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In certain cases where a letter could stand alone as an op-ed piece, we'll publish it as such.

This Week:

Jim Brunner, West Hollywood, California

Re: Term Limits

It has become apparent that the term limit issue is a Teabilly issue, added to the ballot by the same people that support the Tea Party.

Term limits has therefore become a dead issue as far as I am concerned.

We don't need the influence of reactionary people in our progressive city.

Janice Hebert, West Hollywood, California

Re: Tim Hanes letter responding to Manny Rodriguez

Derision of other’s skills and demeaning their ideas tells us much more about your character than your comment slamming Mr. Rodriguez’s writing skill.

In fact, his op-ed was the picture of good writing. It was clear. It contained simple and declarative sentences.

I do not, personally, agree with Mr. Rodriguez, but your letter made me start to think that perhaps the Term Limit crowd is counting on ignorance to gain power themselves.

After all, isn’t the lot of them failed council candidates who lost because they were unable to gather resources and support enough to get in?

Your letter did not contain simple sentences, nor was it clear.

For example, you write, “But we can't get these career politicians to go voluntarily, in the same proud and stubborn tradition as [Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, President Assad, Hosni Mubarak, who I] mentioned above.”

The trouble with that sentence is it is not factual – none of those dictators went voluntarily. Indeed, dictators have no “proud tradition” of leaving voluntarily.

Two of those you mentioned suffer from debilitating illnesses, one holds power still despite a civil war and the latter went only due to a civil uprising.

But as I try to wade through your herky-jerky prose, I discover that you are trying to say that our elected officials act like these dictators because they continue to run for election in the world’s finest example of democracy.

The rest of the letter is rife with non sequiturs, repetitions and illogicalities.

Where my support for the idea had previously been a reaction to the length of time some of them have spent in office, you have given me pause and now I’m going to give real thought now to the idea of term limits.

Sheila Lightfoot, West Hollywood, California

Re: Political club endorsements go to incumbents

I read the story and you got everything close enough to right that I have no complaints about your paraphrasing of my comments... especially considering how long our conversation was.

I think I actually joined one or both clubs before I started working on term limits and long before Steve decided to run, but I don't think it's a big deal... when the time came I did "insinuate" myself into the process to try to make it more fair than the normal slam dunk.

However, unlike the stories Ed Buck tells about things that supposedly happened with no witnesses, I happened to have been with Steve during the following incident Ed describes in the article.

After the meeting, according t Mr. Buck, Mr. Martin approached him in a rage, threatening to “get a restraining order against me so I couldn’t hurt his election chances. He says John Duran has lost it; it looks more like Steve has jumped the shark,” said Mr. Buck.

IT IS NOT TRUE!

Steve and I walked into the auditorium from being outside and ran into Ed talking to a young woman just inside the doors. Steve was NOT in a rage, there was NO shouting. I think he did initiate the conversation, but he was sarcastically chiding Ed about the nasty comments he'd made earlier.

Re: Ed's rendition about a restraining order, Steve said something to the effect of: I hope you won't be stealing my lawn signs to cause me to have to take out a restraining order on you. Again, sarcastic and chiding. It was an uncomfortable conversation, as you might expect, but no more than that. It probably only lasted a minute or so with the two of them going back and forth.

I don't really know Ed very well, but with his extreme exaggeration of this situation that I witnessed - his credibility is nil.

I am hoping you will make a comment (or update) that a witness did not support Mr. Buck's representation of this incident. Ed shouldn't feel he can make things up and have them published without question.

You and I have always had a good relationship and I have always, as I was today, been very straight forward with you. I have strong opinions, which you and just about everyone else knows, but I pride myself in using facts and solid arguments, not lies or exaggeration.

I will be very disappointed if you let that slanderous, fabricated story hang there without refutation.

Carleton Cronin, West Hollywood, California

Re: 2012 Crime up in WeHo over 2011

WeHo and Universal City are huge visitor attractions and short of erecting gates and charging admission (sorry Council - won't work) with TSA style frisking, citizens are going to have to be very sure of their circumstances regarding where and when they walk, park their cars, etc.

This has become an equal opportunity city and crooks come from every little rat hole to prey. A thousand cops couldn't handle all the possibilities.

We have the best police force in the county.

People must be aware and learn to rely on their gut feelings as well.