GOP’s affection for Big Oil; life in Cudahy; the high cost of healthcare

GOP’s love of Big Oil

Re “GOP’s Barton defends BP, at party’s peril,” June 18

Outrageous is too mild a term to characterize Rep. Joe L. Barton’s (R-Tex.) criticism of President Obama’s negotiation with BP to provide a $20-billion gulf relief fund.

In referring to this compensation (without a cap) for the victims of the oil giant’s culpability that resulted in the death of 11 individuals and the most devastating environmental disaster in our nation’s history as a “shakedown,” he has revealed the way Republicans view the president.

This type of behavior — favoring powerful corporations over the public interest — reveals how dangerous it would be should the Republicans take control of Congress in November.

Republican Party leaders’ pressuring Barton to issue an apology will not offset the negative reaction of the American public.

Joseph M. Ellis

Woodland Hills

A British oil company commits an environmental atrocity in the United States, devastating an entire region for generations to come.

Obama takes the first step in holding BP accountable and Rep. Barton has the gall to apologize to the British, calling this a “shakedown”?

I’d like to be the first to nominate Barton for the “ Benedict Arnold” award of the year!

David B. Caspole

Pasadena

Republicans would side with Satan if it meant slamming Obama at the same time.

Maralys Wills

Santa Ana

Everything about this spill shows how completely dysfunctional America is as a society: our flawed relationship to nature, our inept public sector governance, the irresponsibility of corporations, the venal posturing of our political parties, the gleeful hectoring of the media. What a spectacle!

Arthur Hoyle

Pacific Palisades

Re “Viewing booms as a bust, officials turn to barges,” June 20

Word of Tony Hayward’s lovely sailing yacht, which he found time to enjoy over the weekend, was the ultimate proof of the BP CEO’s tin ear when it comes to public perception.

I guess he got his life back … too bad all those other folks on the gulf coast can’t enjoy a pristine day of ocean recreation, too.

It is hard to conceive that he could get to where he is and be so totally, monumentally stupid! What was he thinking?

Claudia Rosenfeld

Camarillo

Cudahy ‘gritty’? It just isn’t so

Re “Maywood to drop police force,” June 17

As the principal of the largest school in the city of Cudahy, I am saddened to learn that the city of Maywood will be disbanding its police force, which has served our school and community with dignity and professionalism for many years.

But I am outraged that The Times described our community as “gritty.” Our crime rate is lower than that of similar cities. Our schools outperform others in neighboring areas. And our hardworking families are dedicated to their children and community improvement.

In no way would I want the parents and students at my school thinking that their community was denigrated in the press, and I have no doubt that the principals of the other LAUSD schools patrolled by the Maywood-Cudahy Police Department would agree with me. Our children and families thrive under difficult circumstances.

I invite The Times to come to my school and report on the real stories of Cudahy and Maywood.

Sharon L. Sweet

Cudahy

The writer is the principal of the Elizabeth Learning Center.

Why healthcare costs so much

Re “Healthcare’s high-cost traps,” Opinion, June 17

As a retired orthopedic surgeon, I agree with physician Stella Fitzgibbons regarding the demands of the American public and the rising costs of healthcare.

I am reminded of a speech I once heard by Dr. C. Everett Koop, former U.S. surgeon general, who said, “The American people want three things: top-quality, gold-plated healthcare, free access to any doctor of their choosing, and they want it cheap. They can have any two of these, but not all three.”

Harold Forney, M.D.

Carlsbad

Fitzgibbons writes of a Mrs. B who has a likely diagnosis of a benign ulcer which can probably be treated at home with pills.

Fitzgibbons then asks with skepticism if we should “opt for more precise, and far more expensive, tests in which a specialist examines [a patient’s] innards with a fiber-optic scope,” which “in rare cases ... catches something an X-ray can’t.” The doctor is concerned about the cost of such “gold-plated treatment” and feels that reform won’t work unless these costs are controlled.

The real question is what kind of care she would want her mother to receive, and what cost controls would be applied to the “important” people in our society.

Stuart Alan Chapman

Los Angeles

After reading Fitzgibbons’ essay, I concluded it was nice to see the death panels are alive and well.

She demonstrated that once you invite government into the controlling position in healthcare, the idea of saving tax dollars by reducing care and letting the old just die will follow closely behind.

Michael Cregan

Santa Barbara

I would suggest to Fitzgibbons that end-of-life care is not a matter for policymakers. Rather, Americans need to re-think life itself. We want to stay young forever and want to stay alive at any cost.

What is the point of a 75-year-old taking cholesterol meds, restricting her diet, and taking more meds to counteract side effects and unintended consequences instead of enjoying whatever food she likes? What is the point of hooking up an 80-year-old patient to life support when he has suffered a massive stroke and has multiple organ failure? Isn’t it better to enjoy your days and to slide away in comfort and dignity?

If we return to the thinking of ancient man that still exists in much of the world — that death is a natural part of life — then end-of-life costs will plummet.

Stephany Yablow

North Hollywood

A TV plot in wolves’ clothing?

Re “Breeders of the pack,” June 17

According to The Times’ website headline: “Howling next door? Don’t worry, it’s just a San Fernando Valley wolf pack!”

Really? The presence of a group of wolves in a suburban setting should raise many questions, most of which should be directed to city officials and wildlife experts.

Yet The Times only quotes the pack’s owners and a few neighbors. The fact that these people have a nonprofit foundation and a reality show in the wings makes me believe that the newspaper has allowed itself to be used to publicize these ventures.

Joseph Antczak

Los Angeles

In The Times’ article about a supposed wolf pack living in the San Fernando Valley, the implication is that it’s just fine to keep these wonderful animals in one’s house in suburbia. This is not so.

The animals in this group are not wolves and they are not dogs — they are hybrids — and they are not really a true pack of animals but rather one that’s been assembled by the humans with whom they live.

It is known that wolf-dog hybrids can be problem animals and that it’s not a good idea to live with them. I can confirm this personally after spending four decades studying wild canids, domestic dogs and their hybrids.

There’s no evidence that glorifying this sort of situation is good for the animals, or that it fosters coexistence.

The idea that there might be a reality TV show about this household sickens me. It will just perpetuate the idea that people should keep these animals in their homes.

Marc Bekoff

Boulder, Col.

The writer is professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado.