PUBLIC FORUM.

Ignore the ruling?

Re ``High court rebukes Bush'' (June 30):

What do you want to bet that Bush will ignore the Supreme Court ruling?

When George W. Bush speaks, he reminds me of Buzz Windrip, the power-hungry senator who makes himself a dictator in the Sinclair Lewis novel ``It Can't Happen Here.'' Though the character was purportedly based on Huey Long, he also reminds me of the present occupant of the White House -- homespun speech and all.

-- Jean Strauber

Encino

No respect

Re ``New LAUSD draft reduces schools' role'' (June 34):

As a taxpayer and mother of three LAUSD students, I am extremely disappointed in Mayor Villaraigosa who voted in favor of the Presidents' Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance in April 2005.

Why have a commission and an operating budget, spend almost a whole year conducting hearings to gather the public's opinion without the intention to at least wait and hear their final recommendations? Why not respect the commission and the people who have an interest in LAUSD, i.e. parents, teachers, principals, board members, etc., who have invested money, time and effort to have their opinions heard?

-- Terri Croswhite

Sylmar

Fine with you

Re ``Getting it wrong'' (Our Opinions, June 23):

Your editorial was expected as your newspaper seems to have joined the ranks of ``Open Borders'' at any cost crusaders. If the powerful and greedy individuals and business dictators in this country want to prey on poor illegals through slave labor at the expense of American citizens and legal immigrants, that is fine with you.

If this influx of illegals brings crime, disease, overcrowding and a host of other serious problems to our citizenry, that is fine with you. Having elected officials who are bought and worship only money, influence and celebrity is fine with you.

-- C. Myles Fowler

Burbank

Swimsuit of choice

Re ``Prudish L.A. nixes `Hooters for Neuters''' (June 28):

I am totally offended by ``Chick-Boks'' smug, mean-spirited decision to use their 20th-century-mentality bias and deprive innocent, unwanted animals of the right not to be put to death. Awakening the male spirit to the positive reasons for neutering is an admirable goal.

If ``Chick-Boks'' ever crawled out of their golden tower offices and visited a public beach or pool, they might notice bikinis have been the swimming suit of choice for most women for decades.

-- Beatrice Orkin Gottlieb

Chatsworth

Unnecessary deaths

Re ``St. Francis, help L.A. help animals'' (June 23):

Bravo to Daniel Guss and the Daily News for showcasing the tragic and preventable death of the abused elephant Gita, kept in a tortuously small city-zoo enclosure until she died too young. Poor Gita is the latest famous victim of the mayor's blindness to civic problems and deafness to warnings.

What about the continuing slaughter of tens of thousands of animals, costing the taxpayers in excess of $20 million, in city animal shelters? Mayor Villaraigosa ill-advisedly hired Ed Boks after humane workers warned that Boks has no record of or ability to honestly reduce animal overpopulation or euthanasia and his performance in L.A. now proves it.

-- Felice Catena 

Encino

Parental responsibility

Why is Mayor Villaraigosa so eager to blame the LAUSD for the high dropout rate and low test scores of our young students? We're parents of two daughters in the Los Angeles school system. We make sure that our children go to school every day and do their homework every night. We make sure that when they're in school, they listen to their teachers and give them the respect they deserve.

It's ultimately the responsibility of the parents, not LAUSD, to make sure that their children are successful in school.

-- John and Malonie Hendricks

Granada Hills

It is what it is

Re ``City OKs Reseda Theater remodel'' (June 28):

Just because you spend $8.3 million for lipstick for that pig, it's still a pig. Let Reseda be what it is: a Third World bazaar.

-- Hank Magid

Reseda