Gabler

As Neal Gabler's "Class Dismissed" (Opinion, Jan. 27) suggests, class warfare was over and done with in the U.S. years ago and, through distortion, distraction and misdirection, the wealthy won the war. Wealth accumulates in the hands of a few, while most struggle to pay off their debts. The irony is that the primary function of our national and local governments, as they stand today, is the protection and production of wealth. From the U.S. military to the local fire department, our tax dollars are spent to protect corporate interests and the interests of those who least need protection.

Where did the party go? Re "Democrats are compromised to death," Opinion, Dec. 26 Neal Gabler is right: The Democratic Party represents "interests" and is no longer committed to the principles that favor the powerless. To gain a majority, it must appeal to as many progressive groups as it can without being labeled "liberal. " It is this retreat that recently led it to measures favoring the wealthy: eliminating Glass-Steagall under President Clinton, and supporting the banks and corporations under President Obama.

Perhaps Steven Zipperstein and I did not read the same book (Neal Gabler's "An Empire of Their Own," Book Review, Nov. 5), but when he singles out Jack Warner as a humanitarian and leaves out Carl Laemmle, not only does he misread Gabler, but the facts as well. Yes, Warner was a movie mogul, but "Uncle Carl" was a warm Jewish mensch first . Leaving Carl Laemmle out of any discussion of Hollywood, "Where were you while the Holocaust was going on" is a travesty of omission.

Much too soft on Rice? Re "Patt Morrison Asks: Citizen Rice," Opinion, Oct. 23 I have enjoyed Patt Morrison's commentaries over the years. Therefore, I was profoundly disappointed by her softball interview with Condoleezza Rice. Given Rice's highly influential role in supporting two aggressive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Morrison's question about Code Pink and war crimes begged for more. Millions have died or been made homeless by these outrageous and immoral attacks, yet Morrison let Rice get away with a lame and insulting reply.

Hurrah for the great column by Neal Gabler ("An American Story," Opinion, Feb. 11)! Tracing back to the Golden Rule, and maybe even to when humans first evolved from their primate predecessors, the conflict between the community and the individual has perhaps been the central focus of human attention. In the 20th century, communal governmental systems failed, the Bill of Rights was elevated to preserve individual rights over the will of the majority, and even art displayed an increasing emphasis on the individual, particularly the individual artist.

The curious thing about Neal Gabler's "The Media Bias Myth" (Opinion, Dec. 22) is that it's a prime example of precisely the type of unconscious liberal bias that conservatives so often complain about. Specifically in regard to Gabler's presumption that Sen. Trent Lott's (R-Miss.) history of gaffes, the Harken Energy matter and questions regarding Vice President Dick Cheney's relationship with the energy industries were matters worth any journalistic effort whatsoever, he undermines his own premise.

Whatever inspired you to give such prominence to shopworn liberal drivel like "Class Dismissed" by Neal Gabler (Opinion, Jan. 27)? From its contention that the American public has been "brainwashed" to its specious claim that the purpose of the tax code is as a "tool for correcting an imbalance" (in reality, most Americans consider that the purpose of taxes is to provide defense and various social services), this piece simply restates the liberal belief that the populace is ignorant of its own best interests and somehow must be brought to enlightenment by an intellectual (liberal)

Re "Armageddon politics," Opinion, Oct. 2 Although Neal Gabler's Op-Ed article is both accurate and insightful, it seems to imply that political fundamentalism is some kind of spontaneous eruption of popular insanity. The truth is that the Republican Party and powerful interest groups have encouraged and funded this pseudo-populist trend. Millions of Americans have been persuaded to betray their own interests and display the kind of ugly behavior they wouldn't permit in their own children.

Neal Gabler's "Bush's Scorched-Earth Campaign" (Opinion, June 8) should be required reading for all Americans. By exploiting national fears after 9/11, President Bush's advisors have quickly moved America toward a one-party system with fundamentalist Christian overtones. Not even FDR was given this much leeway in a crisis: Despite his immense popularity, Roosevelt's National Recovery Administration was rejected by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Moreover, Congress slapped the president down when he attempted to pack the court for political ends.

