Carly Fiorina’s odd political ad; fixing California; widening the 405 Freeway

Connecting it

Re “L.A. live wire,” Feb. 7

AEG Chief Executive Tim Leiweke wonders why there’s a “disconnect” between downtown and outlying communities.

If he really wants to know, he could talk to people in those far-flung areas who have been told by the city that there’s no money for badly needed street and sidewalk repairs, or for park and playground improvements, or for homeless services or affordable housing or any number of things that help make neighborhoods good places to live and do business.

These myriad neighborhoods are the real backbone of Los Angeles -- not an area designed for well-heeled sports fans and out-of-town conventioneers.

Laura Silagi

Venice

Political animals

Re “When politics veer into the surreal,” Feb. 7

I saw Carly Fiorina’s ewe-inspiring ad and thought it was an excellent appeal to the surreal, ultraconservative base.

The ad attacks former Rep. Tom Campbell for refusing to sign a pledge to never raise taxes. It does this to assure government haters that the government will never be able to work. This is red meat to the GOP base.

Of course, by shrinking government they will uphold the discredited libertarian notion that we do not need any government regulation -- that we can trust the banks, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies and polluters to do the right thing.

Even Alan Greenspan admitted under oath that this idea was wrong. But demagogic anger trumps reason every time.

Emil Lawton

Sherman Oaks

Fixing California

Re “Help’s on the way,” Opinion, Feb. 9

At a time when our Legislature can’t pass a sustainable budget, our prisons are in federal receivership due to unconstitutionally poor healthcare and California bonds hover just above “junk” status, it’s clear that it’s time for institutional change in our government.

I’m not sure, however, that the fixes being proposed by Steve Westly and Fred Keeley are the right ones. What about a return to majority rule? Ever since Proposition 13 passed with the requirement of a two-thirds supermajority to raise taxes, the ever more radical Republican minority has held the Democratic majority hostage with an absolute refusal to raise revenues.

We’re running out of money again, and our social safety net is down to the bone. What will we cut next?

Laurel Gord

Venice

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We don’t need “changes to our Constitution to streamline government so that California can compete more effectively.” What we need is to divide California into three or four states.

Why do we need to “put California back on the trajectory that made us the envy of the country and the world”? Why do we need the fifth-largest economy in the world? Why do we need 10 UC campuses and 23 Cal States? Why do we need a population of around 36 million (more than the population of Canada)?

Let’s face the truth. We have a huge state that has been poorly governed for at least 30 years. The voters and taxpayers of California need other options.

Tom Novinson

Ventura

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Although I agree with Westly and Keeley that partisan gridlock and a long Constitution have contributed to California’s troubles, the first sentence of their Op Ed makes their conclusion questionable: “Eight years ago, California was the world’s fifth-largest economy and surging.”

The partisan gridlock the authors identify began not eight years ago but in 1994, with the election of a large number of Newt Gingrich Republicans. The California Constitution was already voluminous.

The eight-year downward spiral of which they speak actually began with a recall election in 2003 that brought in an amateur as governor, proving that inexperience and bombast are no substitute for leadership, collaboration and a plan.

Sheila James Kuehl

Santa Monica

The writer is a former state senator.

A road more traveled

Re “Paving the way,” Opinion, Feb. 6

For a freeway engineer such as Michael A. Barbour, it must be depressing to think that a billion dollars of tax money spent on the 405 Freeway won’t speed things up by the time the project is completed in 2013.

We need the political will to design added freeway capacity so that the public will actually benefit from the billions of tax dollars spent.

Carl Olson

Woodland Hills

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I am as frustrated with traffic delays on the 405 as anyone, but spending a billion dollars to add 10 miles of HOV lane is not the answer. This will only encourage more people to commute greater distances -- and soon the 405 will be as jammed up as ever.

We must bite the bullet and find ways to gradually reduce our dependence on automobiles. I recently visited European cities and was impressed with the people, young and old, professional and otherwise, in fair weather and not so fair, who biked to work and errands on dedicated bike paths.

We have an ideal climate in Southern California and could easily do the same. Los Angeles is now considering developing a comprehensive bike path system, which should go a long way toward getting cars off the road and providing a safe biking experience. It won’t cost a billion dollars, either.

Paul Rosenberger

Manhattan Beach

Keeping up with the climate

Re “A glimpse of a Gorewellian future,” Feb. 9

While I read yet another anti-global-warming screed in The Times, I marvel at the writer’s apparent inability to know the difference between climate and weather. One week of snow -- in winter no less -- does not negate decades of scientific proof of the climate change we are currently enduring.

However, my main disagreement is with the knee-jerk right-wing reaction equating everything they disagree with, or are ignorant of, with Nazism. “Green Gestapo” indeed!

Constant vilification does nothing to advance the debate and demeans our collective history.

Graham Dent

Los Angeles

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Jonah Goldberg’s article is amazing, even for him. I’m sure the whole thing is tongue-in-cheek (at least I hope it is).

Audi’s purpose for the commercial is to sell cars. Period. The company isn’t commenting on Republican obstructionism or Democratic desire for bipartisan government. It just wants to sell cars.

Good ol’ Jonah has to know this, but he can’t resist being cute. The scary thing is that there are probably some who think he means it.

Tom Reinberger

Glendora

Haiti and its children

Re “Protecting Haiti’s children,” Editorial, Feb. 9

As a retired missionary who has worked in the Third World, I have a different take on the plight of Laura Silsby and the others incarcerated in Haiti. They seemed unaware that the day of Lone Ranger charity is past. To do good in a cross-cultural setting today, one needs a network.

Apparently Silsby had no connections with licensed orphanages in Haiti, which might have been pleased to have her care for their overload. Instead, she worked through a Haitian translator who found it easier to find children in one earthquake-shattered town whose parents were happy to give them up temporarily, because they lacked the ability to provide food and clothes.

Although Silsby thought she had the necessary documents, the proper network would have told her she didn’t.

The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go awry. But I’m not sure jail is the proper punishment for good intentions gone sour.

Ardon Albrecht

Simi Valley

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In this editorial, you refer to the group of missionaries arrested in Haiti as “American Baptist” because they are from the United States.

But they are not American Baptists, a title belonging to the churches who are part of the American Baptist Churches USA based in Valley Forge, Penn.

As a lifelong American Baptist, I am proud of the work that the American Baptist Churches USA is doing in Haiti.

Sandra Rogers

Venice