PUBLIC FORUM.Terri Schiavo's death At last Terri Schiavo Theresa Marie "Terri" Schiavo (December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), from St. Petersburg, Florida, United States was a woman who suffered brain damage and became dependent on a feeding tube. will have peace and comfort. No longer will we be saddened by her helpless image splashed daily across every TV screen in America by a cold and ruthless news media. No longer will she be the focus of every talk show in the country and abroad. No longer a victim of court rulings that left her to starve to death. God, in his mercy, has made the final ruling and taken Terri into his arms, putting an end to a shameful political and media circus. Rest in peace, dear lady, you certainly deserve the best. - John Turner Granada Hills Right-to-lifers Now that Terri has passed away, I wonder how many of those protesters have a living will that states do not feed me if I'm in a persistent vegetative state persistent vegetative state: see under coma, in medicine. (or words to that effect). - Jean Strauber Encino Culture of death The culture of death has been victorious again. What's next on their agenda? - Kelly A. Dunnahoo Saugus Robes and uniforms The judges in their black uniforms who, through their words or lack of words, condemned Terri Schiavo to death by starvation based on the hearsay hearsay: see evidence. that she uttered some words to not wanting life support when she was too young to have the life experiences to make that kind of decision, bring back to my mind the images of the Nazis in their black uniforms who condemned my mother to death at Auschwitz because in addition to being a Jew she suffered from tuberculosis and was no longer fit to even serve as a slave laborer. What a sad state of affairs when a disabled woman is guarded by policemen - not to save her life but to assure no one would be able to save it. - Ralph Moratz Panorama City Sound bites Gullible right-wingers have been easily manipulated into a hysterical frenzy by Fox News, talk radio and their ilk. Witness Kenneth A. Eaton's wildly inappropriate charge that ``Political correctness'' is the reason for Terri Schiavo's situation (Your Opinions, March 29). Eaton should take off the blinders blind·er n. 1. blinders A pair of leather flaps attached to a horse's bridle to curtail side vision. Also called blinkers. 2. Something that serves to obscure clear perception and discernment. and see that Republicans control all three branches of federal government, Florida's ruler is King George II's own brother, and that their laws dictate the judges' decrees. No one else has power in this case because sadly no one else in is power - it's a Republican monopoly. Notice that the GOP grandstanders who flew in for a Washington weekend did nothing to change the pertinent laws - instead opting for sound bites and Fox face time. - Bob Deluca Calabasas Playing God The family of Terry Schiavo started playing God when they first put the feeding tube feeding tube n. A flexible tube that is inserted through the pharynx and into the esophagus and stomach and through which liquid food is passed. in her body. The medical people, the governmental kings and queens made a circus of this tragedy in the media. Everyone should be outraged at the abuse this patient has been put through. Even if she can't feel the pain of this abuse, it is still being done to her. The government has to stop getting into our personal lives. A high school student in South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. that had the plug pulled last week after being shot didn't have the same media coverage but still died when they stopped the feeding. Why is this not one of Rev. Jesse's photo ops? Why just Terry Schiavo and not all the others? - Michael Hines West Hills DWP DWP Department of Work and Pensions (UK) DWP Drinking Water Program DWP Dynamic Weapon Pricing (gamin, Counter-Strike: Source) DWP Department of Water & Power DWP Drinking Water Protection agreement Re ``Neighborhood councils reach deal with DWP'' (March 31): The people of this city are just beginning to realize the power that they have with their Neighborhood Councils. This agreement signifies the voice of the citizens rising to be heard. The experienced group of NC representatives who form the task force will stay together to negotiate future agreements. I take issue with Richard Close's remark on the possible political timing of this release. It is unimaginable that over 15 months this could have been manipulated to conclude at this time. We are an official city charter entity representing every person that resides, works orowns property in the city. Perhaps Close finds us a threat to his organization. With approximately 4 million of us, we do have him outnumbered. - Jacque H. Lamishaw Chair, NC/LADWP MOU (Minutes Of Usage) A metric used to compute billing and/or statistics for telephone calls or other network use. Taskforce Outreach Committee President, Winnetka Neighborhood Council Another meathead meat·head n. Slang A stupid or dull person. idea Re ``Tobacco tax ad spree'' (March 28): Rob Reiner could spend another $164 million and he would not be able to convince me that his First 5 program is not another government boondoggle boon·dog·gle Informal n. 1. An unnecessary or wasteful project or activity. 2. a. A braided leather cord worn as a decoration especially by Boy Scouts. b. . Responsible parenting is what should be promoted. I believe that reading to your children is the single most important thing you can do to give them a head start. I started reading every day to my children once they were old enough to listen. As a result, both of my children could read before they went to kindergarten. Reiner's meathead idea to provide free baby-sitting will do nothing to improve early childhood education. Instituting a government program such as this funded on cigarette tax is insane. - Matthew Schaaf Granada Hills Traffic fixes Re ``Easy traffic fix'' (Editorial, March 28): I liked your short but sweet editorial on the easy traffic fix concerning restricting roadwork road·work n. 1. Sports Outdoor long-distance running as a form of physical exercise or conditioning. 2. The activity of taking a band, typically a rock band, on extended tours. 3. Highway construction. during rush hour. Another easy fix was made by Mayor Tom Bradley during the 1984 L.A. Olympics that also should be seriously considered. No long-haul trucks on the freeway during rush hour. This would ease congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. on vital roadways even more so that the ``no road construction during rush hour'' rule. Also, it would save fuel and money for the truckers, which would translate into lower prices on a wide range of goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. for the consumer. As our costs of transportation continue to spiral upward, this would at least give us all some measure of real relief from the stress of daily commuting and higher prices. - Bob Burson West Hills Is this progress? Re ``Phony dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human rates a scandal for schools'' (Their Opinions, March 29): Not long ago, most everyone in the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. was graduated. We had a diversified school board and they were accessible. Educators did not go on strike. PTAs flourished, children could walk to school alone, we had music programs, the gates to the school were not locked, moms and dads were involved, the Boy Scouts met at the school. Letter grades were given and an ``F'' was embarrassing. No fast foods in schools, adults were respected, everyone could read, write and speak English. Those who know how it can be are taking their families to other communities where an education can be enjoyed. - Sue Prout Van Nuys Comatose co·ma·tose adj. 1. Of, relating to, or affected with coma. 2. Marked by lethargy; torpid. comatose (kō´m inmates Re ``Comatose inmates costly'' (March 29): I realize that medical care is very expensive, but what bothers me to no end is the fact that we spend $1,056 per guard per day to provide security. Can anyone explain what makes up the $1,056? I sure would like to know. - Albert Cohen Sherman Oaks The real revisionist re·vi·sion·ism n. 1. Advocacy of the revision of an accepted, usually long-standing view, theory, or doctrine, especially a revision of historical events and movements. 2. Re ``What religion is that?'' (Your Opinions, March 25): Maureen C. Wiggins wants us to believe that Americans are united in their monotheistic belief, and that ``Revisionist historians ... are the real problem'' with regard to public displays of the Ten Commandments. Wiggins is the real revisionist here. Wiggins wrongly describes Native Americans as monotheistic, when they believed in multiple gods. Hinduism is polytheistic pol·y·the·ism n. The worship of or belief in more than one god. [French polythéisme, from Greek polutheos, polytheistic : polu-, poly- + theos, god , and Buddhism has no god in the Judeo-Christian sense. Also, there are plenty of us agnostics and atheists who do care about this issue. The Ten Commandments do not represent us all, and public displays violate the First Amendment. - David Holland Northridge |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion