Letters: We should stop sinking money in high-speed rail pit

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Stop sinking money in high-speed rail pit

Re: “High-speed rail agency seeks new fed funding” (Page A1, July 9).

I am 85 years old and have voted in every election throughout my life. Over the years, I’ve supported both Democrats and Republicans, and I’ve always felt confident in my choices. I’ve never once wished I could go back and change my vote — except for one decision.

I regret voting for the high‑speed rail project.

The endless delays, the ballooning costs and the fact that it still won’t run from San Francisco to Los Angeles in any phase have left me deeply disappointed. It feels as though we are throwing money into a bottomless pit, and after all these years, there are still no trains.

I believe Californians deserve the chance to vote again on whether we want to continue funding a rail system that, at this point, serves only the Central Valley.

Stop the high-speed rail in California and stop throwing money into a never-ending hole.

Carl Politis
Concord

Take up policy problems with districts, not unions

Re: “Public instruction is to blame for decline” (Page A6, July 2).

From a distance, Jay Todesco’s opinion is easy to hold. Up close, it becomes so light that it becomes invisible. Todesco says that “kids are getting indoctrination instead of instruction,” and “I believe the teachers’ unions have a lot to do with this.” Let me untangle his thought, his “belief,” and his agenda, and hitch it to where it belongs.

Teachers’ unions are to help stabilize work conditions where districts would easily take greater advantage of teachers than they already do. Rather than unions pushing “left-wing influences,” look no further than the district offices of school districts. This is where policies are crafted, curriculum divined and bulldozed into an often unreceptive teacher’s lap. If any “push … for DEI and ‘woke’ mantras” are to be found, please guide your thoughts to those in the district office who make policy, not those in unions who support teachers.

William Green
Alameda

Threats against Newsom family are bad for nation

Re: “Trump’s actions irritate Newsom” (Page A1, June 16).

Nothing is more intimidating than the fear that someone will harm your family. Making threats against the loved ones of their opponents is a tool used by unscrupulous leaders against those who oppose their policies.

Donald Trump understands this well. He is untethered to normal feelings of empathy due to his narcissistic tendencies. Gov. Gavin Newsom is a potential presidential candidate who has sharply criticized Trump.

Trump has sent the FBI to investigate Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Seibel Newsom, for vague accusations of tax improprieties. This follows his previous threats against the families of Joe Biden and members of Congress who don’t support him.

Those who approve of such tactics will applaud them as necessary business. The rest of us watch helplessly, understanding that such threats are not being made for the good of the country, but to bolster the power of a wannabe dictator while causing great distress to the victims.

Teri Shikany
Danville

Will research funding cover minority disease?

Re: “Research bond set for ballot” (Page A1, June 29).

Research funding is very important, helping to discover cures for diseases present in today’s world.

How much of the money would go to developing treatments and a cure for sickle cell, a predominantly minority disease?

Tim Brown
Hayward

Trump treats public service as a business

Re: “Unpacking the alleged claims of market fraud” (Page A6, July 15).

How comforting to learn from Health and Human Services that losing nearly 3 million Americans from healthcare rolls is a triumph of efficiency. Rebranding people who cannot afford a 58% premium hike as “phantom enrollees” is bureaucratic alchemy, turning abandonment into a crusade against “fraud.”

This is the comedy of treating a public service as a commercial commodity. The federal government, as currency issuer, faces no financial barrier to funding health subsidies. The only real constraints are resource-based: the supply of doctors, nurses, clinics, preventive education and the political will to cap unit drug prices — a move that actually protects pharmaceutical market size through expanded patient volume.

Larry Henry
Berkeley

Wimbledon has lessons for Trump and cronies

I just watched the Wimbledon Tennis Final from Britain.

The loser congratulated the winner. The winner congratulated the loser. They spoke with compassion and respect for each other, and for the game and for their public. They laughed, they controlled their tears and no one claimed the match was stolen.

No one insulted or threatened their opponents with prison or death. We saw, from deep in Donald Trump’s America, players who did the best they could with the whole world watching, still able to congratulate and accept the results of their best efforts, even when they lost.

Now, imagine President Trump under similar circumstances. What do you see?

Michael Steinberg
Berkeley