PUBLIC FORUM.

Someone will steal it

Re "Betraying the neediest" (Our Opinions, Aug. 9):

The Department of Children and Family Services stumbles around the bureaucratic maze and rips off the taxpayers. Years ago I was charged with buying supplies for the company I worked for. A supplier of copy machine toner offered to send a 21-inch color TV to my house if I bought 50 cartridges. Imagine how much of a kickback someone got for buying 3,000-plus. There is this belief I have that, "if you give our government some money ... someone will steal it."

I think that all government employees (and celebrities, too) should be held to a higher standard. These guys are not stealing from one person, they are stealing from 6 million county taxpayers.

-- Bill Merriman

Tujunga

Squander our money

Re "Betraying the neediest" (Our Opinions, Aug. 9):

Betraying the neediest is not all they are doing. They are depriving some of us senior citizens of our quality of life services that are also down to nothing because these people want to, and do, squander our money away.

It's management's fault. The workers only do what you let them get away with. Fire them all and start with a new batch.

-- Joe Pinoy Lozano

Mission Hills

Strong opposition

Re "Las Lomas may pay L.A. for staff time" (Aug. 8):

The residents of the North San Fernando Valley and points north need to wake up and come out in strong opposition to the pending Las Lomas minicity project (Palmer Investments) scheduled for the intersection of the 5 and 14 freeways.

This massive project, if allowed to go through, will change your life as you know it now. It's not to late to voice your opposition.

-- Sandy Beckler

Granada Hills

Brave and principled?

Re "Sherman Responds" (Your Opinions, Aug. 8):

After reading Brad Sherman's response, my opinion of him just got a little lower. He's just engaged in a little "If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have ... ."

Sherman didn't know that he was authorizing war, he thought he was only giving the president the power to make empty threats? Puleeze! By the way, Brad, when resolutions fail, they become irrelevant. I think Sherman is trying to cover up the fact that the Democrat-controlled Congress just gave the president greater wire-tapping authority, a position that many in his party and The New York Times find unpalatable, and now he wants to appear brave and principled.

-- Al Kholos

Winnetka

Let's be fair

Re "Barry Bonds -- 756" (Aug. 8):

Let's be fair. Make that, "Barry Bonds 729 -- Balco 27."

-- Johnny Gunn

Morro Bay

An old adage

Barry Bonds disproves an old adage. Sometimes cheaters do prosper.

-- Joseph Morigi

Northridge

He is no Hank

Re "Barry Bonds -- 756" (Aug. 8):

Surely the masses are not taking Barry Bonds' 756th steroid-driven home run seriously. He is no Hank Aaron.

-- Betty Arenson

Valencia

Sports fans

Re "Barry Bonds -- 756" (Aug. 8):

Regarding Bonds alleged steroid-assisted home run record, American sports fans are unanimously consistent, "He's guilty until proven innocent."

-- Bob Ginn

Arcadia

Taxing hedge funds 

Re "Where are Dems of past" (Aug. 8):

Kudos to Richard Cohen for his column. Hedge funds have over a trillion dollars of assets, which are used to buy and sell hundreds of companies and in doing so, affect our jobs, the price we pay for goods, interest we pay for loans, the health of the stock market, etc.

Thanks to the generosity of George W. Bush, hedge funds' profits, mostly capital gains, are taxed only up to 15 percent and any attempt by Congress to change this has been futile because the funds can afford to pay for the best lobbyists and wealthiest war chests. To make up the difference in tax revenues, this administration has to fleece the poor and retirees like me.

-- Gus L. Keolanui

Woodland Hills

Model of democracy

There are no longer any Sunni members of the Iraqi administrative branch. They have all resigned. This means that Iraq is entirely Shiite-controlled. Like Iran.

This is a democratic, representative government?

-- Sharon Graham

Huntington Beach