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Pipe excess U.S. water
to thirsty California
It seems that every night the weather person shows us a map of California in a growing deep red color signifying extreme drought. After that, we frequently see midwestern, southern and eastern states flooded by heavy rains, storms, hurricanes and other consequences of climate change.
Why, I wonder, can’t we (and yes I mean people smarter than me!) figure out a way to transport that water to our state. To heck with gas pipelines, we need water pipelines.
Yes, it sounds a bit crazy and expensive, but what is the cost to all of us to have California dry up like Nevada? We need a champion to get this going.
William Weidinger
Pleasant Hill
Judge’s AR-15, knife
comparison thoughtless
Regarding Chris Kniel’s letter on June 9 (“In rush to criticize, judge’s point missed,” Page A6), I thought that it was a rather flippant comment for Judge Benitez to make considering the serious nature of his ruling.
And I wonder why he compared California to other states. States are supposed to be different and have different laws. And let’s remember that the AR-15 was originally introduced in the 60s as a semi-automatic version of the fully automatic M-16. This type of gun was built for either self-defense or self-offense, military-type stuff. Yes, you can hunt with it. But it is not really designed for this and would probably make a poor hunting rifle.
Anyway, it was a ridiculous comparison and thoughtless comment for a federal judge to make in a ruling.
Rocky Fort
San Lorenzo
Valedictorian should set
sights on helping many
Re. “Antioch High valedictorian, 13, sets sights on next chapter,” June 4:
I suggest that after the brilliant Ella Nguyen, 13, becomes a dentist, she considers applying her skills in a way that benefits many people simultaneously — not just one at a time.
By becoming involved in a graduate school of public health, she could develop epidemiological-based dental care programs benefiting thousands if not millions of people. She might even be able to get Medicare to cover the dental care needs of elderly people.
Burt Milburn
Antioch
Vaccine payouts
are wasteful spending
Where is all the money coming from? California is awarding people who get the COVID vaccine. It is free. It is up to the individual to make a choice.
Every day the state is handing money out like candy. There are so many other areas that could prosper with that money. I just have a hard time understating the logic.
We as taxpayers know whose shoulders this debt will be placed on. Having these raffles is just plain wasteful.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out an explosion is on the horizon. There are no winners here, and our future is looking dim. We will be looking at higher costs when someone has to replenish what is being thrown away.
Ann Fagliano
Castro Valley
Column’s goal seems
to be to anger, mislead
The title of the June 11 column by Victor Davis Hanson (“This isn’t your father’s silly, 1960s revolution,” Page A7) caught my attention since I grew up in the ’60s.
It’s the first time I’ve read this columnist and also my last. I read conservative views to expand or sharpen my own. Hanson’s writing did the opposite.
The column lacked nuance and promoted the kind of clichéd and polarizing thought that doesn’t contribute to understanding liberal vs. conservative differences. He does a disservice to his intellectual peers and to Americans searching for how to better communicate with adversaries. His bloated prose and stereotypes (“Name one mainline institution that the woke left does not now control – and warp”) lack substance and currency.
He goes on and on rankling and misleading but not informing. I was left with the feeling that that was his intention.
Karen Joffe
Piedmont
Manchin’s election focus
eclipses voting rights
Sen. Joe Manchin has declared he will not vote for the For the People Act with Democrats citing that not involving Republicans is the main reason for his no vote. He also says he wants to keep the filibuster in place.
He recently articulated his reasons in an op-ed. He says that he supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and Democrats should start to negotiate with the GOP to pass the bill.
In the meantime, many GOP states have enacted voter suppression laws, eliminated mail-in ballots and erected other hurdles to voting. In some cases, the GOP legislature will decide who the winner will be irrespective of the election outcome.
The right to vote is fundamental to democracy and access to voting for everyone forms the foundation of that right. GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressly stated that 100% of his focus is on stopping Biden’s agenda. Manchin is joining with GOP so that he can keep his re-election prospects high in 2024.
Mohan Raj
San Jose