Readers’ comments: February 28, 2025

Kudos for ‘Kaliførnia dreamin’
Dear editor:
I loved your editorial today [“Kaliførnia dreamin,’” February 21] . When I was in Copenhagen some years ago, it was cold and rainy, so we took a bus tour of the city. The elderly gentleman who was narrating kept saying how high the taxes were, but also kept telling us the things the taxes were paying for: all the things we squeeze out of our “disposable” income.
Beth Benjamin
Claremont

Bring on the Danes!
Dear editor:
Tusind tak for din dejlige artikel om Danmark! Denmark is my second home, and my family and I travel there regularly. My first visit there was in 1973, when the energy crisis necessitated a restriction on driving. On Sundays streets were filled with bikes and horse carriages. Denmark has amazing (and affordable) public transportation, and almost everyone speaks English. And Duolingo offers free Danish language lessons for those who want to learn to “taler Dansk.”
I think your tongue was firmly planted in your cheek in your recent “Going There” column [“Kaliførnia dreamin,’” February 21], but I for one would welcome the Danish purchase of California!
Nancy Osgood
Claremont

Let’s stage a virtual march on Washington
Dear editor:
As a concerned, even terrified citizen, I’ve been wondering what we could actually do toward helping to stop the takeover of our country by those currently in power. Suggestions have been few to date. It was recently pointed out that waiting until the mid-term elections may be too late, as we have witnessed how much damage has already been done with the “shock and awe” tactics currently being used.
I’m sending this letter to many news outlets with the hope that they will have the courage to publish it. I’m also sending it to some news outlets overseas to those whom many of us consider our allies. They must be as appalled as we are by current events, and I just want to say, “This is not my president!”
And a word to our congresspersons and senators: So far you have been complicit in this hijacking by meekly confirming unqualified people with harmful agendas to cabinet posts. Please find the courage to stop this onslaught before it is too late!
Here is a suggestion that might help halt the trashing of our democracy: Let’s stage a virtual march on Washington. I understand our legislators are already being inundated with e-mails and phone calls calling for an end to the madness. Look up the phone numbers or e-mail addresses of your legislators — heck, look up the addresses of all the legislators. For information at no charge go to 5calls.org, and let your voice be heard!
It’s the one thing I can think of, and the least we can do!
E.M. Rogers
Claremont

‘Donnie and the Misfits’
Dear editor:
There is a new entertainment group in Washington, D.C. “Donnie and the Misfits” are preparing for their inaugural world tour to include Greenland, Budapest, Moscow, Beijing, and Pyongyang. The group expects to return to a hero’s welcome and a party hosted by Elon Musk and his trusty companion, Donald Trump.
Jay B. Winderman
Claremont

Anti-Trump rallies should be loud and proud
Dear editor:
This is an open letter to organizers of anti-Trump rallies.
I have complained to organizers of two Claremont protests — the Inauguration Day protest at Foothill and Indian Hill and the Presidents Day rally at Shelton Park — about the skimpiness of the publicity. I was told, in each case, that it was because broad publicity would have attracted Trump bad guys and so the announcements were kept in house.
Those were terrible decisions. The point of any protest is to draw as many in protest as possible. If open publicity attracts opposition, even violent opposition, so be it. Fascists thrive not only on violence but the threat of it. If you back down because Trump’s thugs might show up, he has won. Trying to avoid threats is called ‘advance obedience’: a full-blooded protest has been severely weakened by fear.
Next time — and there will be many occasions to protest Trump’s and Musk’s destruction — do not let the possibility of the brownshirts showing up turn your publicity wimpy: broadcast it widely and loudly.
Merrill Ring
Claremont

Trump’s anti-democratic goals are clear
Dear editor:
Where is the Trump/Musk administration taking us? While its corrupt and destructive actions are chaotic, there are a mix of long-term visions guiding them, and it is worth clearly understanding these dystopian dreams. Trump and crew plan to turn the heat up much higher, and “cook” our democracy.
While Trump isn’t an ideologue, he foments resentment and fosters hateful “us v. them” scapegoating that is central to, yes, fascist politics. His guiding ethos involves opportunistic self-promotion, self-enrichment, and self-protection. He has corrupted and weaponized the DOJ, shut down all attempts to hold him accountable by firing investigators, and uses foreign policy like a gangster. The Hungarian “democratic” autocracy of Victor Orban is a clear model.
Second is a widespread corporate desire to cut wide-ranging social programs and business oversight while routing military spending and tax cuts to billionaires; see current Republican budget proposals.
Three, Musk and his techno-libertarian billionaire cronies don’t want any government constraint on their free-market plundering. The government is a way for them to gain more access to people’s data and accounts. They have no allegiance to the U.S.; it is just another organization to acquire, strip down, and profit from.
Fourth, the Christian nationalists Trump appointed to implement Project 2025 view the federal government as a tool for eliminating all checks and balances. The Project 2025 architects are terrorizing the federal workforce and remaking the federal government into a tool for a nearly all-powerful “Christian” presidency.
The Trump/Musk regime’s actions will be wobbly and uneven, and already popular resistance is putting pressure on Republican legislators. However, let’s be clear-eyed about the anti-democratic visions and “cookbooks” guiding their actions. We all realize the temperature is rising; we can see their goals. Don’t be the frog who waits too long to join the growing and widespread grassroots resistance.
Erich Steinman
Claremont

Are the winds of war blowing?
Dear editor:
America has switched sides. We are no longer the leader of the “free world,” but rather the leader of “totalitarian world.” Our former allies in Europe and Asia know we are lost. We are not only unreliable, but we are also a danger to them. We are a danger to the world. We are aligning ourselves with Putin and other dictators, and will likely withdraw from NATO. We are cutting Ukraine and the rest of Europe out of negotiations to end the war. Musk, Trump, and their MAGA toadies are also destroying the domestic institutions that have made us strong, that have allowed our American democracy to survive for two-and-one-half centuries.
I fear we are heading toward war. A friend suggested recently that our survival as a democracy is ultimately going to come down to which side the military takes. Will they use their weapons to defend the Constitution or will they defend MAGA and the oligarchy? By installing unqualified people of questionable character and loyalties to key positions in defense and intelligence, and purging the Joint Chiefs chairman, chief of naval operation, and Air Force vice chief of staff, Trump is stacking the deck with people who may be willing to follow illegal orders like shooting demonstrators, as he as he had wanted in 2020.
Because the cowardly Congress will never impeach Trump, we are relying on the courts to stop his illegal actions. Even if the Supreme Court ultimately decides against Trump, and ruling the administration to be in contempt when they refuse to comply, there is no enforcement mechanism. I hope I am wrong about this. Will the military step in?
Are the winds of war blowing?
I don’t know, but I am stocking up on supplies.
M. Boos
Claremont

‘This is our Paul Revere moment’
Dear editor:
With disastrous cuts now hitting the Veterans Administration, the health care of veterans across the nation risk compromise. One wonders if this is a ploy to privatize the agency. The upshot surely will be longer waiting times and inefficiency.
But then, Trump had never had any great love for us veterans. We were considered “losers” and “suckers.” Disparagement will only lead to a weak and demoralized military. Peace is not achieved through weakness and groveling.
Putin must be gleefully rubbing his hands together over his incredible luck at having such a compliant mouthpiece ensconced in the White House. Only “street heat” will wake up his GOP toadies in congress who are going along with this imbecility. This is our Paul Revere moment. It is not too late to right the good ship America.
Just who is the real “sucker” in this debacle?
John C. Forney
Claremont