Letters: Why doesn’t Trump sue Texas over voting maps?

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.

Why doesn’t Trump
sue Texas over maps?

Re: “Trump lawsuit targets Prop. 50” (Page A1, Nov. 14).

I find it quite amazing that our president is suing my state. We did vote on this.

I have a question. Where was he when Texas decided to change districts with no vote?

Just asking.

Linda Culpepper
Livermore

‘Violent thugs’ seem
OK with Trump

Re: “UC Berkeley in Fed crosshairs” (Page A1, Nov. 12).

“In America, we do not allow citizens to be attacked by violent thugs and shrug and turn our backs. Been there, done that, not on our watch,” Harmeet Dhillon said.

She’s right, Donald Trump just pardons them instead.

Robert Thomas
Castro Valley

Trump hurts vulnerable,
enriches the wealthy

As a senior citizen on Medicare and SNAP, I feel like I can speak to both issues.

Our country is now being run by a narcissistic president. He does not care about the poor, working people, homeless people or poor immigrants just trying to make a living. He is letting these people go hungry, and he is trying to take away medical assistance for them, and deporting almost all immigrants. He is releasing criminals. As far as I’m concerned, he is a criminal. He seems to be taking bribes. His family is getting rich, and the people are getting poor. He’s protecting his friends and going after his enemies.

We used to have the rule of law. He does not think it applies to him. We have no allies that we had before, and now it seems as if we are friends with all the autocratic countries.

Our judicial branch needs to rein him in, or Congress needs to impeach.

Theresa McCullough
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tragically, Trump takes
law into his own hands

A journalist recently asked President Trump about the legal authority to blow up Caribbean boats. He answered that authority comes from the fact that illegal drugs kill people in America.

This shows that Trump does not recognize sources of authority other than his own right hand.

The president made no mention of statutory law, constitutional law, international law, treaty agreements, the Supreme Court or rules of engagement, just his own peculiar brand of animal instinct. He must do it because “I alone can fix it.”

Does it matter that innocent people die in this Latin American manhunt? Nope. Does it matter that the American people and their elected representatives have no say in the new system of rule by the king of the jungle? Nope.

Is it sad that nobody else but him is smart enough to get things done? Yes, it is very sad.

Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah

Founders left clear
record of thinking

Re: “Keep mind reading off the Supreme Court” (Page A6, Oct. 30).

An Oct. 30 letter asserts that “you cannot read the minds of the dead.”

However, we know exactly the thought processes of representatives to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Their arguments were presented in detail in the contemporaneous pamphlet “The Federalist Papers,” authored by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Federalist Papers used to be standard reading in high school U.S. history classes.

For those who cannot read, the musical “1776” — made into a movie (1972) — accurately presents the delegates’ pro and con arguments. Their astute remarks included:

John Dickinson: Mr. Jefferson, are you suggesting we declare that an illegal rebellion is, in reality, a legal one?

Benjamin Franklin: A rebellion is always legal in the first person, such as “our rebellion.” It is only in the third person — “their rebellion” — that it is illegal.

Fred Korr
Oakland

Don’t like a comic strip?
Then don’t read it.

Here we go again.

Every few years, liberals get tired of the “Mallard Fillmore” comic strip and try to have it “retired” from the paper. Since I am a conservative living in this liberal state, I accept that I have no voice and no representation, especially in the Bay Area. The only reason I stay here is because of the fabulous weather. But I wish you liberals could be a little more tolerant.

I cannot stand late-night talk show hosts who think they can be funny at the expense of conservatives. So I just do not watch. Why don’t you just let me enjoy this one comic that I think is funny, and so often right on? Simply quit reading it and then whining about it?

Or maybe you enjoy being the schoolyard bully needing to get your way? It sure sounds like it.

David Smith
San Ramon

AI is powerful tool; we
shouldn’t ban it

During these recent days, AI has become a controversial topic, whether it is because students can use it for cheating or because it has the potential to substitute humans and replace human workers.

However, there is something nobody mentions: AI is not going anywhere any time soon. It is one of those steps in human development where there is no going back. It is a powerful tool, but many schools have strict policies, and some go as far as to ban its use. But why ban it? AI is the future of humanity and a great tool. Instead of banning it, schools should demand more transparent use of it with clearer policies. Why not allow its use more openly for certain tasks?

At the beginning, teachers advocated for the ban of calculators, and now they are a must-have for math courses. Don’t ban AI.

Eduardo Campos
Antioch