PUBLIC FORUM.Thank you I'd like the liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats, British political party Liberal Democrats, British political party created in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal party with the Social Democratic party; the party was initially called the Social and Liberal Democratic party. who feel unappreciated by Republicans to know that we sincerely thank you for Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and physician from the U.S. state of Vermont, and currently the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, the central organ of the Democratic Party at the national level. . - Michael J. Nowland 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. Investigate Bush Did Bush, et al., cause an illegal war of aggression Waging a war of aggression is a crime under customary international law and refers to any war not out of self-defense or sanctioned by Article 51 of the UN Charter. in Iraq by deceit and without adequate grounds? Is this an impeachable im·peach·a·ble adj. 1. Capable of being impeached: venal, impeachable public servants. 2. Being such as to warrant impeachment: an impeachable offense. offense? Recently, the Downing Street memo The "Downing Street memo" (occasionally DSM, or the "Downing Street Minutes"), sometimes described by critics of the Iraq War as the "smoking gun memo", [1] showed us that Bush intended to invade Iraq when he was telling the U.S. public and Congress otherwise. Despite a thin case, Bush would ``fix facts around policy,'' i.e. lie about the reasons for war. This unrefuted memo is an official document with high credibility. Every excuse for war has now been proven false. No WMD WMD white muscle disease. have been found. After the attack, Bush showed repeated contempt for the U.S. troops and their safety. There is massive corruption and insider dealing at outrageous costs to taxpayers. Now, 88 members of Congress, including some Republicans, ask for an investigation. The U.S. public deserves an investigation. We further deserve adequate media coverage of this vital issue. - Roger Hull Torrance Just charm Re ``Clinton tome shows leader's survival mode'' (Their Opinions, June 8): Richard Cohen says that President Bill Clinton was ``smart, encyclopedic en·cy·clo·pe·dic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of an encyclopedia. 2. Embracing many subjects; comprehensive: "an ignorance almost as encyclopedic as his erudition" , wise, knowledgeable,'' and possessed ``charm, brilliance and sureness.'' Clinton may have been charming, but there was no substance beyond that charm, and that's why he wasn't a first-tier president. He was so blinded by his desire to be admired that he couldn't make military decisions and created plenty of ``crises'' that he was incapable of handling. When the World Trade Center was bombed the first time, he waffled and did next to nothing to fix the problem. He had multiple opportunities to take out Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden: see bin Laden, Osama. , but he refused to act decisively. He gutted the Department of Defense by cutting 298,000 jobs and removing huge amounts of military equipment. He ignored any potential threats to this country with his giant cutbacks, and endangered national security by allowing military technology to be sold to China. He was impeached, disbarred and accused of hitting on every woman, even his intern. How can a ``smart, wise, knowledgeable'' man make so many blunders? He had more ego than wisdom and more charm than substance. - Carolynn Jones Thousand Oaks Way too generous Re ``Clinton tome shows leader's survival mode'' (Their Opinions, June 8): Richard Cohen is way too generous with Bill Clinton's domestic record during his presidency. The only reason welfare rolls went down was because close to the end of his first term, Clinton finally signed a Republican-sponsored bill that he had refused to sign twice before, probably realizing he hadn't accomplished much of anything. Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. also fails to mention that the recent recession started a full year before the end of Clinton's presidency. The stock market started its steep decline in November 1999 from a high of 11,658 through the October 2000 low of 9,571, an astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, 2,087 points as measured by the Dow industrials. - Jose A. Pasillas Calabasas Democrats' budget Re ``Politicians 'out force' jobs from California'' (Their Opinions, June 8): Ted Balaker got two things correct: Many of our public schools lack the resources they need to educate our children, and our highways are overly congested con·gest·ed adj. Affected with or characterized by congestion. congested ENT adjective Referring to a boggy blood-filled tissue. See Nasal congestion. . But the Democratic Legislature is hardly to blame for the state's ills. According to the Public Policy Institute of California Public Policy Institute of California is an independent, nonpartisan, non-profit research institution. Based in San Francisco, California, United States, the institute was established in 1994 with a $70 million endowment from William Reddington Hewlett. , investments in transportation and education were severely underfunded