Zealots

Regarding the story on "5th Quarter Rallies" (Southeast / Long Beach sections, Nov. 5), religious zealots have always tried to circumvent established separation of church and state laws and probably will continue to do so forever because they apparently believe that they have a moral obligation to disobey such laws. These fanatical groups would like to see a federal or state church established that would conform strictly to their beliefs. The rallies themselves may seem innocent on the surface, but the evil of them lies in the fact that zealots always preach hatred of those who do not conform to their special religious philosophy.

On Tuesday, I wrote about two senators' bipartisan plan to expand background checks on gun buyers, saying it was a common-sense measure and should pass. On Wednesday, its sponsors -- Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, an NRA member, and Republican Sen. Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania -- all but conceded they don't have the votes. Thus, 26 children and teachers slaughtered in Newtown, Conn., and 12 people gunned down at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

God knows what Tim Robbins and the Actors' Gang had in mind when they started to work on a new piece for the Angels Flight series at MOCA six weeks ago. Maybe just a title--"Carnage: Final Assembly." Whatever the aim, they have come up with something. This is more than a piece. It's a play, as rude and as mocking as something that Aristophanes might have knocked off, if you can imagine Aristophanes taking on America's TV preachers and survivalists. In fact, that's not too hard to imagine.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave politicians everywhere some sound advice on gun control recently. Defending New York's tough new measures against critics who charge that the state has exceeded its regulatory authority, he said : “Yes, they are against it, but they are the extremists, and the extremists shouldn't win, especially on this issue when it is so important to the majority. In politics, we have to be willing to take on the extremists, otherwise you will see paralysis.” How obvious, and how true.

God forgive zealots! I shall not! WILLIAM ADAMS Venice

Cal Thomas has the audacity to label liberals as "increasingly intolerant" (Column Right, March 16). When liberals draft a proposition that calls for discrimination in housing and employment against fundamentalist zealots, we may then be worthy of Thomas' praise. In the meantime, his precious right wing seems to hold a monopoly on intolerance--as they horde their guns and Bibles, hole up with their cults, and now practically condone murder of doctors in the name of their "pro-life" movement.

Re "No Escaping the Memories," April 11. Siranosh Papazian Tanossian's recollection of the Armenian genocide commences with the Turkish government sending soldiers to people's houses to collect their guns. Registration, confiscation, then execution seems to be a worldwide trademark of all gun-control zealots. It is ironic how at a time when the same thing is happening to the Albanians, this Democratic-controlled state is pushing the most draconian gun control laws ever. So if the government comes knocking at your door for your guns, family, property or whatever, just remember what political party distrusts you the most.

In response to "More Tumult on Abortion Issue," editorial, March 26: Why do you characterize the Idaho legislators as "zealots" for passing a law restricting access to abortion? (Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus vetoed the law on March 30). Were the California legislators who guaranteed unlimited access to an abortion zealots in the other direction? Or, does it just depend on whose ox is being gored? The debate will rage on as long as each side refuses to address the other's primary concern.

Two thumbs up for the wonderful and honest accounting of passion that Charles Champlin set forth in his article "The Two Garys--Zealots With a Passion for Film" (Dec. 18). The story not only reflected the love these two men shared in their professional lives, more important, it was an honest accounting of the love and passion shared in their personal lives. These two men accomplished much of what they did because they did it together. All too often sharing or togetherness such as theirs is left out for fear of offending readers.

There may be zealots of "animal lib," as Kevles points out, but no more so than the zealots of animal research. There is a growing number of biomedical scientists and physicians who believe we must reevaluate the overemphasis on unreliable and archaic animal research that is so strongly advocated by those whose livelihoods depend on it, or by those who are scared into thinking animal research will provide them with a desperately sought-after cure....

