MAILBAG - Jan. 2, 2001

Whoa! Hold on a minute here. What is this I see on the front page

(“Let it snow,” Dec. 23)? Looks like kids making angels on public

property, on snow paid for by public coffers. Aren’t angels an icon of

Christianity? Where is the Christmas light Grinch? After all, this is

located in Costa Mesa, the hub of all things politically correct.

Why, these children should be expelled for their offensive behavior.

Those poor non-Christians, openly discriminated against in this manner.

Wait. Fashion Island has the nation’s tallest Christmas tree in its East

Court. Why that should be outlawed too, in the name of political

correctness.

Gee whiz, all those marketing-type people that run Fashion Island

didn’t stop to think of all the sales they were losing by having this

pagan artifact drive away thousands of non-Christians.

How far should we take this thinking? Should we change our currency

and remove the “In God We Trust” phrase? Are our schools safer places for

our children to be since removing prayer? Would [Eric] Harris and [Dylan]

Klebold and their victims [at Columbine High School in Colorado] be alive

today if they had been taught to respect life and others’ right to it?

Unfortunately we can’t rewind life and play it over with those kids

having a different upbringing, but we can look at how life was before

prayer in the schools was outlawed.

I doubt that there were any school shootings during that period. So is

there a connection? Can we do any worse than this by embracing

spirituality? I think not. We’re just throwing gasoline on the fire by

maintaining our present course.

One last point. With affirmative action came accusations of reverse

discrimination. Is this too happening to Christians? By stripping away

the icons of our Lord’s birth, aren’t we being discriminated against?

Where’s the American Civil Liberties Union on this one? Their brand of

civil liberties and religious freedoms only allows the taking down of

Christianity for people who aren’t even complaining about it. I haven’t

heard from any Jews, Muslims, atheists, etc. complaining about these

things.

Are these people offering a solution to which there is no problem,

except for that in their own feeble minds? Maybe they need to get a life.

MARK P. MEDINA

Newport Beach

Reader: Greenlight could drive away business

An election for a 440-square-foot room, etc. (“Keeping elections under

control,” Dec. 25)? Madness. Enacted madness, which will impoverish and

degrade the city.

Enterprise will walk away to less hostile climes, though traffic will

continue to barge its way.

Needed services, without an active commerce base, will inevitably be

passed on to residents or a decline will ensue.

JOHN EHRETZ

Corona del Mar

Newport and South County shouldn’t share a district

Redraw the Orange County supervisors’ districts (“District changes

ahead,” Dec. 21)? Sure, but this time let’s give Newport Beach some

representation on aviation issues by breaking it away from South County,

an area with which it shares little commonality.

We want our 714 area code back too.

THOMAS A. BUTTERWORTH

Balboa Island