PUBLIC FORUM NOT TRUE DEREGULATION.

In George Orwell's ``1984,'' Big Brother tries to convince everyone that ``War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.'' In 2001, politicians are redefining ``deregulation'' in the present energy crisis.

``Deregulation'' means getting rid of government controls and letting the free market work. It does not mean the government deciding how to divvy up the electricity production and distribution market. It does not mean the government forcing the utilities to sell their power plants and buy power from someone else. It does not mean government price controls and government approval to build new power plants or sign long-term contracts. And since we have not yet tried true deregulation, it has not ``failed.''

California has been heading toward an electricity train wreck since Gov. Jerry ``Moonbeam'' Brown opposed building any more nuclear power plants. A genuine free market will result in ``small is beautiful'' electric bills, and an affordable area for our children and grandchildren.

- Bruce K. Bell

Thousand Oaks 

Politicians should pay

A few years ago we were obviously fed a line of bull about how the deregulation of our electrical power sources would be very beneficial. We were told it would make California less dependent upon developing new power plants that would ruin our environment and that open competitive bidding would lead to lower consumer prices.

The exact opposite of what we were told is now occurring, and the very same politicians who voted unanimously for deregulation are now passing the buck trying to transfer the blame elsewhere.

If we are forced to swallow this hogwash and pay exorbitant electrical power bills, we should immediately start cleaning house in Sacramento. These incompetent so-called leaders created this mess and should pay for their blunder.

- Robert Dovidio

Newbury Park

Neighborhood councils 

Listening to Mayor Richard Riordan announce the new Neighborhood Council program, we could not help feel this as another way to thwart secession of the Valley. No funding figures were projected for this program involving 160 communities until after July 1. The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, with Rosalind Stewart, is staffed by 17 people, to handle 160 councils? She will require at least 100 to service that number. Each council's minimum is 25,000 stakeholders, an office with a minimum staff, computer, equipment and supplies. A bare-bones budget would require $10 million for DONE. We wish to be heavily involved but it will be all wasted effort if adequate funds are not committed soon.

- Ron Hall

Sun Valley

Thank you, Mr. President 

As President Clinton's term winds down, I want to say that the United States is losing a great president. He has done so much for the country in fostering a historical period of prosperity and the constant lowering of unemployment.

Even in the waning days of his term of office, he is trying to bring peace to the Middle East.

I am sure that he will succeed at whatever he tries in the future because he is an achiever. I will miss his confident and friendly smiles. I wish him good health and happiness in the years that lies ahead.

- Wynn Wilner

North Hollywood

Arafat's choice

Yasser Arafat has been given a ``Sophie's Choice.''

To add insult to injury, he will be accused of ``having failed to seize this historic moment,'' if he cannot throw away the hopes and dreams of over 4 million refugees for over these last 52 years. Shame on us. Shame on the world.

- Jean K. Glasser

Van Nuys

No one is ready

``Broadcasters haven't delivered on promises,'' (Opinion, Jan. 1) made it sound like the public has been cheated by the broadcasters. The public doesn't realize that the Federal Communications Commission wants all regular broadcasting to be digital by 2005, and that all current TV sets will become totally useless unless you buy an adapter for about $400 each, for each TV we have now.

Price the current digital-ready TVs at retailers and tell me if you're ready to buy a TV for $2,500 and up. It will probably be 2020 before we are ready to abandon the NTSC TV transmission that we now receive. For broadcasters to go to all digital when we are not ready to pay that much for new TVs is the reason broadcasters haven't rushed to change over completely.

- Don Cordell

Lancaster

No forgiveness

Re ``Forgive and forget'' (Public Forum, Jan. 2) by Fred W. Coble of North Hills:

We are not Hillary Rodham Clinton, and we don't have to forgive and forget. What our beloved president did and lied about was not only to the American people but under oath in court and the grand jury. No matter under what technical explanation the court wants to give it, in the court of public opinion, ``Slick Willy'' did do those sexual things and in his office at our expense.

How stupid do you think the American people are? Just because Clinton did not put a certain part of his anatomy in a certain part of Monica, did not mean that it was not sexual. The consequences of all this is that now our young people who are sexually active are using this same argument, saying that oral sex is not sex at all. Fine example he has set.

If we only had senators who had some guts, our beloved president would not only be impeached, but kicked right of office where he belongs.

- John J. Piccola

Sylmar

Doctoral support

California taxpayers should support the doctoral programs in education proposed for the California State University system by Chancellor Charles Reed.

Right now our CSUs have plenty of resources available for offering professional-emphasis EdD programs. Their shrinking freshman enrollments, as indicated by a recent study, are currently well below the number of baccalaureate degrees annually awarded.

Reed's proposed EdD will also revive the original vision of California's magnificent master plan for higher education.

Research responsibilities for UC, professional-career training (including educators) for the CSUs, and freshman-sophomore instruction for the thousands and thousands of transfer-bound students in our open-access, low tuition ($11 per unit) community colleges - surely this kind of educational teamwork makes far more sense today than squabbling over academic turf.

At a time when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has stressed our New Economy's need for ``continuing education and retraining,'' a CSU doctorate in education will be a very productive step to take. And long overdue.

- Robert Oliphant

Executive Director

Californians for Community College Equity

Thousand Oaks

Our money's worth?

Julie Butcher, general manager of the powerful service employees International Union, local 347, stated ``It's true that you get what you pay for,'' (Daily News, Jan 5), in the story by Daily News Staff Writer Alexa Haussler, which found ``Los Angeles municipal employees pulling higher salaries than their counterparts elsewhere.'' It shines the light of truth on what is really happening in our city.

Butcher fought for and maintained the ``prevailing wage'' clause in the City Charter, to the detriment of all long-suffering taxpayers.

Well, we the taxpayers are not getting our money's worth.

It's our fault that we have the highest-paid City Council, department heads and employees in the nation.

We are to blame. We voted to tie council members salary to Superior Court judges. We voted for the $2.4 billion in Proposition BB school funds. We voted for City Council members, (supported by the SEIU) who gave us Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, who in turn destroyed community-based policing by taking away our senior lead officer program and caused morale within our police department to fall to an all-time low.

Yes, Julie Butcher, it's our fault and we do indeed get what we pay for. (Or what we deserve).

- John Bunte

Sunland