PRISON GUARDS UNION

Re "When He Speaks, They Listen," Aug. 21: It's ridiculous that we've let
prison guards become one of the most feared forces in California politics,
as described in your article on Don Novey, the president of the guards
union. I've always been a Republican but my hat goes off to state Sen.
Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) and any other politician who will stand up
to Novey's strong-arm tactics.

The way to reduce crime is through jobs, education and a reasonable legal
system, not the mindless three-strikes law and the endless building of
prisons. If Novey got his way, there would only be two kinds of people left
in California: the scumbags inside the prison cells and his union boys who
make a comfy career out of watching them.

Jim McNamara, Sherman Oaks

The strong attachment between Gov. Gray Davis and Novey is frightening.
Their determination to build and fill prison cells is turning California
into a police state. Thanks to their dedication to the three-strikes law,
soon taxpaying outsiders will be struggling to support more non-taxpaying
insiders, most of whom are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.

Dorothy Chapman, San Clemente