PUBLIC FORUM.

Think tobacco

Re "Food-drug regulators back DEA against medical pot" (April 21):

The Food and Drug Administration spokesperson said "smoked marijuana has no currently accepted or proven medical use in the United States and is not an approved medical treatment," and then implied that this is a problem needing enforcement by the Drug Enforcement Administration. But marijuana does not kill thousands of people every year.

If the FDA had said "smoked tobacco has no currently accepted or proven medical use in the United States and is not an approved medical treatment," and then referred the matter to the DEA, thousands of lives could be saved.

- Joseph Beezy

Tarzana

Leave it to states

Re "Food-drug regulators back DEA against medical pot" (April 21):

Not only should FDA regulators not deceive the public by implying their decision is based on scientific fact, but who decided one day in 1937 that marijuana was illegal? Alcohol, paper, tobacco interests? Probably all three.

I would think the FDA would have a full plate with the real threat of an avian flu pandemic this summer and the FDA with no vaccine. The FDA should mind its own business and leave it to the states whose people voted in support of medical marijuana use.

- Suzanne Lewis

Valley Village

One too many for him

Re "Treethinking" (April 23):

I live on a tree-lined street in West Hills. Our sycamore trees are 50-plus years old. A year ago, a new neighbor deemed his parkway tree an inconvenience and it was cut down early one Sunday morning. Neighbors frantically tried to contact Dennis Zine's office for assistance to stop its removal. According to Zine's office, there was a large permit fee paid and since the owner was paying for the removal, they approved it, stipulating that a 24-inch container tree take its place within a year.

The replacement tree has not, to this day, been planted. How can we expect the Mayor's Office to follow through on his tree-planting agenda of planting 1 million trees when here in West Hills we cannot even get one tree replanted.

- Heather Bruce

West Hills

Cost of arrogance

Re "LAUSD's takeover political" (Their Opinions, April 24):

Julie Korenstein hit "Mr. Mayor" right at his misguided arrogance. Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to take over and reform LAUSD: Millions of dollars and untold numbers of dropouts, with the attendant consequences.

LAUSD moving the 28 trash Dumpsters away from our classroom once Julie Korenstein became involved: Zero dollars. Korenstein dressing down Villaraigosa on his aforementioned arrogance: Priceless.

- Jeanine D'Elia

Granada Hills

Pot calling the kettle

Re "LAUSD's takeover political" (Their Opinions, April 24):

Julie Korenstein begins by chiding Antonio for his purported "hubris." Yet she conveniently overlooks her two failed attempts to use her school board seat as a steppingstone to the L.A. City Council. She challenges the mayor, "How will you be looked upon in the annals of Los Angeles history?" Better she should worry about her own legacy of toxic schools, a 50 percent dropout rate, and $5 billion in unfunded retirement costs, all under her "watch."

Yet she somehow trumpets these failures as triumphs, crowing, "An elected school board acts as an oversight committee." I guess failing to keep half of our kids from dropping out was an "oversight." Undaunted, she further warns Our Fearless Leader, "Do not experiment with our children's lives." You mean, like "whole language" and Ebonics?

- Billy Bauman

Van Nuys

As for the rest of us

Re "Rio de Los Angeles" (Editorial, April 23):

I want to thank Sen. Barbara Boxer for getting federal funds to make the Los Angeles River look better, while the Antelope Valley has only two emergency wards and no trauma unit for over 350,000 residents. Also for disregarding the dismal medical services for the citizens of Los Angeles County. The county medical services have been decimated while Boxer's plan is to make the Los Angeles River beautiful. As a former French queen once said: "Let them eat cake!" Thank you, Sen. Boxer, for fighting to make the Los Angeles River beautiful.

- Thomas E. Nolan

Lancaster

Congress' fault

Re "Bush: Massive deportation not realistic" (April 25):

With its 1986 immigration law, Congress created sanctions against employers who hired illegal aliens. The idea was that, if jobs for them dried up because of employer sanctions, illegal immigrants would stop coming. Problem is, Congress then refused to fund the creation of the necessary fraud-proof ID. The result was an explosion in the production of fraudulent documents, including green cards and driver's licenses. Employers who hire illegal aliens claim, rightfully, that they can not be held responsible for knowing that the documents are fraudulent.

If recent reports are correct, some 12 million illegal aliens have taken up residence in the U.S. since 1986. One thing is clear: Because they failed to implement a fraud-proof ID in 1986, the members of the Congress of the U.S. are primarily responsible for it.

- George Raymond Tyndall

Los Angeles

Gossip snarkiness?

Re "Tinseltown Spywitness" (U Entertainment, April 23):

I was appalled to find a very pointed slur directed at President Bush in the midst of an account of the premiere of the film "Akeelah and the Bee." I have come to expect the derogatory commentary regarding the president that substitutes for intelligent criticism on the editorial pages of the Daily News.

That it was considered appropriate, let alone necessary, to include a snide remark in the midst of a gossip column as well is frankly astonishing. What's next on the agenda - insulting Bush in the sports or real estate section?

- Autumn Olson

Simi Valley

Abortion targets

Re "`Bad' women real target of abortion laws" (Viewpoint, April 23):

Am I the only one who noticed the ironic contradiction in Mariel Garza's "Bad Women" article when she rants and raves about how the right to an abortion should be protected and then goes on to say, "I think everybody agrees that the killing of babies, even teeny weeny cell-cluster ones, is definitely not cool. Abortions are terrible, horrible and painful things ... ."

- Danelle Mills

Santa Clarita

Roll back subsidies

Our government has power to protect our citizens from the plundering they are suffering at the hands of the greedy oil companies and their obscene profits and also from the greedy speculators who are manipulating the oil futures prices. The government has exercised control over the stock markets to maintain better equity for all investors, and they could find a way to protect consumers from the oil gougers as well.

Consumers, as taxpayers, have been forced by the government to provide subsidies to the oil producers, refiners and distributors, and the time has come for those debts to be repaid before the runaway oil prices further skew our economy, which in all other respects is doing great.

- Ralph Smathers

Newhall

Everything is legal

Bush ordering a probe into gas price-gouging is an oxymoron. The only thing he is going to tell his oil company cronies is to make sure they don't actually get caught gouging.

- Carolyn Whitehead

Canyon Country

Trash to cops

I would like to thank the city for replacing my trash cans. But I have just one question: What was wrong with the ones you took? Perhaps if the city would only replace those that need replacing, they wouldn't have to raise the trash fee to fund more police officers. What a concept.

- Marv Williams

Chatsworth