PUBLIC FORUM.

Never enough

Re ``Surplus to cover capital projects'' (Sept. 27):

The Board of Supervisors must feel like it hit the lottery with an additional $238 million of our hard-earned tax dollars ($1.1 billion surplus this year alone), an astounding amount of money. Every level of our government is bankrupting us -- city, county, state, federal -- and no matter how much we give them, it will never be enough and they always want more.

The people's tax bill is horrendous and yet our elected officials fill up the ballots with bond issues that will only drive us deeper into debt.

-- Karen Jackson

Valley Village

Give it up

Re ``Hillary intensifies debate over 9-11'' (Sept. 27):

What is the constant battle between the Republicans and Democrats? That's the example being set for our nation. It's not constructive criticism but rather constant ridicule at another's expense. Give it up. It doesn't matter on the political party. Nobody wants terrorists invading our homes.

As for 9-11, Clinton had information about the situation before Bush's term, and Clinton didn't do anything about it during his presidency when attacks were made on the USS Cole. After 9-11, our nation united as one, the phrase ``united we stand, divided we fall'' has slipped out of the minds of our leading men and their administrations.

-- Elizabeth Khodzabashyan

Glendale

Law-abiding way

Re ``Abiding by the law'' (Your Opinion, Sept. 28):

Ron Moreland asks, ``Why is it so difficult to ask these `law-abiding' illegal immigrants to do it the law-abiding way?'' The answer is that they enter this country illegally because they cannot enter legally. Our immigration laws make it virtually impossible for someone from a country already well-represented in our immigrant population to be granted immigration status unless they either have immediate family legally residing here or a specialized skill and a job waiting for them.

The myth that they could all find legal routes into this country unfairly demonizes those for whom it is not a reality.

-- David Holland

Northridge

No test left behind

Your editorial ``Dance of the lemons'' (Sept. 27) seems to accept the premise that the goal of schools is to enable students to pass standardized tests. Thus, the teacher that can inspire young minds to think creatively, to go beyond Newspeak, is considered a ``lemon,'' while those that follow the path of pablum indoctrination laid down by the Bush regime are the ``educational'' shining stars of the Fourth Reich.

The purge of intellectual activity in the public schools that began with expansion of standardized tests in the 1960s, furthered by Ritalin and other chemical toxins, and accelerated by ``No Standardized Test Left Behind,'' thus advances another goose step thanks to the California Legislature and ``Herr Goobernator.''

-- Terry L. Clark

Arcata

Lack of attack

Re ``Blame the GOP'' (Your Opinions, Sept. 20):

We have not had a terrorist attack on our soil since 9-11-01, but Steve Graff writes, ``Five years (later), the Bush administration has failed to keep us safe.'' Bin Laden may be dead, Bush has eliminated many top terrorist leaders, and has authorized intelligence that has thwarted numerous well-planned attacks on our homeland.

Since other countries have suffered through recent terrorist attacks, we must ask ourselves, why not here? They surely don't hate us any less, so I can only think of two possible reasons: Either they are not able to successfully pull one off, or they know that this president will come after them if they do.

-- Sharon Howard

Encino

Pay to play

Re ``Witch hunt for churches?'' (Sept. 26):

Hey, why not? You want to spread ``peace on Earth, good will to men (and women),'' then do it for free. You want to be political, you've got to pay just like the rest. Just take a look at how well politics and religion work in the Middle East.

I guess there are too many lawyers out of work.

-- Gary Wittenberger

Woodland Hills

Ignoring the word

Re ``Protest to key on wages paid at LAX hotel'' (Sept 27):

In her article, Rachel Uranga mentioned the words immigrant and immigration numerous times. The writer failed to mention the word illegal or illegal immigrants even once. Are all these immigrants legal? Clearly the report is partial since it failed to mention that ``possibly'' some of these workers are illegals.

Ignoring the word illegal is an attempt to associate welcomed legal immigrants with lawbreaking illegal alien invaders. The reality is that many of the hotel workers are illegal immigrants who work with either stolen or fake Social Security cards and should not be in our country in the first place.

-- Mort Arditti

Los Angeles

Beautification, indeed

Re ``Revival reviling'' (Our Opinions, Sept. 27):

I believe ``it's better to leave the L.A. River ugly, dirty and full of trash'' than to have a flooded county of Los Angeles. My neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and many others throughout the county would flood before the existing flood-control system -- with a concrete-lined L.A. River as its foundation -- was constructed.

Now there are plans to beautify the river by taking out the concrete and replacing it with grass, vines and trees. This would compromise the entire flood control system. Beautification, indeed: How beautiful was New Orleans after it flooded?

-- Gene Pomerantz

Tarzana

Censorship

Re ``Storm report blocked'' (Sept. 27):

How dare President Bush block the release of a scientific report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, part of the Commerce Department. That is out-and-out censorship. How far are Americans going to let this dictator go?

Did anyone else notice his wild look and demeanor when addressing the U.N.? He looked like Saddam when he was dragged from his hideaway. I am scared to death of this devil in a suit, and will follow any movement to get him out of Washington.

-- Laverne Williams

Van Nuys

Someone got a call

The Bush administration's dismantling of our Constitution continues with a 1960s KGB-style manipulation of the press. The current international editions of Newsweek cover story titled ``Losing Afghanistan'' addresses how the War on Terror in Afghanistan is now going badly. The current U.S. edition's cover story is ``My Life in Pictures'' about photographer Annie Leibovitz.

As important as the so-called "War on Terror" is in this country, getting Annie instead of the Taliban is curious at a time when the Bush administration's credibility is being challenged on a daily basis. Clearly, Newsweek's decision to essentially hide the truth about current events in Afghanistan is a thinly veiled measure intended to protect Bush.

-- Joel Gossman

Los Angeles

If not Iraq, where?

Re ``Intelligence report declassified'' (Sept. 27):

Democrats and others on the left seem unaware that their real complaint is not that Bush inspired more terrorists by invading Iraq, but that he chose to fight back at all. After all, if not Iraq, where would Democrats have approved for Bush to take a stand? Where could we have fought and not inspired the enemy to raise a terrorist army? Should we have simply fought harder in Afghanistan? If we had, that, too, would've drawn terrorists from all over the Arab Muslim world, just like in Iraq; indeed, it's happening today. If we had invaded Iran, that also would have inspired terrorists.

The Democrats' problem isn't Bush, it's the terrorists; they just don't get it.

-- Rueben Gordon

North Hollywood