand behind President Bush on the war in Iraq, but it seems a good deal of people are concerned with the casualties. I was in the Korean War Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. for a cause, but people seem to forget we lost over 40,000 troops in just over two years - something I will never forget for I saw things that I will never will forget. What concerns me the most in Iraq is here is a war that is similar to Vietnam in nature - fighting an element that the odds are so much against them in fire power. In Vietnam we had overwhelming air power and ground power but the dedication of the North was able to overcome these odds. Here in Iraq elements from the other side are not afraid to take on tanks and gunships to overcome their beliefs. We must stay there to the end and be more aggressive than we have been in the past. - Frank Jacobs Sylmar Lesson not learned George W. Bush never learned the lessons of Vietnam because he never went. John Kerry  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. did. The major Republicans like Dick Cheney, Tom
DeLay, Ken Starr, Phil Gramm, Clarence Thomas and many others never wore
a uniform.
When I see Bush on TV with his goofy inappropriate grin trying to justify killing our sons for the benefit of Cheney's former (and future) employer Halliburton, it makes me wonder who's really running our country. Then, with new talk of a military draft on the TV, I wonder why we're even in Iraq when the Saudi Arabian bin Laden was the one who attacked us, not Iraq. - Jan Wright Canoga Park Prove it Re ``Muslim Americans'' (Your Opinions, April 21): One can't help but feel sympathy for Hassan Sheikh sheikh or shaykh Among Arabic-speaking tribes, especially Bedouin, the male head of the family, as well as of each successively larger social unit making up the tribal structure. The sheikh is generally assisted by an informal tribal council of male elders. and his complaints about the challenges of being Muslim in America, but do Sheikh and his fellow Muslim Americans do anything to demonstrate their patriotism to our great country, or to try to understand average Americans' fear and suspicion? International Islam has declared a war of annihilation against us; has Hassan done anything to respond to this? Has Hassan's mosque done anything to demonstrate its legitimacy? Muslim Americans should celebrate their patriotism. They should march down Wilshire with signs like, ``We love the U.S.A.'' and ``We Support Our Troops "Support our troops" is a slogan commonly used in the United States and in Canada in reference to the United States Military and the Canadian Forces (Army, Air & Navy). The slogan has been used in the recent conflicts, including the Gulf War[1] and Iraq war. .'' Why don't they? - Rueben Gordon North Hollywood Don't whine, decry de·cry tr.v. de·cried, de·cry·ing, de·cries 1. To condemn openly. 2. To depreciate (currency, for example) by official proclamation or by rumor. Re ``Muslim Americans'' (Your Opinions, April 21): Frequently we hear protests from Muslim Americans about media bias in their portrayal of American Muslims, as is the case with Hassan Sheikh's letter. Presently we have Muslims fighting Christians in Chechnya, Sudan, Bosnia and Indonesia; the Hindus in India; and Jews in the Middle East. Terrorism in the name of Allah committed by al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah and the al-Asque Brigade threatens western civilization throughout the globe. Until we witness Muslim Americans holding mass protest rallies in American streets decrying suicide bombings instead of whining about American bias, the perception linking terrorism with Islam will remain. - Shari Seaman Goodman Calabasas Give him back I have a solution to the Iraq problem. Put Saddam back in charge. - Richard B. Schutz West Hills |
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