tor. My purpose is to ….

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