U.S. attempts to get Israel to stop building settlements in occupied lands; the importance of libraries; the L.A. Zoo’s Billy the elephant

Paying for a freeze

Re “ Israel considers U.S. proposal,” Nov. 15

The Obama administration is getting the Israelis to agree to a 90-day freeze on “most” settlement construction in the West Bank by having U.S. taxpayers give them a package of security incentives and fighter jets worth $3 billion. The offer is meant to restart peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. The United States would also thwart any attempts by the U.N. Security Council to shape a final agreement.

I wish someone could explain why taxpayers have to continually bribe the Israeli government, to the tune of billions of dollars, to do the right thing and to stop building settlements in occupied territory and negotiate a peace agreement.

Stephen Fredrick

Newport Beach

A library is more than a building

Re “Libraries turn the page,” Nov. 12

“Re-framing what the library means to the community” is the excuse many modern librarians use to spend taxpayer dollars on fancy equipment that they hope will convince politicians that libraries are still useful. Librarians recognize that not everyone can afford iPads, Kindles, home Internet access or even uncluttered workspace.

Libraries exist to provide free and equitable access to information. Unlike schools, they promote reading and learning for pleasure.

So fight for your library. That way, the next time you have done all you can on Google, your public library will still be around to guide you to the credible information you need.

When your third-grader needs a book about a Native American tribe, or when you need information on how to repair a dryer, plant a garden or train a pet, a library will be there.

Regina Powers

Orange

The writer is a teacher and librarian.

Digitize if you must, but removing books from libraries seems to me as absurd as removing the engine from a car.

The other day at downtown L.A.’s Central Library, I took the elevator and was seized by a tremendous sense of loss as I looked at the cards that once made up the catalogues and now line the elevators’ routes.

It’s not just the words on the printed page that convey the magic of a book. A library and its collections are greater than the sum of its parts, but reducing the number of physical books available to library patrons diminishes the heart of what libraries offer.

Ruth Kramer Ziony

Los Feliz

What they won’t see at LAX

Re “Terminal would block sight lines,” Nov. 13

The remodeled Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport would create blind spots, officials acknowledge. Air traffic controllers say it would be unsafe. LAX officials say modern technology will solve the problem.

LAX officials apparently believe that technology is always available and reliable. And how many outages have they had in the last five years? Plan for the worst case: no radar and no video.

And don’t put obstacles in the line of sight.

By the way, why does the Bradley terminal need a nine-story “centerpiece”? Are officials planning on making it a destination for sightseers?

P.J. Evans

Chatsworth

I thought LAX was confusing enough!

Amy Davis

Anaheim

Looking out for the children

Re “Child welfare chief may be ousted,” Nov. 13

Isn’t it time for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to take a look at its own failure to provide a good plan for addressing the child-abuse problems plaguing the Department of Children and Family Services? Once again, the fingers are pointing and yet another department director, Patricia Ploehn, will be replaced.

Regardless of excuses such as the lack of proper funding, you would think the supervisors and county Chief Executive William T. Fujioka would come up with a plan that works.

Stop pointing fingers and fix the problem. Children are being abused.

Elliot Goldstein

San Diego

My experience as a management consultant in the private sector is that leaders of a company often have clear, measurable goals to achieve over the course of a year, and they are evaluated based on measurable performance as well as how that performance was accomplished.

For Ploehn, a public employee, her lack of performance becomes a subjective discussion among the Board of Supervisors and the county’s chief executive. As a result, the DCFS chief and other public sector heads do not have clear goals and are not penalized for poor performance.

Thankfully, The Times lets us know about these deficiencies in the public sector, which seemingly never get rectified.

David Radden

Venice

Two sides of Social Security

Re “Cutting deficit with ideology,” Business, Nov. 13

As Michael Hiltzik points out, Social Security is not in a crisis. We have plenty of time to close its funding gap by making those who earn more than $106,800 a year pay Social Security taxes on all their wages, just as the rest of us do.

Cutting Social Security benefits would hurt the children of survivors who need the money, for veterans and others who have disabilities, and for retirees who worked their whole lives to live their golden years without having to face poverty.

The rich are getting richer while the rest of us are faring worse. It is time to stop this madness and protect Social Security.

George Dobosh

Sierra Madre

To make his point, Hiltzik states that Social Security has its own funding. What he fails to acknowledge is that the funding is inadequate.

By 2037, Social Security benefits will need to be cut by 22%. This will most likely lead to a generational conflict.

Too bad Hiltzik ignores this to support his ideology

Alan B. Ungar

Calabasas

Shipshape

Re “Shore feels good,” Nov. 12

I was a passenger on the Carnival Splendor last week, and I have to say it was not a negative experience. There was no Spam, no rotting food and the crew went above and beyond. The chefs deserve kudos.

I wish some of those negative people would have considered that “stuff” happens in life and it’s how you deal with it that counts. Plus, it’s difficult for anyone to come up with a plan for 4,400 people in just 72 hours.

Some passengers may have had what they considered a negative experience, but they got a refund and another cruise plus a night in a hotel on the way home. Why complain?

Alison Young

Buena Park

Too cruel

Re “New digs for the big guy,” Column, Nov. 12

What a shame that Hector Tobar uses “working families” to justify keeping Billy the elephant enslaved at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Do “working families” have less compassion for a creature that science says needs to roam for miles a day to stave off crippling arthritis? Are they less educated about the needs of these huge pachyderms to have social interaction with their own species?

Billy has lived for years alone, bobbing his head up and down in misery, and Tobar uses the canard of “working families” to try to put a good spin on Billy’s horrific existence.

Billy should go to the PAWS Sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., so he can live out his remaining years in happiness. Shame on Tobar and The Times for advocating animal cruelty.

Victoria Minetta

Los Angeles