Giving peace a chance

Paul Clinton

For the last year, Mike Mang, a retired history teacher from

Corona del Mar High School, has been organizing peace rallies at

South Coast Plaza.

The rallies, which occur at 6 p.m. every Friday evening, have

grown in recent weeks, drawing nearly 100 people at the last one.

Mang, who lives in Corona del Mar, organized the first rally after

U.S. troops landed in Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban regime

after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

At that time, only a handful of people attended the rallies, which

are held at the corner of Bristol Street and Anton Boulevard.

But since President George Bush has threatened to overthrow Iraqi

dictator Saddam Hussein, the rallies have found more and more

supporters.

“These people are mostly pacifists,” Mang said. “The public

doesn’t see [Hussein] as the problem; they see [Osama] Bin Laden as

the problem.”

Mang says he chose the location near the plaza because anti-war

demonstrators chose the location in the 1960s. At that time, crowds

gathered to protest the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

GIVING MORE SCREENERS A CHANCE

Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Monday cleared the first major hurdle in

broadening the requirements for employment as an airport screener.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill, sponsored by Feinstein and Sen.

John McCain (R-Arizona), that would amend the Aviation and

Transportation Security Act, which was passed last November. That act

allows only citizens to screen baggage at the nation’s airport

terminals, including at John Wayne Airport.

The changes would allow some noncitizens to screen baggage.

The bill, if eventually passed, would allow persons born in U.S.

territories, honorably discharged military veterans and “lawful”

permanent residents who were employed as screeners a year ago to

compete for jobs as federal screeners.

On Oct. 16, federal screeners began work at John Wayne, replacing

the employees of private security companies.

The screeners now work for the Transportation Security Agency,

which was created in the landmark legislation a year ago.

Noncitizens would still need to pass a “rigorous set of security

requirements before they could be hired,” Feinstein said.

“This simple, but important measure would mean that many deserving

men and women, many of whom have worked as screeners for five to 10

years, would be eligible to work as airport screeners,” Feinstein

said. “It would not require that these individuals be hired or

retained.”

GIVING GRACEFUL LOSING A CHANCE

Congressional hopeful Gerrie Schipske, who failed in her bid to

unseat Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, is now touting her election results,

saying she “made campaign history” by receiving more votes than four

Democrats who won seats in the House.

Schipske pinned down 56,255 votes, or 34.6% of the ballots, which

eclipsed the vote totals of Reps. Loretta Sanchez (with 37,954),

Linda Sanchez (49,983), Lucille Roybal Allard (46,401) and Xavier

Becerra (51,485).

Schipske was also the leader in percentage of votes among all the

Democratic congressional losers in Los Angeles or Orange County. No

other defeated Democrat received more than 33%.

Despite Schipske’s moral victory, she was still beaten by

Rohrabacher by 27%. Rohrabacher secured 61.8% of the ballots in the

heavily Republican 46th District, which was redrawn after the latest

Census.

Thanking her “mighty band of volunteers,” Schipske said she would

return to her life as a nurse, labor attorney and instructor at Cal

State Long Beach with pride.

“As I close my campaign office and return to ‘regular’ life, my

hope is that those elected will have the heart, the courage, the

integrity and the common sense to do what is right for our country,”

Schipske said; “and that by their actions they will inspire and not

discourage citizens from involving themselves in preserving and

continuing our democracy.”