Harry Reid’s comments on Obama; killing the filibuster; drug-fueled crime in Tijuana

Tripping over tongues

Re “Reid’s indelicate remarks also carry a lot of truth,� Column, and “Remarks from past may hurt Reid’s future,� Jan. 11

I don’t know what all the fuss is about -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was just spouting what he believes is the truth.

An African American friend, who came from a time and place in which racism was not only practiced but accepted, told me that during the racially tense 1960s, the only white guy he trusted to speak the truth was then-segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace.

Most of us agree with Reid’s comment that lighter-skinned people have an advantage. It’s going to take a while before we see any real change.

Let’s not get hung up on today’s racial blunders. Let’s prepare for a time when racism, like slavery, can be found only in history books.

Albert Obregon
Sunland

What is the uproar about Reid saying it like it is? He’s just saying what blacks have known forever. Sandy Banks and I have similar skin color, and we know that “certain� Negroes have a more equal shot at jobs than others.

It’s not just skin color. Speech, appearance and names determine who will get a shot at a job. I’m a retired journalist who didn’t get called in for interviews until I changed my first name 48 years ago. Luckily, once I got on the premises, people listened to me, as I spoke the King’s English.

By and large, blacks who have won office, including Sen. Edward Brooke, Mayor Tom Bradley, Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele have had names and speech that assured them crossover votes. Caliphus, Marcel and Shaleefa need not apply.

Don A. Norman
Los Angeles

Reid made a clumsy private statement about Barack Obama while encouraging his candidacy for president. Trent Lott resigned from his Senate Republican leadership post after publicly lamenting the failed segregationist presidential candidacy of Strom Thurmond.

For Steele to equate these two statements shows that he is a bigger ignoramus than his past statements would indicate.

David Perel
Los Angeles

Banks’ frank comments didn’t go far enough.

Obama was chosen in spite of his color. That’s sound judgment on the part of the American people.

As most disillusioned Republicans know, Steele was chosen for his color. That’s racism.

Kathleen F. Klein
Tustin

Banks tries to make a good argument for why Reid’s comments are OK with her.

I wonder, deep down in her heart, if she would have defended these same comments had they been made by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- or any other Republican senator, for that matter. I doubt it.

Her arguments have a hollow ring. Too bad she let her politics show so blatantly.

Jeri Taylor
Indio

Re “It’s outrageous,� Opinion, Jan. 12

I recently experienced a “Negro dialect� moment.

In September, I participated in a radio interview in which I was asked to discuss the music I had chosen to conduct at an upcoming concert at the Griffith Observatory -- a concert commemorating the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s discoveries.

One of the works we were to perform was Darius Milhaud’s “La Creation du Monde.� The ballet, from 1922, draws on stories from African mythology describing the creation of the world.

In discussing the piece, I explained that in his desire to capture the African essence in his music, Milhaud attended New York’s Apollo Theater and immersed himself in “Negro jazz.� Two seconds later, I realized that had I said “what was then known as ‘Negro jazz,’ � I might have avoided the questioning looks and hushed silence around me.

As it was, after hours of trying to scrub the remark from the tape, the broadcasters let it stand. Perhaps the lesson is that reasonable people should be capable of making distinctions between content and intent.

Arthur B. Rubinstein
Los Angeles
The writer is music director of Symphony in the Glen.

Talking about filibusters

Re “Democrats try to smack down the filibuster,� Jan. 10

The Times mentions that the Democrats used the filibuster when they were in the minority, but fails to compare the number of times this parliamentary device has been used by the two parties in this century.

Since Democrats regained control of the Senate, filibusters have skyrocketed: the Republicans last year conducted a record 112 filibusters. Until 2007, the record was only 58. The Times also failed to explain that the filibuster usually no longer takes the form of long-winded, rambling speeches. The minority party leadership merely “invokes� the filibuster, and debate is immediately halted. Period. No Mr. Smith-Goes-to-Washington drama, no inherent inconvenience and discomfort for the sake of commitment to party policy.

The Senate majority leader could insist on a true filibuster, but unfortunately, Harry Reid doesn’t do so.

Sharon Graham
Huntington Beach

It is ironic that Democrats, who enjoy substantial majorities in both houses of Congress, are frustrated by Senate Republicans’ use of filibusters and want to change the rules so that a smaller majority would be needed to overcome such filibusters.

Just a few years ago, when Democrats were the minority party in Congress and a Republican was in the White House, Senate Democrats used filibusters to deny Republican-sponsored tort reform bills, including one that would have dramatically reduced the cost of medical liability insurance for obstetricians(which now approaches $200,000 a year in some states and drives up costs for obstetrical patients nationwide.)

As a physician, I am frustrated by these results, but I still believe the filibuster is needed as a force for compromise and to prevent a single party from having too much power at any given time.

Mark Haas, MD
Sherman Oaks

Tijuana turmoil

Re “New year sees Tijuana slip back into cycle of bloodshed,� Jan. 11

It is discouraging to hear that a city hailed as a success story in Mexico’s war on drug cartels just a few months ago is now experiencing yet another surge of violence.

These drug wars are causing the deaths of innocent people and must be brought to an end.

Cody Broxton
Ladera Ranch

A deserving landmark

Re “Bringing the Beat back,� Jan. 7

Reading of possible historic landmark status for the Venice West Cafe was exciting. There are other reasons why the 7 Dudley location merits the designation.

Venice West and the Beats who frequented it transformed an old Venice building into the eternal sacred ground of the West Coast counterculture, but it lasted only eight years -- by 1966, the cafe was gone.

The early 1980s brought to the same location the Sponto Gallery, a bohemian hotbed of local artists, musicians and poets.

For over two decades, founder Mark “Sponto� Kornfeld and friends ran free events such as Gerry Fialka’s 7 Dudley Cinema, the Pixel Film Festival and a famous-artist interview series. Sponto Gallery flourished until Kornfeld’s death in 2008.

I am glad that 7 Dudley may be prevented from becoming just another expensive Westside restaurant by getting historic landmark status. But the more recent Sponto Gallery should share some of the recognition.

Lisa Ezell
Venice

Go-to guy?

Re “He can really pinch a kilowatt,� Column One, Jan. 11

Could physicist Arthur H. Rosenfeld, who has helped California become a leader in energy efficiency through conservation -- and who is retiring from the California Energy Commission -- be persuaded to help the state identify and eliminate wasteful spending?

John Fessler
Chino Hills