Letters to the Editor

Editor:

I’ve been seeing a lot more Katie Porter signs in Leisure World. I guess that weekly political ad paid for by the Republican Club is really working in the Democrat’s favor.

Lisa Benedict Mutual 2

Editor:

In the Oct. 6 edition of the LW Weekly, the local GOP club had another ad blaming the Democrats for national and worldwide problems. Its proposal, ironically, urges “vote for Democrats.” In the same issue, (the LW Republican Club) lists endorsements for state offices, most of whom are unknowns and maybe a couple of them are incumbents. Few of them have a chance for election because the Republican Party is so out of step with reasonable Californians that it rarely wins statewide office. The party is now an endangered species in California and doomed to the same fate nationally as it supports racist, anti-semitic candidates who long ago lost hold of the truth, worship at the altar of guns and have no realistic plans to do anything for the people.

In the meantime, the party is bombarding D.C. with requests for infrastructure money that members didn’t vote for and, no doubt, it will take credit for the reductions in prescription drugs that it also opposed and is now trying to rescind.

Pat Kruger Mutual 9 Editor:

On Aug. 25, an article from (GRF) legal counsel appeared on the front page of LW Weekly. It read, “Effective immediately..., information previously published online, including financial statements, construction bids, correspondence and the like, will be omitted from publication.”

The omission was not just online as stated though. As shareholders who attended meetings found out, the printed 40-plus-page information they used to get has shrunk to three pages.

Furthermore, the complete agenda will only be available upon written request per Civil Code Section 5200. It ended with the usual courtesy: “If anybody has a question, please ask management.”

Somebody asked. The new executive director’s response was something like, it’s advice from legal counsel, and the issue will not be discussed further. Simply put, 5,200 road blocks have been set up in case any shareholder happens to be too curious.

Yes, Administration has all the blessings, the power and legal rights to do so. Yes, there’s a need to protect privacy and all, but there are ways to work around it; redaction and password access are examples. This wholesale block out of public information is lazy and disingenuous. It’s the worst assault on transparency in my 21 years living here. I am disappointed. Please do better.

Aranee Carrigan Mutual 1 Editor’s Note: Upon advice of legal counsel, the Golden Rain Foundation has recently changed how residents can access information due to liability concerns related to confidential documents. Confidential documents include financial statements, construction bids and releases that compromise resident privacy, among other privileged information. Currently, the GRF posts meeting agendas—not the packets that board members receive—that are accessible to all residents, who can also attend meetings either remotely or in person. Members can also request other specific documents, but they are not entitled to documents deemed confidential.

Editor: I am writing to give a shoutout to the Golden Age Foundation for its expedient solution for the recycling of batteries in Leisure World. The new dropoff program is sheer perfection. Thanks for “hearing” our concerns and for preserving this valuable and environmentally important service. You have a “done-well” from Dunwell.

Suzanne Dunwell Mutual 6 Editor:

OMG, what makes you think that the newspaper knows what are lies and what are truths? Its job is to print the news and the ads, not to check every submission for lies and, oh no, so and so isn’t going to like this, so we can’t print it.

Come on people, it’s only ink, it can’t hurt you. I usually know by the end of the first sentence if I want to read the rest of the article. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. You’re giving them the upper hand by getting all upset over an article or an ad. I find it confusing as to why there is a Republican Club and a Democratic Club to begin with.

The other thing I would like to mention about the stealing of the golf carts is that it can’t possibly be somebody who lives in LW who’s doing the stealing. So how are they getting them out of LW, driving them right out of the gate?

I’m feeling safer and safer every day.

Jeanne Warpack Mutual 9 Editor:

Reluctantly, I feel personally obligated to respond to recent intemperate political opinions expressed in Letters to the Edi tor. My purpose is to remind us all of a few real-world practical matters. Free speech is an absolute necessity in a democratic republic, especially the free speech with which any of us may seriously (or even violently) disagree.

Even the “freedom of religion,” which many Americans regard as supreme, arises out of the foundation of freedom of speech. Insistence on “factual” speech only requires an omniscient referee—and if there were such available, there would no longer be genuine free speech. It is the primary responsibility of the reader/hearer to make his or her own judgment, not to silence or “shout down” the speaker because the claims “offend us.” References to “yelling fire in a crowded theater” may be made (because of free speech), but cannot be legitimately applied to Letters to the Editor or political displays ads, no matter how disagreeable a given person or group may regard them to be.

Any reasonably accurate knowledge of U.S. history reveals that objective “truth” in political discourse has often been the exception and not the rule. The purpose of political debate is to persuade. Rarely (if ever) is truth the sole motivation, only such parts of the “truth” considered to be useful for purposes of persuasion. A couple of obvious examples in recent history would be the sad events surrounding the so-called “congressional investigation” of “un-American” activities and the contradictory varieties of political rhetoric during the Vietnam conflict.

Dan Wilderman Mutual 14 Editor:

Here’s a suggestion for the old Mini Farm site: turn it into a parking lot for the gardeners/ contractors and charge them a monthly parking fee. I love living in LW, but it’s no secret that it is getting more expensive. I think it’s time to make serious choices between what we’re willing to pay for and what could earn some income to maintain the amenities that are most important to us, or leave it as a Mini Farm and manage it much better.

Feliza Dixon Mutual 15 Editor:

I am a liberal who is prochoice and believe that any child born should have food, clothes, medical care, a roof over his or her head and an education. I am pro same-sex marriage and believe that who someone marries doesn’t have a darn thing to do with you (nor should it) and their marriage should have the same rights as yours. I’m pro freedom of speech but understand that you need to answer for what you say. I’m pro separation of church and state and believe you can worship your God and follow your churches’ teachings but have no right to legislate me to follow them also. I believe you can send your kids to any school you want if you pay for it out of your pocket.

I’m very pro veterans, period, and pro police, but I understand that some of them need to find another job. I believe that banning books says more about the people banning them than the books. I believe in the Second Amendment but also believe in waiting periods, background checks and that some people just shouldn’t own guns.

I could go on but what I believe in most is that our private community paper should not take any political ads or inserts, no matter who pays for them, because the ads cause dissention among us, something that we don’t need any more of. And I believe that all clubs, including the Democrat and Republican clubs, should be careful in what they post.

Carole S. Damoci Mutual 12 Editor:

As official recall spokesperson, I proudly was the first to sign the Notice of Intent to Recall Los Alamitos School Board member Scott Fayette, Trustee District 4. I would have signed it as large as John Hancock did on the Declaration of Independence because voters in District 4 have never been allowed to vote for a representative on their school board. Scott was installed on a technicality in November 2020 because he was unopposed, he never appeared on a ballot. District 4 voters didn’t even get to write in someone else.

We had more than enough bona fide signatures, witnessed by volunteer petition circulators, to qualify for a recall election. Last month, I spent two afternoons at OC Registrar of Voters reviewing recall petition findings. Again, on a technicality, the recall was determined insufficient since 63 signatures did not match voter’s signatures on driver’s licenses. Is the signature you make on the DMV’s electronic pad with your finger or stylus the same as the signature you produce with pen and paper? Many petition signers live in LW. They were putting actual pen to paper. Other signatures were not considered when apartment numbers or Ave, St, Rd or Ln were missing.

Vote-By-Mail ballot users, sign the ballot return envelope exactly as your signature appears on your driver’s license or your vote may not count. If you get a letter from the OC Registrar’s Office about your signature, return it ASAP to ensure your vote counts. Hope K. Horning Mutual 2