CHINO HILLS, Ralph Kenealy: “Have you seen ‘Titanic'? That's exactly what it was,” said Valerie Ananias, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles who was aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship that beached 25 yards from land and couple hundred yards from a seaside village on Giglio Island while cruising in the warm and serene waters of the Mediterranean [“Ship survivors are rescued,” Jan. 15].

What? Just like the Titanic? Not to understate the Costa Concordia tragedy, I hope that Ananias doesn't teach maritime history.

  • The Titanic struck an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The Costa Concordia ran aground in a populated area 25 yards from shore.
  • The Titanic sank in below freezing waters (28 degrees Fahrenheit) that people died within 10 to 15 minutes after entering the water. The waters at the Costa Concordia sinking were relatively warm.
  • The Titanic's deaths toll was 1,517. The Costa Concordia's death toll, at the time of this writing, is 11. (Relative percentage of Deaths: Titanic 68 percent vs. Costa Concordia one-quarter of 1 percent).
  • The Titanic went down within two hours of striking an iceberg. Half of the Costa Concordia remains above sea level and is at rest.
  • The Titanic had an insufficient number of lifeboats and the rescuing ship RMS Carpathia was four hours away. The Costa Concordia was immediately surrounded by a helicopter and a fleet of pleasure and fishing boats.

I suppose that Ms. Ananias' comment is what we call “revisionist history.” [More letters on the Costa Concordia sinking]

Immigrants: embrace this country

SAN CLEMENTE, Al Kirtz: Immigrants and ethic minorities complain, often justifiably, about discrimination. There are some simple and practical ways to prevent being singled out for discrimination.

The brave and brilliant founders of the United States were British and the earliest influx of immigrants came from Western Europe. During those early hard-scrabble pioneering times, these were people who established the laws and the primarily Judeo-Christian culture of our country. And one must admit they did a pretty good job of making America the freest, most prosperous, most generous and most powerful nation in the world. While other nations had repeated revolutions and violent uprising against their governments, America has become the oldest established stable democracy in the world.

Early immigrants willingly adopted the established systems and customs, especially the English language, and were proud to call themselves Americans. There were no hyphens used by the Irish, Germans, Scandinavians, French, Italians, etc. They were Americans and they raised their children to work hard to succeed under the existing social, political and economic systems. Their sons serve proudly during wars.

And so, I would give this advice to the current crop of immigrants and ethnic minorities. Drop all deliberate attempts to appear distinctively separate from the American norm in language, dress, habits and mannerisms. Celebrate your ethnic backgrounds on special occasions, but otherwise be as "American" as you can. English is our language, and is the primary language for business and politics around the world, so it would be to your advantage to learn it well. The inability to communicate clearly in English is the most common cause of discrimination.

If you came to America because you thought it was a better place, as the grandson of an immigrant, I say welcome and God bless you in all your endeavors. If you came for other reasons, respect our laws and our commonalities or return to the place that has the laws and customs you prefer. It would be ridiculous for us to change what has served to make America the best place in the world to live.

Brown is getting loonier by the day

ORANGE, Karl Baysinger: Gov. Jerry Brown wants to raise taxes to currently fund a high-speed rail system that a two to one majority of voters believe is a big waste of close to an estimated $200 billion. And he has already approved the California Dream Act, which will give away $65 million for illegal immigrants to go to college. I hope the taxpayers are paying attention, and I pray that Jerry Brown never comes close to Washington D.C.

Keystone lessens foreign oil dependence

ORANGE, Michael Fischer: I am outraged that the Obama administration has rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline that would have transported crude oil from the Canadian tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries. The 1,700 mile pipeline would have lessened our oil dependence from hostile Middle East regimes and provided tens of thousands of American jobs.

Now, this significant source of oil will likely flow to China, a country who desperately wants it.

The Obama administration claims it couldn't make an informed decision on this project in the next 60 days, even though our government has been reviewing the Keystone XL pipeline since 2008, according to the Wall Street Journal.

This is just one more reason I will redouble my efforts to help make Obama a one-term president.


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