American Dream

I've accumulated thousands of business cards throughout my career, but few stand out quite like the one belonging to Surat Singh Randhawa. The card of the Costa Mesa resident and small-business owner is a 2-inch-tall by about 3.5-inch-wide résumé. It wastes no space and conveys a dizzying amount of information. Above his business' name, Angels Auto Spa & Auto Repair, and beneath his own name, Surat Singh — as he is known about town — the card lists his credentials and life's highlights: "Ex-Border Security Force, Volley Ball Player, Volley Ball Coach, 1996 Olympic Security Officer.

Paul Salata is a living testament to the all-American ideal that hard work, perseverance and a bit of luck will pay off for any person living under the stars and stripes, regardless of race, creed, gender or national origin. "I made it from L.A. to Newport Beach," said Salata, 85. "For me, that's success. That's the so-called American dream. " The second-born son of a Serbian family grew up northeast of downtown Los Angeles in Highland Park. His American-born mother, Melania, and father, Chetko, who had emigrated from the Herzegovina region in the former Yugoslavia, knew of nothing more important than family, church and hard work.

Ken Maddox As we mark the 228th birthday of our nation, we must take the time to celebrate our Declaration of Independence. With great determination, our Founding Fathers charted a revolutionary course, creating a nation with the freedom to assemble, worship and speak freely. Thousands more have given their lives in service to our country to protect these freedoms. A simple principle sets our nation apart from others around the world: a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people.

Lolita Harper He was an immigrant. He was a serviceman. He was a scholar and a good friend. Julio Sierra, 75, died Feb. 18 at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian after living the American dream. Sierra came to the United States, like so many others, to take advantage of the opportunities that this country provided to work toward his goals, said close friend Edie Boudreau, who cared for Sierra in his last weeks of life and was by his side when he died.

B.W. COOK Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright addressed a gathering this week at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach on behalf of the Merage Foundation for The American Dream. "I had the honor of attending a naturalization ceremony in New York in 1998, witnessing immigrants take the oath of allegiance. It happened to be the 50th anniversary of my own arrival in America, which occurred on Nov. 11, 1948," said the woman who served under President Bill Clinton.

In an opinion piece in the Orange County Register, U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R-Newport Beach) condemned Sunday night’s House vote on health-care legislation as “the day that the will of the American people and the founding tenets of the United States of America were subverted.” Campbell wrote that the voting bloc majority of 219 House representatives, all Democrats, who voted in favor of the bill, counted the Democratic party’s “most liberal elements” who knew that this bill would lead the U.S. “down a path toward full-blown, European-style government health care.

If I had my way, Thanksgiving would become a weeklong holiday at least once a decade — a time to take stock of who and where we are, and where we are going. We would take our heads out of the clouds of our self-absorption, including the Internet "cloud. " We would turn off our cell phones and TVs. We'd put away our iPads and Kindles. We'd take a walk around the block and say hello to everyone we came across. We'd volunteer for some kind of community service for a day or two. We'd actually give thanks for what we have and celebrate the good in our lives.

Saad F. Nohra (John) September 4, 1932-December 23, 2011 Resident of Alameda, California Born in Alexandria, Egypt on September 4, 1932 to the late Fouad Nohra and Odette Antonios., Saad (John) Nohra passed away peacefully in Alameda, California on December 23, 2011 surrounded by his beloved wife, Irene Nohra and his children Guy(Linda) Nohra, Carol (Gary) Crane, and Maureen Nohra (James Gilchrist). He also leaves behind his loving grandchildren, Brittany and Camille Nohra, Tess, Jason, and Hannah Crane and Quinn and Chloe Gilchrist.

Writers are advised to "write what you know," and the same admonition might be applied to actors — particularly in the case of South Coast Repertory's current production of "Pig Farm." When Steve Rankin dons the overalls and herds the swine (offstage, of course) in the black comedy, which closes its run Sunday, he knows whereof he performs. Rankin, 55, grew up on a real pig farm in the 1950s — with some 200 porkers, along with 300 chickens and 50 cows — in the tiny village of Beason, Ill., population 90. For a good time on weekends, he'd drive into neighboring Waynesville, which boasted 100 souls.

