The Charlottesville argument

I wish Mr. Mason (Letters, Oct. 27) well on his continuing pursuit of truth. Would that we all could be so conscientious! I entered into the Charlottesville argument because I rejected the easy way Republicans painted Harris and all as monstrous liars.

Such a claim requires proving that they knowingly advanced a falsehood. The case for hasty error, however, seems plausible given the evidence presented by Mr. Mason. I now lean in that direction, but I can’t flat out say that Harris is wrong until I’ve heard their rebuttal. I only have some of the facts, not both sides of the coin.

If the Democrats are shown to be lying it would hardly rattle my timbers. That politicians, good and bad, often lie is barely newsworthy. This argument, despite being turned into a political football, is of no great importance.

Given the fact that Trump has kissed up to Putin and praised wannabe dictators, the claim that he also praised extremist elements at Charlottesville is just another dollop of icing on an already baked cake! I don’t see a deep pursuit of this matter, at least for myself, as worth the effort.

Whether the Democrats are lying, or making an hasty error, doesn’t change the fact that Trump’s character is stained with anti-American values.

— Dave E. Matson, Pasadena

The final days of the election are here

We are enraged, exhausted and oh so ready to have it all over and done with.

Nobody really wanted these candidates, and we believe that anybody who votes for the other candidate is crazy, evil or stupid. To disengage emotions and use logic and reasoning instead, this election is fundamentally a choice between two dominant political parties.

One major party desires to gradually remove your individual rights and choices of speech, association, worship, work, education, transportation, housing, entertainment, sports, gender, charity and faith.

The other major party wants to do exactly the same thing, but at a much faster pace!

I despise the direction altogether (encroachment on individual freedoms); but given this choice, I choose to lose my rights more slowly.

Perhaps this simplification lacks subtlety and nuance, but that does not mean that it is wrong.

So, ignore the crazy personalities, personal attacks, irritating ads and lack of policy statements.

Vote based upon how much you trust yourself to make the best choices for your own life, versus being benevolently controlled by the experts.

— Scott Browne, Santa Ana

Where’s Moldova?

Today’s newspaper headline: “Place crashes in Moldava killing pilot on board.”

I must confess that I’ve never heard of Moldava. So I Googled it and learned that it is a nation with a population of about 3 million, influenced by Romania, which it borders.

That said, why is this story reported in your newspaper.

Obviously an accidental death is a tragedy. But clearly this event has no reason to be reported in Southern California.

— Joe Paggi, Pasadena

Spooky

Ron Paul is the ghost of Neville Chamberlain.

— Ron Garber, Duarte

Democracy more a wish

The framers of the Constitution may have been wise and talented, but they certainly weren’t perfect when it came to incorporating the values of democracy into the United States Constitution.

It took the Bill of Rights with its 10 amendments to bring the document up to hopes for a better future, but even then American democracy extended no farther than White people, adult males, who had to be owners of substantial private property, as the only ones with the right to vote. Certainly the right to vote did not extend to all White citizens, and not to women or Black Americans nor Native Americans.

— Richard Dorsey, Hacienda Heights and

It’s 2024 election time

Now is a good time to say to one and all please, please behave yourselves, on both sides, no matter the outcome of the election.

This is not the time for riots, demonstrations, disruption of social services or violence of any kind.

To do so is against what it means to be an American.

We are all in this together.

Let’s stay together, and show the world what it means to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Let’s all be proud Americans up to, during and after our election on Tuesday.

— Roger Olsen, Burbank