Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife; L.A. mayor’s transit plan; and the L.A. Marathon and churches.

A justice’s wife

Re “Challenging a judicial norm,” March 14

I find it unseemly for Virginia Thomas to align herself with the “tea party” movement.

She is not an “ordinary citizen” -- she is the wife of a Supreme Court justice with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of that position.

Norma Wilkinson
Long Beach

Any corporation that might have a financial interest in a decision to be made by the Supreme Court that does not contribute at least a couple hundred thousand dollars to Virginia Thomas’ “tea party”-linked nonprofit should expect to be sued by its stockholders for malfeasance.

Pat Ormsbee
Newport Beach

Virginia Thomas, wife of a Supreme Court justice, is a private citizen who has the same freedom of speech and thought as every other citizen. She is not carrying out governmental duties that belong to her husband. She is acting on her conscience as a concerned citizen, a duty for the preservation of liberty that the Founding Fathers urged all Americans to accept.

This is needed more than ever today, since the media have chosen to relinquish their lead role as nonpartisan watchdog over government.

The Times’ special attention to Thomas on its front page is an example of the partisanship it alleges in others.

Charles K. Sergis
Redondo Beach

Does Virginia Thomas truly want to return to core Revolutionary-era values, under which her husband, Clarence, would be sold as a slave and lynched for romancing a white woman?

The “tea party” and its offshoots attempt to stir up nostalgia for America’s past, crying out to fellow “patriots” for limited government and the myth known as the free market. Yet their version of American history is as childish and inaccurate as the tall tale about George Washington and the cherry tree.

Do they realize that many of these early Americans accrued their wealth by stealing land from native tribes and cultivated that land using slaves who were paid nothing for their labor and often raped and beaten? Is this their exalted idea of individual liberty and free market principles?

We need to examine all aspects of American

history in order to learn how to conduct ourselves in the present. A refusal to do so is a blatant refusal to grow up.

Rosann Simeroth
Los Angeles

Remembering Chelsea King

Re “Another girl dies, another law will pass,” March 14

I was upset to see a photo of the memorial for Chelsea King attached to a news story about laws targeting sex offenders -- and no coverage of the memorial itself. This misrepresents the meaning and purpose of the memorial. I know: I am Chelsea’s great-uncle, and I was seated in the second row with my wife and daughters.

The purpose of the memorial was to help family, friends, classmates and many others who slogged in the rain and marshes looking for clues -- and who eventually found Chelsea’s body -- to begin the process of closure. Mourners also expressed compassion for the family and friends of Amber Dubois, who may have been killed by the same man who killed Chelsea.

More than 6,000 people attended the memorial, and many more were turned away.

At the age of 17, Chelsea had accomplished more than many people do in a lifetime. She was an accomplished writer and poet, musician and athlete.

At the memorial, one of her teachers read a paper she turned in for her AP English class on Feb. 23, two days before her death. In it, Chelsea offered some of her thoughts about life and death:

Give. Give love; Give help; Give friendship; Give support; Give condolence; Seek and give knowledge; Find humor in most any situation so long as it does not offend.

Chelsea lived her short life by this philosophy.

John A. Hodges
Claremont

Transit: It’s a smart investment

Re “On board with the mayor,” Opinion, March 13

Tim Rutten rightly praises Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for L.A.’s aggressive 30/10 transportation funding proposal.

However, the success of this bold and desperately needed initiative should not be left to the mercies of a fractious and effectively insolvent federal system.

California is blessed with many well-capitalized pension funds that are looking for infrastructure as an alternative asset class in which to invest.

What better way for public employees and the state’s principal mega-region to come together than for a consortium of CalPERS, CalSTRS and the SEIU to pool a portion of their resources and advance the funds for the 30/10 program?

The region would meet its transportation needs decades ahead of schedule, and the pension funds would have the long-term, stable returns they will need to meet their future obligations.

This would be a great opportunity for Californians to invest in California -- what’s wrong with that?

Richard G. Little
Los Angeles
The writer is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC.

Too much running around

Re “Churches get the runaround,” March 14

It is a sorry day for the city of Los Angeles when a marathon takes precedence over a church being able to hold regular Sunday services.

The hole has now been punched in the dike. What comes next?

Lori Graham
Los Angeles

Just one week before the Los Angeles Marathon was set to close down major intersections in Los Angeles, I saw no signs warning drivers what to expect.

If this were a closure organized by a government agency, there would have been signs up at least a month ago. An oversight of this nature by a governmental body would result in weeks of investigations by news organizations and demands for change.

I certainly hope my tax dollars aren’t going to pay for traffic control for this disorganized operation. The marathon organizers are the least competent sports organization in Los Angeles and, in comparison, make the Clippers look like a well-run outfit.

Keith Price
Los Angeles

Get healthy -- go vegan

Re “Healthy livestock, sick people,” Editorial, March 13

If animals weren’t raised on filthy, crowded factory farms -- and given growth-promoting drugs so they grow unnaturally large -- antibiotic-resistant superbugs would not pose such a problem.

Animals killed for food live mired in their own waste. Conditions are so deplorable that the animals are fed a steady dose of antibiotics to keep them alive just long enough to send them to slaughter.

Not giving antibiotics to healthy animals is a good first step, but there’s a better solution: Stop raising animals for food.

The fewer animals we raise, the fewer superbugs there will be to battle. And since disease-causing bacteria are not the only health risk posed by fatty, cholesterol-laden meats, eggs and dairy products, we’d all be better off if we ate a vegan diet.

Heather Moore
Norfolk, Va.
The writer is a research specialist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Boondoggles in China

Re “Airports lack a key element: Passengers,” March 13

As an American born in China, I found it painful to read about the building of fancy airports that have no utility. Money wasted on Potemkin villages like the airport in Libo could have made a real difference in the daily struggle of hundreds of millions of ordinary Chinese who have not benefited from their country’s economic boom.

Worse yet, in the closed political system of China, there is no meaningful way to protest such a misallocation of priorities.

When Congress tried to fund a “bridge to nowhere,” at least we were able to stop it. When we complain the next time about the travails and insanities of our political system, we should remember that there is a much worse alternative across the ocean.

Minyao Wang
Staten Island, N.Y.