Letters to the editor

By George, he gets it

Re “Get out of Iraq, now,” Opinion, April 20

I was heartened to read former Sen. George McGovern’s article. In 1972, I was one of thousands of Democrats knocking on doors to encourage people to vote for McGovern for president.

Where are all the Democrats and others who opposed the debacle in Vietnam, the Korean War and now the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Perhaps if more voices are heard, President Obama may change his position of increasing funds for the troops and delaying their return until 2011. It’s up to ordinary citizens to pressure their representatives to stop the madness of bombing countries to get rid of terrorists. That’s not going to wipe out Al Qaeda -- it will only help recruit more terrorists.

Trudy Goldman

Marina del Rey

McGovern’s “get out now” message is tempting -- but it dismisses the accomplishments of our sons and daughters in Iraq and invites disgrace. Our overthrow of Saddam Hussein is not insignificant. Our armed forces have demonstrated that any nation that purports to use military force and terror to advance its national interests may be subject to the dismantling of its government. Al Qaeda and its supporters have thrown everything into this conflict and have been defeated and dispersed.

I am a Vietnam War veteran. We lost there because a Democratic Congress withdrew its support of our military and declared defeat. Now McGovern is again calling for a declaration of defeat, this time in Iraq.

Let us not forget the savage attacks we suffered on 9/11.

Let us not forget that war means the sacrifice of blood and treasure.

Let us not allow the sacrifices of our armed services in Iraq to come to naught.

Let us declare victory, because victory is the answer.

Noel Anenberg

Encino

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Shame on McGovern for not acknowledging our moral obligation to put out the fire that we started in Iraq (for no good reason) and that we continued to exacerbate -- through our arrogance, ignorance, corruption and incompetence -- for at least the next three years.

I don’t care what the thing costs us, we owe the people of Iraq. And we owe the fine American troops who are now, perhaps, on the verge of turning things around.

Carl de Villar

Hermosa Beach

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I heartily agree with McGovern’s arguments for leaving Iraq now.

To those who say we can’t just walk out, I say, we walked out of Vietnam ... and I think the U.S. and Vietnam are the better for that.

Sandra Smith

Yorba Linda

How does the SAG deal play?

Re “SAG’s next take,” editorial, April 21

If Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg and his cronies succeed in sinking the agreement his opposites on the board of directors made with the studios, their only success will be to sink the normally dysfunctional union into total irrelevance.

While guild members have lost a reported $65 million in compensation, Rosenberg’s people steadfastly refused to recognize that they were not going to bring the producers to their knees by threats and bluster.

If you talk tough, you have to be tough, and without a strike authorization to brandish, they allowed the studios to make their movies and turn to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, with which they have an agreement, to make a large percentage of their TV pilots.

The actors who worked through AFTRA are also SAG members who want to work, and if the pact is defeated, all the TV work will go to the other side and SAG will be the poor stepsister.

Michael Belson

Studio City

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Your editorial, while fair, was lacking in depth.

Take residuals. Working actors, who make up the majority of any TV or movie cast, must earn $28,680 a year to qualify for comprehensive healthcare. For most of us, that requirement is not achievable without residuals.

As for new media: Producers, studios and actors agree that the times they are a-changing. Producers want the right to experiment. We actors understand. But they don’t want to pay us -- and we don’t understand that.

Trust us, they say. We trusted them on VHS and DVDs, and they made billions of dollars, but pennies went to the actor.

At one point in the negotiations, SAG negotiators proposed a sharing formula whereby actors would get a percentage of producers’ earnings in new media. We pointed out that zero percent of zero was zero. They refused to consider the proposal.

Terrence Beasor

Santa Monica

Trimming the fat

Re “Mayor tries to eliminate layoffs,” April 22

It’s great to know that, after 31 years of loyal service to the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa now considers me “deadwood.” Apparently, experience is not valued by this administration.

Older, skilled city employees serve on the “frontline of city service” every day and will leave a gaping hole should they all elect to retire.

Susan Harbach

Sherman Oaks

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The Times reports that employee unions are urging the city of Los Angeles to offer early retirement packages to city workers as a means of avoiding layoffs. Such a proposal would increase the unfunded liability of L.A.’s pension systems, which the city would have to pay off for years to come.

The mayor’s budget summary reports that without changes to the city’s retirement plans, the legally required contributions to its pension systems may triple over the next five years to $2.8 billion annually. The League of Women Voters of Los Angeles supports making changes to retirement benefits for new employees to lower this liability. It opposes steps, such as early retirement packages, that would increase it.

Liza White

Los Angeles

The writer is president of the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles.

Questions of faith

Re “FBI losing trust of some Muslims,” April 20

I was surprised by the statement by Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for Greater Los Angeles, that “our mosques are off-limits ... our Koran is off-limits.”

If Islam is a universal religion, why would a Muslim spokesperson declare their mosques and their sacred book off-limits? On the other hand, if Islam is a political force, intending to subject us all to harsh Sharia law, then it is understandable that Muslims would want to keep their meetings closed and their handbook for accomplishing their objectives out of the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If Shakeel Syed, head of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, urges his audience to not take the surveillance of mosques lying down and to fight, then exactly whose side will Muslims be fighting on -- the side of law enforcement and preservation of our freedoms, or the other side?

Chris Chrisman

Los Angeles

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The American Muslim community has felt betrayed by the FBI because of its lack of transparency and treatment of all Muslims as suspects. In sending informants into places of worship and disrupting the sanctity of places that are designated for prayer and community gatherings, the FBI has undermined core American values.

Although American Muslims are deeply disappointed by the actions of the FBI, they remain a strong force in protecting our homeland from threats.

Diana Doss

Pomona

Her little saint

Re “3 BR, 2 BA, plastic saint buried in yard,” April 19

It was not more than an hour after reading about people who bury St. Joseph statues to help sell their homes that I was prepping the dirt around the perimeter of the patio of my town house, which I bought in December 2005. As I pushed the shovel into the dirt, I hit something. I thought it was a piece of plastic pipe, but when I pulled it out, it was a small statute of St. Joseph! I guess the previous owners buried him, and it worked on me. I will keep him until I need to sell.

Heather Collins

Los Angeles