PUBLIC FORUM.

Attacks on officers

Re ``Bratton alarmed by rise in attacks on L.A. officers'' (Aug. 15):

I think that the overwhelming majority of people do support our police. I also think that the majority of elected officials don't. Certainly not by their actions. It's as easy and obvious as figuring out who attacks cops and then allotting resources to solve that problem.

I think the statistics will point toward certain groups or types of people who stand out as the most consistent offenders. Getting guns off the street won't help as criminals will always be able to find guns. The assault rifle used in the latest attack has been banned for many years. Allowing responsible, properly trained citizens the ``right to carry,'' as allowed in the vast majority of states, would also be a step in the right direction.

-- David Silverman 

Chatsworth

Deforming LAUSD 

Re ``Showdown in Sacramento'' (Aug. 15):

How do you deform the Los Angeles Unified School District? By keeping the parents misinformed and out of the loop. The mayor of Los Angeles should be ashamed of himself using parents by recruiting them from shelters, promises to rectify their housing situation, taking them on a trip to Sacramento and not telling them what they are there for. His MO is the same with developing this bill; the amendments keep coming in the dark after closed-door meetings. This is the definition of transparency. Parents are about building communities, not destroying.

-- Zella Knight

Sun Valley

All about power

Re ``Showdown in Sacramento'' (Aug. 15):

If Mayor Villaraigosa really wants to aid education in Los Angeles as well as California he should support school vouchers. As a major player in the state's Democratic Party, which runs California, he could be very influential.

Unfortunately, in the case of the mayor, his only interest is power, political power. Once again the kids take a back seat to political ambition.

-- Lawrence A. Calabro

Northridge

Everybody loses

I am made sick by President Bush's claim that Israel has somehow been victorious in recent battles with Hezbollah rebels and the Lebanese people. Over 800 people are dead, the Lebanese infrastructure lies in ruins, the U.S.-supported democratic Lebanese government has been weakened, the Israeli government is in chaos, and terrorist organizations all over the Middle East have been emboldened. Of greatest importance, further doubts have been cast on America's willingness and ability to resolve conflict before engaging in war.

A humane and effective leader would see that the entire world has lost in this war.

-- Michael Menchaca

Santa Clarita 

Illegal is the problem

Re ``Anti-illegal-immigrant groups multiply'' (Aug. 13):

In reply to your Aug. 13 column by Rachel Uranga. Throughout the long article Rachel quotes several people who talk about people against immigrants. In the third paragraph from the end of the article she says, ``But the intense focus on Latino immigrants, particularly Mexicans, has some worried about fear and anger being stoked in California, home to 2.1 million illegal immigrants.''

Then she quotes in the last two paragraphs where Pachon is talking about the problems immigrants are causing in California, ending the article with the impression that immigrants are the problem. Dead wrong. It's the people who are in this country illegally that are the problem, not immigrants. That's what has the country worked up.

-- Cecil Hatfield

Thousand Oaks 

Councilmen respond

Re ``Self-serving council'' (Our Opinions, Aug. 14):

The decision to hold the $1.5 billion street-repair initiative until a later election was indeed made because of the large number of bonds on the ballot. We predict that many of those bonds will be defeated, and our proposal to repave 60 percent of Los Angeles' broken streets in eight years is too important to lose.

The goals of the initiative have tremendous support, including a unanimous vote of support by the Local Issues Committee of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association. By waiting, we feel voters would be able to judge the initiative, and the broad benefits it would bring, fairly and on its own merits.

-- Greig Smith and Tony Cardenas

Councilmen

Los Angeles

Casino workers pact

Re ``Unions denounce governor's deal with tribe'' (Aug. 9):

The Agua Caliente compact's labor protections allow organization by casino workers, and are identical to those in compacts signed by Gray Davis. The compact includes strong protections for the employees and patrons, including compliance with federal health and safety standards, participation in the state's unemployment insurance compensation system, participation in the state's workers' compensation system (or a comparable program that complies with the recent reforms), and dispute resolution provisions.

The $1.8 billion that this agreement will contribute to the state General Fund can be used to improve roads and schools, public health programs, and social services for all Californians.

-- Andrea Hoch

Legal affairs secretary

Office of the Governor

Called up

Last week a kid at work was ``called up'' to return to active duty. Presumably he will be deployed to build up security at LAX for a month or so. He returned to the U.S. in January of this year (in one piece) after proudly serving four years in Iraq as a weapons sergeant, including doing time in Fallujah. He has shared with us stories of sand in everything, drinking water that is always warm, and showers that are always cold. He spared us the gore, but when talking about Iraq, he gets a haunted look in his eyes.

Phillipe is the guy who would work until he dropped and still have a good attitude. He and his wife are expecting their second child in two weeks. If he is sent back to Iraq instead, what are the chances that this young man/father/inspiration will come back alive? Not fair, and not right.

-- Jennifer Rabuchin

Burbank

European legacy

Europe's long experience in international affairs gave us over 150 million dead during the 20th century. Its legacy is a poisoned posterity. Look at the news: Israeli children live in bomb shelters and come out to write messages on shells that will be shot into Hezbollah neighborhoods and Hezbollah and Hamas children practice handling explosives-laden vests so they can become martyrs.

They're trapped by events that took place before they were born in places they've never visited, driven by ideologies they do not understand. That's our collective gift to them. Where is the serious diplomatic effort to cut out the roots of the problem? Why do we always get a patchwork solution that provides a momentary salve until those who perpetuated the fraud can retire to write their memoirs?

-- Walt Meares

Burbank

Fighting corrosion

Re ``Corroded pipeline?'' (Your Opinions, Aug. 15):

Were corrosion that simple to detect and to take care of. Cathodic engineers are fighting this battle continually. Anything that can corrode will tend to go back to its natural original state. With the Alaskan pipeline, however, the problem is even more complicated with the northern lights applying an electromagnetic field to exposed pipe while the pipe below ground requires a different electrical charge.

To keep corrosion from happening, the electrical charge on the pipeline must be kept negative with respect to ground. This means that material will be drawn to the pipe and not away from it. This is the basic theory; the application is far more complex.

-- Dave Whitelaw

Eagle Rock