The Martin Luther King Jr. memorial; America’s battle over “green” energy; the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case

Leadership gap

Re “The newest face on the National Mall,” Aug. 22

Building too many memorials on the National Mall in Washington doesn’t concern me. I am far more apprehensive about the paucity of current leaders who deserve to be so honored.

Find a person who will withdraw all of our troops from our disastrous overseas engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, restore the importance of factual data and reasoned analysis to the political decision-making process, advocate effectively for social and economic justice, challenge unchecked greed and amplify the ability of those with differing points of view to engage in productive dialogue, and he or she will deserve a memorial of massive proportions.

Ronald P. Wolff

Claremont

Red light on ‘green’ energy

Re “America’s ‘green’ quagmire,” Opinion, Aug. 23

If Jonah Goldberg wants to know why green energy has not advanced further, he need look no further than the mirror.

Conservatives have dug in their heels for years, preventing a comprehensive push for sustainable energy. There are still big profits to be made from leveling mountaintops for coal and destroying huge areas for the natural gas.

For the sake of Goldberg’s 8-year-old daughter and my 8-year-old grandson, couldn’t we at least remove the tax and policy supports for fossil fuels and see whether efficiency and innovation can compete and provide a more sustainable future?

Grace Bertalot

Anaheim

Goldberg apparently believes that the answer to global warming is to do nothing — or, more accurately, let the invisible hand of the market take care of it, which amounts to the same thing. In fact, the market is busily digging the carbon hole deeper.

He suggests that ever since Jimmy Carter, government has been pushing the green agenda. If only that were true. Carter’s farsighted policies died with his presidency. After 12 years of Republican leadership, the Clinton-Gore administration made promising noises that were quickly dashed by the politics Goldberg represents.

So here we are, with all the politicians still scared of their (dirty-energy lobbyist) shadows. Don’t buy any beachfront property for your retirement home, Mr. Goldberg.

Curtis Horton

Pasadena

Government workers’ lament

Re “Lax land oversight cost state millions,” Aug. 24

The article concerning the loss of revenue to the state from uncollected rent continues the negative image cast on state and local government, admittedly some of it deserved. However, the article could have been titled, “With one-quarter the staff, state agency still collects $400 million in lease payments.”

I work for local government; in my experience, the vast majority of employees work hard, trying to do the public’s work with fewer and fewer resources. This should be applauded, not cast in the most negative light possible.

Steve McGrath

San Luis Obispo

Dow Chemical Co. avoided paying rent for 17 years on state property it leased. Southern California Gas Co. paid nothing for five years on a desert pipeline. The State Lands Commission didn’t collect back rent that accumulated over 22 years from a resort. Auditors discovered more than $8 million in lost revenue.

It’s no wonder California is in such a financial mess. We can’t hire people for jobs because we’re not collecting the money that would pay for them.

How’s that for a nice, circular mess?

Phillip Hain

Glendale

The touching tale of a maid

Re “A cycle of class and privilege,” Opinion, Aug. 21

Judy Belk shares her personal history, expanding my appreciation for the historically-charged topics of race and segregation in American lives.

Meanwhile, audiences flock to a “quaint” film that, though probably well intentioned, glamorizes the “segregation nostalgia of the 1960s.” The ugly legacy of slavery and segregation, while relieved by humor, is better served by more enlightened examination, as exemplified by Belk’s article.

Not having seen “The Help” (nor am I planning to), I can’t help but wonder: Do the uniformed maids in the movie wear wigs for the camera, just like Belk’s grandmother adopted both wig and persona to face her white employers?

Nostalgia perches awkwardly beside the weight of historical reality.

Luan Gaines

Dana Point

Belk’s story reminds me of my mom when she and my dad moved to a big, impressive home. The little brick bungalow was her first house, and she had grown as a woman inside it. She hated to leave, yet moving out meant opportunity to build on her memories.

I related to the hand-me-downs, although they came from siblings and cousins who gave me a peek into some of their secrets, and by their sharing I was able to aspire.

I can’t help but think: Isn’t it wonderful that we live in America, where equal opportunity makes this moving up possible; that we can better ourselves and know the intimacy of sharing in the way others live?

Someone else might look at this differently, but I see it as a road less traveled that made me a better and stronger person.

Jacque Heebner

Encino

Beck and those backing Israel

Re “Glenn Beck spreads his message,” Aug. 23

The “growing … alliance between right-wing Israelis and Christian fundamentalists in the U.S.” has existed since the Reagan administration. What has changed is that Christian fundamentalists now donate millions of dollars annually to back settlement construction.

These donations are tax deductible, even though they undermine the stated commitment of the United States to a two-state solution. On the other hand, Muslim charities based in the United States have been targeted by the Justice Department for more than 20 years.

The ultimate irony is that the platforms of Hamas and the Israeli Likud Party are mirror images of each other regarding territory: Hamas denies the right of a Jewish state, and Likud insists on denial of a Palestinian state. Charities for the former are banned; charities donating to the settlement goals of Likud are tax deductible.

Charles D. Smith

Tucson

The writer is professor emeritus of Near East Studies at the University of Arizona.

Glenn Beck arrives in Israel, and The Times asks peace-now-niks and J Street Jews, both notoriously leftist, what they think about this. That’s news?

Shouldn’t the headline have been, “Glenn Beck criticized by leftists again”?

Brad Scabbard

Woodland Hills

No cheering

Re “French cheer Strauss-Kahn case result,” Aug. 24

Being French, I am not cheering at the outcome of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case, and neither are the vast majority of the French people, whatever their political side. Just take a look at the blog of our national newspaper

Le Monde to see how disgusted and disappointed people are.

Strauss-Khan has admitted having had a sexual encounter with his accuser, but he denied the rape charge. OK, but there is a time in life, especially when you are seeking the highest office in your country, when your behavior reflects the type of leader you are.

Living in a world of privilege totally cut off from the reality, some tend to think only about their “rights” to do whatever they please and completely forget their sense of duty.

Patrick Ollivier

Westlake Village

Evolution today

Re “Huntsman portrays his rivals as extreme,” Aug. 22

It is sad that the lead paragraph of this article has to even mention that evolution is an issue in U.S. politics. Churches that represent the vast majority of Christians, including the Roman Catholic Church, which represents more than half the Christians in the world, decades ago declared that evolution was not in conflict with the Book of Genesis.

Among the other Christian churches that accept human evolution are the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran World Federation, the United Methodist Church and the United Presbyterian Church USA. It’s the media that are keeping this issue alive.

John Rossmann

Tustin