Losing Americans’ respect; guns are for protection; views of the GOP; rules for AI
Don Mayer: Politics: Supreme Court has lost Americans’ respect
The Supreme Court has become politicized in such a way that it has lost the respect of most Americans. Something must be done, as SCOTUS has become just another political institution. What the country truly needs is a restructuring of our entire political system. As long as the influence of corporate money is the primary force in our politics, our entire political system, Congress, the Judiciary and the Executive will not serve to benefit ordinary Americans. The current court, in deciding against gerrymandering in Alabama, took us by surprise. Clearly, despite having recently gutted the Civil Rights Act, they were worried about the political blowback. Such major blowback happened after their decision on women’s right to self-determination. What is politically tolerable seems always to trump what is right. Luckily, Congress can set term limits and can impose ethics guidelines on the court. But it will be able to do so only if there are substantial congressional gains by Democrats in 2024.
Don Mayer, Boulder
Mike Fontenot: Firearms: Gun ownership is about protection
In a previous letter to the editor (entitled “Gun ownership has never been about protection), the author wrote, “An inanimate object’s (referring to a gun) only purpose is to harm …”
It’s true that when a bullet hits a person, that person will be harmed, and maybe killed. But much more often than not, the person who is harmed is an evil person who was trying to harm an innocent person.
Mike Fontenot, Boulder
Ken Bublitz: Politics: Do the GOP’s views really differ from Trump’s?
Many candidates want to distance themselves from Trump. A step in the right direction? Maybe, but I think they miss the point. Trump may be crude and a bully, but basically his views are the views of the party. So before we think them kinder and gentler candidates we might want to ask them how they feel about the issues that concern most Americans.
Do they accept the science of global warming and what scientists say is required to combat it? Do they accept the science of vaccines? Do they accept science period? Do they agree that clean water and air standards are necessary?
Do they accept the results of the 2020 election? Do they agree that the wealthy should pay a greater share of taxes than they currently do?
Do they agree a woman and her doctor should make the decisions about her body? Do they agree that all American citizens should be able to vote and have access to the polls? Do they oppose gerrymandering?
Do they accept that Americans should decide for themselves what books they can read? That teachers should get to teach history as it actually happened without censorship or pressure from the government?
Will they admit that trickle-down didn’t work for anyone but the wealthy and corporations? Do they accept that some people, like those with mental deficiencies or criminals, should not be allowed to own guns? Do they think that background checks should be universal and stricter than today?
At present, it seems all the media want to talk about is who is ahead and where each ranks. I think Americans want more than that when it comes to elections. I think we need to insist they do a better job of informing us where each candidate stands.
Ken Bublitz, Loveland
Bill Butler: Technology: Rules must be set for how AI is used in research
Artificial Intelligence as a research tool is fine, but AI should be prohibited from interpretation and writing a report based on that research. It is too easy for someone with a particular bias to rig the system to interpret the findings their way and write a prejudiced report: The rest of us would never know we had been had.
Bill Butler, Longmont
