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Mailbag: Traffic lights in Irvine out of sync

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Re “Irvine’s PSA seeks to deter wrecks,” Feb. 19:

Irvine traffic signals are exquisitely asynchronous. They are impeccably interminable as eight lane directions (through and turn) languidly separately proceed, plus time delays. Drivers park in place or stomp gas pedals.

Lowered mileage with increased component wear gorge Irvine sales tax. Pollution emissions empower heinous regulation and its political gains. Paralyzed traffic enrages and entraps, feeding traffic court productivity.

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Sequentially green traffic signals and paired rapid lane flows are crazy talk. Irvine’s platitudinous amorality and overweening arrogance demand more.

Alan M. Schwartz

Irvine

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Korean ballet performance dazzles

Re “Little Angels say thank you,” Feb. 17:

Thank you for the nice article by Imran Vittachi about the performance of the Little Angels Korean Folk Ballet on Feb. 15 at the Segerstrom Hall.

I attended the event with my mother, who is the widow of a Korean War veteran and was a nurse during the war. We were thrilled by the beautiful Korean dances, the colorful costumes and the lovely background settings.

My favorite was the drum dance. My mother keeps raving to her friends about the evening, saying she didn’t know it was going to be so fantastic like that. Beautiful, indeed!

Eve Thompson

Corona Del Mar

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Against illegally modified motorcycles

Re “Easy riders make Newport life uneasy,” Feb. 15:

Because the problem seems to be rampant, it seems police and city officials all over Southern California have turned a blind eye to these illegally modified motorcycles. The operative word is illegally.

They’re roaring thunderously down our roads, many times in packs, with no regard for the noise they create. Why has this issue gone unresolved? If somebody knows how to start a petition, I’ll be the second signature behind Allen Drucker’s.

Jo Carol Hunter

Newport Beach

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CASA serves young girls, too

Re “On Faith: On not being religious but spiritual,” Feb. 3:

Good writer, good message, inaccurate information. In the second-to-last paragraph of Thomas Thorkelson’s column, he suggests some organizations readers might consider becoming involved in. He states that the Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, “mentors young men who have no father figure in the home.”

He’s not completely wrong, but excludes one of the sexes in his statement. It is indeed a good organization to become involved in, but is an intense commitment to children who have been greatly damaged by those who should love them the most. I was an advocate before I had my four children and intend to serve in this organization again once my youngest is off to college.

Tina Ryder

Newport Beach

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Obama respectful in contraception debate

Re “Commentary: Obama wages war against Catholic Church,” Feb. 19:

Dr. R. Claire Friend’s commentary contains several historical inaccuracies, besides leveling indefensible accusations against the president. She claims that the church “...was the defender of civilization during the Crusades against the Muslims who attempted to conquer Europe.”

It is true that the Francs, under Charles Martel, with the church’s blessing, turned back the Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732. However, the 13th century Crusades were an act of aggression against the Muslim rulers of Palestine who, except for brief periods, had allowed Christians to visit their holy sites. The fruits of the Crusades were the slaughter of Muslims, Christian Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem and elsewhere.

As to America “...always being on the right side of the angels,” how about “often” rather than “always,” as the institution of slavery and the decimation of Native Americans are terrible black marks on our history.

Obama, despite his initial missteps on the issue of contraceptive health coverage for employees of Catholic institutions, has attempted to be fair to believers of many faith traditions, both conservatives who oppose abortion and artificial contraception, and liberals who see abortion as morally permissible, at least in some cases.

The president is not a Henry VIII fighting the Vatican, as Friend claims, but a quite fallible yet immensely skilled leader attempting to do justice to the pluralistic religious beliefs of 310 million Americans.

Benjamin J. Hubbard

Costa Mesa

The writer is a professor emeritus of comparative religion at Cal State Fullerton.

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