Shell Game

It's that time of year again. There's a chill in the air. Holiday shopping goes into overdrive. And Los Angeles police warn residents that con artists are out in force, eager to separate unsuspecting victims from their money. A case in point: Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested eight people between the ages of 27 and 67 over the weekend downtown on suspicion of conspiracy to commit gaming in connection with a shell-game operation. The suspects set up shop in the 500 block of Los Angeles Street, said Lt. Paul Vernon.

In American public discourse, national security is the first refuge of scoundrels. For six decades good and dreadful ideas alike have been buttressed by claims that they will help make us secure. President Eisenhower used the claim to promote spending on highways and education. President George W. Bush used it to justify wiretapping and torture. Now deficit hysterics have started trilling the national security song to justify a coming attack on Social Security and Medicare. In late May, the Obama administration released its National Security Strategy, a wide-ranging and broadly sensible 60-page document articulating a full menu of economic, human rights and environmental foundations of a strong security policy.

Several months ago, Supervisor Don Knabe asked county officials to figure out how to best use federal stimulus money to create jobs for welfare recipients. A plan was hammered out, and the board adopted it on Tuesday, creating summer employment for 10,000 Los Angeles County parents.

A huge crowd of 50,994, in a huge stadium in this Dallas suburb, watched Manny Pacquiao battle 12 rounds against a turtle Saturday night. Pacquiao, currently the best of the best in the fight game, won a unanimous and lopsided decision over Joshua Clottey, a man from Ghana, by way of the Bronx, whose style was to cover his head with his hands high and plod around. While he was doing this, Pacquiao hit him from every angle at every speed. "He's a tough fighter, a good fighter," Pacquiao said afterward, probably being nice.

In voting 54 to 41 to end general revenue sharing, the U.S. Senate is engaging in a shell game to fool the people into believing that they will get something for nothing. This sham comes on the heels of a campaign by the Reagan Administration to persuade Americans that state and local governments are in fat city. The fact is that, despite the empty promises of New Federalism, state and local governments have taken it in the neck. As Colorado Gov. Richard D.

A huge crowd of 50,994, in a huge stadium in this Dallas suburb, watched Manny Pacquiao battle 12 rounds against a turtle Saturday night. Pacquiao, currently the best of the best in the fight game, won a unanimous and lopsided decision over Joshua Clottey, a man from Ghana, by way of the Bronx, whose style was to cover his head with his hands high and plod around. While he was doing this, Pacquiao hit him from every angle at every speed. "He's a tough fighter, a good fighter," Pacquiao said afterward, probably being nice.

Be prepared for climatic surprises with a lightweight layer of warmth and dryness. Note: Weights shown are for XL size.

"Florida's Treasure Islands" (Dec. 1) was delightful. I grew up in Coral Gables, Fla., during the '50s and '60s, and my family visited Sanibel and Captiva islands before a bridge from the mainland existed. We were ferried over. Then Sanibel had one plain motel, an even plainer wood general store, lots of sand -- and tons of shells. Ted Nicholas Indian Wells, Calif.

Removing the rich, succulent meat from a whole cooked lobster is a little work and a bit messy, but well worth the effort. Tie a bib or large napkin under your chin, have a sturdy cracking tool and metal pick at hand and find an area that's easy to clean up afterward. Begin by twisting off the large front claws where they join the body (Step 1), then remove the smaller legs along each side (Step 2).

It's that time of year again. There's a chill in the air. Holiday shopping goes into overdrive. And Los Angeles police warn residents that con artists are out in force, eager to separate unsuspecting victims from their money. A case in point: Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested eight people between the ages of 27 and 67 over the weekend downtown on suspicion of conspiracy to commit gaming in connection with a shell-game operation. The suspects set up shop in the 500 block of Los Angeles Street, said Lt. Paul Vernon.

Several months ago, Supervisor Don Knabe asked county officials to figure out how to best use federal stimulus money to create jobs for welfare recipients. A plan was hammered out, and the board adopted it on Tuesday, creating summer employment for 10,000 Los Angeles County parents.

Los Angeles police have busted a shell-game ring that victimized dozens of downtown shoppers during the holidays, LAPD officials said. At least 10 people were arrested Jan. 7 and charged with felony conspiracy to commit gaming in connection with the ring that operated on Los Angeles Street between 4th and 6th streets. The suspects are all Mexican nationals who reside in the city, police said. The shell game is one of the oldest cons in the book.

When democratic lawmakers presented their proposal for balancing the state budget, there was one little thing they didn't mention: It would have all but eliminated funding for public transportation -- not just next year but in perpetuity. The proposal was vetoed last week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but that doesn't mean it's going away.

Taking a break from recent verbal combat, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama both moved Friday night to ease concerns that their fight for the Democratic presidential nomination has become too divisive and could undercut voter turnout and support in November. Speaking to a state Democratic rally here designed to promote party unity, the rivals delivered impassioned appeals to about 3,000 cheering party activists but largely ignored each other.

The conviction of Jose Padilla by a jury of his peers demonstrates that accused terrorists can be tried in civilian courts offering a panoply of protections for the defendant. But if Tuesday's verdict is a vindication of the rule of law -- and a rebuke to those who would circumvent it -- the legal shell game to which Padilla was subjected continues to shame the administration.

Max Boot is absolutely correct when he says that "Bush didn't start the fire" in the Middle East (Opinion, July 26). Boot concludes: "There is no reason to think that the critics' preferred approach -- more diplomatic blather ... would have produced any better results." Does Boot really believe that it has been worth hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of American lives just to produce the same results that could have been obtained with "diplomatic blather"? The result of President Bush's misadventure is a military stretched to the limit with no end to the war in sight.