Letters to the EDITOR
To err may be human, but forgiveness isn’t so divine
I have a bone to pick with David W. Hegg’s latest column — dated Saturday, June 9 — titled “Best to learn how to figure out forgiveness.” My beef centers around my belief that forgiveness is always wrong from both sides of the parties. That is, wrong from the one needing forgiveness as well as the one who was wronged. See, forgiveness produces a mental clean slate, as it were, which allows both parties to feel free to commit their transactions over again. Without forgiveness, both parties really take a measure of correction in not committing the vile action again.
However, Mr. Hegg holds the opposite opinion of mine; that is, he states that both parties via time must forgive in order to right the wrong of the transaction that led to his forgiveness being needed in the first place. Yes, indeed, I say forget all about any and all forms of forgiveness, for forgiveness, as I say, clears the mental slate, and that clearness allows one to feel free to project more of the same wrong actions. In fact, people learn to correct their mistakes from never having a sense of forgiveness given to them.
Furthermore, the one who would be the forgiver, must not forgive in his heart, if you will, for by doing so, an injury is created, that injury consisting of allowing a clean mental slate of the transgressor to feel vindicated, and hence, a good probability that the transaction will be committed again — and again, and again.
Thus, I say both parties are wrong to forgive, unlike what David W. Hegg suggests in his column. Wrong is wrong, Mr. Hegg, and forgiveness, as I say, only leads to more of the same evil transactions, for I know from my experiences in 66 years aboard the planet. Robert W. Burton
Santa Clarita
Rep. Knight chips away at children’s health insurance
Rep. Steve Knight voted for a bill that would strip $7 billion away from the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
There’s no other way to say it. Our congressman voted to take away health care. From impoverished, sick children. That’s despicable.
It’s just one of the many ways Knight has weakened our country and attacked the most vulnerable among us. Thank God it won’t cut enrollment immediately, but it will have devastating repercussions down the line, taking away funding reserved in a lockbox that would have been used later for family health services for the needy.
“Targeting CHIP for a rescission prevents Congress from reinvesting in other priorities like child and maternal health, early childhood education, biomedical research and our community health centers,” said New York Rep. Nita Lowey, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee.
Pass this news on to your friends and neighbors. In November, we’ll get a chance to remove Knight from office and begin reversing the damage he has done in our name. Anthony Breznican
Valencia
Happy to see Knight facing a stiff challenge in November
I am happy to see that Rep. Steve Knight will have a strong challenger in November’s election. Over his past two terms, Knight has been inaccessible and unavailable. He rarely makes public appearances to hear our needs and concerns, which has resulted in out-of-touch policies and programs that go against our best interests.
The two most obvious examples of this are his support for tax cuts to the wealthy and repeated efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
In December, he voted for a tax bill that gave billions of dollars to corporations at the expense of working class Californians. The bill will add nearly $1.5 trillion in debt and will likely be paid for by cuts to critical programs like Medicaid and Social Security. Knight promised the benefits of the tax bill will “trickle down” to working-class Americans, but it is clear that isn’t happening. Corporations are making record profits this year and giving the savings to shareholders while laying off workers and closing stores. Nearly 150 people lost their jobs in Simi Valley because of the Walmart closure, which coincidentally happened after they announced bonuses for their employees.
I am hopeful that Knight will be held accountable for his inability to stand up for his constituents. Logan Smith
Valencia
Gun control and taxes: whistling by the graveyard
Mister Heath’s (June 12) column had two points: Republicans should pass gun control and raise taxes in the spirit of community.
Gun Control: Who doesn’t want to stop violence, especially in schools? But, gun deaths in the U.S. rank 11th in the world per 100,000 at 3.8. The highest: El Salvador at 40, Mexico at 7.4, and even Jamaica at 16.50. This is amazing considering that the U.S., with 5 percent of the world’s population, has 88 guns per 100 people (most law-abiding gun owners in the world). London, with the strictest anti-gun laws, saw a murder rate higher than New York for February and March, mostly due to stabbings.
Taxes: Since President Trump’s tax cut, the U.S. has the lowest unemployment rate (3.5 percent) since 1970. The gross domestic product is estimated at its highest level in 10 years. Wages are up and growing.
Demanding higher taxes and simplistic gun arguments is whistling past the graveyard. Richard La Motte
Valencia
A Nobel Prize for Trump? Don’t hold your breath
Steve Lunetta’s opinion piece (“Worthy of a Nobel Prize?” June 14) seems to be a very premature crowning of our president as a “peace-maker.” Whereas we should give him credit for opening a dialogue with the North Korean dictator Kim JongUn on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, this outcome is a very long way from reality. Both sides have signed a starting document that contains no mention of verification, which is critical in importance. Previous diplomatic initiatives in pursuit of denuclearization have not borne fruit, and many on the left, right and middle are wondering if President Trump is naïve in thinking that North Korea will ever abandon their nuclear program and missile delivery systems. It is difficult to imagine that this closed and secretive society will ever agree to verification. Meanwhile, Trump has walked away from an international agreement with Iran that does include verification and has delayed a nuclear capability by another acknowledged enemy (that may) eventually lead to war in the Middle East.
One has to wonder whether this Trump misdirection play is motivated by his extreme narcissism, or an attempt to buy voter approval while a serious investigation of his campaign and administration continues regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump has already showered praise on a vicious dictator, and capitulated to cancel joint military exercises with our key ally, South Korea. At nearly the same time, he criticized our true friends at the G-7 meeting and is instituting ill-advised tariffs with key trading partners. It is to be seen over the next few months or years whether the North Korean diplomatic initiative will be a success against all odds, but the damage done to our alliances across the world is already done.
A Nobel Prize for Trump? Please! Thomas Oatway
Valencia