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Book has never been
more accurate than now
It has been 62 years since Richard Hofstadter published “Anti-Intellectualism in American Life,” and his conclusions have been validated continuously ever since, never more so than hearing that “Governor Newscum” is to blame for the L.A. wildfire tragedy according to Donald Trump.
Really? Sixth-grade level taunting is where we are at during a catastrophic event? Perhaps (or lower). That is where 54% of American adults (i.e. voters) rank in reading level, according to the 2023 study commissioned by the National Literacy Institute. That percentage is eerily close to the 49.9% “mandate” the Republican candidate received.
As the president-elect bellowed after the 2016 Nevada caucuses, “I love the poorly educated.” And why not?
Robert Varesio
Sunnyvale
County social workers
lack needed support
Re: “Accountability is still lacking in baby’s death” (Page A6, Jan. 15).
As a family doctor and a volunteer member of the Citizens Review Panel on Critical Incidents (child fatalities due to abuse or neglect), which is advisory to California’s Department of Social Services, I have been very concerned since the death of baby Phoenix about Santa Clara County’s ill-considered policies and program management for families in distress and at-risk children.
For many months now, there has been an ongoing, very concerning lack of necessary action, starting at the highest level. I am especially concerned about the lack of necessary support and resources, and evident demoralization of the hard-working frontline social workers who have a difficult job to begin with.
Congratulations are due to Mercury News for its excellent ongoing coverage of this problem and its recent editorial, which clearly described the core issues and specified the actions necessary to fix them.
Jeoffry Gordon
Santa Cruz
Musk’s right-wing bent
is anti-democracy
Recently Elon Musk has been voicing his opinions about the virtues of far-right and fascist beliefs in Germany and allied countries. All the while he is ensconced comfortably in the United States, where freedom of the press and speech still exists.
This is all happening under the nose of the incoming administration. By the silence of that administration, it would appear there is approval of such speech by Musk.
These are not American values he is expressing. Democracy does not support fascist ideals. The suppression of one over another outwardly does not fit with the American way. Perhaps Musk should consider moving to a more fascist-friendly country — say, Hungary.
Angela Boles King
Los Gatos
A chance to rebuild
L.A. economically
Your Sunday paper is full of full-page advertisements for homes being built on tracks of land in the Central Valley, north and south of Sacramento, where the open land is. Those planned developments might be 20 or 30 homes, with a choice of five or so floor plans. Economies of scale mean the developer can build the homes and rotate labor from one house to the next, lessening the cost so they can make money.
Can the same kind of development be done in the larger burned areas near Los Angeles? People who have lost homes could choose a floor plan to suit their needs and their property, and a developer could build 10 new homes in an area that is already served by roads and utilities.
That must be cheaper than rebuilding custom homes — on a one-at-a-time basis, helping to keep residents there, especially those who were underinsured.
Seth Emerson
San Jose
Trump’s reelection
damns Garland as AG
Re: “Final report: Evidence there to convict Trump” (Page A1, Jan. 15).
On Jan. 6, 2020, Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol to prevent Joe Biden from taking office.
Merrick Garland timidly waited until Jan. 7, 2021, to begin investigating the Capitol rioters, and until February 2022 to begin investigating Trump’s role in an insurrection without precedent in American history.
If Garland had begun his investigation of this act of sedition on Jan. 7, 2020, as he should have done, Trump would probably be in a cell, instead of in the White House continuing to dismantle our democracy for his personal benefit.
Timid Merrick Garland deserves a place in “Profiles in Political Cowardice” as the worst attorney general in American history.
Dave Whitaker
San Jose
