PUBLIC FORUM.One man, one vote? Re ``Nerds have civil rights, too, right?'' (Their Opinions, Jan. 9): I take exception to Rich Lowry's comment, which implies that since Joe Biden This article is about the United States Senator from Delaware, for other uses of the name, see Biden. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. is a senator from a less populous state, he does not represent one man, one vote. The Senate was not established to defend this principle but to let states with fewer people avoid being bullied by larger states. The House of Representatives gives each state its proportionate clout. The two complementary houses of Congress work together to balance the executive and judicial branches of government; thus, the balance of power protects the American people An American people may be:
n. An advocate of a particular ideology, especially an official exponent of that ideology. [French idéologue, back-formation from idéologie, ideology; see unlikely to uphold the rights of the common people. - Gay Lannon Sherman Oaks Never go back to LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) Re ``Chartered waters'' (Jan. 9): I worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. for 33 years and would never, ever think of returning. Charter schools are the future. Large districts cannot focus on individual schools - where they are going and what they are doing. Each school is an individual one and needs to be treated that way. Administrators in a large district cannot see beyond their offices. I invite anyone who is interested in charter schools to visit one and see what a change there is when a school breaks away from a large district. I have often extended an invitation to LAUSD board members and Superintendent Roy Romer Roy R. Romer (born October 31, 1928 in Garden City, Kansas, United States) was the 39th governor of Colorado and served as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2001 to 2006. , but so far they have not seemed interested. - Stephanie Schwartz Granada Hills Time, not money Re ``Stealth power rampant'' (Jan. 8, 2006): The payment of fees for representation does not a lobbyist make. Anyone who represents anything, including a homeowners group or a union, should be required to register as a lobbyist. It is the time spent by the lobbyist, not the dollars paid to the advocate, that reflects the potential to influence a decision maker. The concept behind reporting lobbying activities is supposedly to level the playing field between those who are paid to represent a project and those who take a position on a project without pay. However, the playing field will not be level until there is transparency as to the attempts by all interested parties, paid or not, to try to influence a decision maker. - Wendy M. Brogin Sherman Oaks High bucks per acre Re ``City's parks falling apart'' (Jan. 10): It was with interest I read Recreation and Parks Department General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri's insinuation INSINUATION, civil law. The transcription of an act on the public registers, like our recording of deeds. It was not necessary in any other alienation, but that appropriated to the purpose of donation. Inst. 2, 7, 2; Poth. Traite des Donations, entre vifs, sect. 2, art. 3, Sec. that one of the problems uncovered in the parks audit was due to Proposition 13. He never mentioned that it just might possibly be due to the outlandish state, city or county budgeting for salaries, perks and benefits that prevent us from hiring more workers. If these few maintenance workers get pay comparable to that of the majority of city workers, then they are among the highest paid workers per acre in the nation. - Don Segien - Canoga Park Wiretap wiretap n. using an electronic device to listen in on telephone lines, which is illegal unless allowed by court order based upon a showing by law enforcement of "probable cause" to believe the communications are part of criminal activities. hysteria All of the hysteria about President George W. Bush authorizing wiretapping A form of eavesdropping involving physical connection to the communications channels to breach the confidentiality of communications. For example, many poorly-secured buildings have unprotected telephone wiring closets where intruders may connect unauthorized wires to listen in on phone of Americans who make overseas calls that may be connected to terrorism seems a little overwrought o·ver·wrought adj. 1. Excessively nervous or excited; agitated. 2. Extremely elaborate or ornate; overdone: overwrought prose style. , especially since Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did precisely the same thing. - James F. Glass Chatsworth Drumroll drum·roll n. 1. A rapid succession of short sounds produced by beating a drum. 2. Emphatic support for a cause: "The drumroll for sustainable agriculture . . . , please... Re ``Arnold plans no new taxes'' (Jan. 11): Let's hope this is not just lip service lip service n. Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: . - Ed Schlossman 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. Liberal sense? See the economy? See the stock market? See the unemployment numbers? Then let's keep the tax cuts permanent. Or is that too much common sense for the liberal men and women in Congress who seem to own most of the districts in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, ? - R.J. Johnson North Hollywood Misnamed mis·name tr.v. mis·named, mis·nam·ing, mis·names To call by a wrong name. misnamed Adjective having an inappropriate or misleading name: at birth Based upon Judge Samuel Alito's apparent philosophy with respect to the rights of big business, the rights of employees, admission to Princeton University and the establishment of an imperial presidency, it appears that the correct spelling of his name should be ``Elite-o.'' - Marshall Barth Encino Past behavior It is instructive to listen to the answers that Judge Samuel Alito gives about his past. When questioned about his membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton The Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) was a group of politically conservative former Princeton University students that existed between 1972 and 1986. CAP was born in 1972 from the ashes of the Alumni Committee to Involve Itself Now (ACTION), which was founded in , a group that opposed co-education at Princeton and admission of minorities to the university, Alito said that he could not remember much about the group and was not a founder nor an active member. While it is not unusual for an ambitious young man to seek patronage from the powerful, the fact that he chose as his patrons those who sought to exclude women and minorities from higher education indicates something about Alito's character. He seems to be a person who follows rather than leads and possesses a compromised sense of social justice. That alone should exclude him from the high court. - Paul Gonzales La Crescenta It's all about perspective Re ``Big difference'' (Your Opinions, Jan. 11): In his letter Alan N. Toffel, like all supporters of the Bush Doctrine, would have us believe that those who criticize the Iraq war are being critical of the troops. I 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. any American who is critical of our brave men and women in uniform. I do know many who are critical of Commander in Chief George W. Bush, who misled them into an undeclared war of his choice without proper vehicular or body armament and dismissed his chief of staff who disagreed with him about numbers. Jack Allen was right: Bill O'Reilly is an idiot. One person's ``freedom fighter'' is another's ``terrorist.'' It all depends on whose family has been destroyed. - Philip Wilt Van Nuys Cold-blooded administration Re David Horsey's cartoon on Monday's editorial page: I could write an essay on how true the cartoon is about the economy - and how it reveals the totally cold-blooded nature of this Republican administration and Congress. Among tons of other abuses, it is illustrated most clearly by two items: our vice president casting the tie-breaking vote for the most unfeeling budget I have ever seen, and the cynical nature of the rebuilding of New Orleans through no-bid contracts to Halliburton and Bechtel. I majored in American history and can confidently say this is the worst, most corrupt administration in history, led by the worst president we have ever had. Our only hope is a Democratic Congress in the fall. - William Vallow Arcadia Free the HOV! IRe: ``Sign it, Arnold'' (Our opinions, Jan. 11): The only thing that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger needs to sign is an executive order opening all car-pool lanes to all motorists alike. Governor, open these unjust car-pool lanes to all motorists just as you promised to do; otherwise, we'll elect a new governor who will. - Robert L. Rosebrock Brentwood |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion