Helping Felons

* In response to “Hard Cases Hold the Key to Urban Peace,” Column Left, June 13:

Using a typical liberal approach, Rep. Maxine Waters wants to reward black men between 17 and 30 who have failed to graduate high school and been convicted of felonies. I can just see the administrator telling a young black man, “You have only committed one robbery, that is not enough to qualify for this giveaway program.”

An alternate to this insane approach would be to end the drug war, provide amnesty for all nonviolent drug offenders, including a clean record, and give employers a viable economic incentive to hire and train these people. Like maybe eliminate the Social Security tax, workers’ comp insurance and income tax. Let the worker keep all of his minimum wage during a year of training. Just get government off our backs.

The war on drugs is a war on the people.

LLOYD N. JOHNSON

Glendora

* OK. As a decent, hard-working, brown taxpaying citizen, I’m fed up with the begging and whining on behalf of the underclass without any mention of the personal responsibility that got them there in the first place: irresponsible birthing.

Rep. Waters must always first admonish those mothers--yes, mothers because the buck stops in her belly--for having a child irresponsibly and having more than one responsibly, knowing darn well the obstacles ahead in society. Now I’m left with her irresponsibility. I’m starting not to care.

Please tell Rep. Waters and all public figures to emphasize responsible birthing or the taxpaying public will enact legislation to do it through forced sterilization of the underclass.

ALICE LaBRIE

Los Angeles