Letters & Opinions

I recall as a young child hearing my grandfather say, “Those that have nothing appreciate everything they receive, and those that have it all expect it to flow like a river forever.” It never much occurred to me then what he was talking about. Today I understand. We have become a nation of spoiled brats, overweight, self-serving nincompoops who want immediate gratification without concern for consequences.

At the January 11, 2022 city council meeting, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A79JGYgjBSE Stephen Graham, attorney for the city of Hemet, told Malcolm Lilienthal: “Being king is good, sir” (time: 1:08:58)

The Legislature has a chance to modernize the state’s alcohol shipping laws and allow consumers to buy distilled spirits like they do wine. In 1986 when the Legislature allowed the wine industry to ship their product to consumers through direct mail there were roughly 700 wineries in the state generating about $5 billion in sales. Now California is approaching 4,000 wineries that generate $40 billion a year.

There are two main paths to acquiring citizenship in the United States and a few minor ones. The first is to be born here. The others are via legal immigration, birth abroad to a U.S. citizen, and certain adoptions.

Comparing the Kim Potter and Alec Baldwin cases is a powerful illustration of the missing element in our criminal justice system. Prosecutors are granted broad discretion in who they charge, so that they may consider the totality of circumstances and provide something that the literal interpretation of laws can’t -- justice. But the Potter and Baldwin cases show just how far astray from that goal our systems have wandered.