Those who want war should see...

Those who want war should see its effects

I’m a veteran of World War II. Your letter writers and readers who

want a war with Iraq should be required to visit a veterans’

hospital. My leg was broken in 1945, and I put in some time in the

naval hospital near Pearl Harbor.

People who want war should have to see the results of a war. I did

not see combat duty, but I saw men and women who were suffering. A

nurse told me that a high percentage of the patients had died. Some

asked her to end their suffering.

If President Bush kills Saddam Hussein, will he also kill all of

the other dictators?

I’m proud of serving my country during World War II, and I’m proud

of what I did to help end the Vietnam War.

RICHARD ARTHUR

Huntington Beach

Save money. Don’t fund the art center

Maybe someone should look at the Art Center on Main Street. It was

to be self-funding years ago, and the city is still pouring money

into it.

TOM WOOD

Huntington Beach

It’s time to examine coastal commission

The coastal commission has evolved into a no-growth agency that is

nothing more than a mouthpiece for whatever fringe environmental

group (usually just a bunch of neighbors who don’t want their views

blocked) pops up on the horizon.

It is shocking that we have an agency of this kind that does not

answer to voters, but virtually controls the economic health of our

state. We should all be grateful to the Marine Forests Society for

exhibiting the heart and soul of true environmentalists and besting

this too-powerful commission at their own game.

Now would be a good time to thoroughly examine the workings of the

coastal commission and what they are costing the state of California.

In this time of extreme budget problems, the commission staff should

be cut to a minimum, especially its legal department, which obviously

either doesn’t have the knowledge to understand what is

unconstitutional or whose questionable code of ethics allowed them to

overlook that fact in order to continue to feed at the public trough.

FRANK SALVINO

Huntington Beach

Hyatt looks like a cheap strip mall

The photo of the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa on

the front page of the Independent looks like just another 1990s strip

mall.

Beige stucco, arches and a red tile roof. Yawn. Sixteen

cheap-looking, water-spouting fish surrounding a bare concrete pond.

Tacky. The design is so ... yesterday. What was the architect

thinking? My first impression reminded me of the front of my

dentist’s office building. Didn’t the Waterfront Hilton wind up in

bankruptcy? My guess is, the Hyatt will find it difficult to avoid a

similar fate.

What is the attraction worth, $350 to $3,500 per night? A building

with all the ambience of a strip mall? A beach with recent high

bacteria warnings? The limited Main Street shopping is definitely not

a Fashion Island. There is no golf course, which most high-end

resorts must have today.

We are truly whistling in the dark. I sure hope the city doesn’t

have a financial backing stake in this turkey.

JAMES MUNRO

Huntington Beach

Taxpayers shouldn’t bail out the state

Over the past three years, Gov. Gray Davis and Democrats in the

legislature have been on a wild spending spree, increasing the state

government by more than one-third. Now, as the state faces an

estimated $34.8 billion budget deficit, they want you to pay higher

taxes. Hard working Californians did not create this budget deficit,

and they shouldn’t be forced to solve it by handing over more of

their hard-earned money.

When families face tough economic times, they cut back on

expenses. When California was faced with tough economic times,

Democrats spent more. Even a sixth-grader knows you can’t spend your

way out of debt.

As lawmakers struggle to balance the state’s yawning budget

deficit, Californians must demand the same kind of fiscal discipline

in state government that they practice in their own households.

TOM HARMAN

Assemblyman, 67th District

Huntington Beach

MoveOn movement is not a political one

I was disappointed in the presentation of the meeting of many

citizens of the area who had an appointment with Congressman [Dana

Rohrabacher] on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Your paper tried to make it a political gathering, when in

reality, politics were never a part of why we were there. We were

trying to tell our representative (who, incidentally, didn’t show up)

that we wanted our country to give the inspectors more time. What is

the rush to war?

Please don’t denigrate the MoveOn movement. We are a nonpolitical

group who love our country and want only the best for all the people

of the world.

EILEEN MURPHY

Huntington Beach