The words reach out across the decades and grab hold. The power of the imagery and the vision still stir the soul to the core. "In a sense, we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Saad F. Nohra (John) September 4, 1932-December 23, 2011 Resident of Alameda, California Born in Alexandria, Egypt on September 4, 1932 to the late Fouad Nohra and Odette Antonios., Saad (John) Nohra passed away peacefully in Alameda, California on December 23, 2011 surrounded by his beloved wife, Irene Nohra and his children Guy(Linda) Nohra, Carol (Gary) Crane, and Maureen Nohra (James Gilchrist). He also leaves behind his loving grandchildren, Brittany and Camille Nohra, Tess, Jason, and Hannah Crane and Quinn and Chloe Gilchrist.

If I had my way, Thanksgiving would become a weeklong holiday at least once a decade — a time to take stock of who and where we are, and where we are going. We would take our heads out of the clouds of our self-absorption, including the Internet "cloud. " We would turn off our cell phones and TVs. We'd put away our iPads and Kindles. We'd take a walk around the block and say hello to everyone we came across. We'd volunteer for some kind of community service for a day or two. We'd actually give thanks for what we have and celebrate the good in our lives.

Military victories throughout our history have shaped the world in which we live and are the keystone of every American freedom. Largely due to our military might, the citizens of the United States have been given the opportunity to create the greatest model of democracy in world history. It is imperative that we as a country dedicate time to remember and celebrate those who have selflessly served our country. Without fail, these men and women in uniform have answered America's call, so that the rest of us could remain unscathed and free to pursue other interests.

Paul Salata is a living testament to the all-American ideal that hard work, perseverance and a bit of luck will pay off for any person living under the stars and stripes, regardless of race, creed, gender or national origin. "I made it from L.A. to Newport Beach," said Salata, 85. "For me, that's success. That's the so-called American dream. " The second-born son of a Serbian family grew up northeast of downtown Los Angeles in Highland Park. His American-born mother, Melania, and father, Chetko, who had emigrated from the Herzegovina region in the former Yugoslavia, knew of nothing more important than family, church and hard work.

I've accumulated thousands of business cards throughout my career, but few stand out quite like the one belonging to Surat Singh Randhawa. The card of the Costa Mesa resident and small-business owner is a 2-inch-tall by about 3.5-inch-wide résumé. It wastes no space and conveys a dizzying amount of information. Above his business' name, Angels Auto Spa & Auto Repair, and beneath his own name, Surat Singh — as he is known about town — the card lists his credentials and life's highlights: "Ex-Border Security Force, Volley Ball Player, Volley Ball Coach, 1996 Olympic Security Officer.

As a young engineer, several decades ago, I learned that the most important criterion in seeking a solution is to define the problem as accurately as possible. Very often, solutions are addressed to symptoms rather than the disease. The current nasty debate, conducted in 10-second sound bites, on what ails this nation is a classic example of this. Eschewing heavy mental lifting, we are told by self-styled pundits that the crucial issue facing this nation is the massively unbalanced budget with deficits as far as the eye can see. This merely is a symptom of a much larger problem.

In an opinion piece in the Orange County Register, U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R-Newport Beach) condemned Sunday night’s House vote on health-care legislation as “the day that the will of the American people and the founding tenets of the United States of America were subverted.” Campbell wrote that the voting bloc majority of 219 House representatives, all Democrats, who voted in favor of the bill, counted the Democratic party’s “most liberal elements” who knew that this bill would lead the U.S. “down a path toward full-blown, European-style government health care.

LOS ANGELES — Terry Schroeder, the first-year U.S. men’s water polo coach, stood at a podium at the Los Angeles Athletic Club Monday and talked about how the Americans went from being a long shot in February to medal contenders now heading into the Olympics. Off to the side, four former UC Irvine standouts could relate to that rise. They’ve shown a similar ascension throughout their careers, which reached a high point of sorts Monday. Ryan Bailey, Tim Hutten, Rick Merlo and Jeff Powers were hardly recruited coming out of high school, but they were taken in by UCI legendary coach Ted Newland, who developed the quartet into Olympic athletes.

Writers are advised to "write what you know," and the same admonition might be applied to actors — particularly in the case of South Coast Repertory's current production of "Pig Farm." When Steve Rankin dons the overalls and herds the swine (offstage, of course) in the black comedy, which closes its run Sunday, he knows whereof he performs. Rankin, 55, grew up on a real pig farm in the 1950s — with some 200 porkers, along with 300 chickens and 50 cows — in the tiny village of Beason, Ill., population 90. For a good time on weekends, he'd drive into neighboring Waynesville, which boasted 100 souls.