TheFrontPageOnline.com Op-ed

If You Are Counting Errors, Please Don’t — Unless It’s Obama’s Latest Whopper

Ari L. Noonan — 4:00 PM July 23, 2008

If mistakes were wallpaper, we could cover Culver City this afternoon, something we endeavor to do 5 days week anyway. Ring up one more gaffe.

When Joey and I Were in Middle School

Karlo Silbiger — 11:00 AM July 23, 2008

Before hearing last weekend that Joey Lutz had drowned in Panama, I had not seen or talked to him in over 8 years.

However, there are some people who are so electric, that specific things that they do and say stay with you for years, regardless of the level of continuing contact.

Sweet Memories of Joey Lutz

My Opinion — 10:00 AM July 23, 2008

[Editor’s Note: The widely admired teacher Joey Lutz, 25 years old, who graduated in 2000 from Culver City High School, drowned last weekend while on holiday in Panama. Mr. Lutz’s parents, Stuart and Freda Lutz, reside in Culver City. Funeral services are yet to be finalized at Hillside Memorial Park. In this essay, a former student recalls their golden days at summer camp.]

Will Cars Be Brought Under the No-Smoking Umbrella?

Letters to the Editor — 8:00 AM July 23, 2008

em>�Re ‘No–Smoking Ban Far from a Cinch — Mayor Finds It Unnecessary,’ July 21.

Something to make you say hmmm... �

Struggling to Identify the True Victims of the Massacre of Armenians

Dr. Rosemary Cohen — 7:00 AM July 23, 2008

Conclusion

[Previously: ‘Leila’s Unique Loveliness Spanned the Years of Their Happy Marriage,’ July 21. Keywords: Dr. Ali, Leila.]

Dr. Ali’s two sons followed their father’s profession and became physicians.

Camarella and Karlo Carry Stains No Dry Cleaner Can Remove

Ari L. Noonan — 3:00 PM July 22, 2008

The City Council did not make bad choices last night — just wrong ones, quite wrong ones — for appointments to 2 city commissions, Civil Service, and Parks and Recreation.

The reason for their very personal gaffe is not a mystery, just an exasperation. The result of their tilted voting — the overt snubbing of the candidates Tom Camarella and Karlo Silbiger — was as predictable as the Gregorian calendar or, in my case, ex-wives.

What Times Is It? Who Knows? But It Ain’t McCain’s, for Sure

Ari L. Noonan — 4:00 PM July 21, 2008

With 98 percent of American media openly rooting for Barack Obama to win the White House, and 92 percent of them volunteering to drive him there, Mr. Obama’s campaign has just scored another unique victory.

McCain and the Dreaded ‘S’ Word

Frederik Sisa — 11:00 AM July 21, 2008

Don’t do it. Seriously. Don’t do it. Just. Don’t. Do. It. Don’t even think about doing it. It’s all in your head, don’t you know. So don’t. Okay? Just don’t. Don’t whine. Don’t complain. It’s a mental recession, see? Get it? You’re mind is receding. So stop whining and go spend the money you don’t have on things that are too expensive – like food or gas. And if you can’t, well, stop whining anyway. You’re liable to upset McCain’s top economic policy advisor, Phil Gramm. He thinks the U.S. is already too much of a whining nation. http://www.washtimes.com/news

To Drill or Not: Differences Between the Board of Sups and the Feds

Tom Supple — 10:00 AM July 21, 2008

It is interesting to note the different positions taken by our various governmental bodies.

The Federal government will not permit drilling in the vast unpopulated area of Anwar because it may upset some caribou.

Kudos for Yvonne, and Forget What PXP Is Doing

Letters to the Editor — 8:00 AM July 21, 2008

Regarding the recent discussions about the Community Standards District being promulgated by Los Angeles County for the Baldwin Hills oil drilling area:

I give a lot of credit to our County Supervisor, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, for coming up with the idea of a CSD.

Leila’s Unique Loveliness Spanned the Years of Their Happy Marriage

Dr. Rosemary Cohen — 7:00 AM July 21, 2008

� [Part II of three installments. Previously: Part I, “Inspecting the Massacre from a New Direction,” July 21. Keywords: Dr. Ali, Leila, Rosemary.]

When Dr. Ali asked Leila to marry him, she happily accepted.

Of course, first she was converted officially to Islam, and then the ceremony of wedding was officiated.

A Dilemma to Ponder — What Would You Do?

Shachar — 9:00 AM July 18, 2008

Dateline Jerusalem — What would you do?

I ask that question of all of you, as well as of myself.

As a former peace officer and then defense attorney, I have seen and heard horrible things, murder, mayhem, child abuse. Sometimes they were beyond imagination.

Inspecting the Massacre from a New Direction

Dr. Rosemary Cohen — 8:00 AM July 18, 2008

Some months ago, I was visiting an Iranian friend in Los Angeles.

While we were talking about different subjects, she told me an interesting and true story about one of their close relatives.

Parks’ Ill-Advised Letter Calls Into Question the State of His Judgment

Ari L. Noonan — 2:00 PM July 17, 2008

If Bernard Parks either composed or approved of the whining letter (see below) about The New Yorker that appeared over his name this morning in the Los Angeles Times, he should lower his head to half-mast, wheel on his well-shined right shoe and depart, wordlessly, from the room.

In New York and L.A., the Times Does a 3-Step on McCain: Ready, Aim, Fire

Ari L. Noonan — 6:00 AM July 16, 2008

Until Monday, this was threatening to become the first Presidential campaign in modern times in which the Democratic Presidential candidate was granted exclusively favorable coverage, by what is called the Mainstream Media, and the Republican drew only critical attention.

