PUBLIC FORUM THIS ADMINISTRATION.Re ``Major cities left shortchanged'' (Sept. 7): Tricky Dick Cheney's Wyoming receives $35.31 per person to protect it against terrorism while each Californian nets only $4.68. This egregious e·gre·gious adj. Conspicuously bad or offensive. See Synonyms at flagrant. [From Latin payoff to the rural states is brought to you by the same White House Texans who are so inextricably in·ex·tri·ca·ble adj. 1. a. So intricate or entangled as to make escape impossible: an inextricable maze; an inextricable web of deceit. b. linked with the Enron saboteurs who laughed while cutting off California's electricity. That sent our economy into a tailspin tail·spin n. 1. The rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep, spiral spin. 2. Informal A loss of emotional control sometimes resulting in emotional collapse. , but lack of terrorism funding may send us someplace some·place adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. far worse. Any Californians who still back this administration, which tries so hard to destroy us, have an obsessive drive to hurt themselves. - Bob Deluca Calabasas Taking advantage of us Re ``Missing the target'' (Sept. 5): It used to be joked that the police officers fed themselves with doughnuts while on duty. But now, this is no joke when it comes to the police departments taking advantage of the taxpayers' money to buy luxurious items such as nightvision goggles goggles, n the protective eyewear worn by dental personnel and patients during dental procedures. goggles see periocular leukotrichia. , heart defibrillators, and do I need to imagine anything more? Because of the 9-11 attacks, it has been a lot harder for me to find a job. Yet, I'm spending away my tax dollars while the officers are having the time of their lives. I'm supposed to sit at home and hope my world doesn't fall apart. - Natasha Keskitalo Tarzana Medicare premiums I knew if I watched Bush speak Thursday, lightning would strike ... and it did, two days after the Republican Convention. As Bush told America how great our economy is, and Cheney, et al, attacked John Kerry  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , I read that the ``Disabled and senior Americans can expect a 17%
increase in their Medicare premiums'' (Sept. 6).
This directly affects me as I'm 43 years old and on Social Security, Medicare and Medi-Cal. I'm a three-time cancer survivor, lucky to be alive. I help other cancer patients to believe in miracles and try to always survive the ill effects of cancer. To see what our leader is doing directly to us is absurd and immoral. Wake up, America. Bush-Cheney just does not make good fiscal sense. - Spencer Shiffman Calabasas Contradictions The Sept. 5 Viewpoint was especially interesting; Chris Weinkopf quotes Gov. Schwarzenegger, ``...if you work hard and play by the rules, you can achieve anything.'' Yet right below, Mariel Garza is painting the driver's license Noun 1. driver's license - a license authorizing the bearer to drive a motor vehicle driver's licence, driving licence, driving license license, permit, licence - a legal document giving official permission to do something fight for illegal immigrants as a racial conflict. The two contradict each other. Illegal immigrants are violating the ``play by the rules'' part by their very presence in the country. Driver's licenses are a privilege, not a right, and to award that privilege to someone violating our basic law of legal entry would seem folly. She also states that this might be a good way to identify and get to know and deal with these people. She presupposes that all will use their real names, not a sure thing at all. - David F. Costley Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. Don't negotiate Re ``Putin set to take on terrorists'' (Sept. 5): The Russians made a mistake trying to negotiate with the terrorists. They should have simply stormed the gym as soon as possible. They should have learned from the terrorist incident in the Moscow theater that negotiations are a waste of time. - Josh Rivetz Northridge Putin knows Re ``Putin set to take on terrorists'' (Sept. 5): Vladimir Putin, commenting on terror, just wrote the perfect epitaph epitaph, strictly, an inscription on a tomb; by extension, a statement, usually in verse, commemorating the dead. The earliest such inscriptions are those found on Egyptian sarcophagi. for John Kerry's campaign: ``The weak get beaten.'' Especially when they're at war with their own country. - Charles K. Sergis Calabasas War against Chechens Re ``Putin set to take on terrorists'' (Sept. 5): Have you noticed how Russia's President Putin wants to call the war against the Chechens a war against terrorists? After brutally putting down Chechens' efforts for independence from Russia for about 150 years, during which time many thousands of women and children in Chechnya have died, the Russian people have suffered a week of small paybacks for