Weather Vane

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. worked for President Obama as the U.S. ambassador to China before deciding to run against his former employer for president. On Friday, Huntsman and the Obama camp found that they agree on something else: that Mitt Romney changes his mind so much, no one can tell what he really believes. Huntsman, trailing in almost every national poll, called Romney “a perfectly lubricated weather vane,” echoing contentions by Democrats and GOP conservatives that the former governor of Massachusetts often changes his mind.

Santa Monica will soon be sporting a new piece of civic art by Olafur Eliasson, and while it's on a considerably less massive scale than the giant temporary waterfalls the Danish-Icelandic artist installed along the East River in New York City as a public art project in 2008, it has the advantage of being permanent. The 9-pound table-top piece is the icing on a $1-million cake -- Santa Monica already having been awarded the cash component by Bloomberg Philanthropies, headed by New York City's multibillionaire mayor, Michael Bloomberg.

In a land where antique weather vanes are akin to crown jewels, city leaders and firefighters are at odds over one gilded prize that graced this capital for roughly a century. It is a meticulously detailed, 4-foot-long fire wagon, cast in copper and covered in gold leaf. Two strong horses race ahead of a big-wheeled engine complete with kerosene lanterns, nozzles, a wood-fired boiler and pumping equipment. A helmeted fireman holds the reins taut as another stokes the boiler.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. worked for President Obama as the U.S. ambassador to China before deciding to run against his former employer for president. On Friday, Huntsman and the Obama camp found that they agree on something else: that Mitt Romney changes his mind so much, no one can tell what he really believes. Huntsman, trailing in almost every national poll, called Romney “a perfectly lubricated weather vane,” echoing contentions by Democrats and GOP conservatives that the former governor of Massachusetts often changes his mind.

MOST PEOPLE simply enjoy the finished look a weather vane gives a roof. It imparts charm and the pleasure of watching it twirl. A weather vane can make a personal statement, depicting a profession, hobby or pet. It can also be displayed as a work of art. Weather vanes, ranging in price from $30 to $3,000, come in all sizes. Castle Craft's handmade brass eagle has a 5-foot wingspan, while its pewter eaglet stands barely 8 inches tall. Much of Castle Craft's stock is from E. G.

Police are searching to the north, south, east and west for the leader of "The Yellow Station Wagon Ring" and other thieves who have been climbing New England homes and barns to steal antique weather vanes that command high prices as folk art. "If you have an authentic antique weather vane, it's like keeping loose money on the roof. Sometime somebody's going to come along and try to steal it," said Guy Kimball, a New Hampshire state trooper and the recognized expert on weather-vane thefts.

Instead of a Great Communicator, we have the Great Prevaricator! We needed a compass, we got a weather vane! J. DEVEREAUX LEAHY Ventura

Santa Monica will soon be sporting a new piece of civic art by Olafur Eliasson, and while it's on a considerably less massive scale than the giant temporary waterfalls the Danish-Icelandic artist installed along the East River in New York City as a public art project in 2008, it has the advantage of being permanent. The 9-pound table-top piece is the icing on a $1-million cake -- Santa Monica already having been awarded the cash component by Bloomberg Philanthropies, headed by New York City's multibillionaire mayor, Michael Bloomberg.

After reading the lengthy and well-researched article on Bush (Part I, Nov. 22), I awakened from a nightmare with the horrifying thought, "Suppose this man actually became President?" I can think of no greater calamity that could befall our country. It would be fitting epilogue for the last days of Reagan. Bush is a good man, a decent man, an intelligent man, a patriotic one. He has passionate beliefs in basic virtues, but no passion for causes. He exhorts the general welfare, but is unconcerned with the individual.

Your recent editorial ("Reveille for Our Reps to Save El Toro," April 20) citing public opinion polls in support of maintaining the El Toro Marine base argued that Orange County's congressional representatives should fight to keep the base open. The purpose of the base closure process is not to satisfy hometown cheerleaders for federal spending. It is to stretch increasingly scarce defense dollars by closing unneeded bases. The object is to save taxpayers' money while maintaining national security.

Weather vanes have become a highly collectible form of folk art--to the point where there are stories of thieves roping them from helicopters. More agile thieves are apt to scramble up a ladder under cover of darkness to remove a valuable work of folk art from a rooftop. The value of any weather vane will be influenced by its age, condition, design, craftsmanship and history.

Instead of a Great Communicator, we have the Great Prevaricator! We needed a compass, we got a weather vane! J. DEVEREAUX LEAHY Ventura

Your recent editorial ("Reveille for Our Reps to Save El Toro," April 20) citing public opinion polls in support of maintaining the El Toro Marine base argued that Orange County's congressional representatives should fight to keep the base open. The purpose of the base closure process is not to satisfy hometown cheerleaders for federal spending. It is to stretch increasingly scarce defense dollars by closing unneeded bases. The object is to save taxpayers' money while maintaining national security.

Corporate insiders sell their own shares at a rapid pace in the years prior to a voluntary bankruptcy filing, saving their own financial skins while other shareholders sustain substantial losses, according to a recently released study. The study, which urges change in current bankruptcy laws, also supports what insider trading experts have long contended. If you look carefully and know what to consider, watching insider trading can give investors an edge.

In another country, South Korean novelist Ahn Junghyo could have been a peaceful sort of couch potato, watching vintage American films on television, spending undisturbed days casting a fishing line into a quiet lake. But, as the writer laments, South Korea is small--a fourth the size of California--and is easily suffused with politics. Following a series of repressive regimes, President Roh Tae Woo has instituted democratic reform, but liberalization is precarious. Roh has ties to former strong man Chun Doo Hwan and obligations to military friends remain; anti-American sentiment runs high among dissidents, as does anti-establishmentarianism.

When Haki Madhubuti teaches black poetry to his students at Chicago State University, he is often asked why the poets of the 1960s were so angry. "It shows the lack of political involvement of today's students," says Madhubuti, 46, whose own expressions of identity and protest under the name Don L. Lee created some of the '60s most vivid poetry.

In another country, South Korean novelist Ahn Junghyo could have been a peaceful sort of couch potato, watching vintage American films on television, spending undisturbed days casting a fishing line into a quiet lake. But, as the writer laments, South Korea is small--a fourth the size of California--and is easily suffused with politics. Following a series of repressive regimes, President Roh Tae Woo has instituted democratic reform, but liberalization is precarious. Roh has ties to former strong man Chun Doo Hwan and obligations to military friends remain; anti-American sentiment runs high among dissidents, as does anti-establishmentarianism.

One wall in Assemblyman Wayne Grisham's Capitol office is lined with photographs of Santa Catalina Island, where he owns a vacation home. Lately, Grisham says, he has had precious little time for relaxing on Catalina or for another favorite pastime--playing golf--because he is engaged in a bitter state Senate election campaign. The 64-year-old Grisham had anticipated the campaign would be over by now. There had been some predictions that he could win the March 17 primary outright.

NO CREATURE UNDER the sun--not the ant, not the honeybee, not the Type-A personality--is busier than the big, fuzzy, black-and-yellow bumblebee. Compared to the bumblebee, those other creatures are so lazy and indolent as not to deserve mention in the same sentence. That is because of one key fact: The bumblebee heats its body through exercise. A bumblebee cannot fly until its wing muscles reach about 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It does best at about 95 degrees.