LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Pinter’s commentary not hatred of conservatives

I am addressing myself to Mr. Mark’s response to Mr. Pinter’s commentary of December 28.

I don’t believe that the commentary or even Mr. Pinter’s opinion of conservatives is extreme “hatred.” That is your opinion and for some reason you take it personally.

In his commentary he merely objected to the comment of a “big, burly Latino,” expressing his opinion that “Democrats were all wrong,” so Mr. Pinter replied in kind.

I am “Latina,” I don’t take issue with that. What I do take issue with is anyone who listens to propaganda and takes it as Gospel and seem to “hate” intellectuals or educated people because they don’t buy the “big” lies, COVID is a hoax, the vaccine makes you sterile, you don’t need a mask.

So, now our hospitals are full of sick children with COVID, 12,000 children have died. Who’s fault is that?

You don’t need a “great education to know the difference between a lie and the truth. M.A. Reyes Porterville

Pinter says he’s not opposed to conservatives

A reader of this newspaper has complained that I’m opposed to conservatives. I’m not. I often don’t agree with them, but only because I think they can be a little heartless. Conservatism isn’t ignorant; ignorance is ignorant.

For a Democrat, I’m pretty conservative. That doesn’t mean that I think like today’s Republican voters. I don’t think that THEY are conservatives. They think that religious fundamentalism is conservative, which it is not. And they think that believing what the Republican Party tells them is conservative, which it definitely is not. I think they’re being used by means of mendacious, inflammatory language designed to get out the vote. That has nothing to do with conservatism.

I believe that we should keep the enormous national debt under control. That’s a solid conservative value. But I also believe that implementing a progressive tax rate, so that people with higher incomes pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes, is the only way to pay down that debt. We should borrow when the country needs it, and pay it back when our billionaires can afford it. What’s conservative about making the rich richer and the poor poorer?

I believe that we should educate our children so that they can tell when they’re being lied to. I’ve heard Republicans say that if you send your children off to college, they’ll come back Democrats. No, they won’t; they’ll come back EDUCATED. How could education not be a conservative value?

And I believe that people who don’t understand the issues, and especially people who don’t understand that the people they’ve been told to vote for don’t have their best interests at heart, shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

That goes back to Jefferson, Madison and Washington. I don’t have much support from Democrats in that regard, but it’s a free country.

And I have a number of guns. How many? None of your business. But I don’t think that convicted felons, the mentally ill, children, or people with anger management issues should have them. How is arming dangerous people conservative?

Finally, using political power to impose the beliefs of one religion on everyone, which is what opposition to the Roe v. Wade decision, is not conservative. It’s a violation of the First Amendment. I’m indifferent between being bullied by Moslem clerics or by Christian fundamentalists.

I’m a conservative from the time when conservative didn’t mean ignorant. We need a conservative Republican Party; we just don’t need THIS Republican Party. Conservative voters are fine; ignorant voters aren’t.

Ignorance is treason: Inform yourself before you vote. Les Pinter Springville

Smartest are those who voted for Prop. 13

California coffers are flush with a surplus of money and more coming in.

That just shows that the smartest political bloc in California are the voters as shown by the voting in of Prop. 13.