supporting their government's cruelty. Yes, it's very sad that so many children died in the Chechen rebels' takeover of the school in Beslan, Russia. Even Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov (Chechen: Масхадан Али кант Аслан, Russian: condemned the Islamic radical Chechen warlord warlord, in modern Chinese history, autonomous regional military commander. In the political chaos following the death (1916) of republican China's first president and commander in chief, Yüan Shih-kai, central authority fell to the provincial military governors , Shamil Basayev Shamil Basayev (Russian: Басаев, Шамиль Салманович , for masterminding this tragedy. But Putin's stance of getting tougher against ``terrorism'' will put Russian people in even more jeopardy. Better to give Chechens more autonomy. - John Wisdom Dancer Canoga Park Blaming the religion Re ``Muslim terrorists'' (Your Opinions, Sept. 2): It is unacceptable to blame the religion of Islam and its mostly peaceful 1.4 billion followers for the acts of a few hundred murderous extremists. Unfortunately, every day, crimes are committed by followers of all major religions, but with less media attention. It is hateful hate·ful adj. 1. Eliciting or deserving hatred. 2. Feeling or showing hatred; malevolent. hate  ful·ly adv. and
ignorant to blame those religions for such crimes. Those who try to
spread hatred along religious lines are similar to those who commit such
crimes along religious lines.
- Sabiha Khan Communications Director Council on American-Islamic Relations The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is an advocacy group for Muslims in North America; its professed goals are to "enhanc[e] understanding of Islam, promot[e] justice and empower American Muslims. Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Offering no benefit I am glad the two conventions are over. While I was watching the candidates, their wives and friends speaking, I couldn't help but wonder how many millions of dollars it cost to put on these meaningless shows. These weeklong events featured nothing but talking heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band that formed in the early 1970s and was based out of New York City. The group consisted of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. speaking poorly of each other, offering no benefit to the future of 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. . I would have been delighted if both candidates had agreed to take the money they would spend on these conventions and instead use it to help our people here at home, keep a hospital open, feed the hungry, etc. - Michael C. Hines West Hills Muslims as people Re ``Muslim terrorists'' (Your Opinions, Sept. 2): Reuben Gordon wrote that the only way to solve the terrorist problem is to destroy Mecca and a couple other religious Islamic sites and cities. How will actions like this make us any different than the Nazis? Why should we punish a religion along with its millions of followers for the actions of just a few? Attacking a religion will also create an uproar throughout the world, and our nation will just be another tyranny in the eyes of other countries and religions. I am a Muslim and a proud American and destroying these sites will forever break my heart. Isn't it time that we all worked together to help the Muslim people rather than try to put them down by calling them ``uncivilized'' and thinking about committing genocide against them? - Arash Zad-Behtooie Reseda Couldn't be worse Re ``What do you think?'' (Sept. 3): You ran a survey question about President Bush being able to accomplish anything in a second term. I say ``yes,'' if people vote out the ones who obstruct anything. It is the same old bunch that have been in the Senate and House of Representatives for over 20 to 30 years. Stop voting for the incumbents and give some of the new candidates a chance. Could they be any worse? - Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born Holloway, London, 1962) is a contemporary British artist. One of the leading figures in the generation of young British artists who emerged during the 1990s, she has gained an international reputation for provocative works that frequently employ coarse visual puns and a North Hills What he heard Re ``Atrocities in 'Nam'' (Your Opinions, Sept. 6): John Green seems to think that there were no atrocities done in Vietnam - does he remember the My Lai massacre My Lai Massacre (March 16, 1968) Mass killing of as many as 500 unarmed villagers by U.S. soldiers in the hamlet of My Lai during the Vietnam War. A company of U.S. soldiers on a search-and-destroy mission against the hamlet found no armed Viet Cong there but nonetheless ? The Republicans always seem to leave out the part of John Kerry's testimony where he was telling what other veterans had told him, and make it seem like it was all his doing. - Gus Torres Lancaster |
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