PUBLIC FORUM.

No duty to protect

Re "Gridlock, gangs top concerns" and "Suspects hide for hours in garage" (April 28):

Yikes. Concern about violent gangs. Two bank robbers in the garage, and the homeowner can't get through to the police. A reminder of the riots 15 years ago when we learned the police have no duty to protect us. Meanwhile, you could turn in your piece for peace, though predictably no criminals came forth.

The article stating an "SSK assault rifle was turned in along with enough ammunition to blow away 59 bystanders" indicates your agenda is showing. I doubt the father who turned it in was in danger of using it, though he violated the law by bringing it there. Also, I believe you meant SKS.

-- Lenee Landis

Sylmar

Ceding the streets

I got a good laugh from a TV news piece about the anniversary of the L.A. riots. The reporter stated that the Los Angeles Police Department "temporarily ceded the streets." The word "temporarily" is what gave me the laugh. Here in the San Fernando Valley, gangs and criminals rob local stores, break in and trash homes and steal numerous vehicles by the hour, people drive as fast and as illegally as possible, and God forbid you call 911 about the crackheads arguing in front of your house; you'll get yelled at for making a "nonemergency" call.

The ceding of these streets by the LAPD continues full-time here in the Valley, where residents delude themselves into thinking all that will go away by changing their town name to Lake Balboa.

-- David Dills

Van Nuys

Al Gore was right

Re "Major meltdown" (April 29):

Your April 29 edition showed a picture of a collapsed roadway. The article said it was due to an explosion and fire caused by a crashed gasoline truck. No, you got that all wrong. The "meltdown" was caused by global warming.

Gee, Al Gore was right after all.

-- Leonard E. McGinnis

Granada Hills

Tenet's book

Re "Rice challenges ex-CIA chief on allegations" (April 30):

In the case of attacking Iraq without any credible evidence, former CIA Director George Tenet was probably telling the truth about CIA findings. On the other hand, former national security adviser Condoleezza Rice ignored 56 CIA warnings regarding Osama bin Ladin and other terrorist threats to our country.

As to Tenet playing the victim and allegedly being distressed about the more than 3,350 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, his $4 million book deal is ludicrous, since he played right along with going to war and accepting the Medal of Freedom. Nothing was stopping him from resigning or warning the nation. For Tenet, his book is more for the benefit of the "CYA" than the CIA.

-- Jerold Drucker

Tarzana

Party of victory?

Re "Dems still party of defeat" (Their Opinions, April 30):

Rich Lowry using the phrase "party of defeat" to describe the Democrats just won't fly. The Republicans have controlled all three branches of government for more than five years. Except for that disgraceful "Mission Accomplished" photo op, there has been nothing to suggest that the GOP is the "party of victory." On the contrary, the Republicans are the ones who have engineered this nearly hopeless mess. Our troops are in the middle of a civil war in a place where al-Qaida could not exist without our presence to incite the local populace.

The Democrats are still willing to give the president all the money he's asking for. They just want him and the Iraqis to account for it by showing us some accomplishments. What is defeatist about that? Does "victory" demand a blank check indefinitely into the future?

-- Robert C. Von Bargen

Santa Monica

Losing the truth

Re "Dems still party of defeat" (Their Opinions, April 30):

Rich Lowry is a manipulative, transparent buffoon. America has been in Iraq for more than four years now, and nothing positive has happened except that Saddam Hussein's statue has been overthrown. More than 3,000 American lives sacrificed just to topple a statue. Even Gen. Petraeus was less than positive about our progress in his message to Congress last week.

Admittedly, while the general didn't use the word "lost," if you read between the lines that is exactly the feeling you were left with. I wish the conservative "wrong"-wing columnists would get their truths together and not try to pull a fast one over the eyes of the American public.

-- Gene Cofsky

Tarzana

No amnesty

We need to start protecting our country and way of life that we and other American citizens before us have worked so hard to achieve.

Current immigration proposals are similar to the 1986 amnesty for illegal aliens. Most citizens I know are opposed to any form of amnesty for illegals. Call the current immigration proposals whatever you want, but the American people understand what "amnesty" means. We can no longer be the backbone for the Mexican economy. I believe that now is the time for society to stop catering to the special interests and activist groups and to start standing up for American citizens and the immigrants who are here legally.

-- Earl E. Smith

Burbank

Virginia Tech shooting

I don't understand the Bush administration's reaction to the Virginia Tech shooting.

On the day of the shooting, the administration had the FBI, CIA, U.S. military, National Guard, French Foreign Legion, British commandos and even the guy from the grassy knoll on the scene, but when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, only the local police were left to help for days.

-- Jerry Pennington

Van Nuys

May Day

When I was a child growing up in a small town in Wisconsin, we used to leave May baskets on the steps of our friends and neighbors to celebrate May 1. A May basket was usually made by hand from construction paper and filled with flowers like violets and dandelions -- whatever we could find. It was rather like the reverse of Halloween, when we tended to soap windows. I think it's a nicer way to celebrate than ditching school and jamming streets and freeways!

-- Margy Lee

Northridge

Not just a lie

Re "Penalty for sex, war" (Your Opinions, April 30):

Bill Clinton was not impeached because he lied about having an affair with a woman who was not his wife. Once again, Bill Clinton was impeached because he lied at the Paula Jones trial. He was found in contempt of court by the judge and fined $80,000.

-- Philip Crispi

Glendale

Dumb or astute?

Some five years ago, a dumb president called George W. Bush declared that three countries made up the axis of terror -- Iraq, Iran and North Korea. If you notice, today North Korea has detonated a nuclear device and is blackmailing the Far East, Iran is progressing toward a nuclear device, and the world is having a fit. Iraq is in the middle of a religious war and is providing combat experience to various mad sects of Iraqis, Iranians and others.

Now is he really dumb or astute? I guess it depends on whether you are sensible or a Democrat.

-- Joseph Nicassio

Valencia

Oh spray can you see?

I've noticed that graffiti have greatly proliferated over the last couple of years. Virtually every entrance and exit to the city are now covered with graffiti. The authorities need to do something about this eyesore and those who cause it. I know Mayor Villaraigosa is aware of the problem as your paper has photographed him at nearly all of the places I've spotted it. Hey, wait a minute ... ?

-- Bruce Jones

Eagle Rock