PUBLIC FORUM.Pocket lining Re ``All but 14 lawmakers get pay raise'' (Dec. 3 ): My husband and I provide residential care to people with developmental disabilities developmental disabilities (DD), n.pl the pathologic conditions that have their origin in the embryology and growth and development of an individual. DDs usually appear clinically before 18 years of age. . Our funding is constantly threatened, and we have not received a cost-of-living increase for nearly a decade. Those legislators should be ashamed, lining their pockets while we struggle. - Susan Wachter Saugus Crossing gates So the Orange Line has had another crossing accident, the sixth in as many weeks. From the start I have advocated railroad-type crossing gates, which would probably have prevented all of the accidents. Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Executive Roger Snoble says crossing gates would not ensure against accidents. He cites the Gold Line that has had three gate crashers in its two-plus years of operation. That proves my point, not his. Gates do not prevent crashes, but their presence cuts way down on the incidence of collisions. - Michael Leviton Encino Foster-care kids Re ``Kids running away from system'' (Dec. 5): I read your article of foster care in the Press-Telegram and just wanted to say how I feel for these kids that are placed there. I spent nine years in one when I was a child, with five other girls, one being my sister. I could write a best-seller about what went on in that house. No wonder kids are running away. These people are not being checked out enough to see what goes on. I hope they will really investigate these people who want to take in children. - Carol Gopez Cerritos Grabbing money Re ``Nonperformance pay'' (Editorial, Dec. 6): Forget that politicians will ever earn those big bucks we spend for legislators in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. That group is only interested in power. They grab all the money and perks perk 1 v. perked, perk·ing, perks v.intr. 1. To stick up or jut out: dogs' ears that perk. 2. To carry oneself in a lively and jaunty manner. available, then retire with a pension to feed off the taxpayers for the rest of their lives. What do we expect? We elect lawyers that can't earn a living in the real world. Keith Richman Dr. Keith S. Richman is a California, United States, Republican politician. From 2001 to 2007, he served in the California State Assembly representing the 38th Assembly District based in Northwest Los Angeles County. , one of the few principled legislators, was a medical doctor, not a lawyer. Ronald Reagan was an actor, not a lawyer. Can we learn from that? - Gillies Brooks Agoura No clemency Leniency or mercy. A power given to a public official, such as a governor or the president, to in some way lower or moderate the harshness of punishment imposed upon a prisoner. Clemency is considered to be an act of grace. Re ``Tookie's case'' (Editorial, Dec. 7): What a bunch of drivel driv·el v. driv·eled or driv·elled, driv·el·ing or driv·el·ling, driv·els v.intr. 1. To slobber; drool. 2. To flow like spittle or saliva. 3. from your editorial page. To quote: ``If he truly is a changed man, Williams deserves clemency.'' He brutally killed four innocent people, without mercy. What he deserves is now 26 years overdue. Justice is way past time, and it doesn't matter whether he now says he is sorry. No clemency for Tookie. Society must teach ``don't do the crime, and then you don't pay a fine.'' - Stephen Laszlo Pfahler Woodland Hills Justice delayed Evidence against Stan Tookie Williams is overwhelming. Every one of his appeals has been denied. As for writing books for children, should we commute the sentences for all the convicted murderers on Death Row if they write books for children? It doesn't cost 10 cents to nominate someone for a Nobel Prize Nobel Prize, award given for outstanding achievement in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, peace, or literature. The awards were established by the will of Alfred Nobel, who left a fund to provide annual prizes in the five areas listed above. . The only criteria is that the person who is doing the nominating has to belong to a national organization. Justice delayed is justice denied "Justice delayed is justice denied" is a legal cliché meaning that if legal redress is available for a party that has suffered some injury, but is not forthcoming in a timely fashion, it is effectively the same as having no redress at all. . There is absolutely no reason to commute Williams' sentence or delay his execution. - John R. Schlank Granada Hills Our mission Re ``If we stay, Rumsfeld must leave'' (their Opinions, Dec. 7): In his column demanding that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld be sacked, Richard Cohen Several people are named Richard Cohen:
The problem is that the mission has never been clearly defined. When the U.S. invaded Iraq, the mission was to get rid of Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (born April 28, 1937, Tikrit, Iraq—died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad) President of Iraq (1979–2003). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1957. Following participation in a failed attempt to assassinate Iraqi Pres. and destroy any WMDs. If that was the mission, it has been accomplished. So just as soon as Hussein is executed, the mission will have been successful and the U.S. can withdraw from Iraq. - Jack Allen
