PUBLIC FORUM.

$2.7 million prank

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

Again, the useless individuals on the City Council are wasting our tax dollars on a payoff to some low-life attorney and his girlie-man fireman client. Give the guy a hundred bucks so he can buy himself a steak dinner, a bottle of wine and a crying towel.

And to all you bleeding heart, PC, bark-munching liberals who think this was a prank along the lines of a Ku Klux Klan incident, get the hell out of my country because you're ruining it.

-- Bob Budworth

Woodland Hills

Degrading the LAFD 

Re ``Death Row possible for fireman'' (Nov. 9):

Why is it that a murderer is identified by his profession? Did the murder occur in the line of duty? What exactly did this have to do with his line of work? It is interesting that his job is specified in the headline. The fact that any human being is capable of this horrific brutality is unimaginable. However, by focusing on his position with the LAFD you are degrading the more than 3,000 firefighters on the job in the city of Los Angeles.

-- Holly Bohn

Newbury Park

Levels of violence

Re ``LAPD violence: Same old story?'' (Nov. 10):

William Cardenas was probably fortunate his arrest incident wasn't worse. My 22-year-old grandson was shot four times in a minor arrest in January 2002. Thanks to two Valley officers, his life now has disabilities.

-- Larry Bauer

Encino

Prop. R lawsuit

Re ``Prop. R passes easily'' (Nov. 8):

I would like to publicly applaud David Hernandez for taking up the gauntlet and continuing the lawsuit against Proposition R after resident Neal Donner, et al. (who filed the original lawsuit) pulled out. It takes a lot of courage and money to fight City Hall.

Shame on the League of Women Voters, the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce and the City Council for not having the knowledge and foresight to prevent this type of litigation. Had they listened to the advice of the attorney general, passed it by the Ethics Commission, or worked a little harder at ``trying to get the details right,'' the residents of Los Angeles would have been spared the aggravation of another proposition ending up in the courts.

-- Donna Connolly

Sherman Oaks

LAPD response times

Re ``LAPD flex schedule'' (Your Opinions, Nov. 3):

I've lived in MacArthur Park area for 50 years. LAPD response time for nonemergency calls is two to four hours and sometimes never.

-- Max Rosenfeld

Los Angeles

Election aftermath

Wow ... have you noticed the difference between the aftermath of this election and previous ones? When the Democrats lost (as in 2004, 2002, 2000, etc.) all you heard afterward was that the election was stolen, ballots weren't counted, there was voter suppression, etc. Lots of blame on everyone but themselves.

This time, the Republicans lose and you hear them admit how they blew it, accompanied by gracious concession speeches. Hmmm. Civility may return to Washington, but certainly not because there's Democrats in control of Congress. Only because Republicans aren't and are big enough to realize it.

-- Pat Knepley

Simi Valley 

Left out

I read your article on the front page of the Nov. 7 issue ``Snapshots of the Valley'' with great interest. I have one complaint: When you mentioned the numerous districts of the valley, you failed to include North Hills.

Although the Realtors got rid of the beautiful name for our area, Sepulveda, North Hills is still part of the San Fernando Valley.

-- Ada Roberts

North Hills

What a weapon

My theory about why both houses of Congress are under Democratic control is not the incompetence, arrogance and stupidity of W. Jr., Dickie boy, Rumcakes or Fried Rice. Not because of the ethics and morals dilemma plaguing the Right. I truly believe that when the author ( I use this term loosely) Ann Coulter aligned herself with the Republicans, they had to say to themselves, ``My God, if she's on our side I'd better vote Democrat.'' What a weapon the Dems had.

-- Davis Brown

Santa Clarita 

Alive and well

While this election was viewed as a referendum on President Bush, it was also a referendum on the judgment and wisdom of the American people. Those who voted made it clear they want a change in course and they stepped up to the plate. Our democracy is alive and well.

-- Richard McCurdy

Burbank

So the Dems won

So the Dems won control. What, no voter fraud? No voter irregularities? Seems to me that the Dems only like the results when it's in their favor. The party with class is the party that is humble in victory and gracious in defeat.

Now if you think the war is going to turn around, remember our enemies still hate us. We are all Americans. We need to vote -- some people around the world would give their lives for just a small percentage of the rights we have, and some already have!

-- Thomas Duran

Mission Hills

Political capital

After the Republicans won the presidency and both houses of Congress in 2004, George A. Bush arrogantly proclaimed that he had won political capital and intended to spend it. Now, two years later, the GOP has lost both houses.

If Bush had earned political capital then, then he is to blame for having squandered it. Admit it, Mr. Bush: You've failed immensely. For once in your life, do the honorable thing and resign.

-- Michael Net

Woodland Hills

Measure Oh

The powers that be can study all they want why Measure H did not pass, but the real reason is that taxpayers are tired of the incremental increases being added on to the housing tax. That is not to say there is not a problem, but the solution is not to put the burden on those who own homes. Also, people are afraid that they would be subsidizing illegal aliens and not citizens of this great country.

-- Charlotte Scipioni

Chatsworth

The spanking option

So, once again George 41 is sending his friends, strategists and policy- makers to bail out his son, little George 43, as they have all of his life.

W. should have been spanked a long time ago by his dad instead of the people of the U.S. recently in the elections. Then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't be in this huge mess domestically and in foreign policy.

-- Davis Brown

Santa Clarita

Their problem

I believe in the phrase ``Help thy neighbor.'' If Canada or Mexico were invaded, we should help them. This war in Iraq is a European problem. This has nothing to do with America. The European people should be spending the billions of dollars and the thousands of lives to solve their problem, not America.

We should be selling them airplanes and tanks and getting wealthy rather than us running up a national debt into the trillions. The same goes for North Korea -- that's not our problem.

-- Stan Niedwicki

Woodland Hills

Ah, diversity

The Daily News is to be congratulated on its choice of ``Your Opinions'' diversity. Although some of the opinions are from the sublime to the ridiculous, at least it proves that democracy does work -- for now.

-- Early D. Horwitz

North Hills