O Mara

Wind advisory: Congress is back in session. JACK O'MARA Irvine

George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged in the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, returned to jail Sunday two days after a judge revoked his bail over questions about his finances. Zimmerman wore a plaid shirt, jeans, tennis shoes and longer hair than in his internationally known mug shots. He arrived at the Seminole County Jail in Sanford, Fla., accompanied by law enforcement officers and with his hands cuffed behind his back. He did not respond to reporters' questions, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Is Jerry Brown the loose Buchanan of the Democratic Party? JACK O'MARA Irvine

Last week, George Zimmerman's family told a Florida judge that they had very little money with which to help the alleged murderer make bond. But as it turns out, Zimmerman had in fact raised more than $200,000 from supporters on a website and PayPal account he established. That new development, divulged by Zimmerman's attorney at a hearing Friday, could prompt Seminole County Circuit Judge Kenneth R. Lester Jr. to increase the $150,000 bond he set earlier -- though the judge said that he wanted to know more about who controls the money before ruling on the matter.

This country's health would benefit greatly from a diet of fat-free government. JACK O'MARA Irvine

America would be better off if more of its rich had known the advantages of being poor. JACK O'MARA Irvine

The trouble with democracy is so many people have to work so hard at it. JACK O'MARA Irvine

Thanks to whoever stifled those overzealous Clintonites who wanted to rename the capital Big Rock. JACK O'MARA Irvine

Scrubbing the crud off TV is increasingly a subject of public dis-coarse. JACK O'MARA Irvine

Modern life is getting so swift--all we can do is take it one millennium at a time. JACK O'MARA Irvine

A Florida judge Friday set a $150,000 bond for George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot an unarmed black teenager and touched off a firestorm of controversy about race and the American justice system. Zimmerman, 28, appeared in court in a dark suit and gray tie, and, in a surprising move, took the stand. There, in a voice verging on meek, he apologized to the family of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old he admits he shot -- but only, he says, in self-defense. "I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son," he said to the parents, who attended the hearing in the central Florida city of Sanford, where the shooting took place.

MONEYGALL, IRELAND -- Until recently, Moneygall's most famous son wasn't even human. It was a horse, Papillon, who streaked to the title as a long shot in a nail-biter at Britain's prestigious Grand National race in 2000. But for months now, the modest sign marking Papillon's achievement has been muscled aside by pictures celebrating the new hero in this tiny pit stop on the Dublin-to-Limerick road: President Obama -- or, as they like to call him here, Barack O'Bama. An out-of-the-blue call from the United States, some yellowing church records and an iPhone-toting priest have earned bragging rights for Moneygall as the "ancestral home" -- one of them, anyway -- of the leader of the free world.

Scrubbing the crud off TV is increasingly a subject of public dis-coarse. JACK O'MARA Irvine

Modern life is getting so swift--all we can do is take it one millennium at a time. JACK O'MARA Irvine

Re "Clintons to Buy $1.7-Million N.Y. Home," Sept. 3: President and Mrs. Clinton are paying more for their Westchester County New York home than the seller asks. Too much time in Washington can make you think like that. JACK O'MARA Irvine I thought the Clintons were hurting for money. On one hand, they are buying a $1.7-million house, and on the other, they are begging for money to cover their legal defense bills. Good strategy. CAROL LINDSEY Ventura

The trouble with democracy is so many people have to work so hard at it. JACK O'MARA Irvine

Could you please ask Congress not to do any more "simplifying" of the tax laws, before the country dies of confusion? JACK O'MARA Irvine

In Washington, there's too much attention to the difference between right and left and too little to the difference between right and wrong. JACK O'MARA Irvine

It's significant--and depressing--to learn from the front page of Calendar (Nov. 14) that the top ticket price for the latest Rolling Stones concert in Anaheim is $300 and the top ticket for the LACMA Van Gogh exhibit is $20. JACK O'MARA Irvine

America would be better off if more of its rich had known the advantages of being poor. JACK O'MARA Irvine