Put Spotlight on Prop. 187 Opponents

* Your expose on the two principal backers of Proposition 187, Barbara Coe and Ron Prince (“Creators of Prop. 187 Largely Escape Spotlight,” Sept. 4), is a prime example of character assassination found in yellow journalism. This also illustrates your conspicuous bias against 187 and anyone who supports it.

Why don’t you do an expose on those individuals who are opposed to Proposition 187?

I’m sure that with a little investigative journalism you’ll be able to find blemishes in the personalities of such notables as (Los Angeles County) Sheriff Sherman Block, Deputy Foreign Minister Andres Rozental, a member of that pillar of Mexican democracy, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, and even pious Cardinal Roger Mahony. Should they be investigated, you’ll no doubt advise them to clean up any of their character defects.

Of course I, and I’m sure a great many other Californians, would be interested in the results of an investigation that would reveal why your “newspaper” is so strongly opposed to Proposition 187 and those who support it.

Better yet, why not an investigation on the two writers of the article in question.

MICHAEL HITCHENS

Garden Grove

* As we were taught in high school debate class, “you know you’ve won the argument, when your opponent resorts to attacking you personally.” The Times stooped to a new low when you printed a front-page news article (Sept. 4) personally attacking the motivations and intentions of Prop. 187 initiators. Could it be you’ve run out of valid arguments to explore in the Prop. 187 debate, or perhaps you just refuse to acknowledge that the majority of Californians (independent polls consistently return statistics that 60% to 70% of voters support Prop.187) are clear on the main issue--that it is wrong to reward those who break the law?

No wonder Americans have a lower opinion of the media than they do of the U.S. Congress. No wonder that newspaper readership in the U. S. has consistently diminished in recent years. Consumers want news on the issues, not malicious gossip and biased reporting.

KIM BURNETT

Santa Ana