PUBLIC FORUM.

But it's our money

Re ``City not feeding piggy bank'' and ``Proposed pension fix unfair to police officers'' (Jan. 31):

Julie Butcher, head of L.A.'s largest public service union, explains away the costly benefits that we taxpayers provide her members saying, ``Unfortunately, this kind of points to how underpaid people are in the private sector.'' Although, we're not so underpaid that we're not expected to pay for more benefits and raises for her members.

Bob Baker, president of the LAPD's union, explains government pensions, saying, ``Over time, pension plans bring significant returns, and the government gets a free ride by not having to invest a penny in their growth.'' You can't argue with folks who believe they aren't overpaid or who can say with a straight face that public pensions are a free ride. When it's your money they want, however, you certainly can say, ``enough.''

- Bill Homan

Granada Hills

Bloated budget

Re ``Living large'' (Editorial, Jan. 31):

Thank you, thank you, thank you for pointing out once again what big spenders our city politicians are, who can't even trim more than 0.02 percent of their bloated budget supporting gobs of overpaid bureaucrats.

But the real problem is this: The politicians who need to listen to you never will. That is, not until we boot them out and replace them with Libertarians.

- Bradley Bobbs

Calabasas

Police pay

Re ``10 percent solution'' (Your Opinions, Feb. 2):

A reader suggested that a 10 percent cut in pay of current police officers would result in sufficient savings to put 900 more police officers on the streets of L.A. Obviously, they are graduates of California's educational system. The cost of an officer on the street is the sum of hiring, training, salary and benefits, not just salary. Do the math, folks.

It costs less to keep officers than it does to replace them. It wasn't that long ago that we faced a drain of experienced, highly trained officers to other agencies because of working conditions. Now some of the citizenry want to open the flood gates. Sure, why not? Its not like the officers have any place else to go.

- John Kurt

Reseda

Sound familiar?

Re ``Horrific'' (Jan. 27):

On Jan. 27, 2003, I was in the front car of a Metrolink train when it struck an SUV between Burbank and Glendale going Southbound. Sound familiar? Luckily, we did not derail. Everyone walked away uninjured. Jan. 26, 2005, was an entirely different story.

Officials know these rails are not safe. Suicides happen all the time, yet nothing has been done to change it. Loss of human life is not collateral damage, something we should accept. How many more deaths are enough to do something about it? Public transportation will never gain wide appeal if people don't trust the system.

- Elle Saling

Van Nuys

Easy Metrolink fix

Re ``Horrific'' (Jan. 27):

Are we not living in the 21st century? The planners at the MTA are really that stupid? For approximately $24 per crossing, sensors can be placed under the roadbed and connected to the rail communication system that would detect a vehicle stalled on the tracks and warn the train's engineer. This would allow the engineer to stop the train in time to avoid the collision and alert the local MTA transit police that they need to investigate.

Am I the only one thinking of this simple yet cost-effective solution? Can we do it immediately now to avoid copycats and the like? I will not ride on the Metro rail until this has been done. If all MTA rail riders chose to do the same maybe we might get City Hall's attention.

- Bob Burson

West Hills

Dead to rights

Re ``View From the Valley'' (Viewpoint, Jan. 30):

Patrick O'Connor's cartoon should have been used during our own elections for president and in Ohio and for governor of Washington. O'Connor shows a pollster asking a dead person who he voted for. It is a well-proven fact that dead people overwhelmingly vote Democratic in American elections. Question: How many died in the Revolutionary War to give us the right to vote, O'Connor?

- Preston Ritter 

Canyon Country

Any suggestions?

The Jan. 27 article, ``Could any safety procedures have prevented this tragedy?'' regarding train safety quoted Jim Moore, a USC professor as saying: ``If they had put through grade separation, they would never have been able to afford the system. If grade separation had been required, there would have been no Metrolink. And, now, maybe there shouldn't be.''

Should we eliminate air travel because a jetliner crashes or automobiles due to accidents? This is an irresponsible comment by someone that is purported to be an ``expert.'' Since he's the expert, what does Moore suggest commuters to do instead of ride the train?

- Renae DeMent 

Canoga Park

Greedy guys

I just paid my water and power bill and found it disgusting. The city of Los Angeles charged me $26.63 for sewer and I only used $19.76 worth of water. Is it any wonder more people are leaving the city and the state than are coming in?

When I was a young kid, they told me about the greedy guy that killed the goose that laid the golden egg. Guess none of our bright city dads ever knew about that. I'm sure they are bright as we have 18 or 19 in retirement that get over $300,000 a year.

- Alonzo Minard

Sun Valley

The right name

Now that the election turnout in Iraq has demonstrated that the Iraqis themselves, in overwhelming numbers, support a democratic regime for their country, isn't it time to stop dignifying the terrorists by referring to them as ``insurgents'' and to their violence as ``the insurgency?'' Most of them are not Iraqis, and the few who are are funded by non-Iraqi governments and their client Islamist fanatics.

From now on, let's use the language of reality. These child murderers are invaders. They are engaged in an invasion. It's time to start calling them what they are.

- Paul Morgan Fredrix

West Hollywood 

Military is underpaid

I suggest that all military pay be tax-free. It is a very low amount of tax monies the government collects anyway. I know my son, who has been deployed in Iraq and is going again would get more excited about having his pay tax-free than he does about hazardous duty pay and other add-ons. He gets excited about it even though he is risking his life.

Many say the military is underpaid. The Defense Department budget wouldn't have to go up by using the tax-free pay method. Enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses would look a lot better.

- Jerry Pennington

Van Nuys

Fraudulent crusaders

As I write this, one Republican senator after another is playing the ``Hispanic race card'' on the Senate floor while debating the Alberto Gonzales nomination for attorney general. A week ago they did the same with the African-American heritage of Condoleezza Rice.

If these Republican senators truly practice what they preach, they should make public the number of African-Americans and Hispanics in key positions on their own Senate staffs. Interestingly, most of these fraudulent crusaders for equality have never supported affirmative action. Perhaps if they had, Gonzales' success would be less an anomaly.

- Linda Milazzo

West Hills

The only lies

I read about all the ``lies'' Sen. Barbara Boxer caught Condoleezza Rice in during the Senate hearings. I watched some of the hearings and the only lies I heard came from Boxer herself. She said 25 percent of the troops killed were from California (It's about 11.5 percent) and she said the only reason cited in the Iraq War Resolution for going to war was WMD. Period.

I wonder - do the supporters of Boxer believe she didn't read the resolution and is simply ignorant, or that she did read it and is simply lying?

- Glenn Smith

Woodland Hills