Readers’ comments: June 20, 2025

In praise of editor’s ‘No Kings’ opinion piece
Dear editor:
I truly appreciated Mick Rhodes’ excellent editorial, “Feeling depressed? Hopeless? Try ‘No King’s’ protest!” [June 13].
It was brief, yet quite panoramic in its characterization of Mr. Trump’s dangerous authoritarian proclivities. Mick was willing both to speak truth to power and to articulate the feelings of the vast majority of current (and former) Claremont residents.
Richard Tsujimoto
Pomona

Anti-Trump protests must continue
Dear editor:
I attended the demonstration this Saturday along with thousands from the surrounding communities. The example set by President Obama’s movement, Organizing for America, followed by Indivisible, Swing Left, No Kings, and others, must continue to address the blatant disregard for our democracy displayed in the current Trump administration. Their orders to dispatch the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles is a fully transparent antidemocratic incursion with the intent to flaunt power and defy our democratic principles. The ICE raid at the Pomona Home Depot and the assault of United States Senator Alex Padilla are incidents that forewarns our California community of constituents that our democracy is consistently being tested, with devastating consequences that will likely take decades to recover from after the DJT administration.
Bernard Karmatz
Claremont

Trump haters’ despair is familiar
Dear editor:
I can sympathize with the Courier’s Readers’ comments from June 13. As a conservative, I know the feeling of despair, anger, disbelief and bewilderment they’re now feeling because of the current administration. The only small, but significant difference is that I had those same feelings from January 20, 2021 to November 7, 2024. I remember going for long walks and drinking a couple of pints at my favorite craft brewery to get my mind away from the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, seeing millions of illegal aliens cross the border into our country while being told that “the border is secure,” 9% inflation, having to wear a mask and advised to only fist-bump my closest friends while keeping a distance of six feet.
I would take a long drive early Sunday mornings to Wrightwood and listen endlessly to George Strait while my president promoted men playing in women’s sports, claimed that all Trump voters are “garbage,” and mumbled incoherently on a nationally televised debate.
However, what I did not do was firebomb Tesla dealerships, key Tesla cars, wave foreign flags in the streets, throw rocks off overpasses, light Waymo cars on fire, or spray profanity-laced graffiti on federal buildings.
Somehow though, I made it through those four years of malaise. My unsolicited advice to your readers is to hang in there: its only 1,317 more days to possible relief.
Alex Pilz
Claremont

Cool your jets, people
Dear editor:
This is a letter to our concerned community members:
We have recently received numerous inquiries and concerns regarding a rumor suggesting that the DoubleTree by Hilton Claremont is housing ICE agents. We want to address this directly and unequivocally: this claim is completely false.
The rumor appears to have originated when unmarked police vehicles were seen in our parking lot last week. These vehicles belonged to police chiefs from across California who were attending the Executive Leadership Institute at the Drucker School of Business—a fact that can be easily verified online.
Additionally, some community members have mistaken white vans in our lot for ICE vehicles. These vans are actually used by a nearby business within our complex that supports adults with developmental disabilities, transporting them to and from job sites on a daily basis.
We are deeply troubled by the harassment and even physical threats our staff have received as a result of this misinformation. These actions are not only unjustified but are creating fear and distress among our diverse team, many of whom are members of the very demographic you seek to support.
We respectfully ask that anyone who has shared or posted this false information take immediate steps to correct it. Spreading unverified claims causes real harm and undermines the values of inclusion and respect that we hold dear.
To be clear: The DoubleTree by Hilton Claremont does not and would not partner with ICE. We remain committed to being a welcoming and safe space for all.
Andrew Behnke
Claremont
Behnke is the general manager/vice president of DoubleTree by Hilton Claremont.

Don’t forget about SoCal’s air quality problems
Dear editor:
I’m from a generation that will soon disappear. I went to school in Los Angeles in the 1950s. Sometimes we couldn’t use the playground because the smog was too bad to let us play or eat lunch outside. It was dangerous to walk to and from school. My husband lived in the San Fernando Valley, which was worse than my Fairfax neighborhood. We had local Air Quality Management District regulations for different areas in SoCal because the air quality was different. SoCal was affected by the “inversion layer” that kept the smog in our basin. Eventually, air quality was tested for content, and it was proved that unhealthy air spots were all over the country. The feds set standards for lung safety, and California was allowed to have stronger standards for auto pollution in our smog because of our geography and population density. And it has worked for 40 years, providing safer air quality for kids and parents.
If you want your kids and grands to stay safely in California air, remember our geography isn’t going to change because the coal and petroleum companies need to maintain jobs and profits over the great divide, or because some businesses vent their waste into air and water resources. The geography will remain after our memories disappear.
Helen Feller
Claremont

‘Mr. President, I object’
Dear editor:
President Mayhem continues to destroy the foundations of our democracy. He attacks judges. He ransacks our museums. Now he is in the process of destroying the legacy of our armed forces as a nonpolitical institution.
On the streets of Los Angeles, he deploys them like they were toy soldiers in his toddler’s game. He is creating the “GOP Army,” loyal to nothing but his whims. He honors insurrectionists by renaming bases after them. They are used as window dressing for spectacles of adulation. As a veteran, I find these odious provocations and displays of bloated ego most shameful — and against the provisions of the Constitution.
If he was so concerned about the lawless run rampant, might he have sent the troops to protect against an actual insurrection on January 6? No, he pardons the misfits who beat and killed law enforcement personnel. Shame! And shame on the party which condones such lawlessness. And his toadies in Congress find nothing amiss. This is a total dereliction of their duty.
The result of this folly? More and more workers are refusing to go to work. Our great California farms and orchards are losing many in their workforce. Nursing homes will be understaffed, leading to unnecessary deaths. Parents are terrified to send children to school, and children are afraid to leave home, worried that no one will be there when they return.
Friends, it’s time to return to civility, to Constitutional order, to competency. Concerning your abuse of our armed forces: Mr. President, I object.
John C. Forney
Claremont

Trump’s business model is failing
Dear editor:
I believe that the last four months under the current federal government have proven that a “business model” is not conducive for a purely service oriented organization. A major flaw with a business model is the focus on monetary gain through control of economic processes (stock market, interest rates, taxation, and wages as examples). Generally, the largest expense of any business or organization is personnel costs. It can be as high as 70% to 80% of the total operational costs.
So, the current executive branch, aware of where the costs are, opted to eviscerate all essential operations through personnel cuts. This left the mandated functions of government unable to provide the services to the people of the United States. This thoughtless, or perhaps intentionally planned, purge has left the people of this country at the brink of disaster.
Professor Laurence J. Peter’s organizational hierarchy theory, “The Peter Principle,” has once again been confirmed. In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence. This is amply shown in the current leadership roles of the federal government. I am sure that these cabinet members and department heads in the current administration were successful in their earlier roles in industry. Take them away from a sound stage, directors, and cameras, their incompetence is magnified exponentially.
It is a shame that our Constitutional form of government has been crippled by those appointed into office. Only its citizens can rectify this situation.  The damage has been done. It will take decades to undo if this form of governance is allowed to continue.
Larry Horowitz
Claremont