Monday's letters

The parents of Jamiel Shaw Jr. cried, begged and pleaded to stop the sanctuary policy of LAPD Special Order 40 that has prevented officers from reporting illegal alien gang members to federal immigration ...

[JeanPierre]

I doubt the LA city and Mayor will oppose the Jamiel modification. This would create an uproar
It's impossible to justify more innocent deaths
We need a reform, no more gangs laisser-faire

[War casualties]

4-14 LBPT Iraq casualties
Andrew Kalionzes of Long Beach writes: "Letter writer Thom Simmons attempted to distort the facts of the Iraq war by claiming that the reduced deaths are due solely to advances in medicine...

REPLY----------
I believe that if you reread Mr. Simmons letter, nowhere did he state that medicine was the SOLE factor. You both are correct in the reasoning for reduced deaths... it is science.

[Deportation]

If the government is going to deport illegal immigrants that are gang members, then they should do it for all racial groups. The Mayor is only doing something now becasue its close to his home, and he has to make himself look good becasue of the marital scandal he is involved in. gang members that are illegal (all races)should be deported back to their home land; but where is there home land. Not one single individual in America is a legal immigrant. Every individual was brought to American in one form or another

[OOH PLEASE]

Deportation wrote:

If the government is going to deport illegal immigrants that are gang members, then they should do it for all racial groups. The Mayor is only doing something now becasue its close to his home, and he has to make himself look good becasue of the marital scandal he is involved in. gang members that are illegal (all races)should be deported back to their home land; but where is there home land. Not one single individual in America is a legal immigrant. Every individual was brought to American in one form or another

BLAH BLAH BLAH, IT WOULD BE HARD TO DEPORT COLUMBUS, CABRILLO, THE PILGRAMS, AND ALL THE OTHERS WHO "INVADED" AMERICA BECAUSE THEY ARE NOTHING MORE THAN FERTILIZER NOW!!! SO LET'S JUST STICK WITH THE HERE AND NOW OK' DEPORT THEM ALL, BRAND THEM LIKE CATTLE ACROSS THE FOREHEAD FOR INDENTIFICATION PURPOSES!

[lbpd]

Deportation wrote:

If the government is going to deport illegal immigrants that are gang members, then they should do it for all racial groups. The Mayor is only doing something now becasue its close to his home, and he has to make himself look good becasue of the marital scandal he is involved in. gang members that are illegal (all races)should be deported back to their home land; but where is there home land. Not one single individual in America is a legal immigrant. Every individual was brought to American in one form or another

Oh really? My family was sponsered and went through Ellis Island. They learned English and my Great Grandfather served in WW1 in the Navy. Seems many did things the legal way.

Now we are FLOODED with Illegals who snuck across the boarder. The ones who get arrested should be reported and deported. This includes the flood of Canadians who are here illegally. Cut off welfare and ship them back. We can not afford them.

Think that is harsh? look into what it takes to become a citizen of Mexico. They take immagration seriously.

[Mathias D]

War casualties wrote:

4-14 LBPT Iraq casualties
Andrew Kalionzes of Long Beach writes: "Letter writer Thom Simmons attempted to distort the facts of the Iraq war by claiming that the reduced deaths are due solely to advances in medicine...
REPLY----------
I believe that if you reread Mr. Simmons letter, nowhere did he state that medicine was the SOLE factor. You both are correct in the reasoning for reduced deaths... it is science.

Let's see here...what he said in his original post was that the difference in casualties had NOTHING to do with changes in combat and EVERYTHING to do with changes in medicine.

He went on to answer my question by stating that of course the Iraqis do not have the same medical technology that we do, and that is why they have suffered so many deaths.

He distorted the figures, no doubt about it, as I would if I was trying to make my argument. Honest debate begins with objective unbiased information, or lacking that...facts. He does have a factual basis for his numbers, but 4,000 over five years is still WAY better than 100,000 per year, just purely speaking from a numerical comparison only. They are still our fellow countrymen who have died in combat.

[Scott]

I am not an immigrant, I was born here and I am a citizen of this country. Implying that those who cross our border illegally has just as much right here as I do is extremely offensive.

Deportation wrote:

If the government is going to deport illegal immigrants that are gang members, then they should do it for all racial groups. The Mayor is only doing something now becasue its close to his home, and he has to make himself look good becasue of the marital scandal he is involved in. gang members that are illegal (all races)should be deported back to their home land; but where is there home land. Not one single individual in America is a legal immigrant. Every individual was brought to American in one form or another

[Thom Simmons]

Mr. Kalionzes,

I am quite interested in learning what facts I have distorted. If you reread my letter you will see that at no time did I solely contribute advances in medicine as the difference from past wars. I simply pointed out that to say that you cannot compare this war to World War II, Korea or any other war simply by measuring body count is ridiculous.
You cite the official military count of American wounded as 29,395. It has since gone up to 29,628.
The Department of Defense lists the total number of wounded during our involvement in Vietnam (1954 to 1975) as 461,137. Average that over 21 years and you get 21,959 a year. Is that more casualties in Vietnam as opposed to Iraq? Yes, absolutely. But what you fail to take into account is that, by 1968, troop levels in Vietnam were at 577,377. The highest troop levels in Iraq reached only 162,000 in August of 2007. Not to mention we were actively engaging the enemy on a minute by minute basis all over the Vietnamese Theater while, in Iraq, we are mostly playing the role of referee in sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia. More troops plus more battles equals more casualties.
As someone who served in the military for eight years and was deployed in the Gulf Region during the first Iraq War, I can tell you an all-volunteer army has nothing to do with that equation. Bullets do not know the difference between a draftee and a 20 year volunteer. Perhaps you could be a volunteer and pick-up a weapon and stand a post if you feel differently.

