MAILBAG:

I understand the meaning of the article by Judge Gray (“The government’s judicial branch,” July 13).

The following is not what he intended or implied in another very well-done piece. However, I believe, in practice, special consideration is how minority-rights enforcement and decisions are applied in many areas of the law.

The phrase “that leaves only the judicial branch of government to defend minority rights” leads us down a path I do not think we want or need to go down. It is not the duty of the judicial branch to defend the minority rights. A more accurate and just statement would be “that leaves the judicial branch to defend the rights of all citizens under the law.”

Once you accept the idea that a minority deserves special consideration, you also give the minority special rights not available to all citizens under the same rule of law. Consequently, the judicial system cannot render a just decision based on rights and special consideration that do not exist under the same rule of law.

In our legal system, all rights are vested in the individual. Group rights do not exist; only individual rights. We do not give special consideration based on affluence, authority or ethnicity — whether physical or philosophical.

An example would be special consideration given to Mexicans perceived to be a minority. The result is a breakdown in business, immigration and Social Security laws

It is not because we need more laws, but because we give special consideration to a perceived minority group.

This is a selective system of law enforcement that will eventually destroy the rule of law altogether.

AUGUST LIGHTFOOT

Newport Beach

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Want that great park? Raise your own funds

I am appalled and outraged to read Larry Agran and his cohorts are seeking multiple millions in government aid to waste on their “Great Park” project, which will benefit few and does nothing to remedy the greater transportation problems generated by the developers in Irvine and other Orange County cities.

Residents should demand that all government aid (tax dollars) requested for this park be denied. We are paying for the relocation of Marines from Marine Corps Air Station El Toro to “other” facilities, and now our taxes are to be used to pacify the NIMBYs by co-funding their park development?

If a park is so important, let them raise their own funds, starting with increasing residents’ taxes then instituting a “great park tax” to all supporting El Toro Reuse Planning Authority cities and neighboring residents who feel soccer parks supersede our gridlocked transportation system.

RUSS NIEWIAROWSKI