PUBLIC FORUM.The draft Re ``Bush supports an expansion of armed forces'' (Dec. 20): In this article, there were two important words missing, the draft. The military cannot possibly recruit the necessary number of service people needed, especially ground forces, solely by the volunteer system in place now. Although no one cares for the draft, it may serve as a benefit in a number of ways. Not only would the draft bring troop numbers to the desired level, but it could also act as a means to rid us of our current social problems of jail overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. and gang infestation infestation /in·fes·ta·tion/ (-fes-ta´shun) parasitic attack or subsistence on the skin and/or its appendages, as by insects, mites, or ticks; sometimes used to denote parasitic invasion of the organs and tissues, as by helminths. . It would also give the children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants, as well as legal immigrants of draft age, a chance to do what youths did in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and all other conflicts America has been involved in: prove their allegiance to the U.S. -- Steve Page Studio City Common-sense world Re ``Fever-dream visions'' (Your Opinions, Dec. 20): Dana Gabbard apparently suffers from the illusion that lumbering buses and trolley cars move ``quickly, quietly and efficiently.'' This kind of nonsense created the worst traffic congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. in the nation for the past 18 straight years. Consequently, the time has come to awaken the ``transit experts'' from their nightmarish dreams of yesteryear yes·ter·year n. 1. The year before the present year. 2. Time past; yore. yes . It's now time to enter the real world of common sense by getting on top of our traffic problems and moving Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. quickly, quietly and efficiently into the 21st century with an ultra-modern monorail monorail, railway system that uses cars that run on a single rail. Typically the rail is run overhead and the cars are either suspended from it or run above it. system. -- Robert L. Rosebrock Brentwood This outfit ... Re ``Construction firms must pay MTA'' (Dec. 19): Yet another article of Tutor/Saliba Corp. getting into legal problems. Can this outfit build anything without using substandard materials, being late, going way over budget and using fake, inflated billing, etc., etc., etc.? You could probably have this company bid $800 for a doghouse that would end up costing $400,000 and being completed two years after your dog died. Also, how come I didn't read anything about criminal charges being sought against those responsible for submitting false billing False billing is a fraudulent act of invoicing or otherwise requesting funds from an individual or firm without showing obligation to pay. Such notices are often sent to owners of domain names, purporting to be legitimate renewal notices, although not originating from the owner's statements in a court record to try to alter the verdict? Or does Ron Tutor have our district attorney in his pocket, like many other L.A. politicians -- George Timko West Hills Zombie A computer that has been covertly taken over in order to perform some nefarious task. It is estimated that millions of PCs around the world have been compromised and, under the control of a third party, routinely transmit messages unbeknownst to the user. policies ``Failure in Iraq would be a calamity,'' Robert Gates said after he was installed as secretary of defense. He echoed the Cheney-Bush-Rumsfeld delusion that we still have the possibility of not failing. The fact is that the neocon ne·o·con n. Informal A neoconservative: "The neocons and hard-liners have long felt that no Soviet leader could be trusted" New York Times. gamble in Iraq has failed. It's lost. We're toast. Why? Two words: Abu Ghraib. We lost all legitimacy. Dismissal of the Geneva Conventions by Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush and Alberto Gonzales certified that Abu Ghraib wasn't just the misdeed of a few ``bad apples.'' Tactically, by disbanding the Iraqi army, by turning loose thousands of men with guns and no way to feed their families, they provided overwhelming force to the insurgency. The Bush administration's policies are zombies Zombies Companies that continue to operate even though they are insolvent. Also known as living dead. Notes: It's advisable to avoid investing in zombies at all costs their life expectancies are highly unpredictable. -- dead bodies walking around, unaware that they have died. -- Bruce Joffe Piedmont The people's choice Re ``Party of principles'' (Your Opinions, Dec. 17): A truly principled Republican governor would use his constitutionally given powers to better his state and the nation according to the principles in which he believes. That means he would appoint a qualified person who shares his principles. Since he is Republican, chances are that choice would be a Republican. The constitution empowers him to select whomever whom·ev·er pron. The objective case of whoever. See Usage Note at who. whomever pron the objective form of whoever: he deems best, and it makes no suggestion or implication that he should match the party affiliation to that of the exiting senator. If he were inclined to follow the wishes of the people, he could note that the last time the people of South Dakota elected a senator, they elected a Republican. Why should he not follow that indication of the people's preference? -- Gregg Frazer Castaic |
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