[Mathias D]

Mr. Simmons,

We missed you. Your point is well taken, but the fact that there are less battles, less boots on the ground, and therefore less casualties goes directly to changes in combat, not medicine.

I am not refuting your original premise, since you did provide the factual basis for them. What I took from your original post, which I quoted above, is that combat is combat, and a bullet ripping through flesh is still a bullet ripping through flesh, regardless of when or where it occurs. So to that end, I agree with the advances in medicine saving lives.

My point was that technology in the form of better weapons, better armor, more efficient weapons and better training and tactics, not to mention the change of theater (jungle warfare or desert warfare, vs. urban warfare) also contribute to fewer casualties. I also mentioned the political climate and media scrutiny contributing to the manner in which war is now waged. Still ugly and unfortunate, but also still a reality of the world we live in.

You used absolute words, "nothing" and "everything", I think that is where the implication began that you were claiming that medicine was the "sole" factor in reducing casualties and deaths.

[Thom Simmons]

Mathias D,

If you look at my last post when you responded to my original post you will see that I conceded that advances in technology also contribute to the the saving of lives. However, neither you nor I can compare tactics used in Vietnam to Iraq. It is a completely different terrain. A completely different theater of operation. It would be like comparing Iraq to a war in Alaska. However, there was just as much urban warefare in all 3 of those previous conflicts as in Iraq (see Berlin, Paris, Bastogne, Seoul, Pusan, Inchon, Da Nang, Hue, Saigon). What we can compare is casualty responses and protocol from past wars to present day. For heaven sakes, bullet wounds to the leg in 1960 would often times require amputation. Today, it would be silly to think of that as the norm. Medical advances and warefare technology are saving many more lives than ever before. That was, is and will always be my point when somebody attempts to make a statement that "You can't compare Iraq to World War II or Korea... more people were killed in those wars" as a justification for the way the current administration is running this war.

[Mathias D]

Okay, I think we are riding on two trains on parallel tracks...hopefully headed in the same direction or at least to the same goal.

I have no authoritative opinion on the war. I yield to your military service and experience as to the conditions in Iraq. I have learned that all that is reported in the media is not all that could or should be reported, too often they have their own agenda.

I am thankful that medical advances have saved lives and the quality of life for those wounded in battle. At least no one is yet accusing this administration as using this medical technology as an excuse to commit our troops to combat.

As bait to continue to challenge your views, if we look at each conflict individually, as a separate entity, the entire climate leading up to the fighting should contribute to the evaluation of the current warfare. Historical comparisons have been made by both sides, and not always fairly.

I took this conflict as a pre-emptive move, unique to my lifetime for sure, whereas all previous wars were much more reactive. Now that we have set a precedent, maybe we will never do it again...maybe. We haven't repeated the "Enola Gay" mission yet have we?

[Brittanicus]

Illegals Kill Freely, While Good Kids Die

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, California's governor and the bunch of sheep in city hall, who timidly follow without question the dictates of the Hispanic Caucus. It is estimated their are 1.5 million illegal immigrants living in Los Angeles county. They all bow to the special interests groups, that run a monopoly in Los Angeles. They illegally strangled proposition 187, then added added the Sanctuary city ordinance (Special order 40). Its consequences has been massacres by out-of-control street gangs, that threatens anybody who steps in their neighborhood. It killed a young black man, whose only crime was to be on their turf at the wrong time.'Jamiels Law' should be enacted to protect innocent citizens and Chief of Police Bratton's Special Order 40 should be eradicated and leave the police enquirer the status of anybody they question.

According to the grieving family of the murdered young man, that even the Prosecutor on the case tried to intimidate them The family, stated they are determined to prosecute this case as a 'Hate Crime' So Police chief Bratton wants to keep the abhorrent 'Special order 40' as a law, even though hundreds of people have been heinously slaughtered by animals in street gangs. Jamiels family has a petition at (www.jamielslaw.com, to rescind this law, that has allowed dangerous gangs to propagate. Whatever state you live in, these Sanctuary City laws have become a curse on ordinary people. I signed the petition yesterday and you can too.

The fact that the majority of the street gangs in any community across the county are illegal aliens, including the MS 13 violent animals, who threaten and kill indiscriminately. Californian citizens demand their Democratic lawmakers co-author the pending federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) it will not only strengthen other state laws, but also remove the obnoxious stain from Los Angeles called a SANCTUARY CITY. Los Angeles and other city governments around this nation needs a good cleaning and its putrefaction should be emptied down the gutter and washed away with the other waste.