PUBLIC FORUM.

Quick to judge

Re ```Warrior' bent in LAPD'' (Nov. 13):

After viewing 20 seconds of tape, Connie Rice has condemned the officers' actions, although there is no way to tell what precipitated the incident. Rice and her fellow travelers, like the ACLU, think of police use of force in this context: Any use of force is excessive. Catching it on camera is proof of excessive force. No matter what really happened, the officers involved must be severely punished, fired, prosecuted and convicted.

If Rice and the ACLU have their way, police response to force will be a statement, ``Please turn around and put your hands behind your back to be handcuffed or just run away. No one will chase you.'' Only criminals -- along with Rice and her ilk -- would like that.

-- John R. Schlank

Granada Hills

Police violence

I saw on television the picture of two officers trying to arrest a gang thug. The picture shows me that the officers were just trying to arrest yet another gang member. The Daily News on Saturday showed that 67 percent agree with what happened, so what is the problem?

There are about 30,000 gang members and 9,000 police officers. That shows me that the gang members have the advantage. These officers are trying to work with one hand tied behind their backs.

-- Edward Elks

Panorama City

A little help

What the William Cardenas' video on YouTube.com needs is a soundtrack, the old Beatles' tune: ``Baby You're a Rich Man.''

-- Julian T. Nguyen

Reseda

Dog food lawsuit

Re ``Joke on taxpayers is dog food prank'' (Their Opinions, Nov. 14):

Although I might tend to agree with Jennifer Solis' assessment of the frivolous nature of the lawsuit brought by Tennie Pierce, how is a bond created among firefighters (or any other group, for that matter) by feeding a co-worker dog food?

Firefighting, hard, difficult and dangerous work. To compare this kind of childish behavior to questionable fraternity hazing is both naive and disingenuous. Serious discussion, fellowship and the recognition of dependence upon one another are but a few ways to bond and develop trust. Dog food should not be part of the equation and to profess otherwise is as ridiculous as the lawsuit itself.

-- Rodney K. Boswell

Thousand Oaks 

Unbelievable

Re ``City to pay $2.7 million for prank'' (Nov. 9):

Tennie Pierce should be fired from the LAFD, no pension or $2.7 million for nothing. All City Council members, except Dennis Zine, should be recalled. And the city legal department should be fired. I no longer want to live in the city of Los Angeles.

-- William C. Mitchell

Sun Valley

Quality for a change

Re ``Big 3 to seek help, but not a bailout'' (Business, Nov. 14):

So the Big 3 automakers in the U.S. are meeting with the president to try to get taxpayers' money from the federal government to save their companies. May I say, Duh! The reason Toyota and Honda are selling so many cars and trucks is they build a quality product. This is unlike the American auto companies, who put out products that require constant maintenance.

I owned an American luxury car that required maintenance constantly and it never cost less than $500 every time. Silly me. I now own four Toyota cars and trucks and have not had a $500 cost for an entire year for the whole fleet. Let those clowns handle their own problems (they made them) and let them try to put out quality products for a change.

-- Vinton M. Lampton

Agua Dulce 

Moral pollution

Re ``Showbiz causing real-life pollution'' (Nov. 14):

So, a UCLA study has finally determined that there is a lot of air pollution being generated by ``Hollywood,'' aka the film and television industry.

Add that to the moral and cultural pollution already being generated by the movie and television industry and our society has a gigantic and real pollution problem.

-- Charles O'Connell

Stevenson Ranch 

Ought to be a law

Re ``City to pay $2.7 million for prank'' (Nov. 9):

Over $2.5 million for eating a little dog food in a frat house-type prank. Makes me wonder how much our city will give the poor little gang member that was beaten after trying to outrun the cops. If you run from the cops and get caught, you should get beaten. How do we make that a law?

-- Tom Waisanen

Shadow Hills

Adult education

Re ``LAUSD consolidates programs'' (Nov. 12):

Every Angeleno should be concerned about LAUSD's ``program consolidations.'' Yes, we need to do more to shrink the district's high school dropout rate. But not at the expense of the 450,000 adult education students who take day or evening classes to learn English, learn parenting skills, take citizenship classes, etc.

If you think it's important that drivers be able to read English, that parents be able to help their kids with homework and speak to their kids' teachers in English, that voters be able to understand English, that the standard of living be raised by workers understanding and speaking English, then you should support the current funding and emphasis of LAUSD's adult education programs.

-- Jeff Myers

San Pedro

Antonovich responds

Re ``L.A. studies divorce from county'' (Tipoff, Nov. 13):

The Rick Orlov article about the city of Los Angeles exploring the idea of becoming its own county raises an interesting question. What would their name be with the founding of Los Angeles County predating Los Angeles city?

The county's history began 235 years ago with the founding of the San Gabriel Mission by Father Junipero Serra. In 1850, California became a state and Los Angeles County was incorporated by the state. Later that year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors incorporated its first city, the city of Los Angeles.

-- Michael D. Antonovich 

Los Angeles County supervisor

State of the country

Re ``Fuzzy-headed liberals'' (Your Opinions, Nov. 10):

So the Democrats and liberals are to blame for all that ails America. Who led this country for the past six years? Certainly not the liberals. We didn't have control of anything. It was the GOP right-wingers who lied to the citizens of the USA.

Did you ever stop to think that GWB and his cronies are responsible for the state of this country? Who spent away our surplus, invaded Iraq, lied to us about the reasons for that ill- fated venture, put us so far in debt that generations upon generations from now our descendents will still be paying off the debt? The rest of us didn't, and that is why the conservatives are packing up and heading home.

-- Wayne Coughtry

Palmdale

Great leaders?

Iraq has been dismantled without a plan. The story that anyone can take something apart, but putting it back together is another problem must be true. I guess that simple story is true about Humpty Dumpty: ``All the king's men could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again ... .''

I for one feel very sad for the average person and children of Iraq ... and our great committed soldiers.

-- Hugh Tate

Palmdale

Elections over and ...

The elections are finally over (or just beginning, for that matter). Guess what? The gasoline prices are up, by 7 cents, so far. Duh. Told you so!

-- Ray P. Keesler

La Crescenta