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WAITING TO KILL YOU
I'm sure R. Scott Moxley's visit to Hiroshima was sobering (“Hiroshima,” May 4). He speaks of his anger toward Americans in the White House, Congress and Pentagon who engineered the A-bomb attacks. He apologizes to a Japanese man for what he calls an “atrocity.” Okay, Scott, for the sake of argument, say we could change history. There is now no atomic bombing. However, this means that U.S. troops must invade Japan. Here's the kicker: you are now a U.S. Marine, Scott. You are in one of those troop ships about to land on a Japanese beach with millions of Japanese waiting to kill you. In troop landing boats with you are all of your current friends, plus your close male relatives. All of your friends and relatives are going to be killed. And you, Scott, are going to have to hold each one in your arms as they die, crying for their wives and girlfriends back in America. I myself could cry at your pathetic ignorance.
Greg Hill
Huntington Beach
R. Scott Moxley responds: Before the atomic bombs were dropped in August 1945, Japan was a fading enemy without a serious navy to resist a blockade, without a serious air force to defend its airspace, without a single ally, and without access to vital supply lines. American planes flew unimpeded conventional bombing missions over Japan around the clock. The Pentagon had cracked Japanese secret codes, and President Harry S. Truman knew that the enemy had been maneuvering for surrender weeks before Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So, Mr. Hill, I do not regret my apology for this country's needless, fatal, surprise attack on 200,000 humans—mostly women, children and the elderly. But you don't have to take my word for it. General Douglas MacArthur; Major General Curtis LeMay; and Admirals Chester Nimitz, William Leahy and Bill Halsey (to mention a few) were all appalled. Supreme Allied Commander and Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower was most succinct. “Japan was already defeated,” he said. “It was unnecessary to hit them with that awful thing.”
TRICYCLE NOT DECIMATED!
In “Hiroshima,” Moxley refers to “a child's decimated tricycle.” I looked up decimate in the dictionary. It means “to kill or destroy one-tenth.” And I've seen the press misuse the word “shrapnel” many times. Moxley mentioned a “shrapnel-filled fireball” at Hiroshima. Just had to say this or I would explode.
Gordon Johnson
via e-mail
R. Scott Moxley responds: Thank you. I erroneously labeled deadly flying debris caused by the blast as shrapnel. However,The American Heritage Dictionary gives as one of its primary definitions of decimate “to inflict great destruction or damage on.” The tricycle in the Hiroshima museum was clearly decimated.
DANA ON CORRUPTION
R. Scott Moxley's story about District Attorney Tony Rackauckas (“Who the Hell's in Charge,” March 23) was thorough and more accurate than the coverage in the LA Times or The Orange County Register. Patrick Di Carlo, Rackauckas' friend, has never been charged with anything, and it's abundantly clear that a war of harassment has been waged against him by out-of-control investigators left over from the last DA. That central issue was not clear in our two mainstream papers.
But just when one wants to compliment Moxley, he turns around and destroys his credibility, faulting coverage of the accusations against [Huntington Beach City Councilman] Dave Garofalo (“See No Evil Republicans,” May 4). He calls the accusations “arguably the biggest corruption scandal in city history.” But no charges have been filed. Moxley, like those DA investigators, is out-of-control. I have no idea if the accusations against Garofalo are unfounded. They are certainly unproven and will be determined by our legal system.
This leads me to my last criticism: Moxley faults [Times reporter] Jean Pasco for not reporting my alleged role in the legal yet underhanded scheme to put a [fake] Democrat on the ballot during Scott Baugh's first chaotic race for the Assembly. This is totally untrue, which is why Pasco did not report it.
Moxley and the Weekly have shined brightest when they champion downtrodden victims of the system, insisting that the accused be considered innocent until proven guilty in a fully legal and fair process. Your double standard, especially in the Garofalo case, is evident.
Representative Dana Rohrabacher
Huntington Beach
R. Scott Moxley responds: A police raid on a city councilman's home and offices is news by any credible journalistic standard. Oddly, theTimes OC failed to report the story. My article pointed out that the sameTimes reporter apparently responsible for the missing Garofalo raid story is the same reporter who, when she was with theRegister, had a sordid history of protecting Rohrabacher, a Garofalo pal, in a previous scandal. In this light, it is understandable why the congressman has rushed to Pasco's defense.
DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS
Aishwarya Rai, whose photo appeared with our May 18 story “Hooray for Bollywood,” is so beautiful that we figured she must be the queen of Bollywood. Actually, that title has been bestowed on Karishma Kapoor, who was not pictured.
