Re “Conservatives criticize activist after his arrest,” Jan. 28
I find it troubling that three of the four Republican activists arrested for illegally entering the office of a U.S. senator in New Orleans ran conservative newspapers at their respective colleges.
None of these young men was a lone wolf with a grudge. None was an anonymous Average Joe plotting a crime.
These presumably were the cream of the young Republicans, the best their party has to offer for the future. And yet they were seemingly ready and willing to re-create Watergate.
That's sad, to say the least.
Tracy Culp
Valencia
Litmus test or not
Re “Leave out the litmus test,” Editorial, Jan. 29, and “Republicans reject party litmus test,” Jan. 30
The Times is rightly critical of the "litmus test" approach to the reformation of the GOP, which begets narrow, divisive, partisan politics that are bad for the GOP and the nation it attempts to serve.
It is good that the GOP has detached itself from this approach, which requires adherence to a religiously inspired agenda, marginalizes the party and prevents the development of a broader coalition of conservative and moderate Americans.
If Republicans hadn't rejected the litmus test, they would have remained a political minority, able to win an occasional election but unable to govern in the long term. Americans simply do not want religion mixed with their politics.
Fritz Mehrtens
Irvine
Your sly call for a diverse Republican Party would increase voter frustration by combining a Republican with a Democrat. Voters deserve to get what they pay for. What does a candidate offer the party if he cannot affirm Republican principles in exchange for an endorsement and financial assistance? Either the candidate is a Republican, or he is a donkey with a trunk to be filled with endorsements and money.
Bill Brock
Agoura Hills
Pedal problems
Re “Pedal maker for Toyota denies fault,” Jan. 30
The public and Toyota drivers are struggling with gnawing uncertainty over what has caused the sudden acceleration problems in so many of Toyota's vehicles -- and threatens to do so in many more before the company does what it will take to fix the problem.
But two things are certain: First, Toyota failed to anticipate and forthrightly address the implications of that uncertainty on the public psyche.
Second, as a result, its reputation and therefore its sales are poised to suffer significantly. A number of large companies have learned the public relations skills necessary to contain the anxiety generated by such uncertainty and restore confidence in those companies and their products. It is sad that Toyota has not benefited from this experience.
Roger Schwarz
Los Angeles
Who is Toyota kidding? If you are driving along and the car suddenly accelerates at full throttle, the supposedly sticking accelerator pedal was not at fault. The fault is the computer that controls engine speed. Toyota has a real problem.
Bill Simpson
Rancho Palos Verdes
Let me say what an honor it is to live in this city, with a newspaper that does fearless, tenacious journalism that has a material impact on automobile safety.
Thank you for your series. It raises the stature and the profile of the city, in addition to your own.
Avanidhar Subrahmanyam
Los Angeles
More than one approach
Re “Fostering foster care,” Editorial, Jan. 27
I applaud your endorsement of Assembly Bill 12, which recognizes that children for whom the state has responsibility should not be cast off when they turn 18.
You make a mistake, however, in lumping all foster children together. Children in foster care are a heterogeneous group, ranging from extremely bright to developmentally delayed; normal emotional functioning to psychotic disorders; and affability to extreme aggression.
When you describe group homes as outmoded, you fail to differentiate between those programs that offer intensive residential treatment and those that don't. Though most foster children should remain in the community, many do need specialized residential services.
One approach does not fit all. We need a continuum of care.
Andrew Diamond
Los Angeles
The writer is CEO of Aviva Family and Children's Services, which runs a residential treatment center and outpatient mental health services for at-risk youth.
Touched by a column
Re “Medicine, hope and managing death,” Opinion, Jan. 28
I was moved by Meghan Daum's article about her terminally ill mother. It brought back the terrible memories of my mother's agonizing fight with cancer. Daum poses difficult-to-answer questions about the "value" of expensive, aggressive therapy offered to add a few months of life.
Reflecting on our nation's healthcare quandary, Daum writes, "We'll never figure out what we want from our doctors and insurers and our government and even ourselves until we figure out what we're talking about when we talk about hope in the face of death."
