Cardinal Mahony and the church abuse scandal; water use in Southern California; the war in Afghanistan

Mahony and the crimes

Re “Deposition an eye-opener,” Column, June 20

How is it that Cardinal Roger Mahony has never been charged as an accessory to these crimes? This man is a thuggish bureaucrat who to this day doesn’t take responsibility for crimes committed against innocent children.

He sees these crimes through the prism of the 1980s — but child abuse and rape were hideous crimes then and continue to be hideous crimes today.

This man not only ruined the lives of countless children, but also ruined the Catholic experience for many of us who will not attend a church whose leader ought to be in jail. When will people wake up and finally demand that this man step down so that the rest of us can begin to heal?

Carlos Bermudez

Granada Hills

Clergy and judges are “mandated reporters” of child abuse, as are teachers, attorneys, healthcare workers and peace officers.

The penalty for mandated reporters not reporting even suspected child abuse in writing within 36 hours of learning about a possible incident is loss of professional license and/or jail time and/or a fine.

Why haven’t Mahony and L.A. County Superior Court Judge Richard Byrne, who headed the church’s sexual abuse advisory council, been charged hundreds of times for this violation? And why hasn’t the public demanded it?

David Fritz

Reseda

After all that Cardinal Mahony has been found to have let transpire — all quite legally, apparently — I have to wonder:

When he stands before his God, how does he expect to be judged?

Alex Fernandez

Lakewood

Steve Lopez’s column was yet another Times diatribe against not only Cardinal Mahony but the Roman Catholic Church at large.

Those of fair mind realize Cardinal Mahony is a Prince of the Church who has done more good in life than 10 of us have or will do on this earth — and that includes Lopez.

Was Cardinal Mahony wrong in not acting quicker? Yes, he was.

Can Lopez judge a man who has given his entire life for the benefit of countless thousands of others? No!

As good a writer as Lopez is, he never finishes a story properly. You see, Mr. Lopez, only God can judge. Surely no reporter I’ve ever met can, and my own son is a sports columnist.

Edward T. Graney

Dana Point

The Southland’s growing thirst

Re “Rising water levels don’t drown fears,” June 20

Let’s face reality: There will never be enough water in California or in the Colorado River Basin to meet diverse demands. We have to learn to live within what is available — and that means making sacrifices.

For instance, Pasadena gets about 40% of its water from the local Raymond aquifer. The rest is purchased from the Metropolitan Water District.

Could Pasadena supply all its water needs from local sources? I think so. Pasadena averages around 18 inches of rain a year as do the other San Gabriel Valley communities.

The valley is not a desert. With a true and lasting commitment to conservation we would have no need to import our water from outside sources.

Dan Connell

Pasadena

Semi-arid Southern California’s “drinking cup” is increasing in size, owing to suburban development and loss of open space: Our demand for water is increasing.

Not only is sprawl affecting water usage, but it is adding to traffic and commute times and severely impacting air quality. Water shortages are impacting ecological systems in water source areas, driving populations to near-extinction.

A dramatic solution would be to stop development and construction of new housing tracts through a statewide bill with the rallying cry “No more housing development until there is water for it.”

Dave Larue

Newport Beach

The Times reports that “By standard measures, California’s three-year drought is over … [but] water managers aren’t ready to celebrate or make the drought’s end official.”

If only these people were in charge of California’s budget!

Kathryn Roush

Granada Hills

Disarray in Afghanistan

Re “Competing goals,” Opinion, June 17

Doyle McManus is entirely right about the mixed messages the White House is sending about the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. These messages are a clear indication of exactly where Obama’s mind and heart are — of how divided he is on the critically important issue.

On the one hand, I’m sure he would love nothing more than to “win” the war and leave Afghanistan to itself. On the other hand, he fully realizes how unwinnable the war is, and how dangerously unstable the country remains, given the political climate that continues to pervade.

And, yes, there is always the undeniable central role the country plays in the war on terrorism.

Is it any surprise at all that a president who is no lover of war would be sending out such mixed messages?

Carl Mattioli

Newtonville

McManus writes that Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal says “the offensive will still happen, just ‘more slowly than we had originally anticipated. It takes time to convince people. I don’t intend to hurry it.... It’s more important to get it right than to get it fast.’ ”

Can you believe those words? Here we are after almost 10 years, and he’s saying “it takes time to convince people.” What war did we ever win by “convincing” people?

What we have is another disaster in the making. Remember the “pacification” programs in Vietnam?

McManus also tells us that President Hamid Karzai, the unreliable Afghan leader, is hedging his bets and is no longer fully committed to the war.

Is this what you want to tell the soldiers and the rest of us back home? Is it any wonder guys like me want out, and want out yesterday?

Benny Wasserman

La Palma

Fixing doctors’ Medicare pay

Re “Senate delays Medicare fee cuts for physicians,” June 19

Last week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had to begin telling its contractors to process Medicare claims for June to reflect a 21% cut in physician rates, even though everyone knew that Congress is likely to pass another short-term postponement of the scheduled cuts. This is no way to run a health system.

We need a long-term solution to the chronic issue of Medicare physician reimbursement. The present system should be scrapped and replaced with one that pays physicians fairly and realistically, with the proper incentives for rewarding quality care. Otherwise, doctors will continue to face the threat of larger cuts year after year.

Even when scheduled physician cuts are delayed, as they so often are, these short-term postponements lead to inaccurate calculation of reimbursements, which can lead to higher premiums and co-pays.

Doctors, health plans and beneficiaries deserve an equitable system that they can count on.

Dave Schmidt

Long Beach

The writer is CEO, SCAN Health Plan.

A quitter seeks unearned cachet

Re “Mama Grizzly would ‘love to’ meet Iron Lady,” Top of the Ticket, June 20

How transparent can Sarah Palin be?

In her attempt to try and earn cachet in international circles by courting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Palin continues to give the impression of being a shill.

Whether or not one agreed with his policies, Ronald Reagan was committed to them, and unlike Palin, he was also committed to fulfilling his two terms as governor.

What Palin is committed to is bringing her carnival act to every venue that will have her and raking in as much money as she can before she moves on to the next cash cow.

Rodney K. Boswell

Thousand Oaks