PUBLIC FORUM.Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II) born Karol Józef Wojtyła As a Catholic, it is devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. to hear the news of the pope's death. He lived a life of peace and was a great leader in the Catholic Church. This tragedy is overwhelming, but at the same time, it is good to acknowledge the long and successful life led by this remarkable human being. - Christy Reyes Sun Valley Heartbreaking news As a Catholic, it is heartbreaking to hear about the news of the death of the pope. However, at the same time, he can finally rest in peace with the Lord. It is amazing to see all that he had to give up and resist in order to serve his Catholic people, and I thank him for that. It will be exciting and interesting to see who will become the next pope. - Andea Brown Northridge Not just Catholics I was born in Minnesota and raised a Lutheran. But he was my pope, too. - R.J. Johnson North Hollywood Development freeze Re ``Next planner key to how L.A. grows'' (April 4): Overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. roads and schools; shortages of water, power, fire, police and medical facilities; overtaxed sewers and utilities. These problems should preclude the approval of any development of any kind in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County. However, more development means more tax revenue for the county to misuse, abuse and steal. Our county commissioners have never met a developer whose money they didn't like and, subsequently, never met a development they wouldn't approve. And the idea that the answer to all this is a planner would be funny if it weren't so disgusting. - Patrick Weir Chatsworth The hole news Re ``Post-rain streets now a map of misery for drivers in area'' (April 3): The bad news about potholes in Los Angeles is that they are being created much faster than they are being filled. More bad news is that potholes are filled only if some member of the public phones in a complaint. Public Works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. would not go looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. them and its crews do not fill any of the 100 potholes they pass by on the way to fill the ones reported. The really bad news is that there is only one repair crew for every 10 square miles of the city. The worst news is that the mayor's race won't improve anything. There is no good news. - Carl Olson Woodland Hills Fix is in Re ``Berger admits destroying papers'' (April 2): Sandy Berger This article is about the American national security advisor. For the Canadian football owner, see Sam Berger. Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (born October 28, 1945) served as the 19th United States National Security Advisor under President Bill Clinton , President Clinton's top security maven, got caught with his pants, socks and briefcase stuffed with highly classified documents that he deliberately stole from the National Security Archives The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and archival institution located within The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1985 by Scott Armstrong and Thomas Blanton, it archives and publishes declassified U.S. . Not a Phi Beta Kappa Phi Beta Kappa: see fraternity. Phi Beta Kappa Leading academic honour society in the U.S., which draws its membership from college and university students. The oldest Greek-letter society in the U.S. thing to do because old sticky-fingered Sandy could have been sentenced to some serious hard time in the slammer A worm that caused a billion dollars worth of damage on the Internet on January 25, 2003. Slammer infected computers all over the Internet by generating random IP addresses and causing the computer's buffer to overflow with its own instructions that replicate itself and start the process for such a dumb caper caper, common name for members of the Capparidaceae, a family of tropical plants found chiefly in the Old World and closely related to the family Cruciferae (mustard family). . But Washington's Benevolent Society The Benevolent Society is Australia’s oldest charity, although it now prefers to regard itself as a ‘’social enterprise’’. It was founded as the Benevolent Society of New South Wales - The Good Old Boys Network - came to the rescue and the ``fix'' was in. Of course, the fix had to be done quietly, gracefully, with no undue attention or embarrassment focused on the fixers or the fixee. So, the Bush Justice Department gave Sandy a slap on the wrist and let him cop a plea. - John L. Brodhead Sr. La Canada Flintridge Not what we need Re ``Cop scandal to cost L.A. $70 million'' (April 1): Seventy million dollars to pay off lawsuits, illegal loans defaulted on, constant corruption: How much more do we, the citizens of Los Angeles, have to endure? Our taxes are going to everything except what is needed. It is time we changed our leadership in City Hall. Professional politicians are not what we need. I do believe both men running for mayor are doing so for self-interest or for their cronies. Neither is qualified to run an honest government. I cannot vote for either man running for mayor. Perhaps if