PUBLIC FORUM.I can hear them now There's a resolution in Congress for us to start pulling our troops out of Iraq on Oct. 1, 2006. There's nothing like surprising the enemy. I can just hear Vietnam vets: ``Here we go again!'' - R.J. Johnson North Hollywood Fanciful designs Re ``LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) adopts new standards'' (June 15): I'm disgusted with the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Unified School District's unrealistic designs for high schools. If all the high-school students were to go on to college, then college would be just a continuation of high school classes. When I took high school Latin and then went on to the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , I was told that the four semesters of high school Latin were the equivalent of one semester of college Latin. College work is much more intense than high school work. There are many areas of life and work that call for skills that a college would not provide. There is a need for well-trained, competent and reliable workers in the auto trade, building trade and elsewhere. - Mary Joan Thomsen Chatsworth Not the only ones Re ``Unocal eyed by China's CNOOC'' (Business, June 22): I wasn't that thrilled to hear about Chevron bidding on Southern California-based Unocal. My mom remembers the breakup of Standard Oil many years ago. Did the anti-trust laws change since then? I am even less happy about it turning Chinese nationalist. If Unocal is bought by the Chinese government Ever since Republic of China founded in January 1st, 1912, China has had several regional and national governments. List
Union 76 was the first credit card we got when we were first married, 19 years ago, and that was where we have bought our gas ever since. I'm sure we're not the only ones who would desert them. - Mindy Morrison La Crescenta Too little, too late Re ``Senate sorry for never outlawing lynchings'' (June 14): An apology by the U.S. Senate for the horrific lynchings in this country is 125 years too late. What happened? Is this a delayed reaction delayed reaction n. An allergic or immune response that begins 24 to 48 hours after exposure to an antigen to which the individual has been sensitized. or did members of the Senate suddenly get a conscience? Mind you, not all members of the Senate have gone on record with an apology. I can only speculate what their explanation, or lack thereof, can be. Honestly, this dubious apology is camouflage as a goodwill gesture to initiate the ``healing process.'' However, this is nothing more than a disdainful dis·dain·ful adj. Expressive of disdain; scornful and contemptuous. See Synonyms at proud. dis·dain  ful·ly adv. attempt to stifle the grand issue of the ever-growing reparations reparations, payments or other compensation offered as an indemnity for loss or damage. Although the term is used to cover payments made to Holocaust survivors and to Japanese Americans interned during World War II in so-called relocation camps (and used as well to movement. Nice try, but not good enough. - Randy Townsend Palmdale Past time Re ``Boom times'' (Your Opinions, June 22): Robert Gardner reminds me of the feeling that irresponsible teens must have when they get their first credit card. They think they can spend without restraint, which creates that same ``boom time'' feeling. Moreover, they don't worry about paying the bill. That's similar to the position the country is in today. Does Gardner not know that the nation's economy is on a ``credit card high'' pumped up by trillion-dollar yearly deficit spending Deficit spending When government spending overwhelms government revenue resulting in government borrowing. deficit spending Expenditures that are in excess of revenues during a given period of time. (trade and budget)? Does he not realize that the national debt has nearly doubled under President George W. Bush, and now is up to almost $8 trillion? It's past time to take the U.S. credit card away from the fiscally irresponsible person in the White House. With not one veto in four years -to tell Congress it's spending too much - gives the sign that Bush doesn't care or, even worse, that he approves. A question to put Gardner's ``boom times'' thesis into perspective: What if everyone in the United States knew that the entire $300 billion cost of the war on Iraq to date has been borrowed from China and others? - Garth Bishop Los Angeles Protecting the predator Re ``Study: Molestation molestation n. the crime of sexual acts with children up to the age of 18, including touching of private parts, exposure of genitalia, taking of pornographic pictures, rape, inducement of sexual acts with the molester or with other children, and variations of these widespread'' (June 22): The statistics in this article are about the same as in the 1980s. In spite of efforts to raise consciousness, and in spite of children being taught to resist and report molestation, we haven't come very far in over 20 years. The primary reason for this failure of protection is the statute of limitations A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought. Statutes of limitations, which date back to early Roman Law, are a fundamental part of European and U.S. law. . In the time it takes for a child to grow up with enough strength to speak the unspeakable, that statute has expired and is now protecting the predator. Molestation laws should have no statute of limitations, like murder laws. - Kathy Downing Los Angeles From where I sit Re ``Overstated o·ver·state tr.v. o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing, o·ver·states To state in exaggerated terms. See Synonyms at exaggerate. o , maybe, but not wrong'' (Their Opinions, June 22): Richard Cohen states the ``Guantanamo makes the United States look bad.'' He says this while defending Sen. Dick Durbin and his outlandish and ridiculous statements about our military personnel and their alleged actions. Why did 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. have no opinion on how the senator's statements helped fuel more hatred of the U.S. around the world? From where I sit, all I can see is the circling of the wagons to protect the senator. No one is looking at the greater problems the senator has created with his big mouth and his efforts to make the military and present administration look bad. - Ronald Roth Northridge Governor was used Re ``Civil disrespect'' (Our Opinion, June 16): What happened to free speech and tolerance? I went to the Santa Monica College Santa Monica College was first opened in 1929 as Santa Monica Junior College. Current enrollment is 32,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The college also has one of the largest international student populations of any community college in the US, with approximately Web site and found that the college had invited Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to be its commencement speaker. Then the Academic Senate went out of its way to stir animosity toward the governor. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , Schwarzenegger was used for publicity purposes by the college to protest changes that are being made in the junior college system. - Nathan Skolnik Chatsworth Go figure I live in a nice Studio City neighborhood. The streets are great. No potholes at all. But for some oddball reason, they just re-paved the whole neighborhood. On my way to work, I drive through a lower-income part of town. The roads are ridiculous - potholes everywhere! Why? Why do great roads get re-paved and horrible roads get left to become worse? I know, the rich get what they want and the poor suffer, right? This is just plain stupid. - Alec Spencer Studio City Under siege Re ``Sylmar neighbors differ on proposal under power lines'' (June 20): It is ironic that public utility companies like Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 11 million people with electricity. are given carte blanche CARTE BLANCHE. The signature of an individual or more, on a while. paper, with a sufficient space left above it to write a note or other writing. 2. In the course of business, it not unfrequently occurs that for the sake of convenience, signatures in blank are to determine the quality of life for Sylmar residents. The designation of this project as a ``compatible service that neighbors need'' is a shameful excuse to destroy open space and what little is left of a semirural sem·i·ru·ral adj. Having both rural and urban characteristics: a semirural town; a semirural environment; a semirural way of life. lifestyle in order to make huge fortunes at the public's expense. The proposed Edison plan is not the only way to improve the Sylmar area, but surely one can see that this issue is being swept under the proverbial rug. Many Los Angeles neighborhoods in the past have been destroyed because of callous private-public development. Sylmar is the latest to be under siege. - Moises Carrillo Sylmar Tee time I sincerely hope that Michael Jackson and Robert Blake move to Florida and join O.J. Simpson for a round of golf. Maybe they could move Saddam Hussein's trial to Santa Maria and, if he is found not guilty, he could fill out the foursome. What a lovely group they would make. I just don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how the bodyguard will hold the umbrella while Jackson hits his golf ball. - Horst Luttuschka Palmdale |
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