Talking the talk

Re “Tarantino is ‘not backing down,’ ” Nov. 4

What Quentin Tarantino said about police and murder, and the context in which he said it, have not been misinterpreted. It is all on videotape and speaks for itself.

The great thing about free speech is that it allows us all to voice our views, and when we do, we have to accept that others might not agree.

Indeed, capitalism also works best when we voice our disapproval of a business by not buying from it. In Tarantino’s case, if we don’t approve of his comments, one way to respond is by not watching his movies.

As long as the reason for a consumer boycott is based on fact, it is a good way to respond to someone with whom we disagree. Many boycotts are not based on opinions formed in fact; this one is.

I will join the boycott of Tarantino’s latest film; his comments were distasteful at best, and I am glad many are making themselves heard. He would do better to listen.

Jeffrey C. Briggs

Hollywood I for one am with Tarantino. Police officers everywhere need to understand that they are public servants with the power of life and death over those they are supposed to serve.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, who is quoted in the article as noting that Tarantino’s graphic depictions of violence don’t mean he understands actual violence, needs to realize that police officers carry real guns and use them all too frequently when they should not. As far as I know, no one has actually died while acting in or watching a Tarantino movie.

I will go see Tarantino’s new movie.

Nato Flores

Los Angeles

Isn’t Tarantino the epitome of Hollywood hypocrisy? He makes extremely violent movies, including violence against cops, then tells us he’s not part of the problem.

Even producer Harvey Weinstein encouraged him to apologize. Of course, Weinstein probably doesn’t care either; he’s just trying to salvage his box-office numbers.

What many in Hollywood don’t understand is that the vast majority of us wholeheartedly support the good work that our police do every day. They deserve and have our respect.

Rick Kern

Incline Village, Nev.

Where there’s diesel smoke ...

Re “Porsche caught up in scandal at VW,” Nov. 3

I served for several years as a volunteer naturalist with the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps. As such, I worked on a number of projects that were paid for in part by money from the Montrose Chemical Corp. fund set up as mitigation for the illegal dumping of DDT and other toxic chemicals off the Southern California coast.

The Montrose mitigation fund has been helpful in many environmental impact areas — for example, reestablishing the American bald eagle to Channel Islands National Park.

Volkswagen has similarly illegally dumped tons of diesel pollutants into our atmosphere over a number of years, and now the federal government believes that engines in vehicles from VW-owned Porsche and Audi might have done the same.

The state of California should sue Volkswagen for mitigation damages to help pay to solve air-quality issues, including nonpolluting transit systems such as high-speed rail.

William Strojny

West Hills

So, Porsche and Audi engines are now implicated in the VW fraud.

I recently saw a TV commercial for Audi cars. You have to laugh at Audi’s slogan: “Truth in engineering.”

You couldn’t dream up something more comedic.

Jon Merritt

Los Angeles

Make the county fair a fair again

Re “Fair group’s tax status at issue,” Nov. 3

Whether experts are right or wrong about the tax-exempt status of the Los Angeles County Fair Assn., it is clear that it has abandoned any commitment to promoting or highlighting agricultural interests in the county or to giving urban residents any opportunity to observe or interact with farmers, ranchers or animals firsthand.

As a horse owner, I am a direct casualty of the fair’s anti-animal attitude. Not only has the fair terminated horse racing, in February it kicked out the race horses that were stabled, trained and raced there.

Hundreds of horses had to be moved, many people lost their jobs and some horse owners had to rethink the viability of staying in business.

How many kids in Pomona will ever get to see or touch a real race horse now? In the era of California Chrome and American Pharaoh, you would think the fair would be proud to house one of the declining number of live racing venues in the state.

It’s time to bring back the 4-H kids, the horses, the sheep and cattle, the rabbits and poultry, the giant pumpkins and rows of corn, the quilts and the weavings and all the things that actually make a county fair a county fair.

Holly Beckner

Claremont

The No. 1 quality of a president

Re “A quixotic quest for ‘authenticity,’ ” Opinion, Nov. 1

Doyle McManus reminds us why CNN anchor Anderson Cooper’s controversial question to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton — “Will you say anything to get elected?” — was fair. In candidates, authenticity is a surrogate for honesty and trustworthiness.

In a previous column, McManus got a Clinton spokeswoman to admit to him that the campaign doesn’t want to talk about truth, honesty or trustworthiness.

When Americans were lied to about the Gulf of Tonkin incident (President Lyndon Johnson) or Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (President George W. Bush), it led to quagmires that killed hundreds of thousands of people and the spending of trillions of dollars that could have gone toward healthcare, education, infrastructure and debt reduction.

As a lifelong Democrat, I believe the most important thing for the electorate to focus on is the substance of Cooper’s question. When presidents lie, people die.

Howard C. Mandel

Los Angeles

The quest for authenticity springs from people’s natural desire to know if they like someone. Understanding that political candidates are packaged and polished for mass appeal, we value glimpses of the “real” person.

The glimpses themselves can be manufactured, of course, but the human impulse involved is strong.

Even in this hyperpartisan age, when issues and ideology should dominate, the more likable of next year’s presidential nominees will probably win, as has been the case since 1980.

Michael Smith

Cynthiana, Ky.

GOP debate: It’s a laughing matter

Re “No questions asked,” Opinion, Nov. 3

Former TV comedy writer and producer Gary Jacobs nailed it. His take on what could be the next GOP presidential debate — with questions about the candidates’ favorite colors and how high Donald Trump would build his border wall, among others — was hilarious, insightful and, unfortunately, nearly spot-on with the candidates’ responses.

Sure, we laugh about it, but I feel there was a little bit of truth to some of Jacobs’ responses by the candidates.

That they were infuriated by the CNBC moderators and demanded a new format for future debates shows exactly how weak these candidates actually are. Even President Obama had a chuckle at their expense by saying, “If you can’t handle those guys, then I don’t think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself, Mr. President.

Daniel V. Shannon

West Hills

In the interest of fairness, should readers expect to read snide remarks about Democratic candidates (lord knows, there’s plenty of material), or is this just another example of media bias?

Jennifer Clark

Playa del Rey

Kudos to Jacobs for a thoroughly enlightening and, dare I say, accurate enactment of what the Republican presidential candidates’ debate might be the next time.

I envision the great Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, looking down on this fiasco, shaking his head in disgust and wondering what happened to his party. Marie Pollara

Lévesque

Lake Balboa