Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com, or send to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.
STRAWDOGS
Anyone with a brain knows the cop who shot the dog playing fetch in Drake Park isn't right in the head [Nick Schou's “A Deadly Game of Fetch,” April 8]. Several other options should have been tried first: pepper spray, a fist upside the dog's head or a swift kick being just a few. But shooting twice, without any physical contact ever occurring? The next time a study shows the public to be increasingly distrustful of law enforcement, they should refer to this incident as one of countless reasons.
JanXander
HuntingtonBeach
EMYNAMEISELLA
Ellen Taylor hit a new low with her take on SinCity[“Pulp Diction,” April 1]. If the film is as empty and shallow as she claims, then why was it so hard for her to get even basic plot elements correct—Clive Owen was a reformed hit man, not a private eye. And her coda to the review, “For those of us who like our movies to show or tell us something about the way we live” sounds utterly pretentious. Frankly, most people's lives are incredibly banal; that's why we go to the movies. If Ellen doesn't find comics entertaining, as many people do who have jobs, lives, even (gasp!) sex—yes, Ellen, some comic fans do get laid, despite your crude stereotyping—why go see it?
Mr.X
viae-mail
ICOMEFROMENGLAND
I just read that “Ella,” not “Ellen,” Taylor (my bad) is English. That explains it. Never mind.
Mr.X
viae-mail
Hi, Ella. Well, you got all the details right in your well-written review of Palindromes[“Through the Looking Glass, Darkly,” April 15]. Unfortunately, your review was better written than this piece of shit. Director Todd Solondz seems to have peaked with Happiness.This film was, in a word, trite. It might be amusing to 18- to 25-year-olds of limited film experience, but to someone of your caliber? If I want to party with that element, I can watch Jerry Springer. The camera work was worse than anything John Waters ever did, and the acting sucked beyond Plan9.I love dark, irreverent and outrageous. This was schlock. To compare this to CapturingtheFriedmans(except for the physical appearance angle) is unfounded. I still admire you, but you sure wasted a lot of your trusting reader's time and cash.
T.R.Black
viae-mail
EllaTaylorresponds:Infact,myreviewofPalindromes, as distinct from my appreciation of director Todd Solondz, was mixed to negative. Nor did I compare the film toCapturing the Friedmans, I said that it drew on the issues that documentary raised about the culture wars. I'm sorry Mr. Black dislikedPalindromes, buteachtohisown,andallthat.
CONFLICTED
Gustavo Arellano suggests TheOrangeCountyRegisterlets me off the hook regarding a conflict of interest while blasting away at Nativo Lopez [“Chuck Not Amuck,” April 8]. Let me make things clear for him. Lopez was connected to a nonprofit, someone steered $100,000 to it, then Lopez secured a no-bid contract for the donor. Now compare that to my situation. I run for office on a platform of shrinking government and combating waste. People who agreed with me sent me campaign donations—all of which are publicly reported. I then follow through on my beliefs and put up two bills to preserve a valuable source of revenue for the state at a time when the state's park system deferred maintenance deficit is $900 million. One bill would immediately send $50 million to the state; the other would generate $3.2 million cash per year for 10-30 years for the parks system, plus pay $1.1 million yearly to maintain the 32 acres. In addition, the second bill would put the leases andthe contract to run the village out to bid for anyone who cared to bid on them. This puts the general public on the same level playing field as my campaign's donors. Lastly, my two bills have to undergo the full debate of the state Assembly and the Senate, then be signed into law by the governor. A difference? I can see it. But hey, don't worry, the LATimeseditorial board already took a swipe at me with an editorial filled with enough inaccuracies and omissions to make a NewYorkTimesstaffer proud!
ChuckDeVore
Irvine
COOKIEGRUMBLES
What was Rebecca Schoenkopf trying to do with her “Days of Whines and Runny Noses” column [Commie Girl, April 15]? What, if anything, did her painful attempts at wit accomplish for Long Beach's 3,000 homeless kids? Maybe if her own “buttercup of a son” and she were to taste the homeless street life for two months and tilt at the windmills of the welfare system, her style would reveal a little more compassion for the topic. Instead, she screwed up; she screwed off. Ms. Schoenkopf, I hope you're a wiser mom than your editorial ranting led me to believe.
GreggOreo
LongBeach
THECALIFORNIAN
What part of illegalaliens don't you understand [Chris Ziegler's “Too Tough to Die,” April 8]? I have lived in this county continuously for 45 years. I used to be an open-borders guy all the way, but the invasion of the past five years is starting to cause the collapse of the entire state. I love this state so much that when I travel abroad I identify myself as a Californian as opposed to an American. I love this state so much that it absolutely pains me to see the direction that it is going.
SteveGraham
HuntingtonBeach
DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS
While club promoter Dave Leon was grateful for Ellen Griley's write-up “The Leon Touch” [April 21], he was quick to point out he doesn't work alone. His co-promoters are: Lauren Leon, Feline Club; Boy U. and Jason Lavitt, Club Thrust; and Chas Smith, Club Thriller and Suicide Bar.