un·der·fund tr.v. un·der·fund·ed, un·der·fund·ing, un·der·funds To provide insufficient funding for. underfunded adj → infradotado (económicamente) during the Republican administrations of Govs. George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson. This year, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to deny our schools more than $3 billion they are owed. His January budget also zero-funded $1.3 billion in transportation projects. Assembly Democrats are fighting the governor on both counts. And we know that there's no free lunch. Our budget proposal calls on the wealthiest Californians - married couples earning more than $320,000 per year - to pay just 10 cents per day more to give our schools what they are entitled to. Considering the billions they've received in tax breaks from the Bush tax cuts, that doesn't seem too much to ask. California needs a smarter, mobile work force. Robbing our schools and transportation infrastructure of billions of dollars - as the governor has proposed to do - is a recipe for economic disaster. - Diego de la Garza Deputy Communications Director Office of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez Telling it like it is Re ``What will generations in the future think?'' (June 9): Thank you, Thomas Sowell, for telling it like it is. Our troops are constantly second-guessed. No wonder recruitment is down. I read much about the Quran but nothing about Christian persecution in places like Saudi Arabia. Did I miss the coverage of 40 Christians being imprisoned im·pris·on tr.v. im·pris·oned, im·pris·on·ing, im·pris·ons To put in or as if in prison; confine. [Middle English emprisonen, from Old French emprisoner : en- by our friends the Saudis for carrying Bibles on the streets there? I never saw the juxtaposition of the showered, well-fed prisoners at Guantanamo and the young American unjustly imprisoned in a friendly country in the Mideast. His mother worked for those three years to have him released. Guess what? During those three years, he was not allowed to shower. - Carol Milton Woodland Hills A medicated medicated /med·i·cat·ed/ (med´i-kat?id) imbued with a medicinal substance. medicated contains a medicinal substance. snap Re ``Why did 'great guy' snap?'' (June 9): Why the ``great guy'' snapped is a no-brainer. The answer is at the end of the sixth paragraph: ``(Dennis Elliot Shellhouse's mother) said (Shellhouse) had been taking ... medication for depression.'' Medications for depression have a long history of causing regular folks to ``snap.'' The FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. has even demanded that they carry the ``black label'' warning. - John Chambers Sunland Posing questions Re ``Job well done'' (Our Opinions, June 9): Wednesday's four-hour standoff on Interstate 10 poses many questions. If there was a way to end this process by using the flash-bang grenade and tear gas tear gas, gas that causes temporary blindness through the excessive flow of tears resulting from irritation of the eyes. The gas is used in chemical warfare and as a means for dispersing mobs. , why did it take so long for this method to be finally used? Isn't that the function of SWAT teams First developed in the 1960s by local law enforcement agencies, Special Weapons and Tactics units, or SWAT teams, have become common in police departments throughout the United States. : to bring an end to such issues rather than sit on the freeway for hours on end? I also find it frustrating to have so many law enforcement personnel tied up with this one criminal while they could be following up on other potential crimes. This is a poor use of public tax dollars. Once Mr. Shellhouse was surrounded, why was it necessary to have so many officers standing around for four hours? So while it is wrong to wish that the would-be kidnapper would be killed in any way, it is also worth a discussion on how to handle such scenarios in the future so that tens of thousands of commuters are not completely left helpless. - Ron Gregg Westlake Village Fewer people, fewer houses Re ``Building bans to blame for housing prices'' (Their Opinions, June 2): One of the best things about California is the beautiful scenery in the northern half of our state. Even though I can't afford to live there, I'm glad the Coastal Commission is protecting the open land for all of us to enjoy. When I visit Hearst Castle, I can look out at the vacant rolling hills and imagine I've stepped back in time. According to Thomas Sowell, he's lucky enough to live there. But apparently, he wants more neighbors, more traffic, less open space. What are Sowell's real motives? Most people would be happy if their home value more than doubled in 11 years. Is he a frustrated land developer? Even if all the available land in Northern California were zoned as residential, we'd still run out eventually and prices would still rise. But in the process, some of the most beautiful scenery in the world would be destroyed. Instead of giving in to all the developers, we need government to create tax incentives for smaller families and stabilize the population. By lowering the demand for housing, we can make housing affordable again and still have some quality of life. - Mark Van Horne Studio City |
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