Re “Protest tents pop up in Irvine” (April 30):
Every day I wonder when the adults will emerge in these campus encampments. Walking around with protest signs supporting terrorists is fine. Self-identifying as fools is their free speech right. Living in tents on campus is violating the rights of students, employees, the university and the state that pays for them. These uninformed students read about other campuses and just need the social media “me too” credibility.
If this was a protest against the atrocities and murders by Hamas, a protest against Gazans that overwhelmingly support terrorism, a protest to release the 100-plus hostages still being held by these terrorists, these encampments would be quickly removed.
Without double standards, a leftist Democrat would have no standards at all.
— R. Steven Tungate, Trabuco Canyon
In the know
After reading several opinions of Rafael Perez, very recently introduced to the newspapers subscribers, I am of the opinion that Mr. Perez is in his own epistemic bubble (April 30). The logic given forth in his articles is very hard to follow, so I deemed it his own logic but gleaned from the academic bubble where he is confined. Frequently he replicates the one-party system in California that we have, the one positioning its philosophy of governance in every form of media that is communicating to our citizenry. So, I am registering a dissenting opinion and hope that Mr. Perez is slightly convinced that what he writes can one day come out of his bubble, and everything he believes and writes about might not be true. I, for one, do not believe it is true.
— Janice Smalley, Castaic
Education and New Math
Steven Greenhut in “Equity grading is the latest destined-to-fail education fad” April 28 hits the nail on the head: Do we want 20% of the Hispanic kids to be proficient in math because of national origin? So if only 5% are, do we grade on a curve (that kids only dream of) so as to bring the percentage up to the proportion of Hispanics in the population? Of course not; we change the dynamics in the classroom. Math along with reading and comprehension skills are tools that increase the likelihood of success in life. Not the color of one’s skin, national origins or the latest “novel education theory” of academics looking to make a name for themselves.
— Jorge A. Velez, Long Beach
![Mark Takano’s May 12 article ignores the fact that there already are two states in what was Palestine; one majority Jewish state on 1/8 of the land and one “pure” Arab state, Jordan, (Judenrein — apartheid against Jews) on 3/4 of the land. That never solved anything, because the agenda of Israel’s enemies is not any number of states, but genocide; no Jewish state and no Jewish inhabitants in the Land Of Israel. That is the meaning of “from the river to the sea.” A hundred more Arab states on the same land would not satisfy that agenda. — Louis […]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-9.jpg?w=513 "Mark Takano’s May 12 article ignores the fact that there already are two states in what was Palestine; one majority Jewish state on 1/8 of the land and one “pure” Arab state, Jordan, (Judenrein — apartheid against Jews) on 3/4 of the land. That never solved anything, because the agenda of Israel’s enemies is not any number of states, but genocide; no Jewish state and no Jewish inhabitants in the Land Of Israel. That is the meaning of “from the river to the sea.” A hundred more Arab states on the same land would not satisfy that agenda. — Louis […]")
![I would like to thank the editorial staff of the newspaper for their May 8 article honoring Friedrich Hayek, author of “The Road to Serfdom.” His book as well as the writings of George Orwell and Ayn Rand have proven prescient as we see changes in economic thinking and political systems today. His book as well as those by the others should be required reading for any study of Western civilization. Hayek uses the term liberal the same way as did our founders. A liberal is one who embraces liberty and independence. Today’s leftists who have taken over the word […]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-8.jpg?w=513 "I would like to thank the editorial staff of the newspaper for their May 8 article honoring Friedrich Hayek, author of “The Road to Serfdom.” His book as well as the writings of George Orwell and Ayn Rand have proven prescient as we see changes in economic thinking and political systems today. His book as well as those by the others should be required reading for any study of Western civilization. Hayek uses the term liberal the same way as did our founders. A liberal is one who embraces liberty and independence. Today’s leftists who have taken over the word […]")
![Yes, college ceremonies should go on as they always have for students Unless a majority of those to receive degrees vote to the contrary, the decision should not be made by a small group of protesters. How should the current iteration of protesters be compared to the anti-Vietnam War campus protests of the 1960s and ‘70s? No comparison. The United States was a major participant in Vietnam, college-age males were subject to the draft and many killed and wounded. Today’s protestors have no fear for their lives. Are today’s protesters well educated on the politics of the Middle East? No. […]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-7.jpg?w=513 "Yes, college ceremonies should go on as they always have for students Unless a majority of those to receive degrees vote to the contrary, the decision should not be made by a small group of protesters. How should the current iteration of protesters be compared to the anti-Vietnam War campus protests of the 1960s and ‘70s? No comparison. The United States was a major participant in Vietnam, college-age males were subject to the draft and many killed and wounded. Today’s protestors have no fear for their lives. Are today’s protesters well educated on the politics of the Middle East? No. […]")
![Well, Teri Sforza’s report May 9 is right about one thing — what Sacramento is doing isn’t working, if reducing homelessness is the objective. So, this reader wonders, is it? First, I question the motivation. The rewards are backwards. Wherever and to whomever the money is going has been rewarded with more of it if the problem got worse. Anyone receiving money could look to less of it if they truly reduced the homeless numbers. We’re talking government and nonprofit employees putting themselves out of a job. Second, again on motivation. The report says as many as half the people […]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-6.jpg?w=513 "Well, Teri Sforza’s report May 9 is right about one thing — what Sacramento is doing isn’t working, if reducing homelessness is the objective. So, this reader wonders, is it? First, I question the motivation. The rewards are backwards. Wherever and to whomever the money is going has been rewarded with more of it if the problem got worse. Anyone receiving money could look to less of it if they truly reduced the homeless numbers. We’re talking government and nonprofit employees putting themselves out of a job. Second, again on motivation. The report says as many as half the people […]")