Regarding "Public Grief: Seeking Peace in the Media Ether," Opinion, Oct. 6: While Neal Gabler questions victims' reasons for grieving on television, he thinks it's pointless to question the media's obvious motives in covering such public displays. He points out that reporters are "simply doing what they've always done." If the media are doing what they have always done, there must also be victims who are doing what they've always done--that is, provide grief for public consumption. While it's tempting to believe that the undeniable increase in televised grieving is largely attributable to the breakdown of decorum, the accessibility to television coverage plays a greater role.

Re "Armageddon politics," Opinion, Oct. 2 Although Neal Gabler's Op-Ed article is both accurate and insightful, it seems to imply that political fundamentalism is some kind of spontaneous eruption of popular insanity. The truth is that the Republican Party and powerful interest groups have encouraged and funded this pseudo-populist trend. Millions of Americans have been persuaded to betray their own interests and display the kind of ugly behavior they wouldn't permit in their own children.

Norma Gabler, a small-town Texan who wielded nationwide influence over textbook adoption in public schools, has died. She was 84. Gabler died July 29 of complications from Parkinson's disease at the Biltmore Assisted Living facility in Phoenix. She had lived in Longview, Texas, until this year, when she moved to Phoenix to be near her son. For more than 40 years, Gabler and her husband, Mel, pored over textbooks with a zeal for thoroughness.

Lee Gabler, co-chairman and partner at Creative Artists Agency, is leaving the firm and could announce his departure as early as today, people familiar with the situation said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the agency has not made a formal announcement. Gabler was traveling in Brazil and unavailable for comment. Gabler has been increasingly critical of the agency's growing size and large expenditures.

A competitive horseback rider, Elizabeth Gabler is not intimidated by high hurdles or obstacle courses. That's served her career as a movie executive too. Gabler nurtured "Mrs. Doubtfire" for six years before it hit the big screen. "Cast Away" took a year longer, but garnered an Academy Award nomination for Tom Hanks and $430 million worldwide at the box office.

WALT DISNEY'S ashes are buried in a Forest Lawn mausoleum, in a private garden. Standing nearby, in a patch of flowers, is a small white statue of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid. The setting might strike some as a coincidence, since Disney's studio turned Andersen's tale into a box office hit. Others might find it incongruous, noting that the original story was dark and troubling, while the Disney remake was upbeat and lighthearted.

NEAL GABLER steps into a biography of the legendary Walt Disney with substantive credentials. His "An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Created Hollywood" (1988) was a signal achievement in art-versus-commerce storytelling that still resonates, as does his 1994 biography of Walter Winchell and, to a lesser extent, his 1998 book "Life: The Movie, How Entertainment Conquered Reality."

The results of this weekend's state basketball championship games at Arco Arena in Sacramento: Saturday's Results DIVISION I BOYS: Mater Dei 57, Modesto Christian 54 DIVISION I GIRLS: Harbor City Narbonne 48, Berkeley 45 DIVISION III BOYS: Torrance Bishop Montgomery 55, San Francisco Riordan 43 DIVISION III GIRLS: Torrance Bishop Montgomery 48, San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral 38 DIVISION IV BOYS: Berkeley St.

Jeff Whitty, who won the 2004 Tony for writing the book to the Broadway musical "Avenue Q," turns in an offbeat new comedy, "The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler," in which Ibsen's antiheroine goes off in search of her destiny -- and a new narrative. In the process, she lands in "The Neighborhood of Tragic Women," where fictional characters must endure until they are forgotten. Bill Rauch directs.

When Cate Blanchett's Hedda Gabler saunters disdainfully through the new home that her husband's aunt has taken great financial risks to elaborately furnish, it's hard not to feel worried about the old lady's investment. Nothing could possibly live up to this Hedda's stylish example -- or be safe around it. One has only to hear her deliver the compliment "lovely" as though it were the word "loathsome" to know that her porcelain-like prettiness is deadly.

Hedda Gabler, last seen prostrate on a couch with a bullet hole in her head, makes a surprising return in Jeff Whitty's sprightly new comedy, "The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler," which had its world premiere Friday at South Coast Repertory. Her new address, appropriately enough, is "the cul-de-sac of tragic women," where Medea frequently stops by in a bloodstained frock she'd rather not talk about and Tosca literally drops in, a crashing corpse, from the ceiling.