Hesperia’s woes; undocumented children; the DREAM Act; Saturday mail

Nightmare in Hesperia

Re “Undone by their dreams,” June 27, and “A steep fall for a suburban idyll,” June 28

Thank you for your incredible story about the Meenan family, who lost their home in Hesperia. For one of the few times in more than 50 years of reading newspapers, I actually got choked up.

My wife and I moved to the Golden State from Pennsylvania in 2001, and were considering buying a place in the high desert due to affordability when we lucked out and found a reasonably priced home in a senior community in Oceanside.

Various untold circumstances could put any of us in the same situation the Meenans face: earthquake, fire, tsunami, etc.

We are now in the process of selling our home, and fortunately will eke out a small profit. I truly wish the same were true for the Meenans and countless others affected by the vagaries of the still-evolving real estate market. Your fine journalism is appreciated.

Charlie Roberts
Oceanside

The Hesperia housing article was another typical Times one-sided sympathy story. Dawn Meenan is a bookkeeper and should have some financial savvy. The family had difficulty saving $3,000, yet had a fourth child and entered into a mortgage contract they could not afford. When they did manage to save some money they spent it on landscaping. A prudent bookkeeper would advise saving for future needs.

Why not point out that the irresponsibleness of their actions? People like this helped create the financial meltdown and now look for taxpayer relief.

Ed Skebe
Manhattan Beach

I wish The Times could have covered the real causes for these problems: lazy, irresponsible cities and municipalities.

City leaders, especially in the suburbs, look at residential construction as a quick way to raise property tax dollars, without any concern for employing all the residents who will occupy these homes.

We suffered through this in the early ‘90s, with some neighborhoods becoming complete ghost towns. You would have thought these peripheral cities would have learned their lesson.

J. Perez
Victorville

Children in the U.S. illegally

Re “A home they don’t know,” June 28

If a shoplifting mom gets caught hiding stolen merchandise in her baby’s stroller, the police do not arrest the infant. How does it make any more sense to arrest and deport youngsters who were brought illegally into the United States as children by their parents?

Deporting high school and college students to Mexico after they have lived in the United States for most of their lives seems pointless and cruel.

More than that, it seems to violate the fundamental principle of our legal system that, for an act to be criminal, the wrongdoer must intend to commit it.

Adults who sneak across our borders know they are violating our laws. But the infants and toddlers they bring with them are innocent victims of their parents’ acts.

Alexander Auerbach
Sherman Oaks

It’s a sad story about the Robles brothers. They seem like real nice guys, on the road to success. As someone in the article said, they’re everything you would want your kids to be.

But it’s their parents’ fault that they stayed here after coming to visit on a tourist visa.

People here are feeling sorry for them and are writing letters trying to have the law set aside for them. The number of people trying to come here the legal way is soaring. Should we bypass the law for the nice kids, even though they are here illegally?

The Robles brothers and Jessica Lopez have no one to blame but their parents and themselves. What did they really expect? The DREAM Act? Dream on.

Robert Jones
Santa Maria

Not one mention of the parents’ responsibility? What kind of parent jeopardizes their kids’ and their family’s future by bringing them to a country where it is illegal for them to stay for extended periods of time?

I would never move my children and family to another country where I know their lives could be disrupted in a very big way. These irresponsible parents should be called out and held accountable for their actions. Shame on them.

Jeff Jones
Santa Clarita

Hazy on the DREAM Act

Re “American DREAM,” Editorial, June 26

In light of the current recession and cutbacks at our state universities and colleges, it seems illogical to offer coveted spaces on these campuses to students who, through no fault of their own, are not qualified legally.

More academically qualified legal residents are being turned away than ever before. They are the students for whom these campuses were built and staffed.

Sandra Smith
Yorba Linda

The DREAM Act should not be passed. As a Mexican American I never received financial aid when I applied for Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, and never received a Cal Grant.

The DREAM Act would hurt Mexican Americans the most because they would lose attention and opportunities to undocumented people, who would then be showcased as progress — even as Mexican Americans after four generations have low college graduation rates and are sliding back to non-high school completion.

I know many Mexican Americans who would jump at such educational opportunity, but they can’t because they are too poor. School scholarships should only be for American citizens, U.S.-born. Don’t penalize Mexican Americans for being born in the U.S. We have a history in this country.

Julian Camacho
Whittier

Let’s keep Saturday mail

Re “Cured of Saturday mail fever,” Opinion, June 26

How nice for Les Gapay that he doesn’t need the post office to deliver or be open on Saturdays. But there are many of us who aren’t as fortunate — who are away from home weekdays, and don’t have the luxury of picking up or receiving packages except on Saturday.

Doing away with Saturday service would be a massive burden for most people.

Please don’t punish the many so the pampered few sitting at home all week can have their junk mail delivered on Monday instead of Saturday; the junk mail will be delivered, no matter how many days the post office stays closed.

Jamie Dimmel
Los Angeles

What could prepare one for the utter twaddle of this Op-Ed? Freelance writer Gapay apparently received some unwanted mail one Saturday. From this he extrapolates that an end to Saturday delivery, and possibly an additional day or two, is good thing.

One Saturday I was the e-mail recipient of ads for Accutane, recycled ink cartridges and something called a YoshiBlade. In addition, a complete stranger threatened my future well being with what appeared to be an electronic chain letter. Shall we, by Gapay’s logic, shut down the Internet a few days per week?

Kevin P. Smith
Newbury Park

Repression by Hamas

Re “In Gaza, prisoners twice over,” Opinion, June 27

Where is the outrage over the way Hamas treats its people in Gaza?

Where is the international commission? When will the United Nations Security Council discuss this issue?

The people in Gaza elected Hamas as its government and stood silently when Hamas threw out the Palestinian Authority. Yet they still blame Israel for their ills. It is time for the people of Gaza to put the blame for the treatment of their women and for human rights violations where it belongs — on the leadership of Hamas.

Zach Samuels
Los Angeles

Human Rights Watch’s focus on Hamas’ violations of human rights marks a welcome if belated change from the pattern of ideological allegations aimed at Israel.

But Bill Van Esveld amorally equates Israel’s legitimate responses to attack with Hamas’ use of repression and violence to “bolster its Islamic credentials.”

A moral position would not ignore that the terror within Gaza is dangerous both for the Palestinian residents of Gaza and for the citizens of Israel.

Frayda Leibtag
Jerusalem
The writer is a researcher for NGO Monitor.