Sounding off
Re "Saving time, or stifling voices?," Jan. 21
Finally, the circus-like atmosphere of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' weekly meetings is being properly scrutinized. If the supervisors don't like the current situation, why don't they quit?
A real solution wouldn't be to restrict how often citizens could speak, but for the board to discuss only public policy issues and provide sufficient time for meeting attendees to air their views. If the supervisors are so put out about the time allotted to citizen opinion, then why not cut out the regular awards shows or just hand out the citations after the regular business session is concluded?
To do otherwise is just perpetuating another bureaucratic farce.
Lawrence M. Kates
Los Angeles
L.A. County SupervisorMark Ridley-Thomassays that the public can always reach board members through their websites or other means. Ridley-Thomas apparently fails to grasp the essential right of the citizenry to have a public forum for addressing public officials that can be observed and reported.
Emails and the like are easily lost, forgotten or ignored. Reducing public commentary at board meetings is egregiously un-American.
Ed Greenman
Los Angeles
State of the Union thoughts
Re "Of money and politics," Jan. 25
I agree with your subheadline's characterization of what the president said in his State of the Union address: "Obama says all must pay 'fair share' of taxes."
I'd like him to start by collecting taxes from the nearly half of Americans who pay no federal income tax. And how about all those Americans who don't file tax reports? And how about all those who earn most of their money "under the table" and report very low income?
Once he addresses this issue, I might listen to him about the "rich" paying their fair share. Right now, the "rich" are the only group of taxpayers paying their "fair share."
And when did it become anathema in this country to achieve the American dream by becoming rich?
Rosemary Hagerott
Sierra Madre
Isn't it time that the State of the Union address be renamed?
Especially in an election year, it should be referred to as the president's infomercial. This year, Obama used it to kick off his reelection campaign.
Where else can a sitting president get more free advertising and exposure, which helps to offset the recent coverage of the other party?
Richard Whorton
Valley Village
It has been said that men such as Obama must be "twice as good" as the George W. Bushes of the world to succeed at the same job.
So, as president, Obama listed his administration's accomplishments: preventing a second Great Depression while saving the auto industry, ending the Iraq war while getting Osama bin Laden, passing healthcare reform while reining in Wall Street. Two words came to mind: Mission accomplished.
Obama's reelection is uncertain, but in only three years he has already proved himself to be twice the president his predecessor was in eight.
Eugene Sison
San Dimas
One deadly day in Iraq
Re "Marine avoids jail in killings," Jan. 25
So Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich leads his Marines in killing 24 unarmed civilians, literally ordering them to "shoot first and ask questions later," and personally shoots five Iraqi men who were standing outside their car. He told his comrades to say to anyone who asked about the incident that the men were running away from a bomb that had killed another Marine, according to testimony.
And after a six-year prosecution with damning testimony from his own men, his punishment is that he may get demoted to private. That's it. No jail time; not even a fine.
I guess shooting women, children and a baby in cold blood doesn't count as murder, as long as the victims were Iraqi. What's a few dozen more when we've triggered the deaths of so many tens of thousands?
Douglas Schwartz
Los Angeles
It's fitting that Wuterich not be sent to prison. What should be offered to him is psychological counseling for what he has been through.
There is a fine line between combatants and civilians in places where we send soldiers. This has to be recognized.
Virginia Prcic
Westlake Village
Yes, I agree with Wuterich in his statement to the relatives of all those dead people: "Words cannot express my sorrow for the loss of your loved ones."
Except I didn't kill them all.
Kurt Sipolski
Palm Desert
Another view of fair taxation
Re "How the wealthy get tax breaks," Business, Jan. 24
If a criminal stole 35% of my money last week and 15% this week, would The Times write that the criminal's actions this week helped to increase my wealth? If not, then how does The Times justify writing that "wealthy people grow even wealthier with the help of the tax code"?
Because the article wasn't about subsidies given to the rich but instead about the wealthy keeping a larger share of their own money, one must conclude that The Times believes the money belongs to the government, which then favors the wealthy by letting them have a disproportionate amount of said government's money.
