Dear Editor:Is just getting elected enough? When I observe the exceedingly poor performance of so many in government, I wonder how they got there. I guess it's just name recognition. What did they hope to achieve? It's pretty obvious it was not to represent those who put them there, but rather to raise money to run again. What a sorry lot! I have called both of my senators - Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer - and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard on many, many issues and always I'm told "I'll give her the message," but apparently they don't get the message. If one isn't diligent in handling small things, I don't trust them in the more important ones. Example: spending $300,000 on studying shrimp on a treadmill; studying why Chinese prostitutes drink too much on the job (not trying to help them get out of prostitution); studying how many drinks a college sophomore coed must drink before she gives in to sex - while not informing them of the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases, which affect multitudes of young people. The mindset of these inept, incompetent "leaders" is killing our country. In these difficult times our "don't know when to stop spending" President is planning raising $1 billion to run for office again. People are out of work, but the National Labor Relations Board is suing Boeing, who paid $1 billion to build a new plant in South Carolina that would employ 1,000 people, but because it isn't a union plant, the government is suing them. Of course, they could take the plant to China and make more money there, as most of our manufacturers have done. This sort of fits the pattern of this administration. Consider President Obama's new job czar, Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE, who just outsourced his business to China. He made $15 billion last year and paid no tax. I guess if you're President Obama's good friend it's OK not to pay your fair share. Is this was he meant by redistributing our wealth? Two more issues I'd like to address: federal government and local government. In this "Land of the Free," I understand that at a fallen soldier's funeral now no longer can God or Jesus' names be mentioned in a prayer if it's on a military burial ground. They can die for our country to keep us free, while their freedoms are taken away. Christians and Jews, where are you? In a Letter to the Editor (The Downey Patriot, 7/22/11), I learned that nightlife for the young is now sitting, smoking some kind of tobacco water. Is this another example of ridiculous leadership? When I was young, and even now, I would have found this as much fun as watching paint dry. The City Council and those who authorize businesses in Downey, I'd strongly advise that you not look to the kooks in San Francisco for leadership. -- Elsa Van Leuven, Downey

********** Published: August 04, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 16