Mailbag: Child’s life more important than phone call
Slow down Burbank!
In the past two weeks I know of two children who have been hit by cars — one directly in front of Jordan Middle School. Fortunately, these children had minor injuries and will make a full recovery. The next child might not be so lucky.
We all know that children believe that cars can see them and will stop, but too often cars don’t see kids — either through the fault of the child darting out between cars, or because we are talking on the phone or in a hurry. But either way, drivers are responsible for their vehicles, not kids.
Please put down your phone and stop multi-tasking or pull over. What you’re talking about on the phone most likely isn’t more important than a child’s life.
Kristy Mersola
Burbank
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September is a historic month
This month more than most others is a very powerful month in the history of California and the United States. Here are just a few highlight reminders of the depth of that history!
Sept. 28, 1542: Portuguese sailor Juan Cabrillo discovers and names California.
Sept. 4, 1782: The city of Los Angeles is officially founded.
Sept. 18, 1787: The United States Constitution is finally ratified and becomes the absolute law of the land.
Sept. 2, 1789: Congress officially establishes the United States Treasury.
Sept. 25, 1789: Congress ratifies the Bill of Rights.
Sept. 13, 1814: Francis Scott Key writes the words that would become America’s national anthem.
Sept. 22, 1862: President Lincoln writes and issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves.
Sept. 6, 1894: Congress establishes the first Monday of September as Labor Day, a national holiday celebrating the working American.
Sept. 6, 1901: The 25th president, William McKinley, is shot twice at close range by a deranged anarchist named Leon Czolgosz while attending an exhibition in Buffalo, New York.
Sept. 14, 1901: Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as the 26th president and at 42 years old, the youngest ever at the time.
Sept. 1, 1938: Hitler fabricates a lie and invades Poland beginning World War II in Europe.
Sept. 5, 1975: The first of two separate assassination attempts against President Gerald Ford. Two weeks later, another attempt is thwarted.
And, finally, no American alive today will ever forget Sept. 11, 2001.
These are just some of the amazing historic events that have occurred during the month of September. What is it about the month of September?
Joseph Di Sante
Burbank
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Prop. 8 ruling was a logical one
I too read the Kristin M. Perry v. Schwarzenegger ruling by U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker and was struck by the methodical and logical way that the judge summarized the case (“Prop. 8 supporters are stuck in the past,” Aug. 18).
One gets the impression that the ruling was not a difficult one for the judge to arrive at because the case was so lopsided in favor of the plaintiffs. Is this because the defendants were sloppy or that they did not properly prepare for this important case? I’m left with the opinion that the defendants had no case to present.
Proposition 8 supporters can claim that Judge Walker is biased and dismiss his ruling out of hand; but in the court ruling, each and every one of the judge’s conclusions was arrived at based on the testimony and evidence presented, and on U.S. Federal Courts case law. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?
To quote the ruling, “An initiative measure adopted by the voters deserves great respect. The considered views and opinions of even the most highly qualified scholars and experts seldom outweigh the determinations of the voters. When challenged, however, the voters’ determinations must find at least some support in evidence. This is especially so when those determinations enact into law classifications of persons. Conjecture, speculation and fears are not enough. Still less will the moral disapprobation of a group or class of citizens suffice, no matter how large the majority that shares that view. The evidence demonstrated beyond serious reckoning that Proposition 8 finds support only in such disapproval. As such, Proposition 8 is beyond the constitutional reach of the voters or their representatives.”
Allan Jones
Burbank