Thoughts on a ‘pizza thief’ and his sentence; immigration reform; people who lie about their military service

On the ‘pizza thief’

Re “ ‘Pizza thief’ walks the line,” Column One, Feb. 10

I fail to see how it’s possible to characterize a felony crime as a “mistake” or a “slip up.” This sort of misrepresentation diminishes the serious nature of a felony.

The three-strikes law is not a disproportionate penalty for a single act; it is justice served against those who have obviously chosen a life of crime. Though a serial felon may have served time for each crime, the people of California wisely chose to additionally punish those who continually victimize us.

As for Jerry Williams’ third-strike incident, referring to him as a “pizza thief” is an attempt to diminish the conscious act of an adult terrorizing children.

It’s admirable that he recognizes that he was wrong in that case, and he appears to have turned his life around, but he views his next felony act as “any little thing that I do.”

Unfortunately, his perception is reinforced by The Times’ careless references to a serious crime.

Mark Richter

Claremont

It seems to me that Williams has a choice: to follow the law or not. “Mistakes” aren’t part of the equation for him anymore.

The choice is his.

Sheldon Wright

Temple City

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For an individual to be incarcerated for 25 years to life for petty theft proves that the three-strikes law is draconian and was born out of irrational vengeance.

California’s prison overpopulation problem is a direct result of sentencing laws that do not permit a judge to exercise discretion to make the punishment fit the crime.

We need to provide housing, job training and counseling for parolees to break the cycle of despair that engulfs them upon release from California’s prisons. Only by a systematic review of our sentencing laws can we return California to a state that truly rehabilitates those who are victimized by its criminal justice system.

Jeffrey Lowe

Beverly Hills

Immigration reform

Re “Come together, right now,” Opinion, Feb.10

In the aftermath of the Massachusetts special election, Tamar Jacoby’s plea for comprehensive immigration reform demonstrates the desperation of proponents of an amnesty. Considering that 15 million Americans are jobless, it hardly would be fitting for any member of Congress -- especially those up for reelection in swing districts and states -- to take up the cause of 12 million people here illegally.

At a time when our infrastructure, natural resources and public assistance programs are being stretched beyond the breaking point, any initial approach to the immigration problem must demand that illegal immigrants without a steady means of self-support return to their home countries, where they should be their problem and not ours.

Jim Redhead

San Diego

Jacoby tapped into some of the current frustration over immigration reform but curiously didn’t mention the enormous costs of avoiding it.

Five of the eight Americans who won Nobel Prizes for the sciences in 2009 were immigrants. The top echelons of our universities, research labs and tech firms are disproportionately foreign-born. Their value is enormous.

In a time of economic malaise in which the industries of tomorrow will rely on high technology and science, we should be seeking to let more immigrants in, not endlessly delaying reform.

Alex Nowrasteh

Washington

The writer is a policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Serving your country

Re “Stolen valor,” Editorial, Feb. 9

I find it ironic that there are politicians who must make false claims of military service to pad their credentials. As a veteran who served during the Vietnam War (though not, fortunately, in combat), I had to drop from my resume any mention of my service for fear that I otherwise would never get an interview.

We Vietnam vets were suspected of being drug addicts or somehow morally deficient for having been drafted into military service.

Those I knew and served with found themselves fighting not for glory or medals but because it was what they had to do. They were in Vietnam because other Americans were also there -- and they fought for each other, to survive and to preserve their self-respect.

I agree with The Times that we should not criminalize those despicable liars who claim to have served and, even worse, to have earned medals for wounds they never received from guns they never faced. We should expose them, shame them and hound them from any position that is based on honesty and trust.

Perry Anderson

Buena Park

Cynics the world over

Re “Overseas on Obama,” Toon-Op, Feb. 7

Joel Pett says foreign cartoonists have become as cynical as we are, and asks, “Who says America doesn’t export anything anymore?”

I have a question for Pett: Who says we exported the cynicism?

I think it is far more likely that the foreign cartoonists have seen President Obama for what he is and have accurately labeled his actions as hype. He has been in office for a year and has tangibly little to show for it (outside of the peace prize, ha ha).

With so little accomplished, the fact that he is still popular among the world’s masses only goes to show that they, like those here who voted for him, are searching for a Messiah.

Jim Bagge

Yorba Linda

Debating the New Israel Fund

Re “U.S.-based charity assailed in Israel,” Feb. 8

The Times’ presentation of the debate in Israel over the New Israel Fund’s support of NGOs that contributed to the Goldstone report repeats the narrative offered by the fund and its supporters.

The fund and its partner NGOs are powerful and wealthy organizations. Its grantees appear frequently in the Israeli media and in Knesset hearings, and wield major influence in the Israeli Supreme Court. These groups function more like an unelected radical opposition than representatives of “civil society.” Some join with Palestinians in making false accusations of racism, and promote divestment and sanction campaigns against Israel.

The fund’s donors and the Israeli public have a right to know how their money is being used. It should engage its critics. There is room in Israeli democracy for a nuanced conversation about the role of funding for “civil society” organizations. Those who wave the banner of human rights should be leading, not avoiding, the discussion.

Diane Meskin

Jerusalem

The writer is a researcher for NGO Monitor in Jerusalem.

Whiteout

Re “New storm aimed at besieged capital,” Feb. 9

A recent headline: “Snow Paralyzes Washington, D.C.”

How could they tell?

Merl Edelman

West Hollywood