Column Out of Character

I too was surprised by Mr. Jonathan Kraut’s latest column in Democratic Voices (April 19), especially given his previous column, which demonstrated that Democrats just do not understand what “Congress shall make no law” in the First Amendment means, and have apparently spent no time reading the very clear Supreme Court decision concerning free speech. Otherwise he would not suggest that the government, any government, can create a truth commission with the power to punish people who are expressing what the government considers to be “false” ideas.

While I agree with what Mr. Kraut says about government handouts, I would suggest that in his column he fails to point out the power of handouts to influence the vote, a factor certainly not lost on the Democrats in the various legislatures The latest example of this is the push to forgive student debt.

Stephen Maseda

Valencia