Protesting the Perils of Tenting Buildings for Termites

Letters to the Editor — 1:00 PM July 15, 2008

The homeowners association board of Beverlywood West in Culver City and a sizable plurality of the homeowners are currently locked in a bitter struggle over whether all the buildings in the complex should be tented for termites.

She Is Against Gay Marriage, but the Reason May Surprise You

Jessica Gadsden — 6:00 AM July 15, 2008

I don’t support gay marriage.

Please, put the daggers away.

This is not an essay in support of Prop. 8. Nor is it anti-gay.

I think every couple (or for that matter, group) of consenting adults who choose to form a family should have the same rights regardless of its composition.

Change or Bust

Frederik Sisa — 12:00 PM July 14, 2008

Hospital Sound System: Calling the Rev. Doctor. He Is Wanted Urgently in Surgery

Ari L. Noonan — 10:00 AM July 14, 2008

The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s one-time-only offer last week to perform soprano surgery on Barack Obama, without billing him, still was being rejected as late as yesterday by Mr. Obama. Mr. Jackson, equally, was being rejected by the Obama camp. This makes two statements about the Democratic nominee: He does not change his mind on every subject, and he still yearns to sing bass in a church choir.

Oh, Princess, Where Were You? Why Did You Blow Off Last Night’s Meeting?

Ari L. Noonan — 3:00 PM July 11, 2008

We could start with the premise that Yvonne (Ms. Empty of 1960 or so) Brathwaite Burke is a sterling candidate for Most Overrated Politician in Los Angeles County. Mayor I Love Me is a serious enough challenger for her to feel his breath. But in honor of her 16 years’ too late retirement, let’s award her the crown of ignominy.

Tenant Rights,You Say? Let Me Tell You About My Landlord

Shachar — 5:00 PM July 10, 2008

For the last year I have been writing about my aliyah experiences here in Israel.

Initially I wrote to close family and friends.

One of them suggested that the editor of this newspaper, Ari Noonan, read my material. As a result, I have a weekly column. Thank you, Ari, for your encouragement and support.

Will America Stand up for Bahais Imprisoned in Iran?

My Opinion — 2:00 PM July 09, 2008

On Friday, July 4, each resident of Culver City souoght a suitable way to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day.

The members of the Culver City Bahai community welcomed the chance to take part in both planned and unplanned events. At the same time, the Culver City Bahais could not help but reflect on how much their freedom contrasted with the depravation of freedom suffered by seven Bahais in Iran.

Does It Really Make a Difference, Spanish or English?

Ari L. Noonan — 12:00 PM July 09, 2008

Last week, the Los Angeles Times dispatched a sobbing girl reporter to sympathetically cover the pending deportation of a divorced, illegal Mexican immigrant father, thereby tragically and unfairly depriving a 10-year-old boy of a desperately needed parent.

This week, the Los Angeles Times dispatched a sobbing girl reporter to UCLA to present a sympathetic portrait of academic America’s hot new export, “undocumented graduates.” In the stirring locution of the Times, the occasion was described as “a ceremony for graduating UCLA students, both documented and undocumented.”

The Importance of Reading (Especially Over the Summer)

My Opinion — 7:00 PM July 08, 2008

[Editor’s Note: The Back to School Night story that originally appeared in this space contained incorrect data.]

The National Endowment for the Arts recently released the report, "To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence" (Nov. 2007).

PXP Oil Drilling: Kutcher Petitions County for Fairness in Three Areas

Letters to the Editor — 10:00 AM July 08, 2008

[Editor’s Note: With the first two informational meetings on oil drilling in the Culver Crest area coming up Thursday night at 7 (at a private residence) and Friday night at 7 (3731 Stocker St.), Ken Kutcher, a leader of a group of concerned Crest citizens, sent the following letter yesterday to the County Planning Commission.]

Saying Hello — and Goodbye to Adele and Henry

Ari L. Noonan — 6:00 PM July 07, 2008
The first time I met Adele and Henry Siegel was in their parlor a number of years ago on Christmas Day.

They were Jewish, and so was I. Therefore, I hoped we could proceed directly into our interview without any tinsel to slow us.

But first, I was struck by my surroundings on an overcast and chilly day. How dark the room seemed. My vision was fine, but didn’t they want illumination instead of heavy shadows?

Olympic Fever? Turn Up the Heat!

Frederik Sisa — 12:00 PM July 07, 2008
Part II

Last week, I ended by asking whether or not China really deserves to host the Olympics. The reason is simple: the Olympics bring along more than good sportsmanship and a fuzzy feeling of international camaraderie. If money were manna and it fell from the sky, one could light a torch in honour of the Olympics. In other words, the Olympics are a reward. It is fame and fortune for the lucky host country. But what, exactly, are we rewarding?

Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World

My Opinion — 3:00 AM July 07, 2008
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

Mahatma Gandhi needs no long introduction. Everyone knows about the man who led the Indian people to independence from British rule in 1947.

So It’s a Hot Day. What’s Melting — Ice Cream or Obama’s ‘Beliefs’?

Ari L. Noonan — 12:00 PM July 04, 2008
Amazingly, and disappointingly, Barack Obama has publicly stated more positions on the war this week than a Tijuana prostitute assumes while entertaining an afternoon’s worth of clients.

His gushing views, seldom rigid, keep changing like the rushing waters of a creek: His clearly voiced opinions don’t stay within your sightlines long enough for you to judge, maturely, their nature and how closely they align with yours.

Ignorant of War and Arrogant of Character

Mark Smith — 7:00 AM July 04, 2008
Down through the years, we who fought and watched our fellow warriors die, have striven to ensure that never again a screaming minority would presume to speak for our nation in time of crisis and war.
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But today, those ignorant of war and arrogant of character once again sally forth to lose us a war on the streets of America. They cannot be allowed to once again rob an Army in the field of a hard-fought victory.