Jack Allen is a major character in the Christian-themed radio drama/comedy Adventures in Odyssey Pacific Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). Other movie garbage Re ``Smoking up in films alarmingly'' (Business, Dec. 6): I can't help but be awe-struck by a form of hypocrisy here. These study recommendations may be worthy attempts to reduce teen smoking, but has anyone also considered policing the horribly immoral sexually oriented garbage produced by Hollywood? Has anyone called for the reduction of the impact of this movie trash on adolescents? I contend if someone tried to develop similar statistics on sexually explicit scenes, foul-mouthed profanity Irreverence towards sacred things; particularly, an irreverent or blasphemous use of the name of God. Vulgar, irreverent, or coarse language. The use of certain profane or obscene language on the radio or television is a federal offense, but in other situations, profanity , bathroom humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was and the like in motion pictures and compared them to 1950, the figures would be through the roof. And this trash doesn't affect adolescents enough for someone to do a study on it (much less do something about it)? - Richard Bilek Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. Local problems Re ``Other wars'' (Your Opinions, Dec 7): I am sure that the taxpayers in Ohio or any of the other 49 states would not agree with the writer's contention that President Bush and the federal government are responsible for mitigating Los Angeles' poverty, homelessness or crime. Those taxpayers would not agree that their tax dollars must be used to make up for the failure of the local and state governments of California. They would say this because they just might have enough knowledge of the U.S. Constitution to know that these local problems are the responsibility of the local and state governments. - Francis Miller Northridge Where's the money? Social Security was having problems during President Carter's administration. Former President Carter and Congress tried but failed to take the Civil Service Pension Fund to bail out Social Security. The Federal Employees Retirement System The Federal Employees Retirement System (or FERS) was enacted on June 6, 1986, and effective January 1, 1987. New U.S. Federal civilian employees, first hired after 1983, are automatically covered by this new retirement system. was passed by President Reagan and Congress in the late '80s, ending the Civil Service Retirement Fund. Now they have the law called Government Pension Offset for federal workers that denies them their rights to Social Security. Where is the money from the people that have died, leaving no family, and money from those denied their spouse's and ex-spouse's Social Security because of their government pension? The federal government owes Social Security a lot of money and should be held accountable. The people should be paid money due them from Social Security. - Brynie Brackin Pacoima Broken promises How can anyone be surprised that companies are not fulfilling their promises for retirement benefits? Congress passes legislation which encourages companies to drop health insurance. My husband's company just broke their promise and notified us that they are dumping our coverage, since we are now eligible for the vastly inferior and more expensive Part D (Medicare) coverage. Airlines and other companies are allowed to drop or freeze their pension programs with no repercussions repercussions npl → répercussions fpl repercussions npl → Auswirkungen pl . The president says publicly that Social Security benefits should be cut. Why would other companies choose to honor their promises? This shameful treatment of retirees should embarrass the administration, the Congress and AARP AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan national organization dedicated to "enriching the experience of aging"; membership is open to people age 50 or older. Founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus as American Association of Retired Persons, AARP now has over 30 million . - Glenda Rosenbloom Woodland Hills Explain this Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee The U.S. Senate established the Committee on the Judiciary on December 10, 1816, as one of the original 11 standing committees. It is also one of the most powerful committees in Congress; among its wide range of jurisdictions is investigation of federal judicial nominees and oversight of , says, ``A credibility gap credibility gap n. 1. Public skepticism about the truth of statements, especially official claims and pronouncements: "The credibility gap [is] is emerging with each new piece of information released on Judge Alito's record. Judge Alito bears a heavy burden at the hearings in January to explain the growing number of discrepancies between his current statements and his past actions.'' I am confident that Judge Alito will explain his position and be confirmed. But if anyone needs to explain his credibility for past actions, it's Kennedy himself, dating as far back as the Chappaquiddick tragedy. - Ben Delgado North Hills |
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