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OPINION
LETTERS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Trump should have
handled the Ukraine situa-
tion differently, but no one
in the world thinks the
president will be convicted
and removed from office.
So, let’s skip the public
hearings and have the Sen-
ate vote on whether to con-
vict him. Then maybe we
can get on with some real
legislative activity.
In the meantime, the
country is in pretty good
economic shape, we are
beginning to exit no-win
military situations, and we
are finally confronting
China on trade.
Tom Bond
Studio City
Protection of whistle-
blowers was guaranteed by
law even before the adoption
of our Constitution when the
Continental Congress passed
such legislation in 1778.
This legislation was in
response to the punishment
of two naval officers who
lodged a complaint against
Commodore Esek Hopkins,
George Washington’s chief
naval officer, for torturing
British prisoners of war.
If Trump has any respect
for the wisdom of our foun-
ding fathers, he should quit
his attacks on the current
whistleblower.
Vitali Mostovoj
Thousand OaksRe “A different impeach-
ment,” Opinion, Nov. 4Paul Rosenzweig, a law-
yer who worked with the
independent counsel during
President Clinton’s im-
peachment, correctly draws
a distinction between the
crime and the cover-up, but
he doesn’t go far enough.
Clinton’s crime consisted
of lying under oath about
his affair with a White
House intern. He did not try
to abuse his authority or
subvert democratic institu-
tions.
Trump, on the other
hand, has done all of that
repeatedly.For starters, shortly
before the 2016 election, he
paid off an adult film star
with whom he allegedly had
an affair. That right there
subverts campaign finance
laws and is grounds for
impeachment. He publicly
invited Russia to hack Hilla-
ry Clinton’s emails, at-
tempted to fire Robert S.
Mueller III, and suggested
the whistleblower in the
Ukraine affair should be
charged with treason. The
list goes on.
Clinton was a model
president compared to
Trump
Alex Murray
AltadenaNo comparing
Trump, Warren
Re “Warren’s absurd cam-
paign promises,” Opinion,
Nov. 5I will distill Jonah Gold-
berg’s column comparing
President Trump with
Democratic presidential
candidate Sen. Elizabeth
Warren:
Trump is a liar who
makes stupid campaign
promises, and so is Warren.
Plus, Warren is a know-it-all
with plans, so she’s really
deplorable. And on top of
that, the liberal cultural
establishment (epitomized
by “Saturday Night Live”)
coddles the blue team and
picks on the red team.
Here’s my counter argu-
ment: Warren has the brain,
heart and courage to beat
Trump. Comedians mine
the rich vein of Donald
Trump because that’s
where the laughs are.
Lee Myles
Pasadena::
If one were to write a
book about Warren’s plans,
it would be in the fantasy
section. Warren’s plans
mostly involve giving away
free things to just about
everybody, but it’s all paid
for by billionaires and evil
corporations.
Do the Democrats want
to defeat Trump, or do they
just want to put forth a
far-left agenda? If they want
the former, I have a plan for
that: Nominate a moderate
Democrat with realistic
plans to benefit all Ameri-
cans.
Arthur L. Wisot
Rolling Hills Estates::Trump is a constant
target of humorists because
he deserves to be. Who
could resist mocking his
ineptness and narcissism?
Goldberg’s statement
comparing Warren and
Trump — “The most rele-
vant difference boils down
to a matter of taste” — is
comical. Any similarities
between Trump and Warren
end after we agree that they
both are humans.
Trump looks out for
himself and his wealthy
cronies. Warren has consis-
tently and successfully
advocated for consumer
rights, was a law professor,
is a U.S. senator, and works
well with others. Trump’s
businesses have gone bank-
rupt, he has a reputation of
dishonesty that grows by
the day, and he has no
understanding of constitu-
tional law.
Mary Franklin
Huntington BeachWhat the SAT
says about GPA
Re “Time for UC to stop
using the SAT,” Opinion,
Nov. 7No normal kid likes the
SAT. But all kids under-
stand that there are really
smart students and then
there are really studious
students.
There is a difference
between being smart and
being studious, and thus we
have the SAT and ACT.
Of course, the wealthy
kids have an advantage with
tutors, but the state can
remedy this discrepancy by
mandating a class in SAT
test prep for any student
who wants to better under-
stand the ins and outs of the
exam. The state’s Depart-
ment of Education should
help the less wealthy stu-
dents of California with
these tests now.
The SAT and ACT are
needed. Too many studious
students flunk out of the
University of California
system when they are faced
with students who are a
combination of very smart
and very studious.
Like it or not, dumbing
down the UCs is not the
answer.
Mark Walker
Yorba Linda::
In her op-ed article,
Janelle Wong claims that
the “SAT and ACT add little
or nothing to the high
school GPA’s prediction of a
student’s performance in
the first year of college.”
The SAT or ACT is the
only thing that allows col-
lege admission profession-
als to control for wildly
different average GPAs at
different high schools. Pri-
vate schools, for example,
have tremendously inflated
GPAs. Just check the
“school profile” of a private
high school near you.