“The Daily Show” was on break during the massacre last month in Newtown, Conn., and for the loud aftermath that followed - from the newly impassioned cries for gun control coming from surprising corners of the political universe, to the NRA's poorly received news conference and plan to install armed guards in schools across the county. A few weeks' delay didn't stop Jon Stewart from devoting nearly all of Tuesday's episode of “The Daily Show” to the issue of gun control.

Amiable and upbeat though it is, the documentary "Hollywood to Dollywood" lacks a compelling reason to see it. Unless you are a Dolly Parton zealot, which its two protagonists definitely are. Twin brothers Gary and Larry Lane, originally from a small town in North Carolina but now bona-fide Hollywood residents, are devoted to Parton, both as a performer and as a nonjudgmental source of inspiration. The twins are gay, but unlike Parton, their religious mother apparently does not accept them the way they are. For the last four years, they have put their "heart and soul" into a movie about their life, and they are bound and determined to have Ms. Parton star in it. So they and Gary's partner, Mike Bowen, rent a massive RV they nickname Jolene and take off on a 2,200-mile, eight-state road trip down Interstate 40. Their destination?

On March 14, a Jerusalem judge acquitted a man accused of forging an inscription on a small stone coffin. The writing, on what's known as the James Ossuary, reads "James son of Joseph brother of Jesus. " Its promoters claim that it's the first archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ's existence and that the box once held the bones of Jesus' brother James. Its detractors, including most scholars, say the last two words of the inscription are faked, modern additions to a genuinely ancient limestone casket.

If you think Rick Santorum is a weird, pious wackadoo, try being a female walking around certain ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel with your ankles showing. Santorum's near-victory in the Iowa caucuses last week raised the volume on some of his more paranoid kvetchings about the moral breakdown of society -- gay marriage being a slippery slope to marrying your pet, "Christendom" being under attack, birth control being "not OK" even for married couples. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem -- where I was last week -- the big story was about religious extremists spitting on schoolgirls.

Raed Habbal was not a particularly devout Muslim, a relative recalls. The 19-year-old college student and scion of a socialist family in the city of Hama even occasionally took a swig of alcohol with friends, the relative says. But during the 1982 uprising in Hama, the young man was snatched up by security forces aiming to crush what they called an armed Islamist revolt. By the time the government crackdown ended, then-Syrian leader Hafez Assad's forces had flattened swaths of Hama, the country's fourth-largest city, and killed tens of thousands of civilians.

Afew years ago, while walking through Mea Shearim, the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem, I came across a strange poster. It pictured the Second Temple, the center of the world before the world was smashed in AD 70 by Rome, over a Hebrew phrase that means something like, "Jews! Watch what you say! For The Holy of Holies was destroyed not by Roman soldiers, nor by the Divine will, but by the gossip of the people." What could it mean, this talk of gossip?

Regarding "Pot-Smoking May Have Little Lasting Effect on the Brain, Research Suggests" (July 14): Thank you for having the courage to report the UC San Diego study and its conclusion regarding long-term pot usage that is not politically correct. Reportage such as yours is badly needed to counter the misinformation of drug war zealots whose campaign is responsible for a pervasive paranoia that puts a chill on the public debate on pot use. Dale O'Neal Laguna Beach

Islamic militants who burn schools and threaten women in the name of religious purity. A righteous force battling corrupt and venal officials. Or gun-waving gangsters who conceal their crimes under a banner of spiritual renewal. Weeks of turmoil have made it appear as though a unified Taliban is on the march out of the wild northwest, staking out strategic ground for an assault on Pakistan's heartland. But who exactly the Taliban is may rest in the eye of the beholder.

Re "S.F. mayor campaigns in centrist lane," March 23 The Times coverage of Gavin Newsom's visits around the state reported that he says he'll bring a pragmatic approach to the governor's job if he wins next year. The San Francisco mayor made a stop in Santa Barbara last week and stated that he considered shutting down offshore drilling so important that he did not care if gas reached $35 a gallon! That is the opposite of being pragmatic. I would call it foolhardy, self-destructive zealotry.