Aid to Haiti; ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’; another smoking ban in Santa Monica

Haiti’s focus is off

Re “10 Americans charged with kidnapping in Haiti,” Feb. 5

The troubles in Haiti include earthquakes, rampant crime, incompetent government, theft, graft, extreme poverty and poor infrastructure. Bodies are buried in mass graves with little or no documentation. Thousands are unaccounted for since the earthquake. Relief workers cannot get aid to victims.

With all of the aforementioned problems, the Haitian government chose to arrest a group of people trying to get 33 children to safety?Does anyone really think that some Baptists from Idaho are selling children into slavery?

Maybe it is time to rething giving aid to the government of Haiti.

Keith C. De Filippis
San Jose

Healthcare in the news

Re “Soaring cost of healthcare sets a record,” Feb. 4

Finally some good news in a headline.

I was thrilled to read that Medicare and Medicaid costs have soared, because this means that those who are a sizable majority of our country may be getting the healthcare they cannot afford.

We have spent trillions on armaments destructive to human beings, societies and world environment. We have dedicated billions to bailing out failure. Business and business leadership are important to our society, but no business succeeds on the ideas of leadership alone; they also succeed because of the sacrifices of workers and the buying public.

May our elected officials take note, review the life-saving and cost-saving benefits of Medicare and gather the courage to vote for a Medicare-for-all package, which, in reality, is just compensation for all.

Mary Leah Plante
Los Angeles

Let me see if I can wrap my head around this one. Conservatives oppose any government healthcare intervention because, for one thing, it would create “death panels” to decide who lives and who dies.

Yet Stuart Butler, from the conservative Heritage Foundation, states that “the only way” to curb costs “is to simply spend less.”

Has he got his head in the sand? If this doesn’t sound like a right-wing form of a death panel, I don’t know what does.

Anyone else long for those good old days of the feudal system?

Blair Caugherty
Palm Desert

‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’

Re “A big boost for gays in the military,” Feb. 3

The Times provided a very sad look at the mind-set of the most powerful military in the world. We, as a nation, have the capacity to annihilate the human race if we so choose, yet we can’t seem to reconcile the reality that someone’s sexual orientation has little to do with one’s commitment to fight for our nation’s security.

I applaud the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, for recognizing this fact, and for his desire to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

It’s shameful and embarrassing that some of Mullen’s colleagues, among them Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, say that it would take at least a year to determine whether or not repealing the legislation would be detrimental not only to our military’s infrastructure, but also to our nation’s security.

We cannot afford ignorance, for it is more threatening than anything else to our military prowess.

Jethro Singer
Santa Monica

Speaking only for myself:

Secretary Gates, Adm. Mullen, well said, well done. It is about time.

Bob Handy
HMC USN (Ret.)
Santa Barbara

While serving with a U.S. Army intelligence unit in Orleans, France, during the Korean War, I was involved in the court-martial of an Army colonel who was convicted of homosexual behavior. This high-ranking officer had a coterie of enlisted personnel who catered to his illegal behavior.

Following his general court-martial conviction, he was immediately dismissed from the military.

I recommend that the new military policy be “ask, tell and dismiss.”

Tom Buckley
Azusa

It looks like the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of the military is about to end.

The policy, apparently, does not permit openly gay or bisexual behavior, so the elimination of the policy would seem to encourage members of the military to be open about their sexuality.

I don’t quite follow how this would be good for the morale and discipline required in a military group. Please help me understand.

Mel Wolf
Burbank

Step up, smokers

Re “Whiffs, bans or butts,” Feb. 3

Councilman Kevin McKeown asks, “Can we legislate the breeze?” The breeze, no, but the poisons wafting into our living spaces on that breeze, yes.

I’ve never favored telling someone you can’t smoke in your own home. However, just as you don’t have the right to play drums full tilt and blast me with sound, neither have you the right to subject me to the carcinogens from your smoke.

It is possible to soundproof your space such that you could play the drums without disturbing others. It is also possible to seal your space so that your smoke does not intrude on others. It’s very expensive to do this, of course, but that is your problem.

I’m not saying you can’t smoke. I just don’t want you to subject me to breathing it in my own home.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Paul Scott
Santa Monica

More to the story?

Re “Taste of freedom turned sour,” Column One, Feb. 4

This human interest story exhibits the best of reporting. The story of “Sarah,” an Iraqi housewife who served as a U.S. Army translator only to be wrongly identified as a spy, captures all of the complexities of daily life in Iraq under U.S. occupation.

It depicts a woman who clearly has faith in American culture -- to the degree of attempting to reach out to Oprah -- and a commanding officer who does not testify on her behalf, he says, simply because his battalion is rotating out.

As long as there is an American military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, we will continue to make enemies of our friends.

Jenny Sharpe
Manhattan Beach

I was engrossed in the story about “Sarah,” the Iraqi interpreter. But the ending -- not just of the story but of the storytelling -- was deeply unsatisfying.

Where was Capt. Berriman’s side of the story? We are given little idea of his perspective. What kind of judicial process -- American, Iraqi, military, civilian -- was responsible for Sarah’s incarceration and ultimate exoneration? What happened to her former commander, Capt. Higgins? Why didn’t he step in to help her out? Did he think she was guilty? Did he even know about her legal saga?

James Loewen
Santa Monica

It adds up

Re “Talk is cheap,” Letters, Feb. 3

A letter writer observed that the fine for illegal use of a cellphone while driving is $20 for a first offense and $50 for a second offense, and suggested that a higher fine would be more of a deterrent.

The fines mentioned are only the base fines, to which are added many assessments, which is true for all fines in California. That $20 fine will actually cost $141, and a $50 fine becomes $255.

Perhaps the deterrent would be more significant if the public knew the actual cost of fines.

John Hamilton Scott
Sherman Oaks