PUBLIC FORUM.Hard work, low pay Re ``Civil-service pay'' (Your Opinions, Aug. 21): Bob Driscoll claims the average pay of a federal civilian employee is $106,579 a year compared with $53,289 for a private worker, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Those government figures must be about doctors, nurses and upper-management staff. It takes the lower federal civil-service workers 30 to 40 years to make it to $40,000. Have those in the private sector forgotten that government workers pay federal and state taxes too? I am retired and I still pay taxes! It isn't easy working for the federal government. The pay wasn't that good for the hard work that I did, but it was worth it to be with the veterans and assist them with their lives. -- Brynie Brackin Pacoima Identifying God Re ``Local mosques open doors to the curious, explain Islam'' (Aug. 21): Rev. Gwynne Gulbord, head of ecumenical and interreligious concerns for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is a community of 85,000 Episcopalians in 147 congregations, 39 schools, and 18 major institutions, spanning all of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and part of Riverside County. , says: ``We have come to be afraid of and demonize de·mon·ize tr.v. de·mon·ized, de·mon·iz·ing, de·mon·iz·es 1. To turn into or as if into a demon. 2. To possess by or as if by a demon. 3. the other, forgetting that we are all children of the holy -- whatever we may call that, whether it is Buddha or Allah or Elohim or God or Jesus.'' Then, in the same piece, Heather Atkinson, a Woodland Hills attorney, asks about the Islamic symbols Islamic symbols are non-textual and non-verbal visual symbols that have been used, or are used, to express identification with Islam or a particular tradition within Islam, to evoke feelings of joy, sadness, devotion, etc., or even to stand for beliefs and ideas. she saw in the prayer hall. ``What does this one say?'' she asked. ``There is no God but Allah,'' is the response. Clearly the Muslim faith and the Reseda mosque do not have any ambiguity or conflict in identifying who their God is. Perhaps the Episcopal Church of the United States should take notice. -- Camelle M. Read La Canada Flintridge Hollywood justice Re ``Mel Gibson gets three years' probation'' (Aug. 17): If my son were caught driving under the influence and having an open liquor container, would he get away with the ``sentence'' that Gibson got? Guess if you have money for a good lawyer, you can get away with breaking the law. -- Evelyn Kaufman Studio City None of the above Re Online poll, Aug 21: How could any Daily News reader intelligently respond to Monday's question: ``Do you believe Karr's confession?'' Only David Karr knows the answer right now, and only the investigating officers have any clue as to its authenticity. The proper answer to the poll is ``don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. ,'' but unfortunately, that wasn't included. -- Jack Allen Pacific Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). No reason to gripe gripe v. To have sharp pains in the bowels. n. 1. gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels. 2. A firm hold; a grasp. Re ``Gripe central'' (Aug 21): I take exception to the Daily News' opinion that Metro is shortchanging the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. when it comes to providing transit service. All transit agencies schedule service levels that match the ridership demand. Only one of Metro's high-bus-ridership corridors -- Van Nuys Boulevard -- is in the Valley, and it isn't even in the top 10 systemwide. If the Valley had as many people riding the bus as does the central core of Los Angeles, we would also have service as frequent as that part of the region. -- Kymberleigh Richards Chair, Metro San Fernando Valley Governance Council Chatsworth Raising the risk Re ``Judge rules no-warrant wiretapping A form of eavesdropping involving physical connection to the communications channels to breach the confidentiality of communications. For example, many poorly-secured buildings have unprotected telephone wiring closets where intruders may connect unauthorized wires to listen in on phone is unlawful'' (Aug. 18): The ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. works hard to protect the rights of criminal defendants. They shopped around for a judge who would rule that the government can't listen to calls coming in from Pakistan, and got the protection they wanted for future defendants. They also raised the odds that Daily News readers will be killed by terrorists. People are working diligently on plans for nuclear, chemical and biological attacks on New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Baltimore, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Judge (Anna) Diggs Taylor has ruled that the government can't track those plots the way the British did to keep thousands from dying over the Atlantic. -- Mike Nowland Simi Valley Love it, or ... Recently there has been an increase in letters to the editor bashing President Bush. There is no question that the White House has made some errors and that everyone is entitled to an opinion, but does open hostility serve any purpose? People who are extremely upset with our great country must remember that it is not a crime to leave. -- Richard Promen Chatsworth |
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