PUBLIC FORUM.

Compassionate GOP

By getting involved in the struggle of Terry Shiavo's family to decide her fate, President George W. Bush has added yet another item to his radical agenda of politicizing moral issues that are irrelevant to the functioning of this country. I thought Republicans wanted less involvement in citizens' lives.

After a family has suffered the secondary trauma of losing everything to pay for the medical care required to keep a person in a vegetative state alive, is Bush suggesting that the state will accept responsibility for this person? Fat chance.

The House Judiciary Committee chairman said ``the responsibility of a compassionate nation is to affirm (a) person's right to life.'' Well, this ``compassionate president'' has recently suggested budget cuts that will diminish programs for the poor, taking food out of the mouths of hungry children. Get your priorities straight, Mr. Bush!

- Jennifer Rabuchin

Burbank

Civilized society?

The feeding tube does not keep Terri Schiavo alive. It simply is a way to get nutrition to the body when a person is unable to swallow. A civilized society should allow everyone at least the opportunity for food and water. Sure, her situation is sad, and perhaps we wouldn't want to live that way. We probably wouldn't want to be homeless drug addicts, either. Yet, we wouldn't consider starving them. Luckily our government is willing to get involved in order to protect a defenseless human being when her appointed guardian has decided that she no longer deserves to be fed, dooming her to die by mandatory starvation.

- Joseph and Carla Kazimir

Granada Hills

Complain to Congress

When my elderly mother recovered from being on life support systems, the first thing she did was complain to the people who were keeping her alive, telling them of the horrible suffering she was being put through. She was so mad that she wrote letters to paramedics, hospitals, doctors and her kids, telling us in no uncertain terms that she wanted to be left alone to die in peace.

Maybe she should also have written a letter to the U.S. Congress.

- Frank Dookun

Reseda

Equal rights?

Why is a murderer's or terrorist's life so much more precious than that of a law-abiding citizen who happens to be brain-damaged? No one would withhold food or water from them.

- Kathryn Venturella

West Hills

Constitutional roulette

What's worse, judges who legislate from the bench or legislators who adjudicate from the Hill?

- Richard Buratti

Northridge

Not ready to wean 

Re ``Oil crazy'' (Our Opinions, March 18):

The Daily News' editorial says ``we must balance new drilling with other policies designed to wean Americans from consuming oil.'' In the dictionary, ``wean'' means to ``withhold mother's milk from (the young of a mammal) and substitute other nourishment.'' The problem is, weaned to what? We don't let our children starve until they can eat a steak. Until someone comes up with a good alternative, we have to drill where the oil is, and unfortunately it looks like the National Wildlife Refuge and the Gulf of Mexico are our best bets.

- Robert Gardner

Sylmar

Doing his job

Re ``Voting results won't be disputed'' (March 19):

The City Council was quick to criticize City Clerk Frank Martinez for doing his job. I was fortunate to work for six months in a voluntary capacity with Martinez. I do not question his integrity. I found him to be intelligent, honest, fair and thoughtful. I believe he was trying to make sure every vote was counted. Checking every ballot since April 2001 is a good policy. I am glad Fredric D. Woocher, Bob Hertzberg's attorney, found Martinez to be very accommodating. I am sure everyone will.

- Mary Anna Kienholz

Granada Hills

What was he thinking?

City Clerk Frank Martinez's stunning decision to subvert the election process by secretly altering the vote reading system and ordering workers to re-ink ballots sounds like a story many people might have expected out of the election in Iraq. It is hard to imagine how a government official charged with the responsibility to protect the integrity of our election process could be so insensitive toward the sanctity of the individual ballot.

Sometimes the democratic process is messy. Hanging chads and recounts are bothersome, but I prefer that to Martinez's self-appointed authority to tidy up after the voters.

- Kay Carrillo Drake

Sunland

Casting stones

Re ``Pierce bares sex ad'' (March 18):

I really don't think Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association President Jon Coupal is in any kind of position to judge the way Pierce College fills the gaps in its budget. After all, it's due to the HJTA and Proposition 13 that our community colleges find themselves in a budgetary bind year after year, decade after decade. Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate the impact that Proposition 13 has had on our higher education system (which used to be one of California's most stellar attractions) before we start judging how our community colleges procure funds from outside sources in order to survive.

- Christian F. Hokenson

Burbank

Dowd's day has passed

Re ``And now for all the news that isn't'' (Their Opinions, March 18):

Unrelenting in her scathing attacks on any semblance of ``conservatism,'' it is not surprising that Maureen Dowd is without White House credentials. What is surprising is that Dowd can't figure it out. Her day was with the Clinton administration. Turnabout is fair play. If Dowd desires access to the White House, she need only make a moderate attempt at professionalism. Unfortunately for Dowd, she is unable to submit her love affair with anything anti-Republican to any semblance of professional journalism.

- Patrick Weir

Chatsworth

Bad balance

Re ``Balance doesn't equal accuracy'' (March 16):

C-Span apparently has trouble with the concept of balanced reporting. You do not need to add a liar every time you have someone who tells the truth for balance. So it is not necessary for C-Span to add the lying, ignorant denier of the Holocaust, David Irving, to Book TV for balance. We already have Fox operating under the illusion that such reporting is balanced. In fact, Fox often ``balances'' one liar with another distorter. One Fox is more than enough.

- Roger Hull

Torrance

Not divided

Re ``Two years in Iraq'' (Our Opinions, March 20):

Ask Iraqi Americans if they are divided over Saddam's overthrow. I asked one whom I met during the run-up to the invasion. He has family in Baghdad, so I was sure I would get an answer of opposition to war. He had to balance his fears of harm to his family from our bombs and harm from their own government.

His answer was, ``The sooner the better. That tyrant has already killed a million people!''

- Louis Richter

Encino