Letters to the Editor

by Jim Buckley

Samuel Clemens composing his thoughts. Source: Wikimedia, colorized

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The following is just a trickle of some of the many comments we’ve received after the second week of Santa Barbara Current. – Jim Buckley)

Many Academics Believe America is Bad

Kennedy and Reagan led a country in which a majority of citizens thought their country was basically good. A majority of today's citizens think America is basically bad. Because it was founded on slavery and land theft. Renewal is impossible when a majority believes distortions designed to denigrate patriotism.

Lawrence Lambert

(Editor’s note: Doesn't it suggest though, that we must get busy and re-direct the educational establishment back to the basics? – J.B.)

Yes, the rot began in the Academy. And it is so well entrenched that any return to basics would take more time than Obama's fundamental transformation of America will allow. Unpleasant as it is to acknowledge, the Left has won, and America is in national decline. But there is a lot of ruin in a country, and it will take a long time to hit bottom. And the bottom will still be bearable. We will become a European-style social welfare state. Not the end of the world. Just the end of the America as it was. – L.L.

It May Be “Springtime” in the U.S. Too

We truly need a Reagan like president. Trump appears to be the only one with enough force of personality to look the Dems and the RINOS I’m the eye and tell them where to go. Others have similar ideas, but they lack the necessary chutzpah. I love the image of a brilliant economist like Javier Milei showing up at a rally with a chainsaw, then give a well thought out rationale for deconstructing the leftist mess created by years of progressive Marxists. 

We need to speak up against evil in this country and convince our faint-hearted fellow conservatives and libertarians that this may be the last election of our lifetime. Mike Lindell, Dinesh D’Souza, and the Kracken attorney are right regarding the 2020 election theft. More than anything we need to pray that God gives America one more chance. Electing Trump may not seem like something people of faith would do. However, the DNC is clearly the party of Satan. You keep looking up as you do your civic duty, and vote.

Paul Aijian MD

(Editor’s note: I will vote for Donald Trump if he is the nominee, and he certainly deserves that second term. I also believe in miracles, so if Ron DeSantis is the nominee and is elected, I think he’ll prove to be just as effective in turning things around, maybe even more so. – J.B.)

Saw the First American to Orbit Earth

I recall watching a small, yet brilliant triangle shaped object float slowly across the night sky all snuggled in our cotton and canvas sleeping bags gazing into the dazzling Milky Way, while hiking to the summit of Mount Whitney with my father in 1963.

Upon returning home to Glendale, California we read in the LA Times that indeed it was astronaut John Glenn orbiting the Earth right above us over the eastern High Sierra in his Gemini space capsule.

This well-documented and concise review of the past six decades of history should be required reading of every history student in the US from middle school through high school.

I'm looking forward to next week’s installment.

Wally Hofmann

(Editor’s note: My list of New American Heroes should be out this week; thanks for your anticipation. – J.B.)

Voters Should Vote

While there are concentrations of wealth and power aligned in opposition, both Mark Zuckerberg and I still have just one vote to cast. This is my own reminder of the sheer power of American voting egalitarianism. No one should ever lose faith in voting. 

However, one illegally cast or wrongfully counted vote can disenfranchise my vote entirely. Election security remains as critical as getting out to vote. One thing we can do right now is obtain a registered voter list from the county elections office for our own precincts. Then start walking our own neighborhoods to ensure the best turnout for the outcomes we most desire

J. Livingston

(Editor’s note: David McCalmont agrees with you; see his column in tomorrow’s edition. – J.B.)

Good Guys are Supposed to Win

I loved your “Springtime for the Soviets” article. It does seem so dour and hopeless at times, but we need to keep remembering history and also need to remember the miracles that do happen! We need to keep looking up, and not out. In the end, aren't the good guys supposed to always win?

Thanks for the history lesson, will be sharing it!

Elyse Rossier

(Editor’s note: Other “miracles” of note: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Who would have thought the ragtag revolutionaries could take on the world’s superpower and win? And where the heck did the gangly Abe Lincoln come from? Stuff happens and, yes, the good guys are supposed to win… eventually. – J.B.)

Rocketing Forward

I am sure you know that the U-2 incident spurred the development of the SR-71. Many good stories about that plane; I saw one up close as a 10-year-old – it was big noise. One good story about the plane is that back in the Reagan days, an SR-71 was sent to check up on Gaddafi in Libya. His military spotted the plane, and they fired missiles at it. The pilot simply pressed the throttle to the wall and the plane out-accelerated the missiles! 

It is one thing to defeat a foe on the outside, quite another to handle an insidious insider leftist crowd that so aggressively grasps for power at all costs. Lots of green shoots, just a lot to do given the nationwide psyops of recent. 

Thanks again for the story.

Steve Worthington

(Editor’s note: I had forgotten that the U-2 incident led to the development of the SR-71, so thank you for pressing the recall button for me. – J.B.)

Not Too Many Carrots

Although I basically agree that the vineyard in this article is getting the short end of the stick, and I overall agree with the “many water basins in the state are in some form of overdraft meaning we are taking more water out of the aquifer than is being replaced”. But I am very disappointed in the parroting of Sean Hannity and other Republican talking heads with this shortsighted “Moreover, upwards of 40% of the water in storage is no longer reserved for use during droughts, instead the water is released for fish habitat!" It is not wasted water! There used to be a viable salmon fishery right here in Santa Barbara with $$ flowing into the counties’ coffers. The value of the commercial salmon fishery to the State is pegged at $1.4 billion. I doubt there are more than a handful left in Santa Barbara. They were out of business this year and probably next year. The winter run chinook is on the verge of extinction, yet salmon have senior rights in California water law. But you know how that works. “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting” I think that’s the way Mark Twain saw it.

David Renner

(Editor’s note: We didn’t have time to get a response from Andy Caldwell, but my guess is he’ll reference your letter in next Sunday’s column. – J.B.)

The Ubiquitous (and easy to obtain) Finger Gun

 I love it. Finger Guns are so versatile in silent communications. Of course they should be banned. We can't have the public communicating with one another silently, it is too difficult to censor. Anyway, Finger Gun usage should be limited to use by the elite and politicians. Only they know how to Finger Gun someone without psychological damage.

Derek Hanley

(Editor’s note: I do agree; Hillary operates her Finger Gun majestically, as does Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump is getting pretty good at it too. You’ve really put your finger on it! – J.B.)