L.A. Unified’s healthful but unpopular lunch menus; the sad legacy of Kim Jong Il; praise for the U.S. Postal Service

Choices on the menu

Re “School menu fails student test,” Dec. 18

The failure of the new school lunch menus again proves that no matter how much the do-gooders in government wish it were different, they can’t and shouldn’t try to dictate taste and behavior.

Whether it is the food we eat, the light bulbs we use, the mileage of the car we buy, the decision to gamble on the Internet or with whom we choose to be intimate — stay out of our lives.

John Piccininni

Newport Beach

I read this article with skepticism. According to the December school lunches menu on the Los Angeles Unified School District’s website, a great selection of burgers and other foods that kids like was available.

On the day secondary schools had black bean burgers, they offered turkey burgers, tostadas and potatoes and oranges as other choices. On other days, chicken wings, beef burgers, teriyaki beef and other fine choices were on the menu.

When I was a student at Fairfax High, I would have been overjoyed by these menus.

Frank Glaser

Rancho Palos Verdes

I offer a simple, cost-saving solution: Stop serving lunch. If the ungrateful students want to eat junk food, they can bring their own.

Cheryl Kohr

Redondo Beach

The sad legacy of Kim Jong Il

Re “North Korean leader dies,” Dec. 19

Just when it seemed that there would be little more momentous news in 2011, we find the gratifying story of the passing of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. Kim was one of the world’s most brutal “leaders.”

He managed to keep his people in a state of servitude and fear, to erect and largely preserve a curtain of secrecy over his mysterious empire, to use scant resources to build a feared military, and to develop nuclear weapon to preclude outside military actions.

He starved millions of his people to death, but he enjoyed their reverence, as he is all they knew.

It would be encouraging to believe that North Korea could use the occasion of Kim’s death to initiate an “Arab spring”-type return of power to the people. But sadly, the immediate future will likely hold continued suffering for one of the most oppressed peoples of the Earth.

Oren M. Spiegler

Upper Saint Clair, Pa.

Kim failed as a leader because he didn’t have the discipline or intelligence of his father before him, who ruthlessly ruled North Korea for nearly 50 years.

Though Kim built up North Korea’s military into one of the largest in the world and developed nuclear weapons, he loved the “good life” too much to be a truly respected leader.

His tastes for gourmet cuisine, women, premium cigars, expensive cars and more seemed more suited for a playboy or a materialistic-oriented billionaire than a revered world leader.

Kim paled in comparison to his father.

Kenneth L. Zimmerman

Huntington Beach

Some stamps of approval

Re “U.S. mail: Slow and slower,” Opinion, Dec. 16

James Bovard maligns a venerable American institution and the thousands of its hard-working employees.

I’ve used U.S. mail for many years, from writing and receiving V-Mail in the South Pacific during World War II, to buying and selling on EBay today. The service has been excellent. Any traveler to another country will discover how efficient, fast and reliable our postal system is compared to others.

Our government should completely subsidize the U.S. Postal Service and quiet its haters, who want to privatize mail delivery.

The U.S. Postal Service is the best deal in town. Try sending a letter or package with any private delivery service and find out for yourself.

Larry Macaray

Fullerton

Bovard’s attack on the U.S. Postal Service has some great lines, notably, “The Postal Service has often acted as if mail delivery was a mere nuisance distracting from the gainful pursuit of pensions.” But his piece in no way reflects the service I use and enjoy six days a week.

Are postal workers overpaid? I wouldn’t know, but I do know they are overworked and understaffed and do a fine job of delivering the packages from which I make my living faster and cheaper than other carriers.

I have yet to encounter a postal employee who wasn’t devoted to his or her job.

Jim Washburn

Costa Mesa

Democracy in the Middle East

Re “Taking leave of Iraq,” Editorial, Dec. 17

Your editorial is consistent with our current culture of demanding immediate results and instant gratification. From both a practical and a historical perspective, the jury is out. It may be 10 or 20 or 30 years until the Iraqi people and the world may reap the benefits of a working democracy in the heart of the Middle East.

Imagine the damage to the Islamist, theocratic Iran with its young, seething population next door to a democratic Iraq. Time will tell, so please don’t rush to judgment.

You assume that the U.S. intervention in Iraq has had no influence on the Arab Spring. Have you conducted opinion polls? I firmly believe that our intervention in Iraq has had a huge influence, but let’s refrain from both assigning credit or condemnation and let this play out for several years before we decide.

Mike Bennett

Rowland Heights

In regard to the Arab Spring, I wish you’d given credit where credit was due.

WikiLeaks, with its revelations of corruption at the highest levels of government in Egypt and Tunisia, surely inspired the people of those countries and across the Middle East to demand democracy. I have a feeling history will look on Army Pfc. Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as great forces for freedom.

Jon Williams

Goleta, Calif.

Praise for Arpaio

Re “Arpaio’s too-Wild-West ways,” Editorial, Dec. 18

It’s unfortunate but certainly not unexpected that The Times would support the recent Justice Department report on Joe Arpaio, sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County.

Arpaio is a true American hero trying to staunch the unending invasion of America by illegal immigrants across our southern border. No one loves this country more than he does and he should be praised by the federal government for his tireless efforts to make America a safer and a better place to live.

And speaking of illegal immigrants, wouldn’t it be nice if California had the billions of dollars it spends on them each year?

Bob Wallace

Corona

Lethal injection

Re “New lethal injection rules tossed,” Dec. 17

It is ironic that we can humanely euthanize our pets when they are suffering, but our courts have taken more than five years to search for a humane delivery method for the death penalty. California voters support the death penalty, but we continue to have judges legislating from the bench to support their own agendas.

Perhaps we should consult with veterinarians for a solution.

Rick Kern

Rolling Hills Estates

Christmas past

Re “A new take on Dickens’ ‘Carol,’ ” Column One, Dec. 17

There is no doubt that today’s “99%” in the U.S. are far better off and have a much higher standard of living than the wealthy “1%” in Charles Dickens’ mid-19th century. This happy situation is largely attributable to the outstanding success of western capitalism, which has showered the benefits of prosperity, unimaginable 170 years ago, on all levels of our society.

Dickens would be astonished.

C. Richard Johnson

El Segundo