PUBLIC FORUM.

Dream on

Re ``Mayor's cure for poverty'' (Jan. 26):

Dave Thompson said, ``Villaraigosa is a dreamer. He's not realistic. He loves publicity.''

Yes, Villaraigosa dreams -- of becoming the first Hispanic president. He is not realistic? Wrong. He is very, very realistic. He promises this and that and he already knows that his promises cannot be kept, and when he fails he will point the blame of his failure on someone else.

He does love publicity (see Hispanic president). Where is the money coming from for all these plans? Ask Antonio and let's hear what he says.

-- Dante F. Rochetti

West Hills

Offset this

Re ```Carbon neutral' the latest rage'' (Feb. 1):

Apparently Al Gore is in Paris where he is presenting his new strategy for reducing global warming. This new strategy is called ``offsetting,'' in which individuals are encouraged to participate in environmentally friendly strategies elsewhere in the world to offset their own pollution-producing activities.

I am hereby submitting my offsetting strategy. I suggest that Al Gore stay in France, which will result in a lot less hot air being produced in America.

-- Steve Soderstrom 

West Hills

Chicken Little

Re ``Leading scientists blame humans for global warming'' (Feb. 2):

Imagine two shamans discussing the vanishing ice sheets over most of the U.S. at the end of the last ice age, circa 100,000 years ago.

``Dr. Erog, what will we do? The Merced glacier is retreating in Yosemite and in a few centuries Half Dome will be totally visible and that town called Atlantis, after the dikes are breached, will be under hundreds of feet of water! The sky is falling, the sky is falling!''

-- Hermon Esmer

Woodland Hills

Fix it or dump it

Re ``Does wimp factor ail councils'' (Jan. 29):

Most amusing was the comment by Rob Glushon about how he ``captured control'' of the Encino Neighborhood Council. What he did was add another dysfunctional personality to a group of disparate interests and personalities who argue over process instead of working on progress.

Glushon and his cronies are the definition of why the neighborhood-council system fails: there is just enough power to be dangerous, but not enough to be worthwhile and effective. Compromise is a word used only when they do not have enough votes to win an issue. I sat on the Encino Neighborhood Council for five-plus years and have visited others. My conclusion is what a waste of time and our tax dollars. It is time to re-evaluate this system and either fix it or dump it.

-- Hank Yuloff

Encino

Rigged game

Re ``Council ducks wage fight'' (Feb. 1):

Can you spell bait and switch? How much in taxes is this going to cost me?

-- Marty Klein 

North Hollywood

The smell of money

Re ``Mayor brokers deal with hotels -- but taxpayers may get the bill'' (Feb. 1):

Our mayor wants more money, so does our City Council, so does the LAUSD. It's nothing new anymore. It's becoming a way of life and very ho-hum for our politicians because people think the politicians are going to do something positive with the money they get from us. Don't be fooled. At election time, vote no on anything that smells like money.

-- Joe Pinoy Lozano

Mission Hills

Don't think food

When people think of pigs, they think of bacon or pork chops or hot dogs, but pigs are smart and affectionate and should be appreciated as living beings, and not killed to provide meat for our tables.

-- Anthony Montapert

North Hollywood