PUBLIC FORUM POLICE HIRING PRACTICES.

Re ```Roots of Rampart' study authorized'' (Feb. 12):

Councilman Greig Smith voted against another study of the Rampart scandal because it could ``further litigation against the City and prolong ill will.'' These predictions will be guaranteed, considering the makeup of the investigating panel, ACLU types and other sue-the-police-whenever-possible'' civil attorneys.

The results are predetermined and will not address what really led to the scandal, the politicians looking for votes and the scared-rabbit police administrators, not some imagined wall of silence or out-of-control cabal within the Police Department. When you want the best, job standards are high and applicants are hired according to the results of thorough testing and background investigations, regardless of their race or gender.

- John R. Schlank

Granada Hills

Iron-clad excuse

Re ``Morning walk proves fatal'' (Feb. 12):

I'll have to remember that, God forbid, if I ever hit and kill someone while driving in my car, I'll have to remember to use the iron-clad excuse: ``The sun was in my eyes.'' That way, I won't have to state the real reason I hit someone. Which is probably more likely to be: ``I was going too fast, I was talking on my cell phone, I was putting on my makeup, etc.''

I think when you cannot see, you are supposed to slow down, or maybe I'm wrong. Two people lost their lives because of irresponsibility behind the wheel. It happens all the time, but, no problem - I'll just say the sun was in my eyes.

- Susan Thorne

West Hills

See red, see money

Does anyone else see red or dollar signs like I do when I hear about Proposition 55? Sounds like the same song, third or fourth verse. Prop. 55 is the same thing we have been told before. I hope the voters are smarter this time and vote no, whether a property owner or renter.

- Jane McKinsey

- Canoga Park

Prop. 56 scam

The public employees and their unions are using (again) a deceptive campaign in favor of Proposition 56. The smoke screen of ``government accountability'' disguises unlimited future tax increases. If the goal is to hold the legislators accountable, why then make it easier to increase taxes? Proposition 56 lowers the legislative approval for new taxes from 66 percent to a low 55 percent. The misleading marketing deceptively states that ``Prop. 56 changes (means lowers) to 55 percent.''

Approval of Prop. 56 will hand the legislators blank checks on our bank accounts. Where is the accountability? Clearly, 56 is a clever scam by public employees and politicians to impose even higher taxes. Let's vote no on higher taxes.

- Mort Arditti

Los Angeles 

Gives me head-shakes

The new year is barely begun and I already have three reasons to shake my head and worry about the forgiving nature of our society: Kobe Bryant may be innocent of rape, but he freely admitted having sex with another woman while his wife and young child were at home.

Michael Jackson, while possibly innocent of molesting a child, admitted that he frequently has sleepovers with children other than his own. Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons have empty shelves and bulging prices that consumers are not questioning. Where did our moral compass go? How did it break to such an extent that we are willing to accept the conduct of so many celebrities and be taken without a fight by the food giants?

- Ellen Oppenberg

Northridge

Israel's not to blame

Re ``Israeli raids ignite bloody Gaza fighting'' (Feb. 12):

From that headline we get the impression that Israel initiated the bloodshed. Only those who pause to read the whole text learn that the Gaza raid responded to mortar and rocket attacks - an opposite picture of responsibility for the violence.

USA Today gave a factual report on the incidents, mentioning that the Muslim attacks were on Israeli civilians, and that the ``second raid'' was to destroy tunnels used for smuggling arms across the Egyptian border.

- Louis Richter

Encino

Marriage incentives

We have to draw the line in the sand and tell the lawmakers that we like our Constitution the way it is and not to change it, rewriting the laws governing marriage. I believe it's fine for two people to live together and love each other no matter what their gender, race or sexual preference is. Marriage happens to afford greater tax incentives with less legal hassles than two single people might experience.

So, it'll soon be happening in the more liberal states that gay marriage becomes legal and that is a good thing for adoption agencies. It means more people can commit to having a child, whether adopting or becoming foster parents. It makes for a better system to maintain itself.

- Sheldon Rosner

Calabasas

That's our problem

Look at it this way, God put Adam on this earth, then gave him a companion, Eve. He then said go and populate the earth, along with other male and female species of the animal kingdom and that of all sea animals and insects, except snails, which can change their gender at will.

Another thought, if God created two Adams on one side of the earth and created two Eves on the other side of the earth we would not be here, nor would the gays, nor the Constitution, to rule on gay marriage. But how about the laws of God? That's our problem: lately we are not teaching common sense nor morality.

- Russell E. Spencer Sr.

Encino

Marginalizing groups

The Bush administration is pushing for a constitutional amendment that would discriminate against same-sex couples. This is an outrageous governmental intrusion into the personal beliefs and rights of individuals.

The federal government has no business mandating the rights of specific groups of citizens based on their sexual preference. This amendment would marginalize and discriminate against a segment of the population, something the Constitution was expressly designed to avoid. Bush and his right-wing evangelical advisers need to stay out of our private lives.

- Scott Ferguson 

Topanga

Turn on, tune it

Re ``Golden Rule'' (Your Opinion, Feb. 11):

Chuck Heinold asserts that our coalition of more than 25 countries in Iraq is motivated by oil and cash. ``We are paying every one of them off in cash and oil.'' So who among us doesn't need cash and oil? Now, very slowly, Chuckie ... turn on Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to attain the right perspective (pun intended). You can do it. Yes, you can.

- Shari Seaman Goodman

Calabasas

Acting like they knew

Sometime back there was a story in the news about a robber holding up a bank. An off-duty police officer confronted the robber and shot him dead. It turns out that the robber only had a toy gun, but according to the law, he was just as guilty of armed robbery if he had a real .357 Magnum.

Saddam Hussein also had a toy gun. He went through extreme measures to show the world that he was armed with weapons of mass destruction. His thinking was that all other countries would then stay away from him out of fear. We, as a country, backed President Bush in going after this lunatic. But now, all the Monday morning quarterbacks are turning on the president as if they knew it was wrong from Day One.

- Patrick Joyce

Northridge

Different tune now

Looking at John Kerry's campaign, it's interesting to note that during Bill Clinton's presidential campaign military service was touted as being irrelevant by the Democrats. I think I have discovered a new synonym for hypocrite.

- Larry Reitz

Moorpark