Letters: Fixing the vote | Reparations and racism
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Prop. 22 is case of
voters not being proper
Re: “Authorized assault on gig measure threatens direct democracy” (Web page A12, Might 7).
Dan Schnur lists a number of California propositions in his Proposition 22 op-ed and calls the court docket case searching for to overturn the proposition an “assault” on direct democracy. Apparently, Mr. Schnur thinks voters are infallible. He conveniently left Proposition 8 off his checklist.
Proposition 8 was an try and ban same-sex marriage; it handed within the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in court docket. Was the try and ban same-sex marriage an assault on democracy, or simply the court docket case(s) trying to overturn the proposition?
Voters typically get issues unsuitable, particularly about esoteric points like employment regulation, or the Due Course of and Equal Safety Clauses of the Fourteenth Modification.
Thomas Grey
Livermore
Reparations will
worsen racism
Re: “Reparations panel approves state apology, funds” (Web page A11, Might 7).
Reparations will do nothing to stem the pure dependancy to stereotyping primarily based on pores and skin colour (the logical definition of “racism”). Sunday morning moralists will turn out to be complacent and cease the laborious work of preventing it, and White supremacists will focus their anger extra.
Worse, as a result of political cash is concerned, just like the Catholic indulgences that led to the Reformation, reparations will turn out to be fertile floor for corruption.
Howard Winet
Berkeley
AI is restricted by
rubbish in, rubbish out
ChatGPT and its cousins acquire huge quantities of knowledge (which appears to incorporate massive and nonetheless bigger quantities of just about something their minders can get their fingers on) and use that knowledge to provide you with articles, insights, predictions and whatnot. And the ensuing deluge of articles, insights and whatnot are what? Extra knowledge. Information which, in flip, turns into fodder for them to feed on. Solely this time round they’ve begun feeding on themselves. And so forth, and on.
Appears to me to make for an entire lot of self-reinforcement and undesirable homogeneity. And consider the enjoyable attorneys and publishers can have as ChatGPT, et al. start to plagiarize one another.
Jim Wolpman
Walnut Creek
‘Manufactured variety’
no reply to racism
Re: “Some school campuses are turning variety right into a vice” (Web page A7, Might 3).
Opposite to what Maureen Downey writes, we conservatives don’t have any drawback with variety.
What we do oppose is manufactured variety. It seeks to disregard advantage in pursuit of proportionality and seeks to ignore competence in favor of fairness. And that, Ms. Downey, meets the very definition of a vice.
Invoice McGregor
Berkeley
Events are enjoying
video games with debt
Re: “Elevating debt restrict is a no brainer for U.S.” (Web page A12, Might 7).
Whereas I agree, I’d recommend that each events are responsible of the same type of political gamesmanship.
Negotiation over the debt restrict is nothing new. In 1917, the U.S. authorities required Congress and the president to periodically raise the debt restrict because it deemed vital. Since then, regardless of both occasion having full management of the federal government, the regulation has remained on the books. Each events have used it as a software to acquire concessions from the opposite. President Biden now says that he adamantly opposes negotiating with the debt restrict, though he has argued to restrict it previously.
This explicit drawback is complicated, doubtlessly disastrous, and cries out for critical debate. Calling anybody answer a “no-brainer” can solely assist politicians have interaction in additional demagoguery relatively than clear up the issue.
Daniel Mauthe
Livermore
US ought to reduce
protection spending
President Joe Biden and Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy don’t but agree if the debt ceiling needs to be raised in order that the US won’t default on paying its obligations. Moreover, Speaker McCarthy advocates cuts within the federal funds.