Eliminating the SAT
would also increase the
pressure on teachers to
inflate their grades, and
there is too much of that
already.
At the public high school
where I taught, the depart-
ment with the highest aver-
age GPA was the program
we had for student parents.
Yet, those students were not
the ones best prepared for a
UC education.
Bob Kanne
Yorba LindaTasos KatopodisGetty ImagesPRESIDENT TRUMPannounces the military raid that left Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi dead.
Call it bribery
Re “Ukraine matters. Here’s why,” editorial, Nov. 6
T
he U.S. Constitution states, “The president ... shall be removed from office on im-
peachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misde-
meanors.” Treason is not applicable in the current situation, and “high crimes and
misdemeanors” is vague. In fact, Trump’s allies are saying that what he did does not
rise to the level of a high crime or a misdemeanor. But what about bribery?
Bribery is defined as when a person pays or promises to pay someone to do an act, usuallysomething that is illegal. The federal election code prohibits a candidate from soliciting or even
accepting anything of value from a foreign person. It’s obvious from the partial transcript of his
“perfect” phone call with the Ukrainian president that Trump was soliciting a “favor,” namely, for
the Ukrainian government to state publicly that it was investigating former Vice President Joe
Biden.
What was the payment that Ukraine was to expect from Trump? Two things: First, the delivery
of $391 million in military aid to Ukraine that was being held up, and second, an official visit to the
White House for President Volodymyr Zelensky. So let’s stop talking about high crimes and mis-
demeanors and focus instead on bribery.
Joseph Kagel, Huntington Beach
John Reed of Hemet in-
vited more conservatives
to leave:
Be still, my beating
heart. The promise that
more Republicans will be
leaving our beautiful, for-
ward-thinking, progressive
state gives me more joy
than I can handle.
The fact that most of
these blind-faith conserva-
tives are heading to Texas is
music to my ears. I have
been advocating for years
that Texas become the
gathering place for all Re-
publicans — a spot where
the humidity, tornadoes
and GOP can finally join
forces with the mosquitoes
to create the symbiotically
perfect environment for
people and things of the
conservative persuasion.
Now, if only these red-state seekers can manage to
take more of their GOP
friends with them, all will be
right in the world.Pacific Palisades resident
Maureen Huiskes calls new
arrivals to California
“suckers”:
You are darn right that
we are tired of California’s
liberal political culture. We
are tired of paying high
taxes to support liberal
causes and undocumented
immigrants. And, as the
state burns, our politicians
continue to overspend and
vilify the president.
So, yes, we are tired of
politicians who do not put
Americans first, and we are
leaving for states like Texas,
Idaho and Florida. And,
although some suckers are
coming to California, that
will change once they realize
that unless they are willing
to accept mediocrity in
education, poor infrastruc-
ture, everything being unaf-fordable and high taxes,
they will leave.Marian Sunabe of South
Pasadena explains why she
feels comfortable in Cali-
fornia:
The people leaving Cali-
fornia because of politics
are fortunate to have been
born with the privilege of
being able to live comfort-
ably just about anywhere in
the U.S. Those of us who are
people of color have no such
freedom.Only in big cities and
urban centers do we feel
safe and comfortable. Here,
we do not have to con-
stantly answer questions
like, “Where are you from?”
We are not suspected of
being a criminal, a terrorist
or a leech on society.
Thanks to this president,
racist attitudes in certain
parts of the country are
emboldened and hardened,
creating an inhospitable
environment for people of
color.MAILBAG
Red exit, blue celebration
O
ne of the defining featuresof American politics
today is the antipathy expressed not only about the
elected leaders we don’t like, but also toward fellowcitizens who happen to be on the other side of the red-blue
divide. Much of our letter writers’ reaction to an article this
week about conservatives leaving California for “redder pas-
tures” reflected this.
The article focused primarily on a husband and wife whomoved from Modesto to north Texas in hopes of living near
“people who believe in the same political agenda that we do:
America first, Americans first, law and order.” Some readers
said they could relate, but a majority expressed a sentiment
captured by one writer whose letter consisted of two words:
“Good riddance.”
—Paul Thornton, letters editorLara SoltFor The Times
RICHARD STARK, at his new home in Texas, said
California’s liberal politics prompted his move.Numbers
and letters
A quick breakdown of
the mail we received
from readers this week:610
Printable letters to the
editor were received
between last Friday
and this Friday.70
Letters were written
about the House
impeachment inquiry, the
week’s most-discussed
topic.57
Letters mentioned the
California wildfires, the
runner-up topic.52
Readers discussed
climate change, the
week’s third-most-
discussed issue.HOW TO WRITE TO US
Please send letters to
[email protected]. For
submission guidelines, see
latimes.com/letters or call
1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 74511.latimes.com/opinion
MOST POPULAR IN OPINION
I worked on the Bill Clinton probe. He deserved
impeaching. Trump’s actions are even worse.Sorry, Mr. President, the House is giving you
far more due process than the Constitution
requires.Impeachment testimony is also giving Trump
a quid pro quo defense.ENTER THE FRAY
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