Gay and lesbian bishops; U.S. policy toward Cuba; defending Toyota

State of the church

Re “L.A. diocese elects first lesbian Episcopal bishop,” Dec. 6, and “Anglicans admonish U.S. leaders on lesbian bishop,” Dec. 7

It was a joy to be present in Riverside to witness this historic moment in the life of my church. To its credit, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles neither denied the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool the opportunity to apply her prodigious skills to the office of suffragan bishop nor its communicants the benefit of the same.

Regarding the Archbishop of Canterbury: Has he forgotten that the very existence of his office is the result of bold dissent against the Catholic Church in Rome some 500 years ago?

Kenneth Wesley Livingston
Woodland Hills

If the leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles claim to be the disciples of Jesus and believers in the Bible, they have committed a sin against their belief. Please read this Bible verse:

I Corinthians 6:9 -- Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

David Ma
Alhambra

Want change? Ask Cuba

Re “Cracking Cuba,” Editorial, Dec. 3

Again and again The Times points the finger at the U.S. for not doing enough to change Cuba. The Cuban government is the sole catalyst for any change in Cuba. Your editorials should speak to the Castro regime, not the U.S. government.

I agree that lifting the embargo and permitting free contact with the Cuban people would change Cuba for the better. But the Cuban government does not want change. If there are any “carrots” to be offered, they need to come from Cuba.

Manny Rodriguez
West Hollywood

Toyota’s take

Re “Toyota’s troubles,” Editorial, Dec. 5

Toyota appreciates The Times’ acknowledgment that Toyota “did the right thing” in instituting a recall in response to incidents of unwanted acceleration and in committing to “smart pedal” software technology as an added fail-safe measure. We also respect The Times’ in-depth reporting of this issue, though we disagree with some of the theories it has embraced.

Unintended acceleration involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles has been thoroughly investigated on several occasions over the last few years. None of these studies has found that an electronic throttle control system malfunction is the cause of unintended acceleration.

Electronic throttle control, adopted in some form by nearly all automakers, has several fail-safe features and enhances safety by making possible functions such as traction control, stability control and adaptive laser cruise control.

We are confident that we have addressed the root cause. Toyota moved quickly, in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to issue an initial safety advisory and to develop a comprehensive package of measures that reduce the risk of pedal entrapment and better enable drivers to deal with it when it occurs. These measures include a system that cuts engine power if the accelerator and brake are depressed at the same time. This will become standard on all Toyota and Lexus vehicles globally by the end of 2010.

The safety of our owners and the public is our utmost concern, and Toyota will continue to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate measures to address any vehicle defect trends that are identified.

Irv Miller
Torrance
The writer is group vice president, environmental and public affairs, Toyota Motor Sales USA.

The fastest way to get at the root of the problem with Toyota’s “drive by wire” throttle system is to open it to public scrutiny.

Releasing the details of the hardware and software design would allow hundreds of thousands of engineers and programmers to look for the problem, and the issue would be resolved once and for all.

This strategy is used by the “open software” industry and has shown that exposing software to widespread inspection has greatly increased its reliability. Furthermore, once a system has been proved to be “fail safe,” it can become a standard for all manufacturers.

Gordon Rudd
Laguna Niguel

More Vietnam than not

Re “Vietnam to Afghanistan,” Editorial, Dec. 6

Was your Sunday editorial a joke? I am more convinced that the Afghanistan escalation is an exact replica of Vietnam after reading it.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is a ridiculous buffoon of a leader. American lives and bombs are going to support his regime, which is meritless.

This editorial highlighted the similarities between the two conflicts, while citing only a few differences: that, for example, elements from Afghanistan attacked us and that only 900 Americans are dead so far. This second fact is mentioned as if it were a wonderful thing.

Congratulations, editors: You have cemented the analogy in our minds. Afghanistan is Vietnam 2.0. Nobody in your readership is fooled.

Srini Kumar
Hollywood

I know the last thing anyone needs is another opinion. No one has the answer. Yet once again we find ourselves embroiled in an adventure, as if our involvement ensures success but our evasion calamity.

The Times writes that “we remain skeptical about this war.” I agree, but I disagree that “Afghanistan is not Vietnam.” This is a Vietnam, because in both conflicts we believed/believe in abilities we lack. It’s a fool’s errand.

There is no way to “win.” Our victories in World War II gave us too much of a belief in happy endings.

Climb off the horse. We have been unable to stabilize our economy or resolve problems in our cities. City and state governments and the federal government are operating on credit, and we are sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

I don’t have the answer. It won’t appear in print. Maybe it is now “Obama’s war,” but this war, like Vietnam, is a war that will please no one and disappoint everyone.

Rich Marcell
San Diego

Praise for a Dorsey coach

Re “Hard hits aren’t always on field,” Column One, Dec. 4

As one who graduated from Dorsey High School over 50 years ago (when it had a multiethnic student body) and benefited from its high academic standards, I read with great interest the inspiring story of football coach Paul Knox and his quiet but effective ways to encourage his athletes to succeed on the field and in the classroom.

Though the odds are stacked against those who attend inner-city schools like Dorsey, I know there are many teachers and other staff members at such schools who persevere under difficult conditions, and who recognize that there are many students for whom a college education can be a step toward financial and professional success in later life.

Donald L. Singer
Redlands

This story literally brought me to tears. Thank God for the likes of Knox, who offers hope to these kids brought up in single or no-parent homes (if they have a home) and are subjected to day-to-day fears of gang warfare and hunger. For the most part, they lack any reason to have dreams for a bright and happy future.

If only there were more people like Knox, and playing a sport were not the only chance to escape what is essentially a chamber of horrors.

Joel Rapp
Los Angeles

The cure for Trutanich

Re “City atty. goes home from hospital,” Dec. 4

Hopefully, the irony has not been lost on pot-dispensary foe and City Atty. Carmen Trutanich that what he needs for his ailments (especially those abdominal problems) is a good, stiff puff or two of medical marijuana.

Sandi Lopez
Visalia