As the country and the rest of the world experience another year of scorching heat waves, private for-profit utility companies—which we rely upon for our basic necessities, like heating, cooling, and electricity—are keeping us reliant on climate-wrecking fossil fuels while reporting record profits. When they work well, utilities exist in the background of our lives: […]
Letters To The Editor
Posted inOpinion
Be wary of initiatives
It seems like on all our election ballots, we are presented with initiatives to vote on. That is because in California, citizens have the power through ballot initiatives to directly propose and enact laws, make or change local ordinances, and even make amendments to the state Constitution. Usually individuals or groups resort to the initiative […]
Posted inOpinion
Democrats are the victims of their own infatuation with DEI
A preordained, carefully scripted coronation, or a food fight at a cannibal’s banquet? To the surprise of no one, Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid following his disastrous debate performance and the failure of subsequent “soft ball” interviews with pre-cleared questions to reassure the public of his mental soundness. Biden then endorsed Vice President Kamala […]
Posted inOpinion
How about a new set of ‘commandments’
In response to Mr. Ron Fink proposing that the Ten Commandments be displayed “in every school, library, courthouse, and city hall in the United States” (“What’s the fuss?” July 25): I can only reply that many citizens, myself included, resent being subjected to archaic and divisive Christian orthodoxy and dogma. How about a new set […]
Posted inOpinion
Factual errors may get in the way of opinions
The editorial by Dan Dennis in the Aug. 1 Sun (“The stakes are too high”) was largely correct in its explanations of our national political situation. Good writing, Dan. Unfortunately, there was a factual error early on which may have kept knowledgeable readers from giving full credence to his opinions. The repeal of the Glass-Steagall […]
Posted inOpinion
Opinions are one thing, but keep the facts straight
Kindly allow me space in your paper to correct two flagrant fictions contained in Dan Dennis’s opinion piece of Aug. 1 (“The stakes are too high”). President Franklin Roosevelt’s Glass-Steagall law was passed in 1933; the Great Depression had been already raging since the collapse of the stock market in October 1929, four years earlier. […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s teach how to think, not what to think
In response to Ron Fink’s July 25 “What’s the fuss?” commentary about the Ten Commandments in public schools, I have a couple of points to make about the Constitution mandating a separation of church and state. He claims it was not to keep the church out of the state, but it was that, and to […]
Posted inOpinion
Harris should look to history for VP pick
All Americans—not just Democrats—should be eternally grateful to President Biden for his success in defeating Donald Trump in 2020. We applaud his forbearance in turning over this task now, four years later, to his inspired choice for vice president, Kamala Harris. Democrats are already uniting behind Harris and will make every effort to elect her […]
Posted inOpinion
Give our firefighters the wages they deserve
This past week proves to be the perfect time for this letter. Why? The sky was dull with smoke and ashes cover everything. Fire! A big one and out of control. We’ve all seen the convoys of firetrucks and support equipment … some staged at our local Elks rodeo grounds. Firefighters from all over the […]
Posted inOpinion
Cover the other side of the YMCA issue
Your feature article of July 4 titled, “All day, all night: A YMCA in Santa Ynez wants to stay open 24/7, but its neighbors are against the plan,” by Taylor O’Connor is very one-sided, whether intended or not. Most of the article focuses primarily on the reasons why it is a good idea to convert […]
Posted inOpinion
No president should be above the law
What, if anything, can be done to avert the coming disaster of living in a country where our president is “above the law”? Where criminal violations of the oath of office are ignored? Where Supreme Court of the United States candidates can lie under oath to the Senate selection committee and, once confirmed, render baseless […]
Posted inOpinion
Biden over Trump
I don’t know what planet Ron Fink was on four years ago, but the country and entire world were in the middle of a pandemic! Remember COVID? It was hard to get toilet paper, masks, and staples like flour and rice! Millions didn’t survive, and Trump did not care. I will take Biden over Trump […]