everyone refused to vote, Sacramento will start looking at our City Hall and its corruption. - Gilbert Smith Encino Could have been Re ``Cop scandal to cost L.A. $70 million'' (April 1): I wonder how many potholes could have been repaired, how much graffiti could be removed, and maybe a new mass transit mass transit, public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of passengers. Types and Advantages Mass transit refers to municipal or regional public shared transportation, such as buses, streetcars, and ferries, open to all on a system $70 million could have bought? - Mark R. Cronin Canyon Country Robot surgeons Re ``Pentagon prepares to invest in 'robot surgeons' for battlefield'' (March 29): The Pentagon is spending $12 million developing robotic surgeons to stitch up to mend or unite with a needle and thread; as, to stitch up a rent; to stitch up an artery s>. See also: Stitch our wounded soldiers. Is it too simplistic sim·plism n. The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications. [French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple to just spend the money developing robotic soldiers instead? - Herman Koster West Hills Eye opener I watched some of the Dodgers game last night and was appalled at all the advertisements all over the ballpark. All the time I watched, I saw advertisements wherever I looked. Where was the game? It was like losing the ball in the lights. I lost the game in all the advertisements. Please tone down and get rid of some of the advertisements so we can see the baseball game Noun 1. baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League . The ballgame is what I wanted to see. - Hal Alvord Panorama City Pure pornography Re ``Heart takes a real pounding on 'Closer''' (``U'' March 29): Unbelievable. How can Rob Lowman say that it was a romantic comedy? The movie was nothing but pure pornography. I can't believe Julia Roberts would act in such a movie. What is this world coming to, when you expect to see a romantic movie and it is nothing but trash? - Gretchen J. Downs Pacoima Programmed by teachers Re ``Lower voter age would pump up turnout at polls'' (Their Opinions, March 28): Robert Livingston's ill-considered proposal confounds me. Since adolescence is a period of temporary insanity temporary insanity n. in a criminal prosecution, a defense by the accused that he/she was briefly insane at the time the crime was committed and therefore was incapable of knowing the nature of his/her alleged criminal act. and impulsive rebellion, it would be irresponsible to allow them to be programmed by teachers who might be unbalanced and biased in their political views, especially on issues that affect public sector unions. I don't believe that most 16-year-olds have the experience to make rational judgments on complex issues. If we wish to empower students, we should allow them to write a critique on teacher competence (after they have received their grades) and turn this feedback over to an independent ombudsman for consideration. - Ralph Smith Woodland Hills Voting realities Lowering the voting age would almost certainly have an effect exactly opposite Robert Livingston's suggestion - it would significantly worsen turnout. Voting data and every study ever done by political scientists both show that young people vote in the lowest percentage of any age group. The primary effect of the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18, was to significantly increase the number of nonvoters. His suggestions ignore the profound apathy of the vast majority of young people toward things political and they assume very involved parents and school officials looking to add more to their overloaded schedules. - Gregg Frazer Professor of history and political studies The Master's College History The Master's College was founded as Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary on May 25, 1927 to meet the need for a fundamental Baptist school on the West Coast. In the middle Re ``Representing us'' (Your Opinions, March 31): The majority of Americans also do not support extreme left-wing views. I suspect most of us fall somewhere in the middle. - Sharon Krischer Studio City Widen our vision Re ``Vocational training'' (Your Opinions, April 3): Jean Domine hit the nail on the head. To keep kids in school to graduate and ready them for life, we need to train them at the level they want or are best able to produce a successful life. We need to return the vocational subjects and training to our schools. Have the college, business and vocational courses like we had previously. We need to widen our vision so we see the whole picture of life. - Betty Jenkins Chatsworth Clinton was a liar Re ``Rewarding incompetence'' (Your Opinions, March 31): Clinton was not ``impeached for an indiscretion in·dis·cre·tion n. 1. Lack of discretion; injudiciousness. 2. An indiscreet act or remark. indiscretion Noun 1. the lack of discretion 2. in office.'' He was brought up on charges for lying. Clinton was a liar. Regardless of whatever else he did wrong (a long list), he lost his license to practice law because he lied. - Gillies Brooks Agoura |
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