Mailbag: Confusion over march madness

I am baffled as to how any neighbors near Hoover High School can possibly complain about the marching band’s practice hours. I have lived within half a block of the Hoover High School complex for the past 40 years. My daughter graduated from Hoover and participated in the Drill Team. I remember when she had to “rise and shine” early in order to be at the school gym by 7 a.m. to practice with the school band and drill team. It made me happy to hear the band practicing. I remember back then the band and drill team would march down Olmsted Drive and then turn around and march back to the field.

The fact that there is a renewed effort with new field lighting, band uniforms and a band leader who is inspiring teenagers to join the band is wonderful. Instead of worrying about what and where teenagers are, we have a group of kids practicing their hearts out and experiencing the joy of making music. The morning and afternoons practicing while building memories of their high school years, learning personal discipline and forging friendships should assuage any thoughts of upset neighbors. Letter writer Judy Taylor is correct — complaining neighbors can close their windows.

Ann Segal
Glendale

Excuses sound alarm bells

I believe professional persons who understand the imperative necessity for security and privacy in their fields are surprised at the excuses Hillary Clinton provides to the American people to justify her complete lack of intelligence and concern for the safety of our people and our country in using a private server for her correspondence. This is inexcusable in view of her many years in the U. S. government. She especially should know better.

My husband escaped from behind the Iron Curtain. His attempts to become an American citizen were delayed many years due to his escape and the need for American investigation that he was not a Communist. My sister worked for the immigration office and told me that he had a thick file. I asked about the contents and my sister advised me that she could not disclose what was in that file for security reasons.

I worked for the Treasury Department and was in contact with many celebrities. When someone approached my desk I covered my work and at night we put our cases in locked files. All this for privacy and security reasons.

I was on jury duty seven times. Each time we were instructed frequently during the trial that we could not discuss the case among ourselves or to anyone else. That is security.

Yet we had a secretary of state who had such contempt and disregard for the intellect and safety of the American people, who and was extremely careless about the protection of the United States of America. She thinks we do not know any better and that we believe her lame excuses and lapse of memory. Now she wants to preside over us. God help America.

Ang Vukos
Glendale

Diatribe leaves one to wonder

It is interesting that two weeks after a letter I submitted was published, there were two articles regarding the same subject appearing in the Sept.10 edition of this paper. There was a Forum article written by Ray Richmond, detailing Donald Trump’s underhandedness in avoiding payment to a photographer, as well as the chicanery exhibited when divorcing his second wife. The second was a letter to the editor submitted by Rasik Demirdjian, who extolled the virtues of Donald Trump while denigrating Hillary Clinton.

Richmond provided more evidence of Trump’s lack of character; which any reasoning person long ago could have concluded disqualifies that the man from assuming the presidency. It is Demirdjian’s diatribe that concerns me.

I too am an immigrant, arriving in 1952, and also now a citizen. Since then, I have observed statesmanship degenerate to crass showmanship. I now find it hard to fathom why people make the political choices they do; is it out of ignorance or their unwillingness to place into context the historical record?

Demirdjian mentions Reagan and Benghazi. On Reagan’s watch, 240 Marines based in Lebanon were killed in a terrorist attack. Where was the Republican outcry? There was none.

Four died in Benghazi, and the Republican investigations since have been endless; all finding nothing culpable. In such attacks, first reports are always conflicting. It is called the fog of war. Clinton has acknowledged being the victim of such.

As for Trump, has he ever owned up to anything? To have faith in him defies logic. If one does so, their indignation regarding Clinton masks their hypocrisy. As the old saying goes, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”

Howard H. Gething
Montrose