Letters to the editor

Politics of distraction

Re “Obama clears himself and staff,” Dec. 16

The election is over and everybody knows that President-elect Barack Obama is working very hard to address a number of serious problems.

It’s nothing short of outrageous, therefore, that congressional Republicans and commentators are trying to make political hay by speculating about contacts Obama’s staff may have had with Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich’s office.

Creating this kind of controversy at such a crucial time is not only a distraction, it is an unpatriotic act by a political party that claims to have a monopoly on patriotism.

Stuart Olster

Calabasas

A sequel?

Re “Obama clears himself and staff,” Dec. 16

Thanks for letting us know that Barack Obama cleared himself and his staff of any “inappropriate” contacts with “Hot Rod” Blagojevich. Just another distraction; let’s move on. Never mind that Obama was reportedly an informal advisor for Blagojevich’s campaign and that Obama political strategist David Axelrod has worked for the governor.

The Times is going to have its hands full covering for the Messiah, but I am certain that you are up to the challenge: Eight years of experience covering up for the Clintons should prove invaluable in this new endeavor.

Richard Ross

Venice

When lines are crossed

Re “Madoff losses go deep in L.A.,” Dec. 16

It is shameful that a man would cause such harm to fellow humans. It is amazing how people’s greed prevented them from asking how one individual could beat the market time after time -- even during economic conditions not seen since the Depression.

When I learned the Ten Commandments, it was stated very simply: “Thou shalt not steal.”

Now, in Hollywoodland, we’re even editing God’s law. Real estate financier Richard Ziman says of investment advisor Bernard L. Madoff, “There is no greater shanda (disgrace) than stealing from friends, family and those who gave him such trust and confidence.”

Mr. Ziman, the commandment is very simple. “Thou shalt not steal.”

Ted Zachariadis

Los Angeles

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As a 30-year participant, beneficiary and victim of the Madoff scam, I would like to see him treated in the following manner: indicted, convicted and sentenced. Then pardoned with the agreement that he become a top advisor to the Treasury Department.

His financial brilliance, manipulative skills and talents are sorely needed by our country to extricate ourselves from the mess we are in.

Our country needs an experienced monetary genius. His being a crook may be an asset.

Morrie Markoff

Silver Lake

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Re “Madoff scandal a gift to lawyers,” Dec. 17

I find it amazing that all these intelligent, well-to-do investors were unaware that Bernard “made off” with their money.

Charles Kent

Santa Monica

Wow. The SEC filed charges against Martha Stewart back in 2003 but missed an opportunity to investigate Madoff and save billions of investors’ dollars? There is no end to this administration’s incompetence.

Helen R. Silvers

Agoura Hills

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Dec. 16 was George Santayana’s birthday. This Spanish-born philosopher is remembered for his aphorism, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

I would like to point out that those who do know the mistakes of the past -- think 1929 -- and ignore them or do nothing to correct them will also repeat them.

Too bad Wall Street power brokers, certain Fed chairmen, bankers and Ponzi-scheme fund managers didn’t get this message. Or maybe they did ... but that would make them the greediest sinners on the face of the Earth, wouldn’t it?

Glenn Schiffman

Burbank

Getting tough with gangs

Re “Sweeping up 18th Street,” editorial, Dec. 14

Taking ill-gotten money away from gangs should make sense to everyone. But The Times loses its way when it says that “the ‘tough on crime’ approach to gangs all too often winds up targeting youth on the cusp of gang life” and that “instead of diverting them ... [it] punishes them so severely that their opportunity for a life outside the gang is put out of reach.”

Give me a break. Making it tough on gangs and people on the cusp will deter kids from a life of crime.

Questioning taking a gold watch away from a grandmother that was given to her by her gangster grandson is ridiculous. Take the watch. Take the car. Take the condo. What difference does the actual material thing mean? If it was purchased with gang money, it should be confiscated. And what should we do with the money? Don’t give it to the City Council. Hold it in a fund that is strictly set aside for the victims and the families of victims of these hoodlums.

Paul Klein

Encino

No change

Re “Who can be president,” editorial, Dec. 16

I am a German-Jewish refugee to the United States, and I disagree with your position on amending our Constitution to allow foreign-born persons to become president.

Everyone has a certain amount of affinity for their native land -- some more than others. This kinship could become a problem in foreign policy decisions of a foreign-born president.

What if President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been born in Germany, or President Harry S. Truman had been born in Japan? How about the mixed emotions of an Israeli Jew or an Iranian-born president entering into foreign policy decisions concerning the Middle East?

These are just a few examples of what is wrong with your position.

The framers of the Constitution wanted total allegiance to our country by a native-born president, and the only way to maintain it is by keeping the native-born clause.

Ernest Salomon

Santa Barbara

Glass houses

Re “Careless cutbacks in O.C.,” editorial, Dec. 15

As representatives of a company that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, I find it somewhat curious that the editors of The Times think they have the financial expertise and the moral authority to tell the Orange County supervisors how to run the county’s finances.

It’s the old “people in glass houses” adage.

Hank Jacobs

Monrovia

Trade-offs

Re

Thank you for the informative article. However, the subject -- teenagers conditioned to become short-term stock traders -- is alarming.

Why are the students more interested in short-term trading than long-term investing? Are stock brokerage firms, whose existence is based on commission income, sponsoring the activities? Do any of the teachers have any real-world experience as investors? Where is any mention that investors should only play the stock market with funds they can afford to lose?

Teachers should start with the basics -- financial statement analysis -- rather than encouraging greed.

Les Greenberg

Culver City

Dare to be great

Re “The upside of hard times,” Opinion, Dec. 15

On a cold, rainy Monday morning, drinking my third cup of coffee while trying to get the week underway, I read Gregory Rodriguez’s Op-Ed article.

Oh my, I needed that! Surely current generations “can show as much courage under duress as previous ones have.”

It’s not just silver-lining talk; I believe that our new Greatest Generation will meet the challenges of this terrible recession and unrest. Let each generation fully join them with their wisdom and hope.

Wanda Shaffer

Fullerton