Letters to the editor: Occupy L.A.’s impact on City Hall’s grass; laws on keeping exotic animals; teaching about gays in schools

Grass isn’t greener

Re “L.A.’s occupation could grow,” Oct. 20

So, it will cost $400,000 to replace the lawn around City Hall? If Department of Recreation and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri calls the city’s Department of Water and Power, perhaps he can wangle a deal to get the $1 per square foot that the DWP pays a resident to remove a lawn.

Surely in this age in which residents are encouraged to replace water-hungry lawns with xeriscaping, the city of L.A. could do the same.

Debra Kaufman

Venice

The protest movement could motivate Wall Street to shape up by embarking on a stock-purchase program, the goal being control of the major offender corporations. Each person who supports the movement could purchase 10 shares of a targeted corporation, such as Bank of America. Cost: About $65.

The number of shares acquired should grow quickly. The voting rights obtained would be assigned by proxy to a trust created by the protest movement.

Soon, like dominoes, all the major offenders would lose control. The sooner the better.

Herbert I. Rosenkrantz

Calabasas

Really? The Times’ coverage of the protests leads with a focus on the cost of “repairing the increasing damage to the City Hall lawn”?

Can we now focus on the real issues, such as the impact of the economic policies that are responsible for igniting grass-roots movements across North America and Europe? Grass grows back.

Hannah Galloway

Santa Monica

Oh my God, the grass at City Hall is dead. How sad that we have lost some of the most useless stuff in history, responsible for our biggest waste of water. Sad, sad, sad.

James Moore

Burbank

Where the wild things should be

Re “Exotic animal laws called into question after Ohio killings,” Oct. 20

This unnecessary tragedy screams for stringent laws that allow only accredited zoos, breeding programs or sanctuaries to house exotic wildlife. Private individuals should have no right to do so.

That so many rare and innocent creatures had to be slaughtered is a travesty. The global extinction of so many of these species is rapid enough without tragedies like this adding to their alarming demise.

This country is among the worst of developed nations regarding animal protection. We are either too arrogant or too naive to see the need for change.

Penelope Burley

Camarillo

People distressed by the photos of animal carcasses in Ohio might take at least slight comfort in knowing that the animals are surely better off now than they were for the last few years living pathetic lives locked in cages.

Those headed for the zoo may or may not have half-decent existences, but hundreds of gentle herbivores will live and die in the horror of the factory farming system in order to become their food.

There are no happy endings when it comes to large carnivores held captive for human entertainment. It is an outdated industry, and it is time for it to come to an end.

Karen Dawn

Pacific Palisades

Apply Iraq’s lessons to Libya

Re “Libya after Kadafi,” Editorial, Oct. 21

I agree with The Times about rebuilding Libya. But I would like to remind The Times that much of the turmoil in Iraq was a result of how the U.S. handled things once Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

Instead of being liberators, we were occupiers. We disbanded the Iraqi armed forces and lost the trust of the Iraqi people.

This time, let’s help the people by building bridges between tribes and fostering education and public works projects. No Halliburtons. No U.S. soldiers. Build bridges, literal and otherwise.

Paul L. Hovsepian

Sierra Madre

Can we all see the differences between the assassination of Osama bin Laden and the death of Moammar Kadafi?

Nevertheless, I hope this country, the world and all of us individually can at least feel some relief in the fact that the U.S. does not need to waste young lives and valuable resources to free everyone else. In other words, some other countries out there might be just as exceptional.

Seth Clyde-Hamilton Gold

Woodland Hills

Whitman was gay — that’s easy

Re “Gaps in the lesson plan,” Editorial, Oct. 19

Is including “positive messages” about gay people in the curriculum really such an arduous task? Why do educators need a lesson plan to inform their students that this poet or that political leader happened to be gay?

I read Walt Whitman and Tennessee Williams while I was in school; it would have been great to know that they were both gay. Harvey Milk was a political leader who embodied the American spirit. He’s as inspiring as any American who stood up in the face of persecution.

People who have contributed to the fabric of this American landscape, and who happened to be gay, should be mentioned in exactly those terms. How much time does that take?

Jennifer Hoppe

Valley Village

I am afraid you don’t get the intention of this long-overdue legislation.

Among other things, why do you think bullying and gay-bashing are such big problems in schools?

You suggest that kindergartners may not be ready for these lessons. But kindergartners do learn to call each other “fags” early at school.

I don’t agree at all that the legislators have mandated a “poorly crafted, politically motivated mandate.”

Chuck Howard

Palm Springs

Not all lies are equal

Re “Undo the Stolen Valor Act to protect free speech,” Opinion, Oct. 20

Under some circumstances lying can be a criminal offense, such as false testimony in court. A person can be fired for putting false information on an employment application.

For a person to say that he was awarded a Medal of Honor when he was never in the military, and to spread this lie for political gain, should be a criminal offense. This is not a case of someone making a story a better story.

Raiford L. Langford

Sherman Oaks

As a veteran, I resent people who lie about their military record. But as long as they’re not lying to obtain money or a position, we shouldn’t arrest them. If we arrested everyone who lies, half the country would be in jail.

However, deliberately lying to hurt other people should be considered a crime, just as deliberately hurting them physically is. Ergo, not all lies are equal.

Leon Schwartz

Altadena

Define ‘success’

Re “Billions in tax dollars lost on dropouts,” Oct. 20

As a retired workers’ compensation judge who has taken courses for the last four years at community colleges, I disagree that billions were “lost” on full-time students who dropped out before completing their studies

“Success” in the article is narrowly defined as a student transferring to a four-year university. I think a more educated populace empowers society in immeasurable ways.

Community colleges should issue certificates of attendance that display the number of units a student has completed, which can be used on job applications. Certainly, a student with, say, 30 units of community college credit is better qualified than a high school graduate who never continued on in school.

Robert Y. Nakagawa

